Government Chapter 3 Vocab quiz

Sovereignty

utmost authority in decision making and in maintaining order of a state

Limited government

basic principle of American government, which states that government is restricted in what it may do, and each individual has rights that government cannot take away; see constitutionalism, popular sovereignty

Representative Government

system of government in which public policies are made by officials selected by the voters and held accountable in periodic elections; see democracy

Separation of power

basic principle of American system of government that the executive, legislative, and judicial powers are divided among three independent and coequal branches of government

Supremacy Clause

a provision of the U.S. Constitution that states that the Constitution, federal law, and treaties of the United States are the “supreme Law of the Land”

Judicial Review

the power of a court to determine the constitutionality of a governmental action

Popular Sovereignty

a government that exists only with the consent of the governed

Federalism

a system of government in which a written constitution divides power between a central, or national, government and several regional governments like States.

Constitutionalism

basic principle that government and those who govern must obey the law; the rule of law

Amendment

a change in, or addition to a constitution or law

Bill of Rights

the first ten amendments to the Constitution

Full Faith and Credit

clause requiring that each State accept the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State

Rule of Law

concept that the government and its officers are always subject to the law

Ex Post Facto

law applied to an act committed before its passage

Article I

The set up of a bicameral legislature.

Article II

The executive article, this article established the presidency

Article III

Made to stop the confusion of interpretation of the laws, this article, established the national courts

Article IV

deals with state citizenship, the relationship between states, and the relationship between the states and the federal government. It requires states to give "full faith and credit" to decisions made by other state courts. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.

Article V

says how the Constitution can be amended—that is, how provisions can be added to the text of the Constitution. The Constitution is not easy to amend: only twenty-seven amendments have been added to the Constitution since it was adopted.

Article VI

Often referred to as the supremacy clause, this article says that when state law is in conflict with federal law, federal law must prevail.

Article VII

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.