Vocab Quiz 1

Declaration of Independence

A document that announced the thirteen American colonies' separation from British rule and provided a moral and legal justification for the rebellion by restating the philosophy of natural rights, and providing a foundation for popular sovereignty.

Limited Government

A government kept under control by law, checks and balances, and separation of powers.

Natural Rights/Law

All people have certain rights that cannot be taken away (life, liberty, and property). People are born free and equal.

Popular Sovereignty

The people as the ultimate ruling authority, and a government of officials to carry out the laws.

Representative Republic

A collection of sovereign states gathered for the national interest, national needs, and national defense.

Direct Democracy

Form of participatory government where everyone votes on everything.

Republicanism

The democratic principle that the will of the people is reflected in government decisions by their representatives.

Social Contract

The agreement of free and equal people to abandon certain natural rights in order to find secure protections for society and to find freedom in a single body politic committed to the general good.

Anti-Federalists

Those who opposed the consolidation of the states under a federal government.

Federalists

Those who supported the proposed constitutional structure, a strong federal government, and full ratification.

Elite Democracy

Model of governance where political power and decision-making authority are concentrated in the hands of a small, influential group of individuals or elites.

Participatory Democracy

Model of governance where citizens actively engage in the decision-making processes of their government.

Pluralist Democracy

Political theory that emphasizes the existence of diverse and competing interest groups in society, each advocating for its own policy preferences.

Brutus 1

A commentary on the dangers of too large and too consolidated a government. It argues that citizens of a large nation rarely know the workings of their government or their elected representatives.

Federalist 10

Speaks of the “mischiefs of faction,” or interest groups in government and argues in favor of a large republic.

Faction

Groups united by a common interest that dominate political decisions.

Articles of Confederation

The first governing document for the U.S. drafted in 1777; replaced by the U.S. Constitution in 1789.

Shays’ Rebellion

Rural farmers led a band of violent insurgents to the federal arsenal in Springfield because they lost their farms to mortgage foreclosures and their failure to pay higher-than-average state taxes. Local authorities had difficulty raising a militia and only did so from private funds. Showed weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation.

Article V

To amend or alter the Constitution, a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress or a proposal from two-thirds of the states, followed by ratification from three-fourths of the states, is needed.

Bill of Rights

The part of the U.S. Constitution that lists and protects individual liberties and rights (the first ten amendments).

10th Amendment

Prevents the federal government from taking any powers that are reserved to the states.

Constitutional Convention

A formal assembly where delegates meet to draft or significantly revise the Constitution.

Electoral College

The system used for electing the President of the United States (POTUS) by electors from each state rather than by popular or congressional vote.

Great Compromise

Created a two-house Congress composed of a House of Representatives and a Senate.