american gov chap 2 key terms

Anti-Federalists

Those who did not support ratification of the Constitution

Articles of Confederation

The first basis for the new nation’s government; adopted in 1781; created an alliance of sovereign states held together by a weak central government

Bicameral Legislature

A legislature with two houses

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution; most were designed to protect fundamental rights and liberties

Checks and Balances

A system that allows one branch of government to limit the exercise of power by another branch; requires the different parts of government to work together

Confederation

A highly decentralized form of government; sovereign states form a union for purposes such as mutual defense

Declaration of Independence

A document written in 1776 in which the American colonists proclaimed their independence from Great Britain and listed their grievances against the British king

Enumerated Powers

The powers given explicitly to the federal government by the Constitution (Article I

Federal System

A form of government in which power is divided between state governments and a national government

Federalists

Those who supported ratification of the Constitution

Great Compromise

A compromise between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan that created a two-house Congress; representation based on population in the House of Representatives and equal representation of states in the Senate

Natural Rights

The right to life

New Jersey Plan

A plan that called for a one-house national legislature; each state would receive one vote

Republic

A form of government in which political power rests in the hands of the people

Reserved Powers

Any powers not prohibited by the Constitution or delegated to the national government; powers reserved to the states and denied to the federal government

Separation of Powers

The sharing of powers among three separate branches of government

Social Contract

An agreement between people and government in which citizens consent to be governed so long as the government protects their natural rights

Supremacy Clause

The statement in Article VI of the Constitution that federal law is superior to laws passed by state legislatures

The Federalist Papers

A collection of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton

Three-Fifths Compromise

A compromise between northern and southern states that called for counting of all a state’s free population and 60 percent of its enslaved population for both federal taxation and representation in Congress

Unicameral Legislature

A legislature with only one house

Veto

The power of the president to reject a law proposed by Congress

Virginia Plan

A plan for a two-house legislature; representatives would be elected to the lower house based on each state’s population; representatives for the upper house would be chosen by the lower house