Week 7 Vocab

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Appease

Appease

to pacify or placate; to relieve or satisfy

Bind

to tie or fasten tightly, to unite or cause to feel united, impose a legal obligation on, a problematic situation

Bondage

the state of being a slave

Calamity

an event causing great and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster

Charter

a written grant by a country’s legislative or sovereign power by which an institution is created and its rights and privileges defined, a written constitution, grant a charter to

Coarse

rough or loose in texture, ill-mannered, unsophisticated; vulgar

Compact

a formal agreement between two or more parties, states, etc., closely packed together, dense

Compel

force or oblige someone to do something; bring about something by the use of force or pressure; coerce

Delegate

a person sent or authorized to represent others; especially an elected representative sent to a conference, entrust a task or responsibility to another person

Discharge

to relieve, release, or dismiss a person or thing from some duty or obligation, allow a liquid, gas, or other substance to flow out from where it has been confined

Discourse

written or spoken communication or debate, to authoritatively speak or write about a topic

Discursive

of or relating to the exchange of ideas or thoughts, passing from one thought to another aimlessly

Disparage

regard or represent as being of little worth

Disquiet

a feeling of anxiety or worry, make someone worried or anxious

Disturb

to interfere or interrupt, to cause to be anxious; to agitate

Emanate

originate or issue; be produced by, give out or emit (something abstract or perceptible); exude

Emancipate

to set free from legal, social, or political restrictions; liberate from slavery, a real or imagined wrong or other cause for complaint or protest, especially unfair treatment; an official statement of a complaint over something believed to be wrong or unfair

Impress

to make someone feel admiration or respect, to imprint; to leave a mark or seal, to fix or instill; emphasize, to force, especially into naval service

Inalienable

unable to be (alienated or) taken away from its possessor; absolute

Incontestable

not able to be contested or disputed, to violate, to break in or encroach upon

Lapse

to pass or fall into an inferior state or condition, an interval of time, to become invalid because it’s used or not renewed

Monarch

a sovereign head of state, especially a king, queen, or emperor

Patrimony

property inherited from one’s father or male ancestor, the estate or property belonging by ancient endowment or right to a church or other institution, heritage

Posterity

future generations of people

Prescriptive

of or related to the imposition or enforcement of a method or rule, legally or customarily established

Promulgate

promote or make widely known, put a law or decree into effect by official proclamation

Raise

to lift or move something to a higher position, to increase the amount or level of something, to heighten or invigorate, cause to occur or be considered

Ratify

sign or give formal consent to a treaty, contract, or agreement, making it officially valid

Redress

remedy or set right, remedy or compensation for a wrong or grievance

Repeal

revoke or annul a law or congressional act, the action of revoking or annulling a law or congressional act

Rigor

severity or strictness; challenging or demanding conditions, thoroughness or accuracy

Safeguard

a measure taken to protect someone or something, protect from harm or damage

Sanction

to authorize, confirm, or allow, official permission, a penalty for disobeying rules or laws, impose a penalty on

Self-Evident

evident or obvious without need of proof or demonstration; axiomatic

Tyranny

cruel and oppressive government or rule

Vigorous

forceful, strong or energetic

Welfare

the health, happiness, and fortunes of a person or group, financial support given to people in need

Writ

a form of written command in the name of a court or other legal authority to act, or abstain from acting, in some way

Limited Government

A form of government in which governing powers are limited, usually by laws and a constitution

Natural Rights

A political theory first articulated during the Enlightenment which argues that individuals have fundamental rights given to them by nature or God that no individual or government can deny

Social Contract

An implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, for example by sacrificing some individual freedoms for state protection

Framers of the Constitution

The men who helped to write and create the United States Constitution during the Constitutional Convention in 1789; they sought to create a more powerful central government while incorporating Enlightenment ideals about individual rights and the potential for despotism

Separation of Powers

An Enlightenment ideal that argued that the best way to prevent too much government power concentrated in the hands of two few was to separate the power into different branches of government

Checks and Balances

A feature of the U.S. Constitution that aims to prevent any branch of government from becoming too powerful by granting the other branches of government the ability to limit its power

Implied Powers

Powers in the constitution that are not expressly stated in the text of the document but are assumed to exist since they are required to carry out the expressed powers in the constitution

Social Construct

An idea, object, or concept whose creation and development is determined by the needs, desires, or beliefs of human society in a particular time and place; without the existence of a human society that constantly reinforces the idea, object, or concept, it would not exist or carry the same meaning

Strict Constructionist

A legal theory which interprets the Constitution based on a literal and narrow definition of the language without reference to the differences in conditions when the Constitution was written and modern conditions, inventions, and societal changes

Letter vs. Spirit of the Law

The literal interpretation of the words (the “letter”) of the law vs. the intent of those who wrote the law