Unit 1: Democracy & The Constitution

Politics

Method of maintaining, managing, and gaining control of government (who gets what, when, and how)

Government

The institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies

Participatory Democracy

A theory of democracy that holds that citizens should actively and directly control all aspects of their lives

Pluralist Theory

A theory of democracy that emphasizes the role of groups in the policymaking process

Elitist Theory

A theory that the wealthy elite class has a disproportionate amount of economic and political power

Inalienable Rights

Rights the government cannot take away

Natural Rights

The idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property

Social Contact Theory

People allow their governments to rule over them to ensure an orderly and functioning society.

Republicanism

A system in which the government's authority comes from the people through their representatives.

Liberty

Social, political, and economic freedoms

Pursuit of Happiness

The inalienable right that allows people to gain their goals that will make them happy, as long as it doesn't infringe on anyone else's' rights

Popular Sovereignty

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.

Democracy

A system of government where power is held by the people.

Constitutional Republic

A democratic system with elected representatives in which the Constitution is the supreme law.

Republic

A government ruled by representatives of the people.

Articles of Confederation

A governing document that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the national government, were supreme.

Unicameral

One house (chamber) legislature.

Annapolis Convention

A convention held in September 1786 to consider problems of trade and navigation, issued the call to Congress and the states for what became the Constitutional Convention

Shay's Rebellion

Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, highlighting the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.

Bicameral

Two house (chamber) legislature

Constitutional Convention

A meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that produced a new constitution

Virginia Plan

Virginia delegate James Madison's plan of government, in which states got a number of representatives in Congress based on their population

New Jersey Plan

The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the state's population.

Connecticut (Great) Compromise

Compromise agreement by states at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature with a lower house in which representation would be based on population and an upper house in which each state would have two senators.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Agreement that each slave counted as three-fifths of a person in determining representation in the House for representation and taxation purposes (negated by the 13th amendment)

Separation of Powers

the division of power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

Federalism

A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments

Enumerated Powers

The powers explicitly given to Congress in the Constitution.

Implied Powers

Powers inferred from the express powers that allow Congress to carry out its functions.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Constitutional authorization for Congress to make any law required to carry out its powers

Supremacy Clause

Constitution is the supreme law of the land

Amendment

A change or addition to the Constitution

Federalists

Supporters of the U.S. Constitution at the time the states were contemplating its adoption.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the American Constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption.

Federalist Papers

A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name "Publius" to defend the Constitution in detail.

Faction

A small, organized, dissenting group within a larger one, especially in politics.