Foundations of the U.S. Government: Enlightenment to Property Rights (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering Enlightenment concepts, the Articles and their failures, the Constitution, federalism, major compromises, and basic rights from the lecture notes.

Enlightenment

An 17th–18th century European intellectual movement emphasizing reason, individual rights, and progress over faith and tradition.

Consent of the Governed

Authority to rule is derived from the people the government serves.

Natural Rights

Life, liberty, and property that are inalienable and cannot be surrendered.

Social Contract

An agreement in which government must protect citizens’ natural rights; if not, citizens may form a government that does.

Declaration of Independence

The 1776 document declaring the American colonies’ separation from Great Britain.

Northwest Ordinance

1787 ordinance governing the Northwest Territory (north of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi, west of Pennsylvania) and creating a framework for statehood.

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States, creating a loose confederation of 13 states with a weak central government.

Successes and Failures of the Articles of Confederation

Successes: Northwest Ordinance (1787), call for the Constitutional Convention, end of the Revolutionary War; Failures: weak central government, no power to tax or regulate commerce, and states taxed cross-border goods.

US Constitution and the Enlightenment

The Constitution is the supreme law and foundation of the US government, grounded in Enlightenment ideas of reason, liberty, and progress.

Federalism

Division of power between the federal (national) government and the states.

Federalist (and beliefs)

Supporters of a strong national government who favored economic growth and relations with Britain; opposed to revolutionary France.

3 branches of government

The division of governmental power among legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Great Compromise

1787 agreement creating a bicameral legislature: Senate with equal representation and a House based on population.

⅗ Compromise

Compromise counting three-fifths of a state's slave population for representation and taxation.

Anti-Federalist (and beliefs)

Opponents of ratifying the Constitution who feared a strong central government without protections for individual rights.

Debate over ratification (of the Constitution)

The Federalist–Anti-Federalist argument over ratification, resolved by promising a Bill of Rights.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments protecting personal liberties and limiting government power.

Rights of Free Expression

Fundamental rights including free speech, free press, religion, assembly, and petitioning the government.

Rights of the Accused

Legal protections for those charged with crimes, ensuring fair treatment and due process.

Rights of Property

Legal ownership and control of tangible and intangible property, protecting against arbitrary government seizure.