Foundational Documents and Concepts Vocabulary

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on the list of terms for the upcoming quiz, covering foundational concepts of American government and political science.

Anti-Federalist

An individual who opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and later opposed the ratification of the $1787$ Constitution.

Articles of Confederation

The original constitution of the US, ratified in $1781$, which was replaced by the US Constitution in $1789$ due to its weak central authority.

Checks and Balances

Counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated, typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of individuals or groups.

Constitutional Convention

The gathering that drafted the Constitution of the United States in $1787$, held in Philadelphia to design a government with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Declaration of Independence

The formal statement written by Thomas Jefferson in $1776$ declaring the freedom of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain.

Elite Democracy

A model of democracy in which a small number of people, usually those who are wealthy and well-educated, influence political decision-making.

Faction

A small organized dissenting group within a larger one, especially in politics, as described by James Madison.

Federalist

A person who advocates or supports a system of government in which several states unite under a central authority.

Federalist 10

An essay written by James Madison, which argues that a strong central government can better guard against the "danger of faction" than individual states.

Federalism

The federal principle or system of government where power is shared between the national and state governments.

Great (Connecticut Compromise)

An agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of $1787$ that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have.

Natural Rights

Rights that believe it is important for all people or even living beings to have out of natural law; often defined as life, liberty, and property.

Participatory Democracy

A model of democracy in which citizens have the power to decide directly on policy and politicians are responsible for implementing those decisions.

Pluralist Democracy

A model of democracy in which no one group dominates politics and organized groups compete with each other to influence policy.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that the authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives.

Ratification

The action of signing or giving formal consent to a treaty, contract, or agreement, making it officially valid.

Representative Democracy

A type of democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people, as opposed to direct democracy.

Separation of Powers

An act of vesting the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government in separate bodies.

Shays' Rebellion

An armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes; this event highlighted the weakness of the Articles of Confederation.

Social Contract

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

U.S. Constitution

The supreme law of the United States of America, providing the framework for the organization of the United States government.