Chapter 2 Terms

Magna Carta

a 1215 English document that first established the rule of law; even the king or ruler is subject to the law and not above justice

Limited government

a system in which the power of the government is limited, not absolute

Petition of Right

(1612) an English constitutional document that limited the power of King Charles I and protected citizens’ basic rights

English Bill of Rights

(1689) a British law that limited the power of the monarch and gave more power to Parliament

Representative government

a system of government in which people elect delegates to make laws and conduct government

Mayflower Compact

the first written framework of self-government in the American colonies

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

an early colonial agreement from 1639 that is widely considered the first written constitution in America

Separation of powers

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

Stamp Act

a law that placed a direct, internal tax on all paper goods in the American colonies, requiring a stamp on documents

Revenue

the money a government collects from taxes or other sources

Intolerable Acts

a series of laws to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party

Committees of Correspondence

colonial committees urging resistance to the British and keeping in touch with one another as events unfolded

Embargo

an agreement prohibiting trade

Common Sense

(1776) a pamphlet by Thomas Paine that used plain language to convince American colonists to declare independence from Great Britain

Ratified

to approve

Unicameral

a single-chamber legislature

Ceded

to yield

Ordinance

a law

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

a law passed by the Confederation Congress that created a system for organizing new western territories and admitting them as equal states

Father of the Constitution

the title given to James Madison for his main role in writing and promoting the US Constitution and Bill of Rights

Interstate Commerce

trade among states

Extralegal

not sanctioned by law

Anarchy

political disorder