Regents Review Module 1: Constitutional Foundations

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the foundation of the U.S. government, Enlightenment influences, the Articles of Confederation, constitutional compromises, and the Bill of Rights.

Enlightenment

An intellectual movement in Europe during the $1600s$ and $1700s$ that emphasized reason, natural rights, and government by consent to improve society.

John Locke

An Enlightenment thinker who argued that people possess natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and that governments get their power from the consent of the governed.

Consent of the Governed

The principle that a government's legitimacy and moral right to use state power is only justified and lawful when consented to by the people or society over which that political power is exercised.

Natural Rights

Rights that people are born with that do not come from the government, including life, liberty, property, the pursuit of happiness, and freedoms of speech and religion.

Declaration of Independence

A document written in $1776$ to explain why the American colonies were breaking away from Great Britain, arguing that King George III had violated the colonists' rights.

Articles of Confederation

The first plan of government for the United States which created a weak national government where most power belonged to the states.

Shays’ Rebellion

An uprising of Massachusetts farmers in $1786$ – $1787$ that convinced many Americans that the Articles of Confederation created a government too weak to maintain order.

Constitutional Convention

A $1787$ meeting in Philadelphia where delegates originally meant to revise the Articles of Confederation but instead wrote an entirely new Constitution.

Legislative Branch

The branch of government responsible for making laws.

Executive Branch

The branch of government responsible for enforcing laws.

Judicial Branch

The branch of government responsible for interpreting laws.

Federalism

A constitutional principle where power is divided between the national government and the state governments.

The Great Compromise

An agreement that settled the debate over representation by creating a two-house legislature with a House of Representatives based on population and a Senate with equal representation (two senators per state).

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement to count $\frac{3}{5}$ of the enslaved population for both representation in Congress and taxation.

Separation of Powers

The division of government power among three branches (legislative, executive, and judicial) to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful.

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the power of the other branches, such as a presidential veto or the Supreme Court declaring a law unconstitutional.

Limited Government

The principle that the government is not all-powerful and must follow the rules established by the Constitution.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that the people are the ultimate source of government power, famously expressed by the phrase ‘We the People.’

Ratification

The process of formal approval, specifically the approval of the Constitution by the states.

Federalists

Individuals who supported the ratification of the Constitution and favored a stronger national government.

Anti-Federalists

Individuals who initially opposed the Constitution because they feared it gave the national government too much power and demanded a Bill of Rights to protect individual liberties.

The Federalist Papers

A series of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to persuade people to support the Constitution.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution, added to protect individual freedoms and satisfy Anti-Federalist concerns.

First Amendment

An amendment protecting the freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government.

Fourth Amendment

An amendment that protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Fifth Amendment

An amendment that protects due process rights and the right against self-incrimination.

Sixth Amendment

An amendment that protects the right to a fair trial.

Eighth Amendment

An amendment that protects against cruel and unusual punishment.

Tenth Amendment

An amendment stating that powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states or the people.