WGU - C963 Section 1

natural rights: the rights to life, liberty, and property; believed to be given by God; no government may take these rights away

state of nature: the idea of living under no government and having no rules for society; a theory on how people might have lived before societies came into existence

due process: the requirement that the government, when dealing with people, has a fair procedure that applies equally to all

chamber: one of the houses of a legislature (in the U.S., Congress has two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate)

social contract: a basic agreement between people and their government in which citizens consent to be governed, as long as the government protects their natural rights; the social contract provides a definition of human nature, specifies the natural rights to be protected, and describes the shared interests of the citizens

social contract theory: the idea that society is not natural but created by the people

direct democracy: a form of democracy where people participate personally in making government decisions instead of choosing representatives to do this for them

Enlightenment: a period of Western European history following the Middle Ages; the source of people's ideas about natural rights

political spectrum: a way to classify political ideologies; the American political spectrum consists primarily of liberalism (left) and conservatism (right), with most Americans identifying themselves as conservative, liberal, or moderate (center); in general, people on the left prefer more governmental involvement, while those on the right prefer less

Declaration of Independence: the original document, authored principally by Thomas Jefferson, that "birthed" the United States and started the Revolutionary War; lists important natural rights and grievances against the king of England, and declares independence

Bill of Rights: the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791; they list citizens' civil liberties and civil rights

sovereignty: the principle that a government has the authority to manage its political affairs within its own geographical boundaries

bicameral legislature: a lawmaking body (group) in the legislative branch that consists of two separate chambers or two separately elected groups of officials, such as senators and representatives, like the Virginia Plan; bi, meaning "two," and camera, meaning "chamber," are Latin

legislature: the official lawmaking body of a government

habeas corpus: meaning, in Latin, "show me the body"; this is the right for a jailed citizen to appear before a judge to hear about a criminal charge; prohibits imprisoning people without due process of law

enumerated rights: rights given to the federal government by the Constitution (Article I, Section 8) to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, raise and support armies, declare war, coin money, and conduct foreign affairs

Articles of Confederation: the first attempt at organizing the government of the United States, consisting of a unicameral (one-chamber) Congress; did not permit Congress to tax, regulate foreign or interstate commerce, or enforce its laws; failed as it formed an alliance of sovereign states with too weak a national government

delegates: people given the authority to make decisions on the behalf of a group

Powers under the Articles of Confederation: the power to borrow and coin money, the power to declare war, the power to make treaties and alliances with other nations, the power to regulate trade with native people, and the power to settle disputes among other states

popular vote: the outcome of a democratic election in which all qualified voters are eligible to participate, and the winner is the person who receives the largest number of individual votes

Virginia Plan: a plan proposed by the representatives of Virginia at the Constitutional Convention for a two-house (i.e., bicameral) legislature, wherein the number of a state's representatives in each chamber would be based on that state's population

New Jersey Plan: a plan proposed by the representatives of New Jersey at the Constitutional Convention that required a one-house national legislature in which each state would have one vote

unicameral legislature: a lawmaking body in the legislative branch that consists of only one chamber, like the New Jersey Plan; uni, meaning "one," and camera, meaning "chamber," are Latin

lower chamber: the larger of the two chambers in a bicameral legislature; in the United States, this is the House of Representatives

upper chamber: the smaller of the two chambers in a bicameral legislature; in the United States, this is the Senate

Great Compromise: also known as the Connecticut Compromise; a 1787 agreement that created a bicameral legislature in the new United States, with representation based on population in the House of Representatives and equal representation of states in the Senate

Three-Fifths Compromise: during the creation of the U.S. Constitution, an agreement made between Northern and Southern states that required counting all of a state's free population and 60 percent of its enslaved population for the twin purposes of federal taxation and representation in Congress

institution of slavery: the establishment and practice of enslaving people by depriving them of liberty, extracting free labor, treating them as property, and usually subjecting them to harsh, inhumane conditions

veto: the power of a president to reject a law passed by Congress; the Latin term meaning "I forbid"

checks and balances: constitutional powers that allow each branch of government to limit the use of power of the other two branches or approve their actions; this system requires different parts of government to work together and find agreement in order to accomplish new official actions

separation of powers: the division of a government's powers among three separate branches of government, managed by different groups of people; in the United States, the three branches of government are legislative, executive, and judicial

federal system: a form of government in which power is divided between state governments and a national government

reserved powers: any powers not prohibited by the Constitution or delegated to the national government; powers reserved to the states and denied to the federal government as outlined in the 10th Amendment

political ideologies: a consistent philosophy about the structure, power, and purpose of government; American political ideologies include progressive, liberal, moderate, independent, conservative, and libertarian

ratification: the action of signing or otherwise officially approving a treaty, contract, or agreement, making it legally valid

republic: a system of government in which political power is held by the people through their ability to elect representatives who make laws on their behalf

levy: to demand payment of a tax

The Federalist Papers: a series of 85 essays written and published by several of the Founding Fathers—Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay—in 1787-88, in favor of ratifying the newly written Constitution

faction: a group of like-minded people competing for the same interests; this is characteristic of interest groups, which is a group of people who gather to petition the government for their special concerns

interpretation: to decide on or explain the meaning of something

bureaucracy: the complex organization of government departments and agencies that carry out the programs and enforce the laws of the national government

impeachment: a process for removing government officials suspected of "high crimes and misdemeanors," including judges and even the president; requires a majority vote in the House of Representatives on articles of impeachment and then the support of two-thirds of the Senate for conviction and removal

executive orders: a written order to a government agency issued by a president in the absence of congressional action to pursue a particular course of action; generally, such an order changes an existing law and can be challenged through the courts

bill of attainder: an act of a legislature, such as Congress, declaring a person guilty of a crime and punishing that person without a trial; the U.S. Constitution prohibits Congress from passing any bills of attainder