American Government Module 2

a document written in 1776 in which the American colonists proclaimed their independence from Great Britain and listed their grievances against the British king

the right to life, liberty, and property; believed to be given by God; no government may take away

an agreement between people and government in which citizens consent to be governed so long as the government protects their natural rights

the first basis for the new nation’s government; adopted in 1781; created an alliance of sovereign states held together by a weak central government

a system that allows one branch of government to limit the exercise of power by another branch; requires the different parts of government to work together

a highly decentralized form of government; sovereign states form a union for purposes such as mutual defense

a form of government in which political power rests in the hands of the people, not a monarch, and is exercised by elected representatives

a legislature with two houses, such as the U.S. Congress

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

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

a compromise between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan that created a two-house Congress; representation based on population in the House of Representatives and equal representation of states in the Senate

a plan that called for a one-house national legislature; each state would receive one vote

any powers not prohibited by the Constitution or delegated to the national government; powers reserved to the states and denied to the federal government

the sharing of powers among three separate branches of government

the statement in Article VI of the Constitution that federal law is superior to laws passed by state legislatures

a compromise between northern and southern states that called for counting of all a state’s free population and 60 percent of its slave population for both federal taxation and representation in Congress

a legislature with only one house, like the Confederation Congress or the legislature proposed by the New Jersey Plan

the power of the president to reject a law proposed by Congress

a plan for a two-house legislature; representatives would be elected to the lower house based on each state’s population; representatives for the upper house would be chosen by the lower house

those who did not support ratification of the Constitution

those who supported ratification of the Constitution

a collection of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of ratification of the Constitution

the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution; most were designed to protect fundamental rights and liberties