Chapter 2 Vocabulary |
public policies All those things a government decides to do, or not do.
limited government Basic principle of the American system of government; that government is limited in what it may do, and each individual has certain rights that government cannot take away. The Bill of Rights is an example of the principle of limited government, restricting what the national government can and cannot do.
representative government The idea that government should serve the will of the people. Representative government is that system of government in which public policies are made by officials who are selected by the voters and who are held accountable to the voters in periodic elections. "Representative government" = "Republican form of government"
The Magna Carta Document written in 1215 which established the principle of limited government and the fundamental rights of English citizens. The document also introduced such fundamental rights as trial by jury and due process of law.
boycott The refusal to buy or sell an opponent's goods in order to influence his/her behavior.
unicameral Legislature which consists of one house which exercises both legislative and executive powers.
constitution That system of fundamental laws and principles that prescribes the nature, functions, and limits of a government or another institution.
popular sovereignty Basic principle of the American system of government; that the people are the only source of any and all governmental power, that government must be conducted with the consent of the governed.
Articles of Confederation Document which formed a confederation among the states. The Articles established "firm league of friendship" among the states who came together "for their common defense and security of their liberties and their mutual and general welfare." Under the Articles of Confederation, most power rested with the state legislatures.
ratification The process of securing formal approval.
Shay's Rebellion A protest against the farmer's loss of property to tax collectors. The rebellion demonstrated the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, provided a sound reason to amend the Articles and a justification for calling the Constitutional Convention.
Framers Those individuals who were actively involved in the drafting of the Constitution.
bicameral Consisting of two legislative houses.
Connecticut Compromise Compromise at the Constitutional Convention which called for a Congress to be composed of two houses. States were to have equal representation in the Senate. In the House, representation would be based on population.
The Three-Fifths Compromise Compromise at the Constitutional Convention in which the delegates agreed to count slaves as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation and taxation. It was a plan to satisfy the South's desire to inflate the population count of their states.
Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise Compromise at the Constitutional Convention in which Congress was forbidden to tax exports and act on the slave trade for at least 20 years.
Federalists Those individuals who favored ratification of the United States Constitution, stressing the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
Federalists Papers A compilation of more than eighty letters to the editor written under the pseudonym Publius (written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay) in defense of key parts of the Constitution.
Anti-Federalists Individuals opposed to the ratification of the Constitution, attacking ratification process itself, the absence of mention of God, and the denial to the states of a power to print money. Anti-Federalists wanted less federal power.
constitutionalism Basic principle of American system of government; that those who govern are bound by the fundamental law. Government is to be conducted according to constitutional principles.
rule of law Concept that government and its officers are always subject to — never above — the law.
separation of powers Basic principle of the American System of government, that the executive, legislative, and judicial powers are divided among three independent and co-equal branches of government which can cooperate with each other as well as oppose each other.
checks and balances System of overlapping the powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, to permit each branch to check the actions of the others.
Marbury v. Madison United States Supreme Court case which established "judicial review" as a power of the Supreme Court. The Court declared a portion of the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional, thereby declaring that the Court could invalidate a law that it found to be unconstitutional.
judicial review The power of the judiciary to determine whether the actions of the legislative and executive branches of government are in accordance with the Constitution. The doctrine of judicial review can be traced directly to Marbury v. Madison.
unconstitutional Contrary to constitutional provisions and so invalid. Illegal, null and void, of no force and effect.
federalism The division of political power between a central government and several regional governments over the same geographic area.
formal amendment A change to or addition that becomes part of the written constitution.
The Bill of Rights The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution which provide protection from federal power. The Bill of Rights is an example of the concept of "limited government."
eminent domain The constitutional the power of the government to take private property for public use, in exchange for payment of fair market value. Found in the Fifth Amendment.
informal amendment A change to the implementation of the Constitution that does not involved an actual change to the written document.
executive agreements Pacts made by a President with heads of a foreign government.
McCulloch v. Maryland United States Supreme Court cases which established the doctrine of implied powers. The principle of the Constitution's loose or flexible construction, interpreting the "necessary and proper" clause, i.e., the "elastic clause," was the opinion's central thesis.
"elastic clause" That implied provision of the United States Constitution that allows the national government to expand its authority to meet the changing needs of the nation. Grounded on the "necessary and proper clause" of the United States Constitution.
bills of attainder: Punitive legislation aimed at a specific person.
ex post facto laws: Laws which punish a person for an act that was lawful at the time it was performed.
Chief Justice Richard
Barajas
Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics
Cathedral High School, El Paso, Texas
Last updated: January 9, 2001