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Chapter 2 Key Terms
Term | Definition |
---|---|
limited government | The idea that government is restricted in what it may do and that every individual has certain rights that government cannot remove |
representative government | The idea that government should both serve and be guided by the will of the people |
Manga Carta | signed in 1215 that limited the powers of the English king and guaranteed certain fundamental rights |
due process | protection against the unjust taking of life, liberty, or property |
Petition of Right | a document signed in 1628 that require the English king to obey the law of the land and increased the influence of Parliament |
English Bill of Rights | a document signed in 1689 that require free elections and guaranteed many basic rights, such as due guaranteed many basic rights, such as due process and trial by jury, to all English citizens |
Charter | a written grant of authority from the king |
Bicameral | having two houses, as in a two-house legislature |
proprietary | the name given to colonies organized and governed according to the will of a proprietor, a person granted land and authority by the king |
unicameral | having only one house, as in a one house legislature |
confederation | a joining of several different groups for a common purpose |
Albany Plan of Union | Benjamin Franklin’s proposal that the 13 colonies form a congress to raise armed forces, regulate trade, and deal jointly with Native Americans |
delegate | a representative |
popular sovereignty | the principle that government exists only with the consent of the governed |
Civil rights and liberties | seven state constitutions included a bill of rights defining basic freedoms |
Separation of powers | power divided among legislative, executive, and judicial branches |
Checks and balances | each branch could limit the power of the other branches |
Articles of Confederation | the agreement, effective in 1781, that established the first central government of the United States |
ratification | formal approval of a proposal |
Framers | the individuals who attended the Philadelphia Convention |
Virginia Plan | a plan offered at the Convention that called for a central government with three branches, with each state’s representation in a bicameral legislature based mainly on population |
New Jersey Plan | a plan calling for a central government with a unicameral legislature and equal representation of all the states. |
Connecticut Compromise | an agreement to divide Congress into two houses, one with representation based on state population and one with equal representation for all states |
Three-Fifths Compromise | an agreement to count each slave as three fifths of a person when determining state population |
Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise | an agreement forbidding Congress from taxing state exports or interfering with the slave trade for at least 20 years |