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8-10 SS
Government
Question | Answer |
---|---|
constitution | a set of basic principles that determines the powers and duties of a government |
limited government | a political principle which holds that government should be bound by laws that limit its power |
suffrage | voting rights |
ratification | formal approval |
tariffs | taxes on new imports or exports |
popular sovereignty | the idea that political authority belongs to the people; also a principle that would allow voters in a particular territory to decide whether to ban or permit slavery |
federalism | system of government in which the power is distributed between a central authority and individual states |
Executive Branch | division of the federal government that includes the president and the administrative departments; enforces the nation’s laws |
Legislative Branch | Division of the government that proposes bills and passes them into laws |
Judicial Branch | Division of the federal government that is made up of the national courts; interprets laws, punishes criminals, and settles disputes between states |
Checks and Balances | a system established by the Constitution that prevents any branch of government from becoming too powerful |
Amendments | official changes, corrections, or additions to a law or constitution |
Representative Democracy | a government that is compose of representatives of the people |
Delegated Powers | powers that are specifically granted to the federal government by the constitution |
Elastic Clause | Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution that has been interpreted as giving Congress authority to stretch its delegated powers to address issues not otherwise specified in the document; also known as the ‘necessary and proper clause’ |
Reserved Powers | power retained by the state governments of by citizens |
Concurrent Powers | powers that are shared by the federal and state governments |
Due Process | fair application of the law |
Indict | to formally accuse |
Double Jeopardy | illegal act of trying a person twice for the same crime |
Eminent Domain | the government’s power to take personal property to further the public good |
Electoral College | group selected from each of the states to cast votes in presidential elections. The number of each state’s electors is equal to the number of its representatives and senators in Congress. The electors are expected to vote for the candidate chosen by popul |
Precedent | an action or decision that later serves as an example |
National Debt | total amount of money owed by a country to its lenders |
Bonds | Certificates that represent money the government has borrowed from private citizens |
Articles of Confederation | Document that created the first central government for the United States; was replaced by the Constitution in 1789 |
Northwest Territory | Lands including present-day Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota, organized by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 |
Constitutional Convention | meeting in Philadelphia at which delegates from the states wrote the Constitution |
VA plan | Plan for government proposed at the Constitutional Convention in which the national government would have three branches- executive, judicial, and legislative; representation in the legislature would be determined by state population |
NJ Plan | Proposal to create a unicameral government with representation by state rather than by population; rejected at the Constitutional Convention |
Great Compromise | Agreement worked out at the Constitutional Convention establishing that a state’s population would determine representation in the lower house of legislature, while each state would have equal representation in the upper house of legislature. |
3/5ths Compromise | Agreement worked out at the Constitutional Convention stating that 3/5th of the slaves in each state should be counted as part of the state’s population for determining representation in the lower house of Congress |
Antifederalists | People who opposed ratification of the Constitution |
Federalists | Series of essays that defended the Constitution and tried to reassure Americans that the states would not be overpowered by the proposed national government |
Bill of Rights | First 10 amendments to the Constitution; ratified in 1791 |
Whiskey Rebellion | Protests by small farmers in Pennsylvania against new taxes on whiskey and other alcohol |
XYZ Affair | Incident in which French agents attempted to get a bribe and loans from U.S. diplomats in exchange for an agreement that French privateers would no longer attack American ships; it led to an undeclared naval war between the two countries. |
Alien & Sedition Act | Law passed by a Federalist-dominated Congress aimed at protecting the government from treasonous ideas, actions and people; used against members of the Democratic-Republican party |
KY & VA Resolutions | Republican documents that argued the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. |
12th Amendment | Constitutional amendment that created a separate ballot for president vice president |