Term | Definition |
Federalism | the United States of America under the Constitution of 1787
The mixed or compound mode of government, combining a general government (the central or 'federal' government) with regional governments (provincial, state, cantonal, territorial or other sub- |
Anti-federalism | Anti-Federalism refers to a movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution.
Anti-Federalist influence helped lead to the passage of the United States Bill of Righ |
Separation of Powers | The typical division is into three branches: a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary, which is the trias politica model. |
Popular Sovereignty | The principle that the authority of a state and its government is created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives (Rule by the People), who are the source of all political power |
Checks and Balances | make sure no one branch would be able to control too much power, and it created a separation of powers |
Republicanism | led to the American Revolution |
Articles of Confederation | a republic under which the people hold popular sovereignty |
1st Amendment | The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, ensuring that there is no prohibition on the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the free |
2nd Amendment | The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms and was adopted on December 15, 1791. |
4th Amendment | The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.
On March 1, 1792 |
5th Amendment | The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights and protects individuals from being compelled to be witnesses against themselves in criminal cases |
6th Amendment | The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions. |
7th Amendment | The Seventh Amendment inhibits courts from overturning a jury's findings of fact. |
8th Amendment | The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishment. |
10th Amendment | The Tenth Amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791. It expresses the principle of federalism and states' rights, which strictly supports the entire plan of the original Constitution for the United States of America, by stating that the federal governm |
Alexis de tocqueville | Democracy in America (appearing in two volumes: 1835 and 1840.)
The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856) |