Constitution Test Word Scramble
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Term | Definition |
Alexander Hamilton | New York lawyer who was the leader of the Federalists and a coauthor of The Federalist Papers. |
popular sovereignty | The authority of a state and its government comes from the consent of its people, who are the source of all political power. Allowing people to vote on issues is an example. |
Daniel Shays | he led a rebellion of 1,000 angry farmers to Springfield Massachusetts that scared the national government |
Federalists | Supporters of the Constitution |
Anti-Federalists | Believed that a strong national government was a bad idea. |
James Madison | Federalist; "Father of the Constitution" and coauthor of The Federalist Papers. Future President of the United States. |
Patrick Henry | Leader of the Anti-Federalists who did not attend the Constitutional Convention even though he was chosen as a delegate. |
Number of states required to ratify the US Constitution | 9 out of 13 states. |
Number of states required to approve changes to the Articles of Confederation | All 13 states. |
enumerated powers | The things that the government branches specifically are allowed to do. These are spelled out in the US Constitution. |
Roger Sherman | Suggested what came to be known as the Great Compromise at the Philadelphia Convention. |
amendment | an addition to a formal document such as the Constitution |
reserved powers | powers retained by the states |
republicanism | favoring a republic, or representative democracy, as the best form of government. It creates a nation of separate states working together. |
popular sovereignty | a political theory that government is subject to the will of the people, and that all power for government is given by the people. It is one of the seven guiding principals for American government. |
Ben Franklin | The oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention. |
federalism | The sharing of power between federal and state governments. It is one of the seven guiding principals for American government. |
checks and balances | A system of oversight between the branches in government where the actions of a branch is watched over by the other two branches. It keeps one branch from becoming too powerful. It is one of the seven guiding principals for American government. |
separation of powers | Breaking the power in government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches to keep one branch from being too powerful. It is one of the seven guiding principals for American government. |
The Great Compromise | Suggestion that each state have two U.S. Senate votes (good for small states) and that the votes in the U.S. House of Representatives be set by state population (good for large states). |
The Three-Fifths Compromise | A compromise between southern states and northern states during the Philadelphia Convention on how slaves count for a state's population to determine the number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. It gave southern states more seats in Congress |
The Federalist Papers | A collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution. |
limited government | A system of government where the government is limited in what it can do by a constitution. It is one of the seven guiding principals for American government. |
individual rights | Each individual is free to pursue life and goals without interference from other individuals or the government. It is one of the seven guiding principals for American government. |
anarchy | The absence of government and absolute freedom of the individual to do what they want because there are no rules or laws. It is eventually unpopular because there are no guarantees for the natural rights of citizens. |
George Washington | President of the Constitutional Convention. |
Complete this statement: "If men were angels..." | "...we would need no government." |
Why is a government needed? | To protect the natural rights of its citizens. |
What are the duties of a citizen in the US? | 1. Obey the law; 2. Serve on juries as needed; 3. Defend the country. |
Virginia Plan | Plan at the Constitutional Convention with three branches of government of roughly equal power where the two chambers of the Congress would be set according to the population of the states. Favored by the large states. |
New Jersey Plan | Plan at the Constitutional Convention with three branches of government with the Legislative being much more powerful. The one chamber of the Congress would give one vote to each state. Favored by the small states. |
Legislative branch | The Congress, as set out in Article One of the Constitution. They make the laws. |
Executive branch | The President and the people that work for him, as set out in Article Two of the Constitution. They carry out the laws. |
Judicial branch | The Supreme Court and the Federal courts, as set out in Article Three of the Constitution. They interpret the laws. |
Created by:
Mr. O'Dell
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