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| Opponents of the American Constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption. |
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| Articles of Conferderation |
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| The first constitution of the United States, adopted by Congress in 1777 and enacted in 1781. |
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| The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, drafted in response to some of the Anti-Federalist concerns. |
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| An important part of the Madisonian model and features of the Constitution that limit government’s power by requiring that power be balanced among different governmental institutions. These institutions continually constrain one another’s activities. |
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| The compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention that established two houses of Congress: the House of Representatives, in which representation is based on a state’s share of the U.S. population, and the Senate, in which each state has two representatives. |
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| The idea that government derives its authority by sanction of the people. |
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| A nation’s basic law. It creates political institutions, assigns or divides powers in government, and often provides certain guarantees to citizens. |
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| Declaration of Independence |
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| The document approved by representatives of the American colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the British monarch and declared their independence. |
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| A constitutional amendment passed by Congress in 1972 (1978) stating that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” It was sent to the state legislatures for ratification, but despite substantial public support and an extended deadline, the amendment failed to acquire the necessary support from three-fourths of the state legislature. |
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| Interest groups arising from the unequal distribution of property or wealth that James Madison attacked in Federalist Paper No. 10. |
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| Supporters of the U.S. Constitution at the time the states were contemplating its adoption. |
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| A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name “Publius” to defend the Constitution in detail. |
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| A major informal way in which the Constitution is changed by the courts as they balance citizen’s rights against those of the government. |
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| The power of the courts to determine whether acts of Congress, and by implication the executive, are in accord with the U.S. Constitution. |
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| The idea that certain restrictions should be placed on government to protect the natural rights of citizens. |
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| The 1803 case in which Chief Justice John Marshall and his associates first asserted the right of the Supreme Court to determine the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. The decision established the Court’s power of judicial review over acts of Congress. |
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| Rights inherent in human beings, not dependent on governments, which include life, liberty, and property. |
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| The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the state’s population. |
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| A form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and make laws. |
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| An important part of the Madisonian model, and feature of the Constitution that requires each of the three branches of government—executive, legislative, and judicial—to be relatively independent of the others so that one cannot control the others. |
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| A series of attacks (1786) on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays to block foreclosure proceedings. |
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| The body of tradition, practice, and procedure that is as important as the written constitution. |
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| The document written in 1787 and ratified in 1788 that sets forth the institutional structure of U.S. government and tasks these institutions perform. It replaced the Articles of Confederation. |
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| The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for representation of each state in Congress in proportion to that state’s share of the U.S. population. |
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| A court order requiring jailers to explain to a judge why they are holding a prisoner in custody. |
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