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Chapter 2 Gov/Polit
N/A
26
Political Studies
12th Grade
08/27/2012

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Term
Mercantilism
Definition
An economic theory designed to increase a nation’s wealth through the development of commercial industry and favorable balance of trade.
Term
Stamp Act Congress
Definition
Meeting of representatives of nine of the thirteen colonies help in New York Coty in 1765, during which representatives drafted a document to send to the king listing ho their rights had been violated.
Term
Committees of Correspondence
Definition
Organization in each of the American colonies created to keep colonists abreast of developments with the British; served as powerful molders of public opinion against the British.
Term
First Continental Congress
Definition
Meeting held in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, in which fifty-six delegates (from every colony except Georgia) adopted a resolution in opposition to the Coercive Acts.
Term
Second Continental Congress:
Definition
Meeting that convened in Philadelphia on May 10 1775, at which it was decided that an army should be raised and George Washington of Virginia was named commander in chief.
Term
Declaration of Independence
Definition
Document drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 that proclaimed the right of the American colonies to separate from Great Britain.
Term
Articles of Confederation
Definition
The compact around the thirteen original colonies that created a loose league of friendship, with the national government drawing its powers from the states.
Term
Confederation
Definition
Type of government where the national government derives its powers from the states; a league of independent states.
Term
Shay’s Rebellion
Definition
A 1786 rebellion in which an army of 1,500 distinguished and angry farmers led by Daniel Shays marched to Springfield, Massachusetts, and forcibly restrained the state court from foreclosing mortgages on their farms.
Term
Constitution
Definition
A document establishing the structure, functions, and limitations of a government.
Term
Virginia Plan
Definition
The first general plan for the Constitution offered in Philadelphia. Its key points were a bicameral legislature, and an executive and a judiciary chosen by the national legislature.
Term
New Jersey Plan
Definition
A framework for the Constitution proposed by a group of small states. Its key points were a one-house legislature with one vote for each state, a congress with the ability to raise revenue, and a Supreme Court with members appointed for life.
Term
Great Compromise
Definition
The final decision of the Constitutional Convention to create a two–house legislature with the lower house elected by the people and with powers divided between the two houses. It also made national law supreme.
Term
Three-Fifths Compromise
Definition
Agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention stipulating that each slave was to be counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of determining population for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Term
Separation of Powers
Definition
A way of dividing the power of government among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each staffed separately, with equality and independence of each branch ensured by the Constitution.
Term
Checks and Balances
Definition
A constitutionally mandated structure that gives each of the three branches of government some degree of oversight and control over the actions of the others.
Term
Federal System
Definition
System of government where the national government and state governments share power, derive all authority from the people, and the powers of the government are specified in a constitution.
Term
Enumerated Powers
Definition
Seventeen specific powers granted to Congress under the Article I, section 8, of the Constitution.
Term
Necessary and Proper Clause
Definition
The final paragraph of Article I, section 8, of the Constitution, which gives Congress the authority to pass all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the enumerated powers specified in the Constitution; also called the elastic clause.
Term
Implied Powers
Definition
Powers derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause. These powers are not stated specifically but are considered to be reasonable implied through the exercise of delegated powers.
Term
Full Faith and Credit Clause
Definition
Section of Article IV of the Constitution that ensures judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state.
Term
Supremacy Clause
Definition
Portion of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution mandating that national law is supreme to (that is, supersedes) all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government.
Term
Federalists
Definition
Those who favored a stronger national government and supported the proposed U.S. Constitution; later became the first U.S. political party.
Term
Anti-Federalists
Definition
Those who favored strong state governments and a weak national government; opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
Term
The Federalist Papers
Definition
A series of 85 political essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
Term
Bill of Rights
Definition
The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which largely guarantees specific rights and liberties.
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