Term
|
Definition
| A legislature composed of individuals who represent the population |
|
|
Term
| First Continental Congress |
|
Definition
| The first gathering of delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies, held in 1774 |
|
|
Term
| Second Continental Congress |
|
Definition
| The 1775 congress of the colonies that established an army |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Rights held to be inherent in natural law, not dependent on governments. John Locke stated that natural law, being superior to human law, specifies certain rights of "life, liberty, and property." These rights, altered to become "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," are asserted in the Declaration of Independence |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A voluntary agreement among indiviuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and abiding by its rules |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A legislature with only one legislative body, as compared with a bicameral (two-house) legislature, such as the U.S. Congress. Nebraska is the only state in the union with a unicameral legislature |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A political system in which states or regional governments retain ultimate authority except for those powers they expressly delegate to a central government. A voluntary association of independednt states, in which the member states agree to limited restraints on their freedom of action |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A group of people occupying a specific area and organized under one government; may be either a nation or a subunit of a nation |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A legislature made up of two chambers, or parts. The U.S. Congress, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, is a bicameral legislature |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A doctrine that asserts the superiority of national law over state or regional laws. This principle is rooted in Article VI of the Constitution, which provides that the Constitution, the laws passed by the national government under its connstitutional powers, and all treaties constitute the supreme law of the land |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The compromise between the New Jersey and the Virginia plans that created one chamber of the Congress based on population and one chamber that represented each state equally; also called the Connecticut Compromise |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The principle of dividing governmental powers among the executive, the legislative, and the judicial branches of government |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A structure of government proposed by James Madison in which the powers of the government are separated into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A major principle of the American government system whereby each branch of the government exercises a check on the actions of the others |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A group of persons called electors selected by the voters in each state and Washington, D.C.; this group officially elects the president and vice president of the United States. The number of electors in each state is equal to the number of each state's representatives in both chambers of Congress. The Twenty-third Amendment to the Constitution permits Washington, D.C., to have as many electors as a state of comparable population |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A system of government in which power is divided by a written or constitution between a central government and regional, or subdivisional governments. Each level must have some domain in which its policies are dominant and some genuine political or constitutional guarantee of its authority |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The name given to one who was in favor of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution and the creation of a federal union with a strong central government |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An individual who opposed the ratification of the new Constitution in 1787. They were opposed to a strong central government |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A binding international agreement made between chiefs of state that does not require legislative sanction |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The power of the Supreme Court or any court to declare unconstitutional federal or state laws and other acts of government |
|
|
