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| Articles of Confederation |
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| The compact among the thirteen original states that formed the basis of the first national government of the United States from 1777 to 1789, when it was supplanted by the constitution. |
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| Power given by a state to a locality to enact legislation and manage its affairs locally. Home rule also applies to Britain's administration of the American colonies. |
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| A legislature composed of two houses or chambers. The U.S. Congress and every U.S. state legislature (- Nebraska) are bicameral legislatures. |
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| Declaration of Independence |
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| The document drafted by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the second continental congress on July 4th, 1776, declaring the independence of the thirteen colonies from Great Britain. |
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| A political system in which states or regional governments retain ultimate authority except those powers they expressly delegate to a central government. |
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| The uprising of 1786 led by Daniel Shays, a former captain in the continental army and a bankrupt Massachusetts farmer, to protest the state's high taxes and aggressive debt collection policies. The rebellion demonstrated a fundamental weakness of the Article of Confederation - its inability to keep the peace - and stimulated interest in strengthening the national government, leading to the Philadelphia convention that framed the constitution. |
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| Constitutional reformers led by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton who sought to replace the Articles of Confederation. Opposed at the Constitutional Convention(1787) by states' rights proponents, the nationalists favored a strong national legislature elected directly by the citizenry rather than the states and a national government that could veto any state laws it seemed unfit. |
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| Constitutional blueprint drafted by James Madison that sought to reform the Articles of Confederation. Introduced at the Constitutional Convention (1787), the plan proposed a tripartite national government, but unlike the subsequent Constitution, it provided for a popularly elected legislature that would dominate national policy-making. Moreover, the national government would possess the authority to veto any state laws. |
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| William Patterson's proposal for reforming the Articles of Confederation. Introduced at the Constitutional convention, the NJ plan was favored by states' rights supporters. |
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| Safeguards against a too-powerful national government that were favored by one group of delegates at the Constitutional convention. States' rights advocates supported retaining those features of the Articles of Confederation that guarded state prerogatives, such as state participation in the selection of national officeholders and equal representation for each state regardless of population. |
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| The clause in Article 1, Sec 8, of the Constitution that gives Congress the authority to regulate commerce with other nations and among the states. |
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| Necessary and Proper Clause |
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| The last clause of Article 1, Sec 8, of the Constitution. This clause grants Congress the authority to make all laws that are "necessary and proper" and to execute those laws. |
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| A Constitutional mechanism giving each branch some oversight and control of the other branches. Examples are the presidential veto, Senate approval of presidential appointments, and judicial review of presidential and congressional actions. |
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| The provision in Article II, Sec 3, of the Constitution instructing the president to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." |
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| The formal power of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of Congress. A veto can be overridden by a 2/3's vote in each house. |
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| The agreement between large and small states at the Constitutional convention that decided the selection and composition of Congress. The compromise stipulated that the lower chamber (House) be chosen by direct popular vote and that the upper chamber (Senate) be selected by the state legislatures. Representation in the House would be proportional to a states' population; in the Senate each state would have two members. |
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| A clause in in article VI of the Constitution declaring that national laws are the "supreme" law of the land and therefore take precedence over any laws adopted by states or localities. |
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| The authority of a court to declare legislative and executive acts as unconstitutional and therefore invalid. |
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| The first ten amendments to the Constitution. |
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| The result of legislative vote trading. For example, legislators representing urban districts may vote for an agricultural bill provided that legislators from rural districts vote for a mass transit bill. |
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| Name given to two related, but not identical, groups in late eighteenth-century American politics. The first group, led by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, supported ratification of the Constitution in 1787 and 1788. |
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| A loosely organized group that opposed ratification of the Constitution, which the group believed would jeopardize individual freedom and states' rights. After ratification, the efforts of the Anti federalists led to the adoption of the first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights. |
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| A group of people sharing common interests who are opposed to other groups with competing interests. James Madison defined a faction as any group with objectives contrary to the general interests of society. |
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| A theory describing a political system in which all significant social interests freely compete with one another for influence over the government's policy decisions. |
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