Constitution Terms

Question	Answer
James Madison	(1751-1836) the fourth US President, created the basic framework for the U.S. Constitution and helped write the Bill of Rights. He is therefore known as the Father of the Constitution. He was one of the authors of the Federalist papers.
Virginia Plan	Unsuccessfully proposed plan for a strong national government with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial, and a legislature divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives with proportional representation (supported by larger states).
New Jersey Plan	Unsuccessfully proposed plan for one legislative house, with equal representation for each state (supported by smaller states who feared losing power in the federal government).
proportional representation	A representative body that better reflects all of the citizens' interests in an electorate or voting district. In an election, political parties that earn votes win a number of seats in the representative body that are directly proportional to the number of votes they received in the election.
equal representation	All groups are fairly represented, one man, one vote, like the Senate.
unicameral legislature	One legislative house or chamber.
bicameral legislature	Two separate divisions within the legislative branch - The House of Representatives and the Senate.
Great Compromise	a compromise that established a two-house legislature. In the House of Representatives each state’s number of seats would be in proportion to population. In the Senate, all states would have the same number of seats.
Three-fifths Compromise	A compromise between southern and northern states, in which each slave counted as three-fifths of a person regarding both the distribution of taxes and representation in the House of Representatives.
federalism	A compromise meant to eliminate the disadvantages of both systems. Power is shared by the national and state governments. The Constitution designates certain powers to be the domain of a central government (being more supreme), and others the domain of the state governments.
delegated powers	Powers specifically granted to the FEDERAL government. This includes the power to coin money, to regulate commerce, to declare war, to raise and maintain armed forces, and to establish a Post Office.
reserved powers	Powers which are neither prohibited or explicitly given by law to any body of government. Such powers are given because it is impractical to detail in legislation every act allowed to be carried out by the STATE.
shared powers	Powers SHARED between the state governments and the federal government. ... These include the power to tax, the power to borrow money, the power to build roads, and the power to create courts.
division of powers	A system where certain powers are given to the federal and state governments.
separation of powers	Division of powers into 3 distinct branches of government, each with their own responsibilities. and make sure that the 3 powers interact in an equitable and balanced way.
legislative branch	Drafts proposed laws, confirms or rejects presidential nominations for heads of federal agencies, federal judges, and the Supreme Court, and has the authority to declare war. It includes Congress, the Senate and House of Representatives.
executive branch	Carries out and enforces laws. It includes the president, vice president, the Cabinet, executive departments, and other boards, and committees.
judicial branch	Interprets the meaning of laws, applies laws to individual cases, and decides if laws violate the Constitution. It is comprised of the Supreme Court and other federal courts.
checks and balances	Divided powers and responsibilities among the legislative branch, the executive branch and the judicial branch, ensuring that no branch would have too much power.
ratification	The action of signing or giving formal consent to a treaty, contract, or agreement, making it officially valid.
Federalists	National political party that supported a strong central government and the Constitution. (Didn't want Bill of Rights)
Antifederalists	Opposed ratification (approval) of the Constitution. Favoring strong state governments and a weaker central government. This opposition let to the Bill of Rights. (Wanted Bill of Rights)
Constitution	The basic principles and laws of a nation, state, or social group that determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantee certain rights to the people in it.
Bill of Rights	The first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion. It also sets rules for due process of law.
amendment	A formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document.
Impeachment	The process by which a legislative body formally levels charges against a government official.
elastic clause	Statement in the Constitution granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out its enumerated powers (specific powers granted to Congress by the United States Constitution).
supremacy clause	Establishes that the federal constitution and federal law outweigh state laws and state constitutions
popular sovereignty	A political doctrine that allowed the people who lived in a state or region, to decide what kind of government or laws they should have. And the authority of a government comes from agreement with the people, through elected representatives.
rule of law	The rule of law is a set of principles, or ideals, for ensuring an orderly and just society. Everyone is treated equally under the law, everyone is held accountable to the same laws, there are clear and fair processes for enforcing laws, there is an independent judiciary, and human rights are guaranteed for all.
judicial review	Power of the courts to examine the actions of the legislative, executive, and administrative arms of the government and to determine whether such actions are consistent with the constitution. Actions judged inconsistent are declared unconstitutional and, therefore, null and void.
individual rights	Guarantee individuals rights to certain freedoms without interference from the government or other individuals.

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	Created by Janet Hanney about 4 years ago