Vocab Chapter 2 PDF

**Constitution** a document that sets out the fundamental principles of governance and establishes the institutions of government **Republic** a government ruled by representatives of the people **Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union** a governing document that created a union of thirteen...

**Constitution** a document that sets out the fundamental principles of governance and establishes the institutions of government **Republic** a government ruled by representatives of the people **Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union** a governing document that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the union (national government), were supreme **Unicameral** One-house legislature **Shays\' Rebellion** a popular uprising against the government of Massachusetts often described as the turning point for revising the Articles of Confederation **Constitutional Convention** a meeting attended by state delegates in 1787 to fix the Articles of Confederation **Writ of Habeas Corpus** the right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them **Bill of Attainder** when the legislature declares someone guilty without a trial **Ex Post Facto Law** a law punishing people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committed **Virginia Plan** a plan of government calling for a three-branch government with a bicameral legislature, where more populous states would have more representation in Congress **New Jersey Plan** a plan of government that provided for a unicameral legislature with equal votes for each state **Bicameral** Two house legislature **Grand Committee** a committee at the Constitutional Convention that worked out the compromise on representation **Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)** an agreement for a plan of government that drew upon both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans; it settled issues of state representation by calling for a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives apportioned proportionately and a Senate apportioned equally **Three-Fifths Compromise** an agreement reached by delegates at the Constitutional Convention that a slave would count as three-fifths of a person in calculating a state\'s representation **Compromise on Importation** Congress could not restrict the slave trade until 1808 **Separation of Powers** a design of government that distributes powers across institutions in order to avoid making one branch too powerful on its own **Checks and Balances** a design of government in which each branch has powers that can prevent the other branches from making policy **Federalism** the sharing of power between the national government and the states **Legislative Branch** the institution responsible for making laws **Expressed or Enumerated Powers** authority specifically granted to a branch of the government in the Constitution **Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause)** language in Article I, Section 8, granting Congress the powers necessary to carry out its enumerated powers (I.8.18), which implies Congress can stretch its powers beyond what is enumerated, as long as they are necessary to perform the powers given to Congress **Implied Powers** authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed powers; powers not granted specifically to the national government, but considered necessary to carry out the enumerated powers **Executive Branch** the institution responsible for carrying out laws passed by the legislative branch **Judicial Branch** the institution responsible for hearing and deciding cases through the federal courts **Supremacy Clause** constitutional provision declaring that the Constitution and all national laws and treaties are the supreme law of the land (found in Article VI) **Amendment** a constitutional provision for a process by which changes may be made to the Constitution (Article V of the US Constitution) **Federalist** supporter of the proposed Constitution, who called for a strong national government **Antifederalist** a person opposed to the proposed Constitution who favored stronger state governments **Federalist Papers** a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay and published between 1787 and 1788 that lay out the theory behind the Constitution **Federalist No. 51** an essay in which Madison argues that separation of powers and federalism will prevent tyranny **Faction** a group of self-interested people who use the government to get what they want, trampling the rights of others in the process **Federalist No. 10** an essay in which Madison argues that the dangers of faction can be mitigated by a large republic and republican government **Brutus No. 1** an Antifederalist paper arguing that the country was too large to be governed as a republic and that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government