government
society makes and enforces public policies
public Policy
many goals that a government pursues
democracy
a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
state
body of people living in a defined territory who have a governemnt with the power to make and enforce law without the consent of a higher authority
sovereign
having the highest power or authority; ruling
federal govenment
national govenment which the powers are divided between the states and national government
divisions of power
basic principle of federalism; the constitutional provisions by which governmental powers are divided on a geographic basis (in the U.s., between the National Government and the States)
confederation
a joining of several groups for a common purpose
limited government
basic principle of American government which states that government is restricted in what it may do, and each individual has rights that government cannot take away
representative government
system of government in which public policies are made by officials selected by the voters and held accountable in periodic elections
magna carta
This document was signed by King John in 1215. It was the first document that limited the power of the government.
petition of right
Document prepared by Parliament and signed by King Charles I of England in 1628; challenged the idea of the divine right of kings and declared that even the monarch was subject to the laws of the land
english bill of rights
King William and Queen Mary accepted this document in 1689. It guaranteed certain rights to English citizens and declared that elections for Parliament would happen frequently. By accepting this document, they supported a limited monarchy, a system in whi
charter
a document incorporating an institution and specifying its rights
bicameral
composed of two legislative bodies
propietary
organized by a propietor(a person to whom the king had made a grant of land
unicarmeral
An adjective describing a legislative body with one chambers.
confederation
a joining of several groups for a common purpose
albany plan of union
Plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 that aimed to unite the 13 colonies for trade, military, and other purposes; the plan was turned down by the colonies and the Crown.
delagate
A person that represents a group at a convention
boycott
a group's refusal to have commercial dealings with some organization in protest against its policies
repeal
to cancel a law
popular sovereignity
idea that government should reflect the general will of the people, or the interests that all citizens have in common. Political theorist Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) described this concept in Du contrat social (The Social Contract), published in 1762.
articles of confederation
the document that created the first central government for the United States; it was replaced by the Constitution in 1789
ratification
Formal approval
framers
Group of delegates who drafted the United States Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787
virginia plan
The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for representation of each state in Congress in proportion to that state's share of the U.S. population.
new jersey plan
Opposite of the Virginia Plan, it proposed a single-chamber congress in which each state had one vote. This created a conflict with representation between bigger states, who wanted control befitting their population, and smaller states, who didn't want to
connecticut compromise
Compromise agreement by states at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature with a lower house in which representation would be based on population and an upper house in which each state would have two senators
three-fifths compromise
agreement at the Constitutional Convention that 3/5 of the slaves in any state be counted in its population
federalists
supporters of the Constitution
anti-federalists
people who opposed the Constitution
quorum
The minimum number of members who must be present to permit a legislative body to take official action