Constitution 1 Definition
Limited Government
A government that is subject to strict limits on its lawful uses of powers and hence on its ability to deprive people of liberty.Self-Government
The principle that the people are the ultimate source and proper beneficiary of governing authority; in practice a government of self rule.Common Law
Legal traditions of society that are for the most part unwritten but based on the aggregation of rulings and interpretations of judges beginning in thirteenth century England.Inalienable Rights
Those rights that persons theoretically possessed in the state of nature, prior to the formation of governments. These rights include life, liberty, and property.The Virginia Plan (the large-state plan)
A constitutional proposal for a strong Congress with two chambers, both of which would be based on numerical representation, thus granting more power to large states.
The New Jersey Plan (the small-state plan)
A constitutional proposal for a strengthened Congress but one in which each state would have a single vote, thus granting a small state equal power to the large states.
The Great Compromise
A decision made during the Philadelphia Convention to give each sate the same number of representatives in the Senate regardless of size; representation in the House was determined by population.The Three-fifths Compromise
Agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention stipulating that each slave was to be counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of determining population for House representation.
Constitution 2 Definition
PubliusAuthor of Federalist Papers and defender of federalism. Publius included James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.
Pluralism
A theory of American politics that holds that society’s interests are substantially represented through the activities of groups.
Constitution
The fundamental law that will define how a government will legitimately operate.Federalism
A governmental system in which authority is divided between two sovereign levels of government: national and regional.Grants of Power
The method of limiting the U.S. government by confining its scope of authority to those powers expressly granted in the Constitution.
Denials of Power
A constitutional means of limiting governmental action by listing those powers that government is expressly prohibited from using.Separated Institutions
The principle that, as a way to limit government, its powers should be divided among separate branches, each of which also shares in the power of the others as a means of checks and balances.
Constitution 3 Definition
Checks and BalancesThe elaborate system of divided spheres of authority provided by the U.S. Constitution as a means of controlling the power of government.
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments of the ConstitutionJudicial Review
The power of courts to decide whether a governmental institution has acted within its constitutional powers and, if not, to declare its action null and void.Tyranny of the Majority
The potential of a majority to monopolize power for its own gain and to the detriment of minority rights and interests.Democracy
A form of government in which the people govern, either directly or through elected representatives.Republic
Historically, the form of government in which representative officials met to decide on policy issues. Today, the term republic is used interchangeably with democracy.
Majoritarianism
The idea that the majority prevails not only in elections but also in determining policy.
Representative Democracy
A system in which the people participate in the decision-making process of government not directly but through elected officials.
Constitution 4 Definition
Trustees
Elected representatives whose obligation is to act in accordance with their own consciences as to what policies are in the best interest of the public.Jeffersonian Democracy
Elitism
The view that the United States is essentially run by a tiny elite (composed of wealth or well-connected individuals) who control public policy through both direct and indirect means.Jacksonian Democracy
Progressives
Those who believe in more direct participation of voters in the political process.Delegates
Elected representatives whose obligation is to act in accordance with the expressed wishes of the people whom they represent.Primary Elections
A form of election in which voters choose a party’s nominees for public office.
Constitutional DemocracyA government that is democratic in its provisions for majority influence through elections and constitutional in its provisions for minority rights and rule by law.
Constitution 5 Definition
PowerThe ability of persons or institutions to control policy.
Authority
The recognized right of an individual or institution to exercise power.
Capitalism
An economic system based on the idea that government should interfere with economic transactions as little as possible. Free enterprise and self-reliance are the collective and individual principles that under pin capitalism.Popular Consent
The principle that the people are the ultimate source of governing authority.Bureaucracy
A system of organization and control based on the principles of hierarchical authority, hob specialization, and formalized rules.
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the Constitution. They include such rights as freedom of speech and trial by jury.