| A | B |
|---|
| Treaty of Paris 1783 | ended the American Revolution |
| Articles of Confederation | America's first constitution; created a weak federal government |
| representative government | system of government where voters elect representatives to make laws |
| constitution | a plan of government |
| Bill of Rights | 1st ten amendments of the Constitution; lists freedoms the government protects |
| US Constitution | Supreme Law of the Land ; plan of government for the US |
| Three-Fifths Compromise | for every 5 slaves, three would be counted for taxation and representation |
| federal government | central/national government; governs the entire nation |
| ratify | approve |
| Federalists | supporters of the Constitution |
| Antifederalists | people who opposed the Constitution |
| federalism | the sharing/division of power between the federal government and state governments |
| checks and balances | system set up in the Constitution whicb allows each branch of government to check the other two; limits power;prevents one branch from becoming too powerful |
| veto | the reject; say no to a law |
| override | overrule |
| amendment | a formal change to the Constitution |
| Great Compromise | plan for a two house legislature |
| Congress | Senate and House of Representatives; law makers |
| House of Representatives | lower house of Congress; representation based on population |
| Senate | upper house of Congress; two senators from each state |
| Supreme Court | highest court in the land; makes decsions concerning the Constitution |
| Marbury vs Madison | 1803-Supreme Court case; set precedent for judicial review |
| judicial review | power of the Supreme Court to decide whether acts passed by the president or laws passed by Congress are unconstitutional |
| separation of powers | limits powers of federal government; system in which the power of government is divided into three branches |
| Legislative Branch | makes the laws; Congress |
| Executive Branch | carries out the laws; president, VP, cabinet |
| Judicial Branch | brnch of government that interprets laws; Supreme Court |
| unconstitutional | actions declared illegal due to violating the Constitution |
