| A | B |
|---|
| Articles of Confederation | The first Constitution of the United States. |
| Feudalism | a medieval political system |
| Charter | a formal agreement describing rights/duties |
| Magna Carta | Document which affirmed everyone must obey the law |
| Common Law | collection of English judicial legal doctrines |
| Mayflower Compact | a colonial Pilgrim governmental document |
| Enlightenment | an intellectual movement embracing human reason |
| Popular sovereignty | idea that the best govt. reflects the will of the people |
| Declaration of Independence | document explaining a split with England and Amer. principles |
| Confederation | says gov. authority is vested in the states |
| Unitary system | form of gov. in which authority rests with a national government |
| Federation | system where authority is shared by both state and national gov. |
| Bicameral | refers to legislature that has two houses |
| Unicameral | refers to legislature with one house |
| Great Compromise | called for the establishment of a bicameral congress, consisting of a House in which states were represented according to their population size and a Senate in which each state had an equal voice |
| Electoral college | The constitutional body designed to select the president |
| Delegated powers | powers the Constitution gives to Congress that are specifically listed |
| Concurrent powers | powers that the Constitution grants to the national government but does not deny to the states |
| Necessary and proper clause | established the "implied powers" for Congress |
| Implied powers | powers given to Congress that are not specifically named but are provided for by the necessary and proper clause |
| Reserved powers | powers that the Constitution provides for the states, although it does not list them specifically |
| Writ of habeas corpus | court order that protects people against arbitrary arrest and detention by requiring officials to bring the “body” before the court |
| Bill of attainder | legislative act declaring a person guilty of a crime and setting punishment without the benefit of a formal trial |
| Ex post facto law | law declaring an action criminal even if it was performed before the law making it illegal was passed |
| Bill of Rights | the first ten amendments to the Constitution |
| Full faith and credit | requirement that each state respect in all ways the acts, records, and judicial proceedings of the other states |
| Privileges and immunities | provision requiring that the citizens of one state not be treated unreasonably by officials of another state |
| Supremacy clause | provision declaring the Constitution to be the supreme law of the land, taking precedence over state laws |
| Constitutional interpretation | process of const. change involving attempts to discover the meaning of words therein |
| Constitutional construction | form of constitutional change that occurs as public officials fill in the institutional “blank spaces” left by the Constitution |
| Copyright | constitutionally sanctioned legal right to protection of creative works afforded under law |
| Rule of law | principle that there is a standard of impartiality, fairness, and equality against which all government actions can be evaluated |
| Republicanism | doctrine of government in which decisions are made by elected or appointed officials who are answerable to the people, not directly by the people themselves |
| Federalist Papers | series of editorials written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay in 1788 to support the ratification of the Constitution |
| Separation of powers | The division of the powers to make, execute, and judge the law among the three branches of American government |
| Checks and balances | principle that lets the executive, legislative, and judicial branches share some responsibilities and gives each branch some control over the others’ activities |
| Veto | The president’s power to reject legislation passed by Congress |
| Confirmation | The power of the U.S. Senate to approve or disapprove a presidential nominee for an executive or judicial post |
| Congressional authorization | The power of Congress to provide the president with the right to carry out legislated policies |
| Judicial review | power of the courts to declare acts of Congress to be in conflict with the Constitution |
| Impeachment | formal charge of misconduct brought against a federal public official by the House of Representatives |
| Treaty ratification | power of the U.S. Senate to approve or disapprove formal treaties negotiated by the president on behalf of the nation |
| Appropriation of funds | actions taken by Congress to authorize the spending of funds |
| National Supremacy | principle that makes the Constitution and those laws and treaties passed under it the “supreme law of the land.” |
| Originalism | approach to interpreting the Constitution that seeks to rely on the words of the framers |
| Textualism | approach to interpreting the Constitution that relies on a literal, “plain words” reading of the document |
