| A | B |
|---|
| compact | a written agreement to make and obey laws for the welfare of the group |
| constitution | plan of government |
| Articles of Confederation | the document that created the first central government for the United States; it was replaced by the Constitution in 1789 |
| Virginia Plan | Virginia delegate James Madison's plan of government, in which states got a number of representatives in Congress based on their population |
| New Jersey Plan | New Jersey delegate William Paterson's plan of government, in which states got an equal number of representatives in Congress |
| Great Compromise | Compromise made by Constitutional Convention in which states would have equal representation in one house of the legislature and representation based on population in the other house |
| bicameral | a two-house legislature |
| three-fifths compromise | an agreement at the Constitutional Convention to count a slave as three-fifths of a person when determining the population of a state |
| ratification | approval of all 13 states |
| Federalists | Supporters of the Constitution |
| Anti-Federalists | Opponents of the Constitution |
| U.S. Bill of Rights | The first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution, containing a list of individual rights and liberties, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press |
| veto | rejecting a bill |
| delegated powers | powers given to Congress by the Constitution |
| amendments | changes to the Constitution |
| federalism | division of power between the states and the federal government |
| concurrent powers | powers shared by the federal and state governments |
| reserved powers | powers that the Constitution neither gives to Congress nor denies to the states |
| impeach | accuse the President or other high officials in government of serious wrongdoing |
