| A | B |
|---|
| Federalists | Those persons who supported ratification of the Constitution 1787-1788 |
| bicameral | a legislative body consisting of two chambers |
| proprietary | organized by a proprietor ( a person to whom the king has made a grant of land) |
| unicameral | a legislative body with only one chamber |
| confederation | a joining of several groups for a common purpose |
| New Jersey Plan | plan presented as an alternative to the Virginia Plan at the Constitutional Convention; called for a unicameral legislature where each State would be equally represented |
| Magna Carta | Great Charter forced upon King John of England by his barons in 1215; established that the power of the monarch was not absolute and guaranteed trial by jury and due process of law for the nobility |
| popular sovereignty | basic principle of the American system of government which asserts that the people are the source of any and all governmental power, and government can only exist with the consent of the governed |
| Articles of Confederation | Plan of government adopted by the Continental Congress after the American Revolution; established a “firm league of friendship” among the States but allowed few important powers to the central government |
| Ratification | formal approval, final consent to the effectiveness of a constitution, constitutional amendment, or treaty |
| Connecticut Compromise | Agreement during the Constitutional Convention that Congress should be composed of a Senate, in which the States would be represented equally, and a House in which representation would be based on population |
| Albany Plan of Union | Plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754, that aimed to unite the thirteen colonies for trade, military, and other purposes; the plan was turned down by the colonies and the crown |
| 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 |
| Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise | An agreement at the Constitutional Convention protecting slaveholders; denied Congress the power to tax the export of goods from any State, and, for twenty years, the power to act on the slave trade |
| Quorum | least number of members that must be present for a legislative body to conduct business; majority |
| repeal | to recall or declare null and void |
| limited government | Basic principle of American government that states that government is restricted in what it may do, and each individual has rights that government cannot take away |
| Anti-Federalists | Those persons who opposed the ratification of the Constitution 1787-1788 |
| boycott | Refusal to buy or sell certain products |
| English Bill of Rights | Document written by Parliament and agreed upon by William and Mary of England in 1689 to prevent abuse of power by English monarchs; forms the basis for much in American government and politics |
| Framers | Group of delegates that drafted the United States Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 |
| charter | A written grant of authority from the king; a city’s law, its constitution |
| Virginia Plan | Plan presented by the Virginia delegates at the Constitutional Convention; called for a three branch government and a bicameral legislature in which each States’ membership would be determined by its population or its financial support of the central 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 |
| delegate | Individual who is chosen to speak for a group |
| presiding officer | chair |
