| A | B |
|---|
| Bill of Rights | The first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution |
| Judicial Review | The power of U.S. courts to strike down (or declare) acts or laws as "unconstitutional" |
| State of Nature | Society before government |
| Human Nature | Traditionally, a non-changing set of dispositions or qualities common to all human kind |
| Federalist Papers | A set of essays by Hamilton, Madison and Jay published in New York newspapers. Arged in favor of the Constitution |
| Republican Government | or "representative democracy" the form of government granted in the Constitution (Article 4, Section 4) |
| Federal Systems | Forms of government where power is distributed at both a national and state level |
| Unitary Systems | Forms of government where power rests chiefly at the national level |
| Confederate Systems | Forms of government where power rests chiefly at the state level |
| John Locke | Philosopher whose view of natural rights influenced the Declaration of Independence |
| Natural Rights | Rights provided to all humans by God in the state of nature |
| Natural Law | or the "law of conscience" Believed to exist in the state of nature |
| Liberty | The primary goal of the American Revolution. |
| Virginia Plan | Suggested sweeping change to the Articles of Confederation. |
| Virginia Plan | Favored by the large states at the Constitutional Convention. |
| New Jersey Plan | Called for slight modifications of the Articles of Confederation. |
| Articles of Confederation | The first form of government among the states after the American Revolution. |
| 74 | Number of people who were invited to the Constitutional Convention. |
| 55 | Number of people who attended the Constitutional Convention. |
| 39 | Number of people who signed the Constitution. |
| 9 | Number of states required to ratify the Constitution. |
| 13 | Number of states required for major changes to the Articles of Confederation. |
| Article I | Discusses, primarily, the legislative branch. |
| Article II | Discusses, primarily, the executive branch. |
| Article III | Discusses, primarily, the judicial branch. |
| Article IV, Section 4 | Consitutional guarantee of a republican form of government. |
| The Federalists | Those in favor of the Constitution. |
| The Anti-Federalists | Those who opposed the Constitution. |
| New Jersey Plan | Favored by the small states at the Constitutional Convention. |
| George Washington | Presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention. |
| Thomas Jefferson | Author of the Declaration of Independence. |
| Thomas Jefferson | Not present at Constitutional Convention. |
| John Adams | Not present at Constitutional Convention. |
| Alexander Hamilton | Came up with the idea of the Federalist Papers and wrote most of them. |
| Publius | Anonymous author of the Federalist papers. |
| Democratic Centralism | Government where decisons are made by a small numer of individuals in the "true interests" of the people. |
| Direct Democracy | Government where citizens directly participate in politics and the majority wins. |
| Direct Democracy | The Greek city state was an example of this type of government. |
| New England Town Meeting | An historical example of a Direct Democracy |
| Representative Democracy | Government where the people elect individuals to represent their interests. |
| Democratic Centralism | Type of government found in China, Cuba and some Asian and Latin dictatorships |
| Representative Democracy | The kind of "democracy" found in our Constitution |
| Federal Systems | Forms of government commonly found in western Europe |
| James Madison | Author of Federalist Paper 10 |
| Federalist Paper 10 | Argued liberty is most secure in large republics because officials must build coalitions to attain office |
| The Federalists | Believed liberty was most secure in large republics |
| The Anti-Federalists | Believed liberty was most secure in small republics |
| Article VII | Required only nine states to ratify the Constitution |
