Questions And Answers In The Constitution Of The United States Constitution

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1. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union: established the United States of America as a national entity. Served as the United States first constitution. This was a critical part of United States history.
2. The Great Compromise: an agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. This defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution.
3. Three – Fifths Compromise: a compromise reached between delegates from southern states and those from northern states during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention.
4. Bicameralism: having, consisting of, or based on two legislative chambers. The idea of mixed government. The first …show more content…

Separation of powers: an act of vesting the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government in separate bodies. This is a necessity to have in a democratic society.
10. Federalism: an essay written by James Madison as the tenth of The Federalist Papers, a series arguing for the ratification of the United States Constitution. Prior to the Constitution, the thirteen states were bound together by the Articles of Confederation. These were in essence a military alliance between sovereign nations adopted to better fight the Revolutionary War.
11. Bill of Rights: the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, ratified in 1791 and guaranteeing such rights as the freedoms of speech, assembly, and worship. Critical to United States History.
12. Checks and balances: a system that allows each branch of a government to amend or veto acts of another branch so as to prevent any one branch from exerting too much power. Several branches of government are created and power is shared between them. At the same time, the powers of one branch can be challenged by another branch.
13. Tyranny: the government or rule of a tyrant or absolute ruler. A state ruled by a tyrant or absolute ruler. An example would be …show more content…

The Executive Branch: The branch of federal and state government that is broadly responsible for implementing, supporting, and enforcing the laws made by the legislative branch and interpreted by the judicial branch. The president of the United States belongs to the executive branch.
27. The Judicial Branch: one of three branches of the federal government. The judicial branch includes criminal and civil courts and helps interpret the United States Constitution. If one were to protect the less powerful, it would be the judicial branch.
28. Federalists: an advocate of a federal union between the American colonies after the Revolution and of the adoption of the United States Constitution. This group favored the constitution.
29. Anti-federalists: a person who opposed the ratification of the Constitution in 1789. Thereafter, allied with Thomas Jefferson 's Antifederal Party, which opposed extension of the powers of the federal Government.
30. Constitutional Amendment: refers to the modification of the Constitution of a nation or state. In many jurisdictions the text of the constitution itself is altered; in others the text is not changed, but the amendments change its effect. State legislatures have, at various times, used their power to apply for a national convention in order to pressure Congress into proposing a desired

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