Founding Documents & Debates
The first document that established a unified government for the 13 colonies
Articles of Confederation
The philosopher who proposed dividing government power into three separate branches
Baron de Montesquieu
The principle that splits power between a national government and state governments
Federalism
The main author of the Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson
The compromise that counted enslaved populations toward representation and taxation
3/5ths Compromise
Essays written to convince states to ratify the U.S. Constitution
Federalist Papers
The English philosopher who authored Two Treatises of Government (wanted Life, Liberty, and Property)
John Locke
The concept that political authority comes directly from the people
Popular Sovereignty
The British king targeted by the list of grievances in the Declaration of Independence
King George III
The addition demanded by Anti-Federalists to protect individual freedoms
Bill of Rights
A major weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that the national government could not collect these.
Taxes
The thinker who wrote that life without government would be "nasty, brutish, and short"
Thomas Hobbes
The principle stating that all citizens and officials must obey established laws equally
Rule of Law
The Declaration states that legitimate authority comes from the "consent of the..."
Governed
The Constitutional Convention plan that favored large states by basing representation on population
Virginia Plan
The agreement that created a two-house legislature with equal Senate votes and population-based House votes
Great Compromise
According to John Locke, governments must protect these three natural rights
Life, Liberty, and Property
The principle where a government's powers are strictly bounded by a legal framework
Limited government
Rights that belong naturally to all humans and cannot be taken away
Unalienable
Anti-Federalists feared the new central government would become this if rights weren't listed
Tyranny
An armed revolt of Massachusetts farmers that showed the Articles of Confederation were too weak
Shays' Rebellion
According to Social Contract Theory, if a government violates rights, citizens may do this to it
Abolish or overthrow
A president vetoing a bill passed by Congress is an example of this principle
Checks and balances
The Magna Carta and English Bill of Rights both placed limits on this type of ruler
Monarch or King
Article V created this process so the Constitution could adapt over time while maintaining stability
Article V (5)