Enlightenment Philosophers and Theories of Government
In his Two Treatises of Government, this English philosopher argued that all people are born with fundamental natural rights to life, liberty, and property.
Who is John Locke?
Under the Articles of Confederation, ultimate power and authority remained with the individual states, reflecting this political principle where states hold supreme governing authority.
What is sovereignty (or state sovereignty)?
Proposed by Roger Sherman of Connecticut, this agreement settled the debate over congressional representation by creating a bicameral legislature with a population-based House and an equal-representation Senate.
What is the Great Compromise (or the Connecticut Compromise)?
Found in Article VI, this clause establishes that the U.S. Constitution, federal laws, and treaties take precedence over conflicting state laws and state constitutions.
What is the Supremacy Clause?
The president can check Congress by using this constitutional power to refuse to sign a bill into law, sending it back with objections.
What is a veto?
To prevent tyranny, this French baron proposed dividing government authority into executive, legislative, and judicial branches that keep each other in check.
Who is Baron de Montesquieu?
Unlike today's two-house legislature, the national government under the Articles consisted of a single legislative body, known by this term.
What is a unicameral congress?
To determine both direct taxation and seats in the House of Representatives, northern and southern delegates agreed to count this fraction of enslaved individuals toward a state's total population.
What is the Three-Fifths Compromise?
Located in Article I, Section 8, this provision grants Congress the authority to pass all laws essential for carrying out its enumerated powers, often referred to as the "elastic clause."
What is the Necessary and Proper Clause?
If the president vetoes a bill passed by Congress, lawmakers can check executive power by overriding the veto with this specific fraction of votes in both houses.
What is a two-thirds majority?
This theory of government stresses that power is the result of competition between competing groups.
What is the pluralist view of government?
To pass any major legislation or law under the Articles, Congress required an affirmative vote from this supermajority fraction of the states.
What is 9 out of 13?
This plan called for a bicameral congress based on proportional representation.
What is the Virginia Plan?
Article I grants Congress the power to regulate trade with foreign nations, among the several states, and with Indian tribes through this primary driver of federal economic authority.
What is the Commerce Clause?
To check judicial or executive misconduct, the House of Representatives holds the sole power to formally bring charges, while this chamber conducts the trial and decides on conviction and removal.
What is the Senate?
This theory of government argues that power is concentrated in the hands of a people powerful people.
What is the elite theory of government?
Because the national government lacked the power to collect these directly, it had to rely on voluntary contributions from state governments, leaving the country deeply in debt.
What are taxes?
Under the Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise, Northern delegates agreed that Congress could not ban the international slave trade until at least this calendar year.
What is 1808?
Article IV requires states to recognize and enforce public acts, judicial proceedings, and official records—such as marriage licenses and court judgments—from other states under this provision.
What is the Full Faith and Credit Clause?
All revenue bills must originate in this chamber.
What is the House of Representatives?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau argued for this political principle, stating that legitimate political power rests entirely in the hands and consent of the governed people.
What is popular sovereignty?
This 1786 armed uprising of desperate Massachusetts farmers exposed the central government's inability to maintain order or maintain a standing army, spurring calls for a Constitutional Convention.
What was Shays' Rebellion?
This mechanism for choosing the president was created as a middle ground between electing the chief executive by a direct popular vote or by a vote in Congress.
What is the electoral college?
Found in Article IV (and expanded in the 14th Amendment), this clause prevents a state from unfairly discriminating against citizens of other states regarding fundamental rights and economic travel.
What is the Privileges and Immunities Clause?
While the president can nominate a judge, this chamber must confirm them by a simple majority.
What is the Senate?