Foundations of Government
What is the written plan that establishes how a government is organized and its basic rules?
The Constitution
What is the collective name for the first ten amendments that guarantee rights like free speech and fair trials?
Bill of Rights
What term describes splitting government into three branches that make, enforce, and interpret laws?
Separation of Powers
What word means to formally approve or confirm a document so it becomes legally binding?
Ratify (ratification)
What is the term for the idea that courts can overturn laws that conflict with the Constitution?
Judicial Review
What word means official approval of a document so it becomes valid?
Ratification
What phrase names rights people are born with, such as life and liberty?
Inalienable Rights
What system allows each branch of government to limit the power of the others?
Checks and balances
What is the process called when citizens or their representatives formally add a new rule to the Constitution?
Amendment (process)
What is the group of local organizers who shared news and coordinated action among the colonies called?
Committees of Correspondence
If a government divides power between a national government and regional (state) governments, what is that system called?
Federalism
What is the formal term for a change or addition to the Constitution?
Amendment
What do you call a government in which citizens elect representatives to make decisions for them?
Representative democracy
What term names the collection of essays written to explain and support the Constitution during its approval debates?
Federalist Papers
What was the name of the meeting of colonial delegates that coordinated resistance to Britain and later acted as a national body?
Continental Congress
What is the name for the first constitution the United States used, which created a loose union of the states?
Articles of Confederation
Which governing document was replaced because it created a central government that was so weak it couldn't do anything?
Articles of Confederation
What name is given to the group of top advisers who help the president make decisions and run executive departments?
Cabinet
What name describes someone who supported the Constitution and a stronger national government?
Federalist
What is the name for someone who supported ratifying the Constitution and creating a stronger national government?
Federalist
What term describes the idea that political power comes from the people rather than from a king or ruler?
Popular sovereignty
If someone says a new law violates citizens’ basic freedoms, what allows our government to change the law to protect of those rights?
Judicial Review
What word means an action, decision, or example set by a leader that later leaders often follow?
Precedent
What name describes someone who opposed the Constitution because they feared a too-powerful central government?
Anti-Federalist
What do you call a person who supports creating a central bank to manage national finances (as Alexander Hamilton did)?
(A supporter of a) National Bank