Before the Constitution
Group that opposed the ratification of the constitution
Who are the anti-federalists?
Provides that the Constitution and the laws passed by Congress shall be “the supreme law of the land”
What is The Supremacy Clause?
Each branch of government has power to limit the power of the other two branches of government
What are checks and balances?
Declared the Gun Free School Zones Act unconstitutional because it was not directly tied to the Commerce Clause
What is US v. Lopez?
This theory suggests that the wealthiest individuals control policy.
What is the Elite Democracy?
Stated the colonists rationale to protect their natural rights by instituting a new government
What is the Declaration of Independence?
The length of 1 term for a U.S. Senator
What is 6 years?
Referring to a division of power between the federal government and the states
What is federalism?
The most serious danger to a republic according to James Madison and most others at the constitutional convention
What are factions?
Resolved the issue of counting slaves into the population for apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives
What is the 3/5 Compromise?
Discussed that a separation of powers into three branches was the best way to keep one part of the government from becoming too powerful
Who was Baron de Montesquieu?
A legislature with two separate chambers
What is bicameral?
The process of the people placing an item on a ballot that state legislatures had not addressed
What is initiative?
Supreme court case that established that if a power is not reserved for the state or federal government, the federal government trumps state law
What is McCulloch v. Maryland?
A resolution of the New Jersey and Virginia Plans creating a bicameral congress with equal representation in the Senate and apportionment based on population in the House of Representatives
What is the Connecticut "Great" Compromise?
Exposed the division between rural poor and urban elite, and highlighted the need for a national military
What is Shay's Rebellion?
Constitutional statement that the federal government can expand its power beyond the Constitution when needed to execute the laws
What is the Necessary and Proper/Elastic Clause?
Interest groups represent this version of democracy
What is pluralist democracy?
Federalist Paper that expands on checks and balances and separation of powers
What is Federalist 51?
Essay describing how the Constitution would take away power from the states and create a too strong federal government.
What is Brutus 1?
To pass a law by the Articles of Confederation there had to be
What is a super majority or 9 out of 13 states?
The two key Federalism Amendments
What are the 10th and 14th Amendments?
Voting rights, requirements, and eligibility were left to these governmental agents by the founders.
What are the states?
Supreme Court case that gave the federal government more oversight in interstate commerce
What is Gibbons v. Ogden?
A system of government that puts the emphasis on federal power
What is a unitary system?