Court Cases
The 1803 Court decision that gave the Supreme Court the right to determine whether a law violates the Constitution
What is Marbury v. Madison?
The sharing of power between the states and the national government
What is Federalism?
Signed in 1215 by King John of England, was the first document that limited the power of the ruler
What is the Magna Carta?
Invented the cotton gin
Who is Eli Whitney?
a cruel and unjust government
What is tyranny?
The Supreme Court decision that said slaves were property and not citizens and that Congress had no right to ban slavery in the territories
Dred Scott v. Sanford
A system in which each branch of government has its own powers (For example: Legislative makes laws, Executive enforces laws, and Judicial interprets laws)
What is Separation of Powers?
What is Common Sense?
President of the Confederacy during the Civil War
Who is Jefferson Davis?
a form of government that is run for and by the people, giving people the supreme power
What is democracy?
Established the foundation for expanded congressional authority; supports the Necessary and Proper Clause in the Constitution
What is McCulloch v. Maryland?
The basic liberties and rights of all citizens guaranteed by the Bill of Rights
What are Individual Rights?
The self-governing agreement signed in 1620 by the Pilgrims in Plymouth to consult each other about laws for the colony; a promise to work together to make it succeed
What is the Mayflower Compact?
16th President of the US, put the Union back together, assassinated 5 days after the Civil war ended
Who is Abraham Lincoln?
What is Judicial Review?
Case in which the court held that federal law takes precedence over state law in interstate commerce
What is Gibbons v. Ogden?
The political theory that government is subject to the will of the people
What is Popular Sovereignty?
The first American constitution; weak document that limited the power of the Congress by giving states the final authority over all decisions
What is the Articles of Confederation?
"Father of the Constitution"
Who is James Madison?
People who opposed the Constitution, preferring more power be given to the state governments than to the national government
Who are anti-federalists?
Said that the state of Georgia had no right to interfere with the Cherokee, but President Jackson refused to enforce the ruling and the Cherokee were forced to leave on the Trail of Tears
What is Worcester v. Georgia?
A system set up by the Constitution in which each branch of the federal government has the power to control the actions of the other branches
What are Checks and Balances?
A foreign policy stating that 1) the U.S. would not interfere in European affairs, and 2) that the western hemisphere was closed to colonization and/or interference by European nations
What is the Monroe Doctrine?
Escaped slave who became a conductor on the Underground Railroad and helped over 300 slaves to freedom in the North
Who is Harriet Tubman?
The idea of a state declaring a federal law illegal
What is nullification?