Chapter Content
A nation’s basic law. It creates political institutions, assigns or divides powers in government, and often provides certain guarantees to citizens.
What is a Constitution?
Representation in the House and taxation were to be based on “number of free persons” in a state plus three-fifths of the number of “all other persons.”
What is the Three-fifths Compromise?
Supporters and opposers of the U.S. Constitution at the time the states were contemplating its adoption.
Who are federalists and antifederalists?
The two philosophers whose ideas were used to shape the Constitution.
The first 10 amendments of the Constitution.
The Bill of Rights
A series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by Revolutionary War captain to block foreclosure proceedings.
What is Shays's Rebellion?
The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the size of the state’s population.
What is the New Jersey Plan?
A form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and make laws.
What is a Republic?
How did Thomas Hobbes view Human Nature?
At constant war, so needed a strong central ruler to suppress their warlike tendencies.
The first constitution of the United States, adopted by Congress in 1777 and ratified in 1781.
What are the Articles of Confederation?
The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for representation of each state in Congress to be proportional to its population.
What is the Virginia Plan?
The compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention that established two houses of Congress: the House of Representatives, in which representation is based on a state’s population; and the Senate, in which each state has two representatives.
What is the Connecticut Compromise?
Features of the Constitution that require each branch of the federal government to obtain the consent of the others for its actions; they limit the power of each branch.
What is Checks and Balances?
Rights inherent in human beings, not dependent on governments, which includes life, liberty, and property.
What are Natural Rights?
The document approved by representatives of the American colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the British monarch and declared their independence.
What is the Declaration of Independence?
According to the Framers, this was the purpose of government.
What is the preservation of individual rights to acquire and hold wealth?
According to the Framers, this was the cause of political conflict.
What is the uneven distribution of wealth?
Established the principle of judicial review, giving courts the power to strike down laws and government actions that violate the Constitution.
What is Marbury v. Madison?
The idea that government derives its authority from the people.
What is Consent of the Governed?
The document written in 1787 and ratified in 1788 that sets forth the institutional structure of the U.S. government, the tasks these institutions perform, and the relationships among them.
What is the U.S. Constitution?
This French philosopher gave us the idea of Checks and Balances that Madison would suggest for the U.S. Constitution.
Who is Baron Montesquieu?
Groups such as interest groups that, according to James Madison, arise from the unequal distribution of property or wealth and have the potential to cause instability in government.
What are factions?
A feature of the Constitution that requires the three branches of government to be relatively independent of each other so that one cannot control the others.
What is Separation of Powers?
The idea that certain restrictions should be placed on government to protect the natural rights of citizens.
What is Limited Government?
Set of 85 essays that advocate ratification of the Constitution and provide insightful commentary on the nature of the new system of government.
What are the Federalist Papers?