Foundational Documents
Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, this document asserted that all men are created equal and endowed with unalienable rights.
What is the Declaration of Independence?
This collection of the first ten amendments was added to the Constitution to protect individual liberties from the national government.
What is the Bill of Rights?
This is the most common and direct way citizens in a democracy exercise their civic engagement and choose their representatives.
What is voting?
This branch is responsible for writing and passing federal laws, and is made up of the House and the Senate.
What is the Legislative Branch (or Congress)?
Established by the case Marbury v. Madison, and discussed even earlier in Federalist #78, this is the power of the courts to declare laws or executive actions unconstitutional.
What is Judicial Review?
In Federalist 51, James Madison argued that "ambition must be made to counteract ambition," outlining this core constitutional principle.
What are Checks and Balances (or Separation of Powers)
This compromise at the Constitutional Convention created a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate.
What is the Great Compromise (or Connecticut Compromise)?
In the U.S., power is divided between the national government in Washington, D.C., and these 50 regional governments.
What are the states?
The President acts in this constitutional role when commanding the United States armed forces.
What is Commander in Chief?
The legal principle of relying on past decisions or precedents when deciding current cases; Latin for "let the decision stand."
What is Stare Decisis?
This brief but powerful speech redefined the American experiment, declaring government should be "of the people, by the people, for the people."
What is the Gettysburg Address?
The number of states required out of 13 to officially ratify the U.S. Constitution.
What is nine?
This term describes powers that are shared by both the federal and state governments, such as the power to collect taxes.
What are Concurrent Powers?
The total number of voting members in the U.S. House of Representatives.
What is 435?
Found in the 5th and 14th Amendments, this clause ensures the government cannot take away life, liberty, or property without fair legal procedures.
What is the Due Process Clause?
Alexander Hamilton famously referred to this branch as the "least dangerous" to the political rights of the Constitution in Federalist 78.
What is the Judicial Branch (or the Judiciary)?
This rebellion of Massachusetts farmers highlighted the fatal weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
What is Shays' Rebellion?
This type of government system centralizes almost all power in one single, national government, rather than dividing it like federalism does.
What is a Unitary System?
A rule or command issued by the President that has the force of law without requiring congressional approval.
What is an Executive Order?
This landmark 1963 Supreme Court case established that states are required by the 6th Amendment to provide an attorney to defendants who cannot afford one.
What is Gideon v. Wainwright?
The fundamental principle found in the Declaration of Independence that government derives its power from the "consent of the governed."
What is Popular Sovereignty?
Found in Article VI, this clause declares that the Constitution and federal laws take precedence over state laws.
What is the Supremacy Clause?
The Tenth Amendment establishes these powers, which are kept by the states or the people.
What are Reserved Powers?
This procedural tactic is used in the Senate to delay or block a vote on a bill by speaking for an extended period of time.
What is a Filibuster?
The clause in the First Amendment that prevents the government from declaring or financially supporting a national religion.
What is the Establishment Clause?