1.1 Gov & State
This is the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies.
What is government?
The U.S. is an example of this type of government, where officials are elected to make decisions on behalf of the people.
What is a representative democracy (or a republic)?
One key principle of democracy is this, meaning that the government must respect and uphold individual rights.
What is the protection of individual freedoms?
This 1215 document limited the power of the English king for the first time and established the idea of due process.
What is the Magna Carta?
British taxation without colonial representation in Parliament led to the colonies developing this key belief about government.
What is the right to self-rule (or "no taxation without representation")?
Most early state constitutions included a Bill of Rights to protect these.
What are individual liberties?
This group of 55 delegates, known as the Framers, gathered in 1787 to discuss and create a new government for the United States.
What is the Philadelphia Convention (or Constitutional Convention)?
This article of the Constitution outlines the structure and powers of the Legislative Branch.
What is Article I?
The Constitution guarantees these basic rights and freedoms for citizens, which are outlined in the first ten amendments.
What are the Bill of Rights?
The Preamble of the U.S. Constitution begins with these three famous words.
What is "We the People"?
In a unitary system, power is concentrated at this level of government.
What is the national (or central) government?
This economic system, closely tied to democracy, is based on private ownership and individual decision-making.
What is the free enterprise system (or capitalism)?
The principle that government should serve the will of the people and that citizens should have a say in decision-making is known as this.
What is representative government?
The Intolerable Acts, passed in response to colonial resistance, helped push the colonies toward this major event.
One key feature of state constitutions was the idea of separation of powers, which divided power among these three branches.
What are the executive, legislative, and judicial branches?
The Philadelphia Convention aimed to create a new plan of government, as the Articles of Confederation had proven too weak. What was the ultimate result of the Convention?
This principle divides the powers of government between the national government and the states.
What is federalism?
This article allows the Constitution to adapt over time through amendments, despite its original structure.
What is the Article V?
A state must have the ability to make and enforce laws without outside interference.
What is sovereignty?
In this type of government, the people hold supreme authority, either directly or through elected representatives.
What is a democracy?
A democratic government should be based on this principle, meaning that it only has the power that the people give it.
What is the consent of the governed (or popular sovereignty)?
Passed in 1689, this document guaranteed certain individual freedoms and placed further limits on the power of the monarchy.
What is the English Bill of Rights?
This 1774 meeting of delegates from 12 colonies was the first major effort to unite against British rule.
What is the First Continental Congress?
Under the Articles, each state had this, giving them equal power regardless of size or population.
What is one vote in Congress?
The Virginia Plan proposed this kind of legislature, with two houses.
What is a bicameral legislature?
This article/clause of the Constitution explains the relationship between the national government and the states, as well as the supremacy of federal law.
What is the Supremacy Clause (Article VI)?
This is an informal way the executive branch can change constitutional practices, such as through executive agreements or appointments.
What is executive action?
This theory states that governments exist because people willingly give up some freedoms in exchange for protection and order.
What is the Social Contract Theory?
Historically, this failed system was used by the U.S. under the Articles of Confederation, where states had too much power.
What is a confederation?
The U.S. economy is not purely free enterprise; the government does regulate businesses in some ways, making it this type of economy.
What is a mixed economy?
These colonies were directly controlled by the king, who appointed a governor to rule in his name.
What are royal colonies?
The Declaration is based on this Enlightenment idea, which states that governments get their power from the people.
What is popular sovereignty?
The states’ inability to get along, such as disputes over trade and taxes, was a result of the Articles' failure to create this.
What is a strong central government?
The Great Compromise resolved the issue between the Virginia and New Jersey Plans by creating a bicameral legislature with a mix of both systems. Which two houses were established?
What are the House of Representatives and the Senate?
This principle involves the distribution of powers and responsibilities among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
What is separation of powers?
This Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18.
What is the 26th Amendment?
These are the four defining characteristics of a state.
What are population, territory, sovereignty, and government?
While the U.S. focuses on individual freedoms and democracy, some other countries have governments that prioritize control and state power, known as this type of rule.
What is authoritarianism?
One way democracy and free enterprise are linked is that both emphasize this, meaning people have the power to make decisions about their lives and businesses.
What is personal freedom (or choice)?
The principles of limited government and rule of law, established by the Magna Carta and reinforced by the Petition of Right, directly influenced this foundational American document, which outlines the structure and powers of the U.S. government.
What is the U.S. Constitution?
The Second Continental Congress took place after this first military conflict between British troops and colonial militias.
What are the Battles of Lexington and Concord?
The failure of the Articles to create a unified economic policy, among other issues, contributed to this major event that marked the end of the Articles and the beginning of the U.S. Constitution.
What is the Constitutional Convention?
The Framers’ decision to allow Congress to regulate trade but prohibit export taxes was the result of this compromise.
What is the Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise?
This landmark Supreme Court decision in 1803 established the principle of judicial review and the judiciary’s role in interpreting the Constitution.
What is Marbury v. Madison?
The Constitution requires the support of this number of the states to approve an amendment to the Constitution.
What is 2/3rds?