Constitution, Bicameral Legislature, Confederation, Articles of Confederation, Ratified Ordinances, Area
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
Constitution
answer
a detailed, written plan for government
question
Bicameral
answer
a legislature consisting of two parts, or houses
question
Confederation
answer
a group of individuals or state governments
question
Articles of Confederation
answer
the first constitution of the United States
question
Ratified
answer
to vote approval of
question
Ordinances
answer
a law, usually of a city or county
question
Area
answer
a region or section
question
Ordinance of 1785
answer
a law that set up a plan for surveying western lands; this method is still used today
question
Northwest Ordinance
answer
1787 law that set up a government for the Northwest Territory and served as a model for other new territories and as a plan for admitting new states to the Union
question
Impact
answer
an influence or effect
question
Shays's Rebellion
answer
an uprising of Massachusetts farmers who did not want to lose their farms because of debt caused by heavy state taxes after the American Revolution
question
Process
answer
an action or a series of actions directed toward a result
question
Despite
answer
regardless or in spite of
question
Constitutional Convention
answer
meeting of state delegates in 1787 leading to adoption of a new Constitution
question
Great Compromise
answer
agreement providing a dual system of congressional representation
question
Three-Fifths Compromise
answer
agreement providing that enslaved persons would count as three-fifths of other persons in determining representation in Congress
question
Electoral College
answer
a group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president
question
Federalists
answer
supporters of the Constitution
question
Federalism
answer
a form of government in which power is divided between the federal, or national, government and the states
question
The Federalist Papers
answer
a series of essays written to defend the Constitution
question
Anti-Federalists
answer
those who opposed ratification of the Constitution
question
Preamble
answer
the opening section of the Constitution
question
Articles
answer
one of several main parts of the Constitution
question
Amendment
answer
any change in the Constitution
question
Legislative branch
answer
the lawmaking branch of government
question
Executive branch
answer
the branch of government that carries out laws
question
Judicial branch
answer
the branch of government that interprets laws
question
Assumed
answer
to take on or accept a role or responsibility
question
Popular sovereignty
answer
the idea that power lies with the people
question
Ensure
answer
to make sure of; to guarantee
question
Limited government
answer
the principal that a ruler or a government is not all-powerful; a government that can do only what the people allow it to do
question
Rule of law
answer
principle that the law applies to everyone, even those who govern
question
Assigned
answer
to dole out or give as a task
question
Separation of powers
answer
the split of authority among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches
question
Checks and balances
answer
a system in which each branch of government is able to check, or restrain, the power of the others
question
Enumerated powers
answer
powers granted directly to the national government by the Constitution; another name for expressed powers
question
Reserved powers
answer
powers that the Constitution does not give to the national government that are kept by the states
question
Concurrent powers
answer
powers shared by the state and federal governments
question
Supremacy clause
answer
the clause in Article VI of the Constitution that makes federal laws prevail over state laws when there is a conflict
