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Federalism
Chapters 1-2
21
Political Studies
Undergraduate 1
05/19/2010

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Term
Amendment
Definition
A change added to a bill or law, or to the Constitution. 
Term
Antifederalists
Definition
People who wanted the states to have the power instead of the national government. They didn't want a national constitution.
Term
Federalists
Definition
Those who wanted a strong national government and worked to establish the U.S. Constitution.
Term
Articles of Confederation
Definition
This was the first draft of the Constitution. We used this until 1789 after the actual constitution was ratified.
Term
Bill of Rights
Definition
The first ten amendments to the Constitution that establish certain rights for people- like the Right to Bear Arms, Right to Freedom of Speech, Assembly, etc.
Term
Federalism
Definition
This is the form of government that we have. The federal government has certain powers and responsibilities and the states have certain powers and responsibilities.
Term
Limited government
Definition
This means that the government has to follow a constitution and can't do things that aren't specifically written in to it. The government is limited by what the constitution says.
Term
Separation of Powers
Definition
This is the idea that each branch of a government has specific responsibilities and the branches have to agree on things so that no one branch gets too much power and does what it wants.
Term
Bicameral legislature
Definition
A two house system of government like we have with a senate and a house of representatives.
Term
Checks and Balances
Definition
These are provisions set up in the constitution to make sure that no one government agency or branch can go off on a tangent....the constitution gives the president the right to veto things the senate and house decide on, and the senate and house can override the president if need be.
Term
Confederation
Definition
This is a kind of government with strong state governments and a loose, weak national government. The Anti-Federalists favored this type of government.
Term
The Elastic Clause
Definition
This is a part of Article 1 of the Constitution that allows Congress to make the laws necessary to carry out the responsibilities that it is given in the Constitution- i.e. enact taxes, etc.
Term
Expressed Powers
Definition
Specific powers given to Congress in the Constitution.
Term
Federalist Papers
Definition
These were articles written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in favor of ratifying the Constitution. These guys wanted a strong national government.
Term
judicial review
Definition
This is a power granted to the U.S. Supreme court to look at decisions made by Congress, the President or individual states and determine if they are constitutional or not. If they are deemed constitutional, then the decision stands. If they are not constitutional, then the decision is cancelled.
Term
Three-Fifths Compromise
Definition
This was an agreement decided on at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that said that slaves would count as three-fifths of a person, and so states with slaves would be given representatives in congress based on how many free people they had PLUS the slaves figured at 3/5s per person each.
Term
The New Jersey Plan
Definition
This plan was discussed at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The believers in this plan wanted all states to have equal representation in Congress regardless of the number of people in the state.
Term
The Virginia Plan
Definition
This was discussed at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The people who liked this plan wanted a system of representation in Congress based upon the population of each state. The more people in a state, the more members in Congress.
Term
The Great Compromise
Definition
The believers in the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia PLan came together and agreed on this compromise: There should be two houses of Congress. In one, the membership shall be based upon the state's populations. In the other, each state shall have two representatives regardless of the population size of the state. This is how our government is set up today.
Term
The Supremacy Clause
Definition
Article VI of the Constitution. It says the U.S. Constitution is the SUPREME law of the land- no states can go against this.
Term
Tyranny
Definition
Unjust government that employs cruel use of power and authority. 
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