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| A nation's basic law. It creates political institutions, assigns or divides powers in government, an doften provides certain guarantees to citizens. Constitutions can be either written or unwritten. See also U.S. Constitution. |
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| Declaration of Independence |
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The document approved by representatives of the American colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the British monarch and declared their independence.
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| Rights inherent in human beings, not dependent on governments, which include life, liberty, and property. The concept of natural rights was central to English philosopher John Locke's theories about government, and was widely accepted among America's founding fathers. |
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| The idea that government derives its authority by sanction of the people. |
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| The idea that certain restrictions should be placed on government to protect the natural rights of citizens. |
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| Articles of Confederation |
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| The first constitution of the United States, adopted by Congress in 1777 and enacted in 1781. The Articles established a national legislature, the Constitutional Congress, but most authority rested with the state legislatures. |
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| A series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays to block foreclosure proceedings. |
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| The document written in 1787 and ratified in 1788 that sets forth the institutional structure of U.S. government and the tasks these institutions perform. It replaced the Articles of Confederation. |
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| Interest groups arising from the unequal distribution of property or wealth that James Madison attacked in the Federalist Paper #10. Today's parties or interest groups are what Madison had in mind when he warned of the instability in government caused by factions. |
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| The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the state's population. |
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| The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for representation of each state in Congress in proportion to that state's share of the U.S. population. |
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| 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 share of the U.S. population, and the Senate, in which each state has two representatives. |
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| A court order requiring jailers to explain why they are holding a prisoner in custody. |
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| A feature of the Constitution that requires each of the three branches of government - executive, legislative, and judicial - to be relatively independent of the others so that one cannot control the others. Power is shared among these three institutions. |
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| Features of the Constitution that limit government's power by requiring that power be balanced among the different governmental institutions. These institutions continually check one another's activities. |
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| A form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and make laws. |
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| Supporters of the U.S. Constitution at the time the states were contemplating its adoption. |
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| Opponents of the American Constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption. |
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| A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name "Publius" to defend the Constitution in detail. |
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| The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, drafted in response to some of the Anti-Federalist concerns. These amendments define such basic liberties as freedom of religion, speech, and press and guarantee defendants' rights. |
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| A constitutional amendment passed by Congress in 1972 stating that "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." The amendment failed to acquire the necessary support from three-fourths of the state legislatures. |
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| The 1803 case in which Chief Justice John Marshall and his associates first asserted the right of the Supreme Court to determine the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. The decision established the Court's power of judicial review over acts of Congress, in this case the Judiciary Act of 1789. |
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| The power of the courts to determine whether acts of Congress, and by implication the executive, are in accord with the U.S. Constitution. Judicial review was established by John Marshall and his associates in Marbury v. Madison. |
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