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| A term used to describe opponents of the Constitution during the debate over ratification. |
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| The first ten amendments to the Constitution. They include rights such as freedom of speech and religion & due process protections (such as the right to a jury trial) for persons accused of crimes. |
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| The elaborate system of divided spheres of authority provided by the U.S. Constitution as a means of controlling the power of government. The separation of powers among the branches of the national government, federalism, & the different methods of selecting national officers are all part of this system. |
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| The fundamental law that defines how a government will legitimately operate. |
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| Constitutional Democratic Republic |
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| A government that is constitutional in its provisions for minority rights & rule by law; democratic in its provisions for majority influence through elections; and a republic in its mix of deliberative institutions, which check & balance each other. |
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| Elected representatives whose obligation is to act in accordance with the expressed wishes of the people they represent. |
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| Democracy (According to the Framers) |
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| A form of government in which the people govern, either directly or through elected representatives. |
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| A constitutional means of limiting governmental action by listing those power that government is expressly prohibited from using. |
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| An unofficial term that refers to the electors who cast the states' electoral votes. |
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| The method of voting used to choose the U.S. president. Each state has the same number of electoral votes as it has members in Congress (House & Senate combined). By tradition, electoral voting is tied to a state's popular voting. The candidate with the most popular votes in a state (or, in a few states, the most votes in a congressional district) receives its electoral votes. |
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| A term used to describe supporters of the Constitution during the debate over ratification. |
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| The method of limiting the U.S. government by confining its scope of authority to those powers expressly granted in the Constitution. |
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| The agreement of the constitutional convention to create a two-chamber Congress with the House apportioned by population & the Senate apportioned equally by state. |
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| Inalienable (Natural) Rights |
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| Those rights that persons theoretically possessed in the state of nature, prior to the formation of governments. These rights, including those of life, liberty, and property, are considered inherent & as such are inalienable. Since government is established by people, government has the responsibility to preserve these rights. |
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| The power of courts to decide whether a governmental institution has acted within its constitutional powers, and, if not, to declare its action null & void. |
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| A government that is subject to strict limits on its lawful uses of power, and hence, on its ability to deprive people of their liberty. |
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| New Jersey (Small-State) Plan |
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| A constitutional proposal for a strengthened Congress but one in which each state would have a single vote, thus granting a small state the same legislative power as a larger state. |
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| A form of election in which voters choose a party's nominees for public office. In most states, eligibility to vote in a primary election is limited to voters who designated themselves as party members when they registered to vote. |
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| Representative Government |
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| A government in which the people govern through the selection of their representatives. |
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| A form of government in which the people's representatives decide policy through institutions structured in ways that foster deliberation, slow the progress of decision making, & operate within restraints that protect individual liberty. To the framers, the Constitution's separation of powers & other limits on power were defining features of a republican form of government, as opposed to a democratic form, which places no limits on the majority. |
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| Separated Institutions Sharing Power |
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Definition
| The principle that, as a way to limit government, its powers should be divided among separate branches, each of which also shares its power of the others as a means of checking & balancing them. The result is that one branch can exercise power decisively without the support or acquiescence of the others. |
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| The division of the powers of government among separate institutions or branches. |
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| A voluntary agreement by individuals to form a government that is obligated to work within the confines of that agreement. |
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| A compromise worked out at the 1787 convention between northern states & southern states. Each slave was to be counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of federal taxation & congressional appointment (number of seats in the House of Representatives). |
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| Elected representatives whose obligation is to act in accordance with their own consciences as to what policies are in the best interests of the public. |
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| The potential of a majority to monopolize power for its own gain & to the detriment of minority rights & interests. |
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| Virginia (Large-State) Plan |
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| A constitutional veto proposal for a strong Congress with two chambers, both of which would be based on numerical representation. |
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