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| A legislature composed of individuals who represent the population. |
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| the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the colonists, later together known to history as the Pilgrims, who crossed the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower. |
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| Rights held to be inherent in natural law, not dependent on governments. John Locke stated that natural law, being superior to human law, specifies certain rights of “life, liberty, and property.” These rights, altered to become “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” are asserted in the Deceleration of Independence. |
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| A voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and abiding its rule. |
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| A legislature with only one legislative body, as compared with a bicameral (two-house) legislature, such as the U.S congress. Nebraska is the only sate in the Union with a unicameral legislature. |
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| A legislature made up of two chambers, or parts. The U.S. Congress, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, is a bicameral legislature. |
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| A doctrine that assert the superiority of national law over state or regional laws. This principle is rooted in Article VI of the Constitution, which provides that the Constitution, the laws passed by the national government under its constitutional powers, and all treaties constitute law of the land. |
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| The principle of dividing governmental powers among the executive. The legislative, and the judicial branches of government. |
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| The principle of dividing governmental powers among the executive. The legislative, and the judicial branches of government. |
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| A major principle of the American government system whereby each branch of the government exercises a check on the actions of the others. |
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| A group of persons called electors selected by the voters in each state and Washington D.C.; this group officially elects the president and vice president of the United Sates. The number of electors in each state is equal to the number of each sates representatives in both chambers in Congress. |
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| An international agreement made by the president, without senatorial ratification, with the head of a foreign state. |
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| The power of the Supreme Court or any court to declare unconstitutional federal or state laws and other acts of government. |
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