Government by the people, either directly or indirectly with free and frequent elections

The set of arrangements and progresses --- checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, rule of law, due process, and a bill of rights--- that disappears and limits the power of the government officials. Constitutionalism provides for the granting as well as restraining of powers and seeks to ensure that a government’s leaders and representatives are accountable to the citizens

The idea that the rights of the state are supreme over the rights of the individual

The idea that a just government must derive its powers from the consent of the people it governs

Participation in voluntary associations that reinforce democratic and civil habits of discussion, compromise and respect for differences

Government by religious leaders, who claim divine guidance

Annapolis convention

A convention held in September 1786 to consider problems of trade and navigation, attended by 5 states and important because it issued the call to Congress and the states for what became the Constitutional Convention

Shay’s Rebellion

Rebellion by farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-87, protesting mortgage foreclosures , led by Daniel Shays and important because it highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for a Constitutional Convention went out

Proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by the Virginia delegation for a strong central government with a bicameral legislature, the lower house to be elected by the voters and the upper chosen by the lower

– Compromise agreement made by the states at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature with a lower house in which representation will be based on population, and upper house in which each state would have two senates

Constitutional agreement whereby power is distributed between a central government and sub divisional governments, called states in the United States. The national and sub divisional both exercise direct authority over individuals

Series of essays promoting ratification of the Constitution, written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison in 1787 and 1788

– Government in which citizens come together to discuss and pass laws and select rules

– Government that derives its powers indirectly from the people who elect those who govern, also called a republic

A government that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free and fair elections

Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority

One’s basic belief about political values and the role of government

The first constitution of the American states, drafted in 1777, ratified in 1781, and replaced by the present Constitution in 1789

The convention in Philadelphia, May 25- September 17, 1787, that framed the Constitution of the United States

The principle of a two-house legislature

Proposal to the Constitutional Convention made by William Paterson of New Jersey for a central government with a single-house legislature in which each state would be represented equally

Three-fifths Compromise

– Compromise agreement between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention in which the slave population would be counted at three-fifths for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives

– Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government generally

The candidate or party that wins more than half the votes cast to win an election

-  A candidate or party wins the most votes cast, not necessarily more than half

God’s or natures law that defines right from wrong and is higher than human law

Constitutional grant of powers that enables each of the three branches of government to stop acts of the others and therefore insure that no branch can dominate

– Election open to all members of the party in which who voters chose the person that will be the party’s nominees in the general election

Procedure to submitting to popular vote measures passed by the legislature or proposed amendments to a state’s constitution

The power of the court to refuse to enforce a law or a government regulation that in the opinion of the judge, conflicts with the constitution or in a state court, the state’s constitution

– Formal accusation against a public official and the first step in removal of office

A long-recognized doctrine with some constitutional standing that permits a president to withhold sensitive documents and information from Congress and the courts

– Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive and judicial branches, with legislative making the law, executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law

Governance divided between the parties, as when one controls the executive branch and one controls the legislative branch

Procedure where a certain number of voters, may by petition, propose a law or constitutional amendment and have it submitted to the voters

Procedure to submitting to popular vote, the removal of officials from office before the end of their term