US History Chapter 5 – The Constitution of the United States

Plan that established, in 1781, a limited national government in the United States, later replaced by the Constitution of the United States.

Branch of government that makes the laws; Congress.

Branch of government, headed by the President, that enforces the laws.

Branch of government, made up of courts and judges, that interprets and applies the laws.

Plan of government that describes the different parts of the government and their duties and powers.

Government by the people.

Government run by the people through their elected representatives.

An uprising against taxes in Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787.

Gold or silver coin.

Convention that met in Philadelphia in 1787 to draft the Constitution of the United States.

Plan of government that describes the different parts of the government and their duties and powers, established in 1787.

To revise.

To prevent from becoming a law.

Compromise at the Constitutional Convention calling for a two-house legislature, with one house elected on the basis of population and the other representing each state equally.

Compromise at the Constitutional Convention calling for three fifths of a state's slave population to be counted for the purposes of legislative representation.

A system in which power is shared among state and national authorities.

The Constitutional allotting of powers withing the federal government among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

System in which each of the branches of the federal government can check the actions of the other branches.

Group of electors, chosen by the voters, who vote for President.

Approve or sanction

Supporters of the Constitution during the debate over its ratification; favored a strong national government.

Group organized around a common interest and concerned only with furthering that interest.

Opponents of the Constitution during the debate over its ratification; opposed the concept of a strong central government.

First ten amendments to the Constitution.

Official swearing-in ceremony.

Leaders of the executive departments of the federal government.

Issues relating to a country's internal matters.

Term of office; also the members and agencies of the executive branch as a whole.

An act or a statement that becomes an example, rule, or tradition to be followed.