Constitution Vocabulary List

The Constitution: a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which

a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed.
Preamble: a preliminary or preparatory statement; an introduction.

Articles: a particular item or object.

Legislative Branch: made up of the House and Senate, known collectively as the Congress.

Bicameral: having two branches or chambers.

Senate: the smaller upper assembly in the US Congress, most US states, France, and other countries.

House of Representatives: makes and passes federal laws.

Necessary and Proper Clause:

gives Congress power to make “all Laws which shall be necessary
Executive Branch: carries out and
and proper forlaws
enforces carrying into Execution

President: the elected head of a republic

Veto: a constitutional right to reject a decision or proposal made by a law-making body.

Electoral College: a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the
election of the president and vice president.
Impeach:(especially in the US) charge (the holder of a public office) with misconduct.

Judicial Branch: one part of the U.S. government

Supreme Court: the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions.

Judicial Review:

Checks and Balances: counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated,

typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of
individuals or groups.
Separation of Powers: an act of vesting the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government
in separate bodies.
Amendments: a minor change or addition designed to improve a text, piece of legislation

Bill of Rights: the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, ratified in 1791 and guaranteeing such
rights as the freedoms of speech, assembly, and worship.
Federalism: a system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two levels of
government
Ratify: a system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two levels of government

Articles of Confederation: the original constitution of the US, ratified in 1781, which was replaced by
the US Constitution in 1789.
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Northwest Ordinance: chartered a government for the Northwest Territory, provided a method for
admitting new states to the Union from the territory, and listed a bill of rights
Shay’s Rebellion: guaranteed in the territory.

a series of violent attacks on courthouses and other government properties in Massachusetts

Constitutional Convention: a formal meeting held in 1787 for the purpose of creating a constitution
for the United States

Virginia Plan: outlined a strong national government with three branches: legislative, ...

New Jersey Plan: a plan, unsuccessfully proposed at the Constitutional Convention, providing for a
single legislative house with equal representation for each state
Great Compromise: brokered as an agreement between the large and small states during the
Constitutional Convention of 1787 by Connecticut

Three-Fifths Compromise: compromise agreement between delegates from the Northern and the
Southern states at the United States Constitutional Convention
Federalists: a person who advocates or supports a system of government in which several states
unite under a central authority.
Anti-Federalists: a person who opposed the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.