Prepared by a Student
Preamble
– a short, noteworthy introduction to the U.S. Constitution. It states the
purpose of the constitution. The preamble is important as a historical document
because we can learn about its framers by their way of addressing the preamble.
Articles
– the seven numbered sections that the constitution is divided into. The first
three articles deal with the three branches of the National Government:
Congress, the presidency, and the federal court system. Article IV deals mostly
with the place of the States in the American Union, with their relationship with
the National Government, and with one another. Article V explains how formal
amendments may be added to the constitution. Article VI declares that the
constitution is the nation’s supreme law. Article VII states the requirements
for ratification.
Constitutionalism
–the principal concept of limited government which stated that the government
must be conducted according to the constitutional principals.
Rule
of Law – another concept of limited government
which holds that government and its officers are always subject to – never –
above law.
Separation
of Powers – one of the basic principals of
American system of government. It stated that the executive, legislative, and
judicial powers are divided among three independent and coequal branches of
government. This idea is under a presidential system. The idea had been written
into each of the state constitutions adopted during the Revolution. A classic
expression of the doctrine can be found in the Massachusetts constitution of
1780.
Checks
and Balances – system of overlapping the powers
of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches to permit each branch to
check the action of the other two. The three branches are not entirely separated
or completely independent of one another. They are tied together by check and
balances.
Veto
– the power of the President to reject any act of Congress. Even though
Congress has the right to make law, the president can veto the act. But in
return, Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-third majority vote
in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Judicial
Review – the power of courts to determine
whether what the government does is in accord with what the Constitution
provides. More precisely, it might be defined his way: it is the power of a
court to determine the constitutionality of a governmental action. One of the
six basic principles of the constitution. The power of judicial review is held
by all federal courts and by most state courts as well.
Unconstitutional
– the power to declare illegal, null and void, of no force and effect – a
governmental action found to violate some provision in the constitution. This is
part of the judicial review power.
Federalism
– the division of power among a central
government and several regional governments.
It came to the Constitution out of both experience and necessity. American
government system is federal in form because the powers held by government are
distributed on a territorial basis. The National Government holds some of those
powers and others belong to the 50 states.
Amendment
– a change in, or addition to, a constitution or law. The amendments are
provided because the framers knew that even the wisest of the constitution
makers cannot build for all time. There are two methods for the proposal of an
amendment and two methods for its ratification.
Formal
Amendment – changes or additions that become
part of the written language of the Constitution itself. There are four possible
methods of formal amendment. First method is for an amendment to be proposed by
two-third vote in both house of Congress and be ratified by three-fourths of the
State legislatures. Second method is for the amendment to be proposed by
Congress and then ratified by three-fourths of the State conventions. The third
method is for an amendment to be proposed by a national convention, called by
Congress at the request of two thirds of the State legislatures and ratified by
three-fourths of the State legislatures. The fourth and last method is for an
amendment to be proposed by a national convention and ratified by conventions in
three-fourths of the States.
Bill
of Rights – the first ten amendments of the
Constitution. These amendments were added to the Constitution less than three
years after it became effective. They were proposed by the first session of the
First Congress in 1789 and were ratified by the States in late 1791. These
amendments set out the great constitutional guarantees of freedom of belief and
expression, of freedom and security of the person, and of fair and equal
treatment before the law.
Informal
Amendment – the process by which over time many
changes haven been made in the Constitution which have not involved any changes
in its written words. Because the constitution is written in brief, even
skeletal in nature, the real key to constitutional change and development lies
in the process of informal amendment.
Executive
Agreement – a pact made by the President
directly with the head of a foreign state; a binding international agreement
with the force of law but which unlike a treaty does not require Senate consent
but they are as legally binding as treaties. Recent Presidents have often used
them in our dealings with other countries.
Treaty
– a formal agreement between two or more sovereign states. It needs the
consent of Congress. The treaty making process was outlined in Article II,
Section 2 of the Constitution.
Electoral
College – the group that makes the formal
selection of the nations President, from what the Framers intended into a
“rubber stamp” for each State’s popular vote in presidential elections.
Neither the Constitution nor any law provides for the nomination of candidates
for presidency so from 1830s and on, the major parties start holding national
conventions for the election of the president. These parties have converted the
Electoral College.
Cabinet
– an advisory body to the President traditionally made up of the heads of the
executive departments and other officers. There are 14 executive departments. Cabinet
members may not be sitting legislators. They must resign their legislative
office if they accept a cabinet appointment.
Senatorial
Courtesy – it is the long-established custom
that the Senate will only approve those presidential appointees that are
acceptable to the senator or the senators of the President’s party from the
State involved. For example, a federal judge or a Unites States marshal. This
practice is closely followed in the Senate. The effect is to shift a portion of
the appointing power from the President, where the formal wording of the
Constitution puts it, to certain members of the Senate.