Handout H: Glossary – The United States Constitution (ELL)

Amendment: A change or an addition (to the Constitution).

Article of the Constitution: The seven different parts or sections of the Constitution.

Consent of the Governed: The power of the government comes from the people.

Constitution: The document that explains the plan of government and rules it follows.

Executive Branch: The part of government that enforces the laws, headed by the president.

Federalism: The people delegate certain powers to the national government, while the states retain other powers.

Inalienable Rights: Rights which belong to us by nature and can never be justly taken away.

Judicial Branch: The part of government that makes laws.

Limited Government: Citizens are best able to pursue happiness when government is confined to those powers which protect their life, liberty, and property.

Ratify: To pass or approve a law.

Representative Government: Form of government in which the people are sovereign (the ultimate source of power) and authorize representatives to make and carry out laws.

Republic: A system of government where citizens freely elect representatives to make and carry out laws.

Separation of Powers/Checks and Balances: A system of distinct powers built into the Constitution to prevent accumulation of power in one branch.