WGU C963 Terms And Definition

WGU C963 Terms And Definition 1.Natural Rights>> The right to life, liberty, and property; believed to be given by God; no government may take them away.

2.State of Nature>> A theory on how people might have lived before societies came into existence.

3.Due Process>> The requirement that government, when dealing with people, have in place a fair procedure which it equally applies to all.

4.Social Contract>> An agreement between people and government in which citizens consent to be governed so long as the government protects their natural rights.

5.Political Ideologies>> Coherent philosophies about the structure, power, and purpose of government.

6.Bicameral Legislature>> A lawmaking body that consists of two separate cham- bers. 1 / 3

7.Popular Vote>> An election in which the winner is determined by the number of individual votes obtained.

8.Virginia Plan>> A plan for a two-house legislature; representatives would be elected to the lower house based on each state's population; representatives for the upper house would be chosen by the lower house.

9.New Jersey Plan>> A plan that called for a one-house national legislature; each state would receive one vote.

10.Great Compromise>> Also known as the Connecticut Compromise.A compro- mise between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan that created a bicameral legislature; representation based on population in the House of Representatives and equal representation of states in the Senate.

11.Three-Fifths Compromise>> A compromise between northern and southern states that called for counting of all a state's free population and 60 percent of its slave population for both federal taxation and 2 / 3

representation in Congress.

12.Veto>> The power of the president to reject a law proposed by Congress.

13.Checks and Balances>> A system that allows one branch of government to limit the exercise of power by another branch; requires the different parts of government to work together..

14.Separation of Powers>> The sharing of powers among three separate branch- es of government.