"The American Pageant," Vocabulary from Chapters 9-11

This list focuses on the Confederation, the Constitution, the ship of state, and the Jeffersonian Republic (1776-1812).

Here are links to all the chapters in Part Two, Building the New Nation: Chapters 9-11, Chapters 12-13, Chapters 14-15

Here are links to all the parts of the textbook published by Houghton Mifflin: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. egalitarian
    favoring social equality
  2. idealism
    belief that the best possible concepts should be pursued
  3. expediency
    the quality of being suited to the end in view
  4. republic
    a political system in which power lies in a body of citizens
  5. constitution
    law determining the fundamental principles of a government
  6. ratify
    approve and express assent, responsibility, or obligation
  7. unanimous
    in complete agreement
  8. confederation
    a union of political organizations
  9. ordinance
    a statute enacted by a city government
  10. requisition
    an authoritative demand
  11. democratic
    representing or appealing to the people at large
  12. despotism
    dominance through threat of punishment and violence
  13. commerce
    transactions supplying goods and services
  14. tariff
    a government tax on imports or exports
  15. convention
    a large formal assembly
  16. framework
    the underlying structure
  17. bicameral
    composed of two legislative bodies
  18. federalism
    government divided between central and regional powers
  19. orator
    a person who delivers a speech
  20. eloquence
    powerful and effective language
  21. sovereignty
    government free from external control
  22. executive branch
    part of U.S. government responsible for carrying out laws
  23. judiciary
    the system of law courts that administer justice
  24. legislature
    an assembly that makes, amends, or repeals laws
  25. cabinet
    group chosen by a head of state to run executive departments
  26. assume
    take on as one's own the expenses or debts of another person
  27. obligation
    a written promise to repay a debt
  28. customs
    the government agency that oversees and collects duties on imported goods
  29. revenue
    government income due to taxation
  30. clause
    a separate section of a legal document
  31. stipulate
    make an express demand or provision in an agreement
  32. necessary
    absolutely essential
  33. proper
    marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness
  34. political
    involving or characteristic of governing or social power
  35. partisan
    devoted to a cause or political group
  36. neutrality
    nonparticipation in a dispute or war
  37. impress
    take against someone's will for compulsory service
  38. alien
    a person who comes from a foreign country
  39. compact
    a signed written agreement between two or more parties
  40. jurisdiction
    the right and power to interpret and apply the law
  41. nullification
    doctrine that a state can refuse to recognize a federal law
  42. agrarian
    relating to rural matters
  43. virtue
    the quality of doing what is right
  44. frugality
    prudence in avoiding waste
  45. moderation
    the trait of avoiding excesses
  46. pacifist
    someone opposed to violence as a means of settling disputes
  47. envoy
    a diplomat having less authority than an ambassador
  48. embargo
    a government order imposing a trade barrier
  49. territory
    the geographical area under the jurisdiction of a state
  50. acquisition
    the act of contracting or assuming possession of something
Created on Tue Nov 22 11:02:33 EST 2016 (updated Tue Nov 29 16:19:58 EST 2016)

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