the large-scale buying and selling of goods, such as between states or countries

a partnership among countries or states in which authority over all is loosely shared

a document containing the fundamental political principles on which a state or nation is governed

the ability to obtain loans from individuals, businesses, or other countries based on trust that repayment will be made

a government controlled by the people, sometimes through elected representatives

a system of government that finely balances power between a central authority and smaller component governments

a type of representation where the number of representatives from a state or territory depend on its population

to formally approve a treaty, agreement, or law in order to make it valid

What were the 3 major problems faced by Americans after the Revolutionary War?

Why didn't American leaders create a strong central government?

What events helped state leaders in the new nation recognize that a stronger central government was needed?

1777-1789, America's first government, too weak

A written guarantee of individual rights.

(Democracy) The authority for government flows from the people. (Amendment IX and the Preamble)

Unalienable rights are guaranteed to all citizens in the Preamble and the Bill of Rights.

The federal system divides governmental powers between national government and the governments of the states. (10th Amendment)

The structure of the new national government established three separate branches of government to limit the power of any one branch. The Legislative Branch is the United States Congress which makes the laws. Congress is a two-house legislature. The Judicial Branch consists of federal courts. The highest court is the Supreme Court which determines if laws made by Congress are constitutional. The Executive Branch is headed by the President and carries out the laws. The Vice President and the Secretaries of all departments are also in the Executive branch.

Each branch can check the power of the other. These checks keep any one branch from gaining too much power (Articles I, II, III). An example of checks and balances is the process by which a bill becomes a law. The bill must be passed by both houses of the Congress. Then President may sign it or veto it. If the bill is vetoed, then the Congress may override the president's veto with a 2/3 vote.

Powers of the government are restricted by the Constitution as stated in Articles I, II, and III and by the Bill of Rights which protects the rights of the individual against excessive power by the government.

The constitution recognizes that the authority of the government derives from "We, the people." Voters hold the sovereign power but elect representatives to exercise power for them, including the president, Senators and Representatives (The Preamble and Article I, II).

Most state governments __________ the organization of the national government, with an executive, legislative and judicial branch including the concepts listed above, such as checks and balances.