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Glossary of Terms
Amerced - penalized or punished according to the law. [Magna Carta]
Bill of attainer - a law that punishes a specific person without the benefit
of a trial. [U.S. Constitution]
Chattels - an article of personable or moveable property as distinguished
from ownership of land. Furniture, farm equipment and jewels are examples
of chattels. [Magna Carta]
Compact colonies - English colonies which, due to the religious beliefs of
the colonist, set out to become self-governing colonies. Plymouth, Rhode
Island, Connecticut and New Haven were organized as compact colonies.
Corruption of blood - the punishment of a criminals by taking away
inheritance rights. [U.S. Constitution]
Direct democracy - the direct vote of the towns people on every issue in a
New England town meeting.
Double jeopardy - being tried twice for the same crime. [5th Amendment]
Disseised - to be deprived or to be dispossessed of a possession.
Distrained - seized to satisfy a claim.
Elastic clause - Article I, section 8, (necessary and proper clause) this
gives the congress the power execute enumerated powers and is the basis
for the implied power. [U.S. Constitution]
Eminent domain - the right of the government to take private property for
public use.
Enumerated powers - Powers of the congress located in Article I section 8.
[U.S. Constitution]
Excommunication - an act, usually by the Pope or another church official,
denying the sacraments either to specific individuals or to those living in a
specific geographical area.
Ex post facto law - a law punishing people for doing something that was not
against the law when done. [U.S. Constitution]
Extradition - the returning of a person suspected of a crime from one state
to another.
Franchise - the right to vote (see Suffrage).
Forfeiture - taking away a criminal's goods as a punishment for a crime.
[U.S. Constitution]
Freemen - a person who has all the rights of citizenship of a city or state.
[Magna Carta]
Freeholder - a person who meets the property ownership qualification to vote.
Grievance - complaint. [U.S. Constitution] and [Amendments]
Habeas corpus - an order requiring that a prisoner has been brought before a
judge to determine if he or she is being lawfully held. [U.S. Constitution]
Imminent - a event that is about to happen immediately or in the near future.
[U.S. Constitution]
Implied powers - The powers that Congress requires in order to execute its
enumerated powers.
Impost - a tax on a good coming into a country. [U.S. Constitution]
Indictment - a formal charge by a grand jury accusing a person of a crime.
Joint stock colonies - colonies that establish by a corporation. The first
colonies in America, Plymouth, and Massachusetts Bay, were established by
joint stock colonies.
Laissez faire - An economic doctrine that opposed any form of government
intervention in business.
Override - the power to overturn a presidential veto by two-thirds vote of
both houses.
Papists - Roman Catholics.
Petit jury - a jury that decides if a person is innocent of guilty of a crime.
President pro tempore - a member of the senate who is the presiding officer
when the vice-president is absent. [U.S. Constitution]
Quorum - the number of persons, usually more than half, that must be present
for a group to conduct its business. [U.S. Constitution]
Reprieve - a delay in carrying out the punishment, especially the death
penalty, of aa convicted criminal. [U.S. Constitution]
Scutage - payment made in lieu of military service. [Magna Carta]
Separation of powers - the division of powers between the legislative,
executive and judicial branches of government.
Suffrage - the right to vote. [U.S. Constitution]
Villain - a peasant of farm worker. [Magna Carta]
Writ - a legal paper or court order. [U.S. Constitution]
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution,
they are called this because they provide basic legal protection for
individual rights. The most fundamental rights that are protected by the
U.S. Bill of Rights are contained in the 1st Amendment. These rights include
the freedom of speech, religion, and the freedom to assemble.
William Blount - [U.S. Constitution]
William Blount was born March 26, 1749 and died on March 21, 1800. Blount
fought in the American Revolution, was a delegate to Congress (1782-83,
1786-87) and the Constitutional Convention (1787). Blount was elected in
1796 as a U.S. senator from the state of Tennessee.
Jacob Broom - [U.S. Constitution]
Jacob Broom was born in 1752, and died on April 25, 1810. Broom was a
delegate from Delaware to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in
1787. In 1786 he attended the Annapolis Convention.
Benjamin Franklin - [U.S. Constitution]
Benjamin Franklin (1706-90) was born in Boston on Jan. 17, 1706, into a pious
Puritan household. His parents raised a family of 13 children. In the
sayings of "Poor Richard" like "Early to bed and early to rise make a man
healthy, wealthy, and wise" Franklin served on the Pennsylvania Committee
of Safety and in the Continental Congress, submitted articles of
confederation for the united colonies, proposed a new constitution for
Pennsylvania, and helped draft the Declaration of Independence. He readily
signed the declaration, thus becoming a revolutionist at the age of 70.
Alexander Hamilton - [U.S. Constitution]
Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804) was one of the most influential of the United
States's founding fathers. Hamilton was born on the West Indian island of
Nevis in 1755. He attended the College of New Jersey at Princeton. He was
the first secretary of the treasury of the United States. Elected a member
of the Continental Congress in 1782, Hamilton at once became a leading
proponent of a stronger national government than that provided for by the
Articles of Confederation.
John Langdon - [U.S. Constitution]
John Langdon was born on June 5, 1741 and died September 18, 1819, was a
political leader in New Hampshire during and after the American Revolution.
A delegate to the Constitutional Convention (1787), Langdon campaigned
vigorously in New Hampshire for ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
James Madison - [U.S. Constitution]
James Madison was one of the foremost architect of the U.S. Constitution, and
a leading theorist of republican government. He was the fourth president of
the United States from 1809-17, he presided over the war of 1812. Madison was
born at Port Conway, Virginia. on March 16, 1751. In High School and the
College of New Jersey at Princeton, from which he graduated in 1771, Madison
was greatly influenced by the works of such enlightenment thinkers as David
Hume, John Locke, and Francois-Marie Arowet (Voltaire).
James McHenry - [U.S. Constitution]
James McHenry was born in Ireland, on November 16, 1753, and died on May
3, 1816 McHenry was the U.S. secretary of war (1796-1800) under Presidents
George Washington and John Adams. He represented the state of Maryland in
the Continental Congress (1783-86) and at the Constitutional Convention
(1787). Fort McHenry is famous for its connection with "The Star-Spangled
Banner" was named in his honor.
Rufus King - [U.S. Constitution]
Rufus King was born on March 24, 1755 and died April 29, 1827. He was an
advocate of strong central government, he was an active member of the
Constitutional Convention of 1787 and urged ratification of the Constitution
by Massachusetts. Because of his strong antislavery views, king took the
lead in the Senate by opposing the admission of Missouri as a slave state
this was named the Missouri Compromise.
John Rutledge - [U.S. Constitution]
John Rutledge was born Charleston, S.C. born September 1739, and died July 18,
1800. He was a leading southern aristocrat who supported the colonies'
struggle for independence. He was designated (1787) as South Carolina's
delegate to the Constitutional Convention.
James Wilson - [U.S. Constitution]
James Wilson was born in Carskerdo, Scotland on September 14, 1742 and died
August 21, 1798. Wilson published several pamphlets denying the power of the
British Parliament over the colonies. Wilson was responsible for the
introduction of the electoral college. He was a member of the Continental
Congress and was one that signed the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Mifflin
Thomas Mifflin was born in Philadelphia on January 10, 1744 and died on
January 20, 1800. Mifflin was a major general in the American Revolution,
later became the first governor of the state of Pennsylvania.