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500 BCE
Soil System
According to current scientific understanding, the soil system began to form around 500 million years ago when the first land plants evolved and started to develop root systems, significantly altering the Earth's rocky surface and initiating soil creation; this occurred during the Devonian period, roughly 400 million years ago. -
18 BCE
checks and balance
counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated, typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of individuals or groups -
18 BCE
district court
the United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district -
18 BCE
Bureaucracy
The term "bureaucracy" was coined in the mid-18th century by French philosopher Vincent de Gournay, but the concept of bureaucracy itself dates back much further -
5 BCE
dictatorship
is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no limitations. -
18
concurrent powers
The term "concurrent power" first appeared in the United States Constitution in the second section of the Eighteenth Amendment. The amendment states, "The Congress and the several states shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation -
1215
Limited Government
Limited government describes a political system where government bodies are prohibited from certain activities. -
1215
Magna Carta
he first document to put into writing the principle that the king and his government was not above the law. -
1216
parliamentary system
a democratic form of government where the legislative branch is the most powerful, and is responsible for making laws -
Jamestown's House of Burgesses
s the first democratically-elected legislative body in the British American colonies -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact, originally titled Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth, was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the men aboard the Mayflower, consisting of Separatist Puritans, adventurers, and tradesmen -
Petition of rights
The petition sought recognition of four principles: no taxation without the consent of Parliament, no imprisonment without cause, no quartering of soldiers on subjects, and no martial law in peacetime. See also petition of right. The Petition of Right was drawn up by Charles's third Parliament in as many years. -
new England confederation
he United Colonies of New England, commonly known as the New England Confederation, was a confederal alliance of the New England colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Saybrook (Connecticut), and New Haven formed in May 1643. -
the crown and Parliament
The Crown informs Parliament of the government's policy ideas and plans for new legislation in a speech delivered from the throne in the House of Lords -
English Bill of rights
passed free speech and protection from cruel and unusual punishment guaranteed -
Declaration and Resolves
The Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress (also known as the Declaration of Colonial Rights, or the Declaration of Rights) was a statement adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 14, 1774, in response to the Intolerable Acts passed by the British Parliament. -
James Madison
James Madison was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. -
sugar act
The Sugar Act 1764 or Sugar Act 1763, also known as the American Revenue Act 1764 or the American Duties Act, was a revenue-raising act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain -
stamp act
The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first internal tax levied directly on American colonists by the British Parliament. -
boycott of British goods
political action taken by American colonists to protect British policies -
Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770, seven British soldiers fired into a crowd of volatile Bostonians, killing five, wounding another six, and angering an entire colony. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest on December 16, 1773, by the Sons of Liberty in Boston in colonial Massachusetts. -
Intolerable act
a series of four laws passed by the British Parliament to punish the colony of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party. -
declaration of independence
The Declaration of Independence, formally titled The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America -
new jersey plan
The New Jersey Plan was a proposal for the structure of the United States Government presented during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Principally authored by William Paterson of New Jersey, -
separation of powers
at the Constitutional Convention. The Framers of the Constitution adopted the doctrine to prevent any one branch of government from becoming too powerful. -
expressed powers
the powers of the United States federal government that are explicitly listed in the Constitution -
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance, enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States -
the constitutional convention
The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. Although the convention was intended to revise the league of states and first system of government -
virginia plan
the Virginia Plan proposed a strong central government composed of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. -
federalist papers
The Federalist articles appeared in three New York newspapers: The Independent Journal, the New-York Packet, and the Daily Advertiser, beginning on October 27, 1787. -
supremacy clause
The Supremacy Clause was established in 1788 when the United States Constitution was ratified. It was introduced as part of the New Jersey Plan during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The clause was a response to issues with the Articles of Confederation, which governed the United States from 1781 to 1789. The Articles lacked a provision that made federal law superior to state law, which led to federal statutes not binding state courts. -
judiciary act
was a United States federal statute enacted on September 24, 1789, during the first session of the First United States Congress. It established the federal judiciary of the United States. -
4th Amendment
protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government -
supreme court
The Supreme Court of the United States first met on Tuesday, February 2, 1790 in New York City. The initial meeting was originally scheduled for Monday, February 1, but was delayed due to transportation issues. The first cases heard by the Supreme Court were in 1791, and the first opinion was delivered in West v. Barnes on August 3, 1791 -
2nd Amendment
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right to keep and bear arms. It was ratified on December 15, 1791 -
1st Amendment
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws respecting an establishment of religion; prohibiting the free exercise of religion; or abridging the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. -
3rd Amendment
The Third Amendment to the United States Constitution places restrictions on the quartering of soldiers in private homes without the owner's consent, forbidding the practice in peacetime. -
state powers
the authority and responsibilities that individual states have within a federal system of government -
5th Amendment
protects criminal defendants from having to testify if they may incriminate themselves through the testimony. -
6th Amendment
grants citizens the right to a jury composed of impartial members drawn from the local community -
inherent powers
theory of inherent powers in the United States began in 1793 when Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, first articulated it. The theory is based on the Constitution's vague statements that the president should "take care that the laws be faithfully executed" and that "the executive Power shall be vested in a President -
judicial restraint
Judicial restraint is the refusal to exercise judicial review in deference to the process of ordinary politics. -
implied powers
Implied powers are powers that are not explicitly stated in the Constitution but are necessary to carry out the powers that are: Enumerated in the Constitution, Expressed in the Constitution, and Granted by the Constitution. -
The modern civil service
The modern civil service in the United States began with the Pendleton Act of 1883, which established the United States Civil Service Commission and created a merit-based hiring system -
federalists
The Federalist Party came into being between 1789 and 1790 as a national coalition of bankers and businessmen in support of Hamilton's fiscal policies. -
great society
The Great Society program became Johnson's agenda for Congress in January 1965: aid to education, attack on disease, Medicare, urban renewal, beautification, conservation, development of depressed regions -
block grants
Block grants became official in the United States in 1966. The first two block grants were the Partnership for Health program and the Safe Streets program, which were enacted during the Johnson administration. -
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. -
27 Amendment
The 27th Amendment to the United States Constitution was originally proposed on September 25, 1789, and ratified on May 7, 1992. It took 202 years, 7 months, and 12 days for the states to ratify the amendment, making it the longest ratification process in U.S. history.