- Popular Sovereignty : notion that political power or the power to govern is derived from the people
- Federalism :the idea of a federal organization of more or less self-governing units
- Separation of Powers : the division of governmental authority and powers and assigning them to distinct branches
- Checks and Balances : 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
- Judicial Review : review by the Supreme Court of the constitutional validity of a legislative act
- Limited Government : government where it's functions and powers are prescribed, limited, and restricted by law
- Bill of Attainder : a legislative enactment that punishes a person in place of a trial
- Elastic Clause : a clause in the U.S constitution that empowers the Congress to make laws that are necessary and proper for carrying out its powers
- Supremacy Clause : also known as "the supreme law of the land", mandates that all judges must follow federal laws when a conflict arises between federal law and state law of any state
- Writ of Habeas Corpus : a writ ordering a prisoner to be brought before a judge
- Ex Post Facto : laws with retro-active effect or force
- Due Process : fair treatment through the normal judicial system especially as a citizen's entitlement
- Expressed Powers : the Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the U.S
- Implied Powers : powers not specifically spelled out in the constitution, but which can deduced from the text
- Full Faith and Credit : a guarantee to pay interest and principal on debt
- Privileges and Immunities : no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the U.S
- Extradition : official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state
- Republic : a form of government in which the country is considered a "public matter"