question

the colonists of the New World and their reasons for wanting to govern themselves

answer

they were independent people and felt like they couldn't use the same system as back at home

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local participation in decision-making allowed the colonists by King James I

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he let them have some local participation such as the first elected colonial assembly (Ex: Virginia House of Burgesses) and the General Court that governed the Massachusetts bay colony

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oppressive British traditions absent in the new world

answer

feudalism, a rigid class system, and the absolute authority of the king

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mercantilism

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an economic theory designed to increase a nation's wealth through the development of commercial industry and a favorable balance of trade

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French and Indian War

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1756-1763, fought on the Western fronteir and in Canada, part of a global war initiated by the British, fought with england vs french & indians, cause was land claims and it was resolved by the Treaty of Paris

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Treaty of Paris 1763

answer

ended the French & Indian war, made the people expect to be able to settle the west because the Indian problem was under control

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Stamp Act of 1765

answer

required all paper items bought and sold in the colonies carry a stamp mandated by the crown, faced major opposition by the colonies because they feared that it would set a precedent for parliament to raise taxes without colonial approval

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quartering act of 1765

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required colonists to furnish barracks or provide living quarters within their own homes for british troops

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Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry

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led the sons of liberty

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sons and daughters of liberty

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started riots and protested against acts of the parliament

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protests and boycotts

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often protested violently (burning the colonial governor's home) and boycotted goods needing the stamps/British imports in general

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stamp act congress of 1765

answer

meeting of representatives of 9 of 13 colonies held in NYC in 1765, during which representatives drafted a document to send to the king listing how their rights had been violated

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townshend act of 1767

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imposed duties on all kinds of colonial imports, boycotted tea and other goods to show resistence

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committees of correspondence

answer

organizations in each of the american colonies created to keep colonists abreast of developments with the British; served as powerful molders of public opinion against the British

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tea act of 1773

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passed by parliament to grant a monopoly to the east india tea company to sell imported tea from Britain

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Boston Tea Party

answer

december 16, 1773; colonists threw a shipment of tea in the boston harbor in protest of the tea act

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coercive acts of 1774 (intolerable acts)

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king george's 1st act of retaliation to the Boston Tea Party, contained a key provision calling for a blockade on the boston harbor and it reinforced the quartering act

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first continental congress 1774

answer

meeting held in Philadelphia from 9/5-10/26 1774 in which 56 delegates from everywhere but Georgia adopted a resolution in opposition to the Coercive acts

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declaration of rights and resolves

answer

drafted @ 1st continental congress, called for colonial rights of petition and assembly, trial by peers, freedom from a standing army, and the selection of representative councils to levy taxes

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second continental congress 1775

answer

meeting then convened in philadelphia on 5/10/1775 at which was decided that an army should be raised and George Washington of Virginia was named commander in chief

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olive branch petition

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adopted on 7/5/1775, asked king to end hostilities, George rejected it and sent 20000 more troops to quell the rebellion

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thomas paine and common sense

answer

pamphlet forcefully arguing for independence from Great Britain, denounced the British monarchy and offered reasons to break from GB

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resolution by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia on 7/7/1776

answer

wrote a 3 part resolution with famous quote "..and of right to be free and independent states"

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3 parts of lee's resolution

answer

independence, formation of foreign alliances, a preparation of confederation

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confederation

answer

type of government where the national government derives its powers from the states; a league of independent states

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declaration of independence

answer

document drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 that proclaimed the right of the american colonies to separate from Great Britain

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Thomas Jefferson

answer

penned the declaration of independence/chairperson

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John Locke and the Declaration of Independence

answer

Locke's ideas were heavily drawn upon in the declaration

question

articles of confederation

answer

the compact among the 13 original states that was the basis of their government, written in 1776, not ratified by all states until 1781

question

a confederation derives all its powers from the states

answer

Unlike GB's unitary system of government, wherein all of the powers of the government reside in the national government, the national government in a confederation derives all of its powers directly from the states. Thus, the national government in a confederacy is weaker than the sum of its parts, and the states often consider themselves independent nation-states linked together only for limited purposes such as national defense.

question

key provisions of the articles of confederation

answer

1- A national government with congress empowered to make peace, coin money, appoint officers for an army, control the post office, and negotiate with Indian tribes 2-each state's retention of its independence and sovereignty, or ultimate authority, to govern within its territories 3-one vote in the continental congress for each state, regardless of size 4-the vote of 9 states to pass any measure and a unanimous vote for any amendment to pass 5-selection and payment of delegates to the congress by their respective state legislatures

question

the critical "period" from 1781-89

answer

a chaotic period when the former colonies were governed under the articles of confederation was known as the critical period because it was hard to govern the nation under the articles and nothing could be accomplished

question

effects of the weaknesses of the articles of confederation- no power to tax

answer

taxes on land, liquor etc were proposed but rejected because congress had no specific power to tax thus the government had little revenue in this respect

question

effects of the weaknesses of the articles of confederation-no resources to back its national currency

answer

the national government could coin money but it had no resources to back up the value of its currency, continental dollars were worth little

question

effects of the weaknesses of the articles of confederation- no power to regulate commerce among the states or with foreign nations

answer

interstate trade was complicated because states began to coin their own money, congress couldn't regulate commerce so individual states made their own agreements with foreign nations and these other countries were suspicious of trade agreements with the congress of the confederation

question

effects of the weaknesses of the articles of confederation- no chief executive to execute the laws

answer

they feared a president would rule tyrannically so they didn't have one to implement laws, the president was merely the presiding officer at meetings

question

effects of the weaknesses of the articles of confederation- no judicial system

answer

they had no judicial system to handle the growing number of economic conflicts and land disputes

question

effects of the weaknesses of the articles of confederation- no strong central government

answer

after the war states went back to doing their own thing and were unwilling to give up rights to a national government, this led us not to be able to enforce the treaty of paris

question

dissatisfaction of Washington and Hamilton with Articles of Confederation

answer

they saw the need for a stronger national government with the authority to act to solve problems with the economy, by 1785-85 other state governments began discussing how to strengthen the national government

question

requirements for voting and holding office

answer

in Massachusetts in 1780, the new constitution set property owning requirements that barred the lower and middle classes from voting and office holding.

question

factors leading to shay's rebellion

answer

As Massachusetts economy worsened, banks foreclosed on the farms of many Massachusetts continental army veterans who were waiting for promised bonuses that the national gov had no funds to pay, the last straw was in 1786 when Massachusetts legislature enacted a new law requiring the payment of all debts in cash

question

daniel shays

answer

the 1786 Massachusetts law requiring debts to be paid in cash pushed him over the edge, he was a former Massachusetts Continental army captain who organized 1500 armed farmers to march to springfield mass

question

shay's rebellion

answer

a 1786 rebellion in which an army of 1500 disgruntled and angry farmers led by daniel shays marched to springfield mass and forcibly restrained the state court from foreclosing mortgages on their farms

question

national and state response to shays rebellion

answer

the failure of the congress to muster an army to put down the rebellion provided a dramatic example of the weaknesses inherent in the articles of confederation and shocked the nation's leaders into recognizing the new government's overwhelming inadequacies

question

implications for government of shays rebellion

answer

it prompted several states to join together to call for a convention in philadelphia in 1787

question

constitutional convention of 1787

answer

in the throes of economic turmoil and with domestic tranquility gone haywire, the congress passed an official resolution, it called for a constitutional convention in phili for "the sole and express purpose of revising the articles of confederation", here came about the virginia and new jersey plans, the virginia plan was triumphant and the basic structure of the new gov was complete but the constitutional convention was not complete

question

secrecy attendant to the convention

answer

the 55 delegates in attendance at the constitutional convention were barred from speaking about what went on, all work was conducted behind closed doors and washington cautioned everyone not to reveal details even to family members

question

founding fathers

answer

all of the delegates at the constitutional convention were men so thus they are called the founding fathers, most were young and in their 20-30s and only ben franklin (81) was old, we generally refer to them as the framers bc their work provided the framework for our government

question

constitution

answer

a document establishing the structure, functions, and limitations of a government

question

charles beard's an economic interpretation of the constitution

answer

beard argued that the 1780s were a critical period not for the nation as a whole but rather for businessmen who feared that a weak, decentralized government could harm their economic interests; argued merchants wanted a strong national gov to promote industry and trade, to protect private property, and ro ensure payment of the public debt and therefore the constitution represented an economic document drawn with superb skill by men whose property interests were immediately at stake

question

progeny of beard's work

answer

beard's view had fallen into disfavor in the 1950s when other historians were unable to find direct links between wealth and the framers motives for establishing the constitution and others faulted beards failure to consider the impact of religion and individual views about government, by the 1960s historians argued for social and economic factors as important motives for the constitution

question

virginia plan

answer

the first general plan for the constitution, proposed by james madison and edmund randolph; its key points were a bicameral legislature, an executive chosen by the legislature, and a judiciary also named by the legislature

question

new jersey plan

answer

a framework for the constitution proposed by a group of small states; key points were a one house legislature with one vote for each state, the establishment of the acts of congress as the supreme law of the land, and a supreme judiciary with limited power

question

problems between small states desire for equal representation in new congress and large states demand for proportional representation

answer

this was the most serious disagreement, connecticut came up with the compromise to have the house's representation be based on size and the senate's representation be based on equal vote

question

great compromise

answer

a decision made during the constitutional convention to give each state the same number of representatives in the senate regardless of size; representation in the house was determined by population

question

problems arising from regional differences

answer

slavery, which formed the basis of much of the southern states' cotton economy, was one of the thorniest regional issues to address; to reach an agreement on the constitution, the framers had to craft a compromise that balanced southern commercial interests with comparable northern concerns; northerners agreed to support slave trade for 20 more years and banned taxing exports for 25 years to protect the cotton trade while southerners consented to a provision requiring only a majority vote on navigation laws and the national gov could regulate foreign commerce and the senate could ratify treaties by a 2/3 majority

question

3/5 compromise

answer

Agreement reached at the constitutional convention stipulating that each slave was to be counted as 3/5 of a person for purposes of determining population for representation in the US house of representatives

question

concerns of the framers over a chief executive

answer

they agreed on the idea of a one person executive but could not settle on the length of the term of office or on how the chief executive should be selected, they feared putting too much power into the hands of lower classes and the smaller states feared that selection of the president by the legislature would put more power into the hands of bigger states

question

recommendations of the committee on unfinished portions

answer

their sole responsibility was to iron out problems and disagreements concerning the office of chief executive, they recommended the term be 4 years and by choosing not to mention a period of time within which the president could be reelected they made it possible for the president to serve more than one term

question

electoral college

answer

the framers created the electoral college and drafted rules concerning removal of a sitting president, the electoral college system gave individual states a key role because each state selected electors equal to the number of representatives it had in the house and senate, removed the election of president and vice president from the congress and the people and put it in the hands of electors whose method of selection would be left to the states

question

hamilton in federalist no. 68

answer

he mentioned the electoral college was fashioned to avoid the tumult and disorder that the framers feared could result if the masses were allowed to vote directly for president and instead the selection was left to a small number of men who possessed the info and discernment requisite to decide the complicated business of selecting the president

question

impeachment and removal

answer

the house of rep was given the sole responsibility of investigating and charging a president or vice president with treason bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, a majority would result in issuing articles of impeachment against the president or vice president; the senate was given the responsibility to try the president or vice president on the charges issued by the house, a 2/3 vote of the senate was required to convict and remove the president or the vice president from office while the the chief justice presided over the senate proceedings

question

early draft of the preamble

answer

the phrase we the people ended the question of from where the government derived its power: it came directly from the people; it originally listed we the people of individual states but it was changed to of the united states to proclaim that a loose confederation of states no longer existed

question

final draft of the preamble

answer

the final draft explained the need for the new outline of gov: "in order to form a more perfect union" indirectly acknowledged the weaknesses of the articles of confederation; the optimistic goals of the framers for the new constitution were set out: "establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity; followed by the formal creation of a new gov: "do ordain and establish this constitution for the united states of america"

question

montesquieu

answer

the proposed structure of the new national gov owed much to the writings of french philosopher montesquieu who advocated distinct functions for each branch of gov,called separation of powers, with a system of checks and balances between each branch

question

separation of powers

answer

a way of dividing power among three branches of gov in which members of the house of rep, members of the senate, the president, and the federal courts are selected by and responsible to different constituencies

question

checks and balances

answer

a governmental structure that gives each of the 3 branches of gov some degree of oversight and control over the actions of the others

question

federalism

answer

principle that the federal gov derived its power from the citizens, not states, as the national gov had done under the articles of confederation

question

federal system

answer

plan of government created in the us constitution in which power is divided between the national government and the state governments and in which independent states are bound together under one national government

question

3 key features of separation of powers

answer

1-three distinct branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial 2-three separately staffed branches of government to exercise these functions 3-constitutional equality and independence of each branch

question

different means of selecting federal officers

answer

initially members of the house, senate, the president, and members of federal courts were selected by and therefore responsible to different constituencies. madison felt this would divide the offices of the new gov and their methods of selection among many individuals, providing the office older with the necessary means and personal motives to resist encroachment on his or her power

question

how senators originally elected under the constitution

answer

originally the selection of senators was placed with state legislators, making them more accountable to the states

question

Seventeenth amendment

answer

ratified in 1913, called for direct election of senators by the voters

question

separation of powers and checks and balances under the us constitution

answer

there isn't a pure system of separation of powers because of checks and balances, this symbiotic relationship has existed from the very beginning

question

marbury vs madison

answer

1803, decided that judicial interpretation/judicial review was allowed; it helps clarify the implementation of legislation enacted

question

article 1- legislative branch

answer

vests all legislative powers in the congress and established a bicameral legislature, consisting of the senate and the house of rep; sets qualifications for holding office in each house, the terms of office, the methods of selection of representatives and senators, and the system of apportionment among the states to determine membership in the house of rep

question

article 1-enumerated powers

answer

17 specific powers granted to congress under article 1 section 8 of the us constitution; these powers include taxation, coinage of money, regulation of commerce, and the authority to provide for a national defense

question

article 1-necessary and proper clause (elastic clause)

answer

the final paragraph of article 1 section 8 of the us constitution which gives congress the authority to pass all laws necessary and proper to carry out the enumerated powers specified in the constitution; also called elastic clause

question

article 1-implied powers

answer

powers derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause, these powers are not stated specifically but are considered to be reasonably implied through the exercise of delegated powers

question

article 2-executive branch

answer

vests the executive power in a president of the us, section 1 sets the presidents term of office at four years and explains the electoral college and states the qualifications for office and describes a mechanism to replace the president in case of death, disability, or removal

question

article 2-important powers of the president in section 3

answer

section 3 sets out the powers and duties of the president-presidents role as commander in chief, the authority to make treaties with consent of the senate, the authority to appoint ambassadors other public ministers and consuls, the judges of the supreme court, and all other officers of the united states, etc;

question

article 2-state of the union address

answer

president must report to congress the state of the union address and to take care that the laws be faithfully executed

question

article 2-section 4

answer

section 4 states how the president vp and other officers can be removed from office;

question

article 3-supreme court

answer

article 3 establishes supreme court, they cab settle disputes between states or between a state and the national gov; ultimately the supreme court determines what provisions of the constitution actually meant

question

article 3-congress and the lower courts

answer

smaller states feared a strong unelected judiciary would trample on their liberties so congress was allowed to establish lower national courts; thus state courts and the national court system would exist with distinct areas of authority

question

article 3-appointments for life

answer

some wanted the president to be able to get rid of judges but judges were given appointments for life presuming good behavior, salaries cannot by lowered while they hold office

question

articles 4 through 7

answer

remainder of articles attempted to anticipate problems that might occur in the operation of the new national government as well as its relations to the states

question

article 4 and full faith and credit clause

answer

mandates that states honor the laws and judicial proceedings of the other states and it also includes mechanisms for admitting new states into the union

question

article 5 and amendments

answer

specifies how amendments can be added to the constitution, the bill of rights was one of the first orders of business when the first congress met in 1789 and since then only 17 amendments have been ratified

question

article 6 and the supremacy clause

answer

contains supremacy clause which asserts the basic primacy of the constitution and national law over state laws and constitutions, because of the supremacy clause legitimate exercises of national power supersedes any state law or action called preemption

question

supremacy clause

answer

portion of article 6 of the constitution mandating that national law is supreme to all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government

question

article 6 and no religious test for public office

answer

mindful of the potential problems that could occur if church and state were too enmeshed, strengthens the separation of church and state guarantee that was quickly added to the constitution when the first amendment was ratified

question

article 7 and ratification

answer

7th article concerns the procedures for ratification of the new constitution of the new constitution- 9 of 13 states would have to agree to its new provisions before it would become the supreme law of the land

question

letter from george washington with the proposed constitution sent to the second continental congress

answer

summed up the sentiments of the framers and the spirit of compromise that had permeated the long weeks in phili

question

who favored the proposed constitution in the second continental congress

answer

wealthy merchants, lawyers, bankers, and those who believed that the new nation could not continue to exist under the articles of confederation

question

federalists

answer

those who favored a stronger national government and supported the proposed us constitution; later became the first us political party

question

antifederalists

answer

those who favored strong state gov and a weak national government and opposed the ratification of the us constitution

question

publius

answer

latin for people, it was a pen name under 85 articles in newspapers in new york, where ratification was in doubt

question

alexander hamilton, james madison, and john jay

answer

writers of publius; hamilton wrote 51 (new yorker) madison wrote 26 (virginian) these two jointly penned 3 and jay wrote 5 (new yorker)

question

the federalist paper

answer

a series of 85 political papers written by jay hamilton and madison in support of ratification of the us constitution

question

federalist no 10

answer

said the new constitution was a republican remedy for the disease incident to republican government

question

brutus and cato

answer

anti feds responded to the federalist papers with their own series of letters and the pen names were brutus and cato, these were line by line critiques of the constitution

question

anti federalist arguments

answer

a strong central gov would render the states powerless, the strengths of gov were in the articles and the constitution did not create a true federal system, the strong national gov would tax heavily, supreme court will overwhelm the states, president will eventually have too much power

question

madison answers the criticisms raise by the anti federalist in federalist nos. 10 and 51

answer

madison said federalist no 10 was wrong to say voters would succeed in electing enlightened statesmen in their representatives and he claimed the greatest threat would come from factions within the gov, in federalist no 51 he argued that the proposed federal gov's separation of powers would prohibit any one branch from either dominating the national gov of violating the rights of citizens

question

submission of the bill of rights as political compromise to assuage anti federalist fears

answer

bill of rights was used to get north carolina and other anti fed states to ratify the constitution

question

bill of rights

answer

1st ten amendments to the us constitution

question

proposed amendments sent to the states for ratification

answer

an amendment authorizing the enlargement of the house and another to prevent members of the house from raising their own salaries failed to pass but the bill of rights were ratified

question

twenty seventh (madison) amendment

answer

madison proposed that any salary increase for members of congress could not take effect until the next session of congress two centuries before the plan would pass as the 27th amendment

question

bill of rights sought by the anti federalists

answer

the bill of rights was sought by anti feds as a protection for individual liberties so they offered many specific limitations on the national gov's ability to interfere with a wide variety of personal liberties

question

protections and guarantees of the bill of rights

answer

the bill of rights includes numerous specific protections of personal rights such are freedom of expression, speech, press, religion, and assembly; it also contains safteguards for those accused of crimes. the right to bear arms and the right not to have soldiers quartered in private homes were reactions to British rule and the 9th amendment gives enumerated rights not specifically listed, the 10th states that powers not given to the national government are reserved by the states

question

reasons for the formal amendment process to be a slow one

answer

the framers did not want to form a gov that could be too influenced by the whims of the people so they made the formal amendment process a slow one to ensure that the constitution was not impulsively amended

question

article 5 of constitution

answer

creates a two stage amendment process: proposal and ratification; constitution specifies two ways to accomplish each stage.

question

two stage amendment process

answer

proposal and ratification are the two stages

question

two methods of proposal

answer

amendments can be proposed by 1) a vote of 2/3 of the members in both houses of congress 2) a vote of 2/3 of the state legislatures specifically requesting congress to call a national convention to propose amendments

question

ratification must occur in one of two ways

answer

when congress votes to propose and amendment the constitution specifies that the ratification process must occur in one of two ways 1) a favorable vote in 3/4 of the state legislatures or 2) a favorable vote in specially called ratifying conventions in 3/4 of the states

question

18th and 21st amendments

answer

18th was ratified by a vote in state legislatures, 21st was sent to the states for ratification with a convention and not a vote in the state legislatures

question

ERA

answer

the intensity of efforts to amend the constitution has varied depending on the nature of the change proposed. the 21st amendment took only 10 months to ratify but the equal rights amendment was introduced from 1923 to 1972 when congress finally voted in favor of it

question

reaction to texas v johnson 1989

answer

us supreme court ruled that burning the american flag was a form of speech protected under the 1st amendment, the republicans have been trying to pass an amendment to prohibit flag burning since this happened, one of the few democrats to support it is hilary clinton

question

judicial interpretation-marbudy v madison 1803

answer

declared that the federal courts had the power to nullify acts of the nations government when they were found to be in conflict with the constitution; this has significantly increased the courts power and altered the meaning of various provisions of the constitution

question

criticisms of judicial review

answer

some argue the intent of the framers should govern judicial interpretation of the constitution, others argue the framers knew that a changing society needed an elastic and flexible document that could adapt to the ages; in all likelihood the vagueness of the document was purposeful

question

evolution of constitution to accommodate change

answer

the framers couldn't have predicted the amount of change that the constitution would allow for, it has evolved to accommodate many social and racial issues like how it doesn't specifically say women are guaranteed equal protection of the law but it has been interpreted to prohibit many forms of gender discrimination

question

great depression and the new deal

answer

social change has also caused changes in the way institutions of gov act, as problems like the great depression appears national in scope congress took on more and more power at the expense of the states to solve economic and social crises

question

great depression and the new deal

answer

social change has also caused changes in the way institutions of gov act, as problems like the great depression appears national in scope congress took on more and more power at the expense of the states to solve economic and social crises

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