Ch 5 Forming a Government
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Created by:
funfulemma22 on October 27, 2009
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MS17-Quizlets, gsgirls, sgspeeps
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106 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 What made British government officials subject to law? | rule of law |
| What document, signed by King John in 1215, made kings and queens subject to law? | Magna Carta |
| What document declared Parliament's supremacy over monarchs? | English Bill of Rights |
| What philosophical movement emphasized reason over old traditions? | Enlightenment |
| What did John Locke believe? | a social contract existed between rulers and the ruled |
| Who thought the way to liberty was separation of governmental powers? | Baron de Montesquieu |
| What were 4 of America's unique models of self-government? | town meetings, Virginia House of Burgesses, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence |
| What is the word for a set of basic principles and laws stating a government's powers and duties? | constitution |
| Where was America's first state constitution written? | Connecticut |
| What were limited governments? | governments where leaders had to obey laws |
| Which state has the oldest state constitution still in effect? | Massachusetts |
| What was the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom? | document declaring no person could be forced to attend a particular church or pay for a church with tax money |
| How did state constitutions expand suffrage? | white, tax-paying (not just land-owning) men could vote |
| Who could hold public office? | white, tax-paying, land-owning men |
| What was the Committee of Thirteen? | group with one representative per state that drafted the Articles of Confederation |
| Who appointed the Committee of Thirteen? | Second Continental Congress |
| Under the Articles of Confederation, what became the single branch of government? | Congress |
| How many votes in Congress per state? | one |
| What 6 main things could congress do? | settle conflicts, issue coins, borrow money, make treaties with other countries, make treaties with Natives, ask states for money or soldiers |
| Could states refuse Congress' requests? | yes |
| What two things, under Articles of Confederation, didn't U.S. have? | president, national court system |
| What's the word for official approval? | ratification |
| What was the last state to ratify the Articles? Why? | Maryland; wanted all states to give up western land claims |
| What document set up the system for surveying and dividing western lands? | Land Ordinance of 1785 |
| Explain townships. | 36 square miles divided into 36 lots; each lot had 640 acres; 1 lot for schools, 4 for veterans, rest sold to the public |
| What did the Northwest Ordinance of 1785 do? | established Northwest Territory and created a system for admitting new states to the Union |
| How did a territory become a state? | it was given a Congress-appointed governor; when population reached 60,000, it could ask to join |
| What civil liberties did the Northwest Ordinance of 1785 protect? | public education was required; slavery banned in Northwest and future territories |
| Why was the national government threatened by foreign countries? | no army |
| Did Britain turn over its forts quickly? | no; Treaty of Paris difficult to enforce, and Britain threatened to attack with 1,000s of its soldiers waiting in Canada if U.S. tried to seize forts by force |
| What were economic problems caused by Britain? | many British ports closed to U.S. ships; Americans were forced to pay high tariffs on rice, tobacco, tar, and oil; a depression began |
| What were problems with Spain? | Spain closed the lower Mississippi River to U.S. and negotiations failed |
| Who wrote, "Our federal government is but a name; a mere shadow without substance"? | Rhode Island representatives |
| Why did farmers suffer at the hands of the British? | farmers couldn't export to West Indies; had to hire expensive British ships to carry their goods to British ports |
| ________ decreased while ___________ flowed freely into U.S. | exports; imports |
| Why were American businesses hurt? | British merchants sold products to Americans at lower prices |
| What were the main problems with states? | states worked for themselves rather than the country; trade between them wasn't regulated; trade laws differed from state to state |
| What was the term for trade between states? | interstate commerce |
| What did a British magazine call the U.S.? | Dis-United States |
| Explain inflation. | states were in debt, so they printed paper money; inflation occurred and money's value dropped; inflation couldn't be regulated |
| What were reactions of Rhode Islands debtors to inflation? | happy they could pay back their debts |
| What were reactions of Rhode Island creditors? | upset they were being paid back with useless money; hundreds fled to avoid it |
| What is the term for a period of low economic activity combined with a rise in unemployment? | depression |
| Instead of printing worthless paper money, how did Massachusetts pay its war debts? | heavily taxed land |
| How were Massachusetts farmers hurt in repaying war debts? | couldn't always pay new taxes; courts forced them to sell land; some served in debtor's prison, others in sold labor |
| What poor farmer and veteran led angry farmers in a revolt against the courts taking away their property (_____'s Rebellion)? | Daniel Shays |
| What were Shay's rebels' fates? | 14 sentenced to death, most (including Shays) freed after being defeated by state troops |
| What did Shays Rebellion show? | how weak the central government was |
| What was the Annapolis Convention? | a meeting in Annapolis, Maryland with nine states' delegates who were to discuss economic problems and ways to improve the Articles of Confederation; poor attendance |
| Because few made it to the Annapolis Convention, participants like James Madison and Alexander Hamilton called on all 13 states to send delegates to a _________ in ___________ to revise the Articles of Confederation. | Constitutional Convention; Philadelphia |
| Where was the Constitutional Convention held? | Philadelphia's Independence Hall |
| What was the purpose of the Constitutional Convention? What was the result? | to revise the Articles of Confederation; they ended up leaving with a whole new Constitution |
| Who was the president of the Constitutional Convention? | George Washington |
| Who were three famous men who attended the Constitutional Convention? | Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton |
| Who were 6 people and people groups who did not attend the Constitutional Convention? | John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, women, African Americans, and Native Americans |
| What were the six major issues debated at the Constitutional Convention? | how much to change the Articles, representation, economic concerns, tariffs, slavery, how strong the central government should be |
| Who proposed the Virginia Plan? | Edmund Randolph |
| What did the Virginia Plan propose? | supreme power to the central government; bicameral legislature represented by population |
| Who proposed the New Jersey Plan? | William Paterson |
| What did the New Jersey Plan propose? | federal government power to tax citizens and regulate commerce; unicameral legislature with each state represented equally |
| Who proposed the Great Compromise? | Roger Sherman of Connecticut |
| What did the Great Compromise propose? | legislative branch would have two houses; Senate with two representatives per state, House of Representatives with representatives proportionate to population |
| Who was a great speaker who had a dream of a strong central government? | James Wilson |
| Which, north or south, wanted slaves to be counted as part of their population? Why? | south; wanted more Congress representation |
| Which, north or south, didn't want slaves to be counted as part of their population? Why? | north; they didn't want more taxes |
| What said only three-fifths of a state's slave population would count for representation? | Three-Fifths Compromise |
| What allowed Congress to levy tariffs on imports but not exports and allowed the importation of slaves until 1807 | Commerce Compromises |
| What term did the Constitution specifically not say? What did it say instead? | slaves; "free persons" and "all other persons" |
| What was the idea that political authority belonged to the people? Where was the term first used? | popular sovereignty; Declaration of Independence |
| What is the sharing of power between a central government and the states that make up a country? | federalism |
| What made states obey the national government and gave them control over functions not specifically assigned to the national government? | Constitution |
| What were 5 government functions not specifically assigned to the national government under the Constitution? | local government, education, corporation chartering, supervision of religious bodies, create and oversee civil and criminal law |
| What branch is responsible for proposing and passing laws (Congress)? | legislative |
| What are the two houses of the legislative branch? How are the states represented in each? | Senate, two representatives per state; House of Representatives, representation according to population |
| What branch is responsible for enforcing the law (president, police officers)? | executive |
| What branch interprets laws, punishes criminals, and settles disputes between states (national courts)? | judicial |
| What is the system that keeps any branch of government from becoming too powerful? | checks and balances |
| What are 4 ways that checks and balances work? | Congress can pass bills into law, president can veto those laws, but Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote, Supreme Court can veto any law declared unconstitutional |
| How many delegates were there at the Constitutional Convention? How many refused to sign? | 42; 3 |
| What's ideas did delegates believe the Constitution protected? | republicanism |
| Who thought the Constitutional Convention should not have made a new government? | Antifederalists |
| What were the two main problems Antifederalists had with the Constitution? | too much power to central government; no section for individual rights |
| What were the majority of Antifederalists? Who was some famous Antifederalists? | small farmers and debtors; George Mason, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry |
| Who were the majority of Federalists? Who were some famous Federalists? | wealthy planters, farmers, lawyers, workers, craftspeople; James Madison, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Paul Revere |
| What was the term for people who supported the Constitution? | Federalists |
| Who was an ardent Patriot who wrote "Observations on the New Constitution," a pamphlet criticizing the Constitution's lack of individual rights provided? | Mercy Otis Warren |
| What were essays supporting the Constitution called? What was the anonymous name they were published under? Who actually wrote them? | Federalist Papers; Publius; Hamilton, Madison, Jay |
| What said the new government wouldn't overpower states and that the diversity of the U.S. would prevent any single group from dominating the government? | Federalist Papers |
| How many states needed to pass the Constitution? How many to establish national unity? | nine; each |
| Which state didn't hold special conventions to discuss and vote on the Constitution? | Rhode Island |
| Who said, "The proposed...government, is well calculated to secure the liberties, protect the property, and guard the rights of the citizens of America."? | Paul Revere |
| Who said, "It appears that the government will fall into the hands of the few and the great."? | New York citizen |
| What was the first state to ratify the Constitution? The ninth? | Delaware; New Hampshire |
| Which two states strongly debated the Constitution? Which was the first to ratify it? | Virginia, New York; Virginia |
| Where was the New York state convention to discuss the Constitution held? Which Federalist spoke there? | Poughkeepsie; Alexander Hamilton |
| Who led the Antifederalists? | DeWitt Clinton |
| What was the last state to ratify the Constitution? | Rhode Island |
| Who wanted to make a bill of rights the new government's first priority? | James Madison |
| What is the term for official changes to the Constitution? | amendments |
| What did the first amendments deal with? | bill of rights |
| What did Article V of the Constitution do? | provided a way to change the Constitution when necessary to reflect the people's will |
| How could the Constitution be changed? | approved by two-thirds majority of both Congress houses and ratified by three-fourths of the states |
| Where did legislators take ideas for the Bill of Rights? | state ratifying conventions, Virginia Declaration of Rights, English Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence |
| How many amendments were proposed for the Bill of Rights? How many made it into the Bill? | 12; 10 |
| What was the document that had 10 of the proposed amendments intended to protect citizens' rights? | Bill of Rights |
| Why is the Constitution a living document? | it can change; has survived for 200 years |
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