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27 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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A confederation? |
A group of individual state governments that unite for a common purpose |
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Describe the Confederation Congress. What powers did it have? |
It controlled the army and had power to deal with foreign countries on behalf of the states |
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What were the 2 most important laws passed by the Confederation Congress? Why were they important? |
The Ordinance of 1785- Set up a plan for surveying western lands.
The Northwest Ordinance- Set up a government for the Northwest Territory. (Most important action) |
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Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation |
Lack of power and money- Congress had no power to collect taxes, regulate trade, or to enforce its laws. Lack of central power- no single leader or group directed government policy. Rules to rigid- Congress couldn't pass laws without approval of 9 states |
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Describe the delegates |
Most of the 55 men were well educated. They all had political experience. Most were young men in their thirties and forties. |
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What was the delegates original job? How did that change? |
Their original job was to revise the Articles of Confederation. They decided that greater change was needed so they worked to strengthen the national government |
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How did the Great Compromise combine elements of the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan? |
New jersey- In the Senate, each state would have 2 members. Virginia- the number of seats for each state would reflect the states population. |
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Why did the Northern and Southern delegates disagree about how to determine representation in the House of Representatives? How did the 3/5 Compromise solve this? |
The North said that slaves shouldn't be counted for representation because they didnt vote or share in government. The South said slaves should be counted because they wanted more votes in the House of Reps The 3/5 solved this by having 3 people be counted for representation out of every 5. |
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Why were Southern Delegates afraid to give the new Congress the power to regulate commerce (trade) |
Southern states feared that Congress would then tax exports |
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How many states needed to vote yes for the Constitution to be passed? |
9 out of 13 |
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Why did the Federalists believe the new Constitution should be ratified? |
They believed a strong, national government was needed to protect property rights. Also claimed that only a strong nation gov could solve the country's problems |
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Main leader of Federalists |
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison |
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Why did the Anti-Federalists fear the strong national government |
Feared that such a government would do a favor for the wealthy few over the common people. They also believed the gov would be so strong that it would ignore the rights of the states. |
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The Anti Federalists identified a key weakness of the new Constitution. What was it? How did the Federalists react? |
It had no bill of rights to protect individual freedoms. The Federalists agreed a bill of rights was needed. |
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What does the Preamble say? |
It states the goals and purposes of the government. |
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Article 1 |
Legislative branch. It states that Congress will have all law making authority |
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Article 2 |
Executive branch. It explains how leaders are elected and how they can be removed from office |
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Article 3 |
Judicial branch. This branch interprets the laws and sees that they are fairly applied |
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Formal amendments |
Changes in the actual written words in the Constitution |
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How many Amendments are there |
27... first 10 is bill of rights |
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Informal amendments |
Changes how we understand the Const. |
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List the 5 types of informal amendments |
Basic legislation- by exercising its commerce power Executive action- the way presidents have been using power Court decisions Party practices- arent even mentioned in constitution Custom- many unwritten customs have developed in gov |
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5 major parts of the government. PS and LGROL |
Popular Sovereignty- "the peoples right to rule" Ex: we pick our own leader. Limited government and rule of law- the gov can only do what the people allow it to do and that the law applies to everyone. Ex: can't stop you from peaceful protest, can't torture you. |
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5 major parts of the Constitution SOP |
Separation of powers- legislative, executive, and judicial. It limits the ability of any branch getting too much power. Ex: The President can not declare war, only Congress can. |
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5 major parts of the constitution CB, F |
Checks and Balances- each branch is able to check, or limit the power of the other two branches. Ex: one branch can veto a bill, but the other branch can override that veto. Federalism- the division of power between the states and the national government. Ex: Freeways, owned by states but the federal gov sets guidelines that states must follow. |
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How were the 13 state constitutions similar to each other |
Each had a legislature to make laws. Each had a governor. Each had courts |
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How did Shay's Rebellion convince citizens that we need a stronger gov |
We faced serious financial trouble. We were in deep debt. Trade slowed and people lost jobs. Americans feared the gov couldn't protect them |
