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40 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What did the continental congress ask the states to do in May 1776? When did the states finally complete it? |
To organize their governments by adopting a state constitution
1780 |
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What is a constitution ? |
A plan of government |
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How did the Americans experience with British rule influence their decision on how to run their government? What did they do as a result of this experience? |
We're cautious about placing too much power in the hands of a single ruler
Adopted constitutions that limited the power of the governor |
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How did the states divide government functions? |
Between the governor And the legislature |
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How was the legislature divided even further? |
Established two house or bicameral legislatures |
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What did the writers of the state constitutions want to do? |
Wanted to prevent the abuses of power in the states and wanted to keep power in the hands of the people |
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Who could vote ? |
Most states white men who were at least 21 and had to also had to own a certain amount of property or pay a certain amount of taxes
Some states allowed free African Americans males to vote |
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Since the state constitutions restricted the powers of the governors, what branch of government was the most powerful? |
The legislatures |
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What did Americans agree that their country's government should be ? |
A republic |
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What is a republic? |
A government in which citizens rule through elected representatives |
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What kind of government did most Americans favor at first ? What what occur if this government was made a reality? |
A weak central government
States would be independent, acting independently on most issues, only working together through a central government to wage war and handle relations with other nations |
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What plan of government did congress adopt in November 1777 from the committee hired in 1776? |
The articles of confederation |
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What did the articles of confederation provide |
A new central government in which the states gave up little of their power |
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What could the government consisting of congress do under the articles of confederation? |
Conduct foreign affairs Maintain armed forces Borrow money Issue currency |
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What couldn't congress do under the articles of confederation? |
Regulate trade Force citizens to join the army Impose taxes |
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What did congress have to do if it need to raise money or troops? |
Had to ask the legislatures but the states were not required to contribute |
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What kind of power did the states have under the articles of confederation? |
Each state had one vote in congress no matter the population and all states had to approve the articles as well as any amendments |
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When did all 13 states approve the articles of confederation? What did it become as a result? |
On March 1, 1781
The government of the U.S. |
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How were the articles of confederation not strong enough to handle the U.S. Problems? |
Congress had limited authority; Couldn't pass law unless states voted for it, making it difficult for congress to pass laws |
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What were some important things that the confederation accomplished? |
Americans won independence And expanded foreign trade Also provided for the settling and governing of western territories did
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What didn't the articles of confederation have provision for? What did congress realize it had to do? |
No provision for adding new states Congress realized that it had to extend its national authority over the frontier and bring order to this territory
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Who proposed a plan todivide the western territory into self governing districts |
Thomas Jefferson |
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When could a colony apply to or petition statehood ? |
When the number of people in a district reached the population of the smallest existing state |
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When did the confederation congress pass an ordinance, or law? |
1785 |
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What did the ordinance of 1785 do? How much did the western lands north of the Ohio river sell for? |
Established a procedure for surveying and selling the western lands north of the Ohio river
$1 |
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When was the northwest ordinance passed? What did it do? |
1787 Protected the interests of hardworking settlers |
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What did the northwest ordinance create? Each new state would do what? |
A single northwest territory Come into the union with the same rights and privileges as the original 13 states |
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What did the northwest ordinance include? |
A bill of rights for settlers guaranteeing freedom of religion, trial jury, and not slavery or involuntary service |
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What was the effect of the ordinances? |
Effected American expansion and development by opening the way for settlement of the northwest territory in a stable and orderly manner |
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Why couldn't the government deal with the country's financial problems? |
Had so little power |
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Why did printed money depreciate? |
Since the congress couldn't collect taxes it/ the states printed their own paper money without gold or silver to back it up. This caused the bills to plummet |
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What does depreciated mean ? |
Fallen in value so far that it was almost worthless |
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What happened because printed money depreciated? |
Value of bills plummeted Price of goods soared |
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Why was congress in debt |
Borrowed money from American citizens and foreign governments
Still owed soldiers pay for military service
Couldn't tax and the the states only contributed a small bit |
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Who did congress create a department of finance under? |
Robert Morris |
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What did Robert Morris propose? What did it require? Did it work? |
A 5 percent tax on imported gods to help pay the national debt Required the articles of confederation to be changed to give congress power to tax thus
No because the states didn't unanimously agree |
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Why were the Americans having problems with the British ? |
Britain failed to remove all troops like they promised in the treaty do parish
British were keeping Americans out of the West Indies and other profitable British markets |
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What did the congress try to do in 1785 to discuss the difficulties with the British? What happened? |
John Adams British weren't willing to talk because the Americans had failed to pay loyalists for property taken for war |
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Why were the Americans having problems with Spain? How did slain respond to these issues? |
American expansion threatened to move into Spanish territory
Spain closed the lower Mississippi River to American shipping in 1784 |
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Why was Spain closing the lower Mississippi River to American shipping bad? |
Western setters depended on the river for commerce |
