Ch 2: Origins Of American Government (Magruder's American Government)

Front 1

3 Basic Concepts of Government

Back 1

(1) ordered government, (2) limited government, and (3) representatives government

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Limited Government

Back 2

Gov't is restricted in what it may do, each individual has rights that government cannot take away.

Front 3

Representative Government

Back 3

Public policies are made by officials selected by the voters and held accountable in periodic elections

Front 4

Magna Carta

Back 4

Great Charter forced upon King John in 1215; established that the power of monarchs was not absolute and guaranteed trial by jury and due process of law

Front 5

Petition of Right

Back 5

(1628) Challenged the idea of divine rights of kings and declared that even the monarch is subject to the law of the land

Front 6

English Bill of Rights

Back 6

1689, designed to prevent abuse of power by English monarchs, forms the basis for much in American government and politics today

Front 7

Charter

Back 7

A city's basic laws, its constitution, a written grant of authority from the king

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Charter Colonies

Back 8

colonies like CT and RI, based on charters granted them; largely self-governing

Front 9

Bicameral

Back 9

Two-House Legislature

Front 10

Proprietary Colony

Back 10

Colonies like MD, PA, AND DEL organized by a person to whom the king had made a grant of land

Front 11

Unicameral

Back 11

A legislative body with one house

Front 12

Confederation

Back 12

A joining of several groups for a common purpose

Front 13

Albany Plan of Union

Back 13

Proposed by Ben Franklin in 1754, aimed to unite the colonies for trade, military, and other purposes; was turned down by the crown

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Delegate

Back 14

Someone who attended the Continental Congress or a convention

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Boycott

Back 15

Refusal to buy or sell certain products or services

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Repeal

Back 16

withdrawn, cancelled, recalled

Front 17

Common Features of State Constitutions

Back 17

(1) popular sovereignty, (2) limited government, (3) civil rights and liberties, and (4) separation of powers and checks and balances

Front 18

Popular Sovereignty

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People are the source of any and all gov't power, gov't can only exist with the consent of the governed

Front 19

Second Continental Congress

Back 19

served as our first national government from the Declaration of Independence in July 1776 until the Articles of Confederation went into effect on Mar. 1, 1781, but rested on no constitutional base

Front 20

Articles of Confederation

Back 20

Plan of gov't adopted by the Continental Congress after the American Revolution; established a "firm league of friendship" among the states, but allowed few important powers to the central government

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The Critical Period

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the 1780s, when our economy and government were weak under the Articles of Confederation

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Ratification

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Formal approval

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Presiding Officer

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Chair

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Framers

Back 24

Groups of delegates who drafted the United States Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787

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Virginia Plan

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Plan of union which called for 3 branches of government with a bicameral legislature in which each State's membership would be determined by its population or its financial support for the central government

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New Jersey Plan

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Called for unicameral legislature in which each State would be equally represented

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Connecticut Compromise

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Agreement that Congress should be composed of a Senate, in which the states would be equally represented, and a House, in which representation would be based on a State's population; AKA: THE GREAT COMPROMISE

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3/5ths Compromise

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Counting slaves as 3/5s of a person when determining the population of a State

Front 29

Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise

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forbade Congress power to tax exports or to act on the slave trade for at least 20 years

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Federalists

Back 30

Those person who supported the ratification of the Constitution in 1787-88.

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Anti-Federalists

Back 31

Those persons who opposed ratification of the Constitution in 1787-88

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The Federalist Papers

Back 32

a collection of 85 essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay arguing for ratification of the Constitution (particularly in New York); greatest campaign literature in history

Front 33

A “Bundle of Compromises”

Back 33

nickname for the Constitution which acknowledges the fact that it was the result of accommodating various interests by means of compromise

Front 34

Quorum

Back 34

a majority; the number of members of a legislature which must be present in order to conduct business