the constitution

3/5 Compromise

The 3/5 compromise was an agreement between the Northern and Southern states to count each slave as 3/5 of a person, or count only 3/5 of the population of slaves, for tax purposes.

name of the first constitution

The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America and specified how the national government was to operate.

federalists

Supporters of the constitution.

checks and balances

"Checks and balances" is a term used to describe the separation of powers in mixed political systems like the federal constitutional republic of the United States of America. Checks and balances refers to the division of responsibility among three branches of government. These branches "check" each other to make sure none of them is abusing power. They then "balance" each other to prevent any branch from becoming too powerful.

Weaknesses of the central government under the Articles of Confederation

1.Confederation Congress had no way to tax the states. 2.Each state had only one vote, regardless of size. 3.Nine of the thirteen states had to approve each law. 4.The Congress had no way to enforce laws that were passed. 5.Confederation Congress had no power to regulate foreign or interstate trade. 6.Amending the Articled required a unanimous vote of the states. 7.No judiciary or executive branch.

veto

A veto occurs when the President refuses to approve a bill and prevents its enactment into law. The president can veto bills in a few ways. He can use a regular veto, which occurs when the he or she returns legislation to the originating House without approval, or by a pocket veto, a sneakier method in which the president rejects legislation when Congress is adjourned.

senate

Each state elects two senators, no matter how many people live in the state. This way, each state is represented equally. Each senator is elected for six years.

judicial powers

In many jurisdictions the judicial branch has the power to change laws through the process of, judicial review. Courts with judicial review power may annul the laws and rules of the state when it finds them incompatible with a higher norm, such as primary legislation, the provisions of the constitution or international law.

legislative powers

Legislative power is the authority under the constitution to make laws and to alter or repeal them. The legislative branch consists of the elected representatives in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

antifederalists

Opponents of ratification(approval).

Shay's Rebellion and its effect

Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising that took place in central and western Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787. The rebellion was named after Daniel Shays, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War and one of the rebel leaders. The rebellion started on August 29, 1786. It was precipitated by several factors: financial difficulties brought about by a post-war economic depression, a credit squeeze caused by a lack of hard currency, and fiscally harsh government policies instituted in 1785 to solve the state's debt problems. Protesters, including many war veterans, shut down county courts in the later months of 1786 to stop the judicial hearings for tax and debt collection. The protesters became radicalized against the state government following the arrests of some of their leaders, and began to organize an armed force. A militia raised as a private army defeated a Shaysite (rebel) attempt to seize the federal Springfield Armory in late January 1787, killing four and wounding 20. The main Shaysite force was scattered on February 4, 1787, after a surprise attack on their camp in Petersham, Massachusetts. Scattered resistance continued until June 1787, with the single most significant action being an incident in Sheffield in late February, where 30 rebels were wounded (one mortally) in a skirmish with government troops.

the Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the states and the public. While originally the amendments applied only to the federal government, most of their provisions have since been held to apply to the states by way of the Fourteenth Amendment.

federalists papers

The Federalist Papers are a group of documents, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. The documents explain the philosophy of the Constitution and why it's good for the United States.

first amendment

The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.

Great Compromise

The Great Compromise of 1787 established a bicameral, or two-chambered, Congress made up of the Senate and House of Representatives.

House of Representatives

The House of Representative is the lower house of the United States Congress. Each state is represented in proportion to the population of that state. Each state gets at least one representative.

New Jersey Plan

The New Jersey Plan (also widely known as the Small State Plan or the Paterson Plan) was a proposal for the structure of the United States Government presented by William Paterson at the Constitutional Convention on June 15, 1787.[1] The plan was created in response to the Virginia Plan, which called for two houses of Congress, both elected with apportionment according to population.[2] The less populous states were adamantly opposed to giving most of the control of the national government to the more populous states, and so proposed an alternative plan that would have kept the one-vote-per-state representation under one legislative body from the Articles of Confederation. The New Jersey Plan was opposed by James Madison and Edmund Randolph (the proponents of the Virginia Plan).

terms of presidents

The US President is often called the Commander and Chief. Strictly speaking, however, that title applies only to his relationship with the Armed Forces of the United States. He is not the Commander in Chief of the country as a whole, as that would make him a dictator.

Virginia Plan

The Virginia Plan (also known as the Randolph Plan, after its sponsor, or the Large-State Plan) was a proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch.[1] The plan was drafted by James Madison while he waited for a quorum to assemble at the Constitutional Convention of 1787.[2][3] The Virginia Plan was notable for its role in setting the overall agenda for debate in the convention and, in particular, for setting forth the idea of population-weighted representation in the proposed national legislature.

executive powers

The executive branch power is that the branch of government led by the president of the United States. He/she receives bills from the legislative branch and decides if he wants to approve the bill so that it becomes an official and legal law, or veto the bill which means to reject the bill. (if the bill is rejected, it goes back to the legislative branch and they can either change the bill and send it back to the president or they can vote to pass it as an official and legal law....but to do this, they need at least a two third of votes.

the system of electing the president

The first reason that the founders created the Electoral College is hard to understand today. The founding fathers were afraid of direct election to the Presidency. They feared a tyrant could manipulate public opinion and come to power. One aspect of the electoral system that is not mandated in the constitution is the fact that the winner takes all the votes in the state. Therefore it makes no difference if you win a state by 50.1% or by 80% of the vote you receive the same number of electoral votes. This can be a recipe for one individual to win some states by large pluralities and lose others by small number of votes, and thus this is an easy scenario for one candidate winning the popular vote while another winning the electoral vote. This winner take all methods used in picking electors has been decided by the states themselves. The number of electoral votes each state receives is equal to the number of Senators plus the number of House Representatives. The number of senators is fixed at two but the number of Representatives for each state varies with the population of the state but is always at least one. Washington DC gets the same amount of electoral votes as the state with the least (currently 3). The number of representatives that a state has is determined by the population. After the official census is completed every ten years, Congress adjusts the number of Representatives based on the new population figures. The total number is currently fixed at 435, so if one state gains in population enough to merit another representative, some other state must lose a representative. The total number of electoral votes is 538, so in order to win the presidency, a candidate must win 270 electoral votes which is one more than half. If any single candidate fails to receive the minimum 270 votes, then the House of Representatives will elect the president from the three most popular candidates. The Senate elects the vice president from the two most popular candidates.

function of the legislative branch

The function of the Legislative Branch is to veto bills, call special sessions of congress, control patronage.

function of the judicial branch

The judicial branch has the sole power to interpret the law, determine the constitutionality of the law, and apply it to individual cases.

delaware

The only state to approve of the constitution.

function and head of the executive branch

The work of the executive branch is to implement the laws. From the legislative, they pass it to the executive branch specifically to the president and he/she will be the one to decide if they will apply or not apply the law in the country.In a presidential system the leader of the executive branch is at once the head of state and head of government. In a parliamentary system, a cabinet minister responsible to the legislature is the head of government, while the head of state is a largely ceremonial monarch or president.

100

There are 100 representatives in the house of the senate.

435

There are 435 representatives in the House of Representatives.

"we the people"

We the people are the first three words of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. It refers to the population of the U.S. at that time and now.