American Government Exam 2 Revised
Which amendments make up the Bill of Rights?
First 10 amendements
What does that creed say about the legitimate ends (i.e., purpose) of government?
"to secure ... [natural] rights."
The Constitutional Convention of 1787 featured many constituencies vying for as much power in the new constitution as they could. What were these groups?
- State with large population and small population sizes-Northern states and Southern slave states
Two plans were put forth to address representation in Congress. What were these plans called? And what are the features of each
-The Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan- The Virginia Plan proposed having the number of representatives allocated to each state in Congress be based on the size of each state's population (proportional representation)- The New Jersey Plan proposed retaining the Articles of Confederation's scheme of representation wherein each state had an equal number of votes (equal state representation)
First five design principles of the Articles of Confederation
1. Confederacy is USA2. Retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence and every power, jurisdiction and right3. Firm friendship, common defense, mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to lift each other up4. Still friendship/Interstate Relations5. Representation in Congress
Which three amendments are referred to as the Reconstruction Amendments? What did each of those amendments declare?
13th bans slavery14th unconstitutional to enforce any law the abridges fundamental rights15th unconstitutional to denied the right to vote
How did the Electoral College give slave states extra voice in the selection of the President?
3/5th Compromise
What was the Critical Period? What did it have to do with the weaknesses of the central government created by the Articles of Confederation? How did the Critical Period lead to the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
A brief time after the revolutionary war that led many to conclude that Americans' revolutionary experiment in democratic government faced high risk of failure
Be sure to know and understand what a confederacy is and how it functions.
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. ... Likewise, the relationship between the member states and the general government and the distribution of powers among them varies.
representative democracy
A system of government in which citizens elect representatives, or leaders, to make decisions about the laws for all the people.
What did the Original Constitution establish about the Atlantic Slave Trade?
Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1, is one of a handful of provisions in the original Constitution related to slavery, though it does not use the word "slave." This Clause prohibited the federal government from limiting the importation of "persons" (understood at the time to mean primarily enslaved African persons) where
Why did most Americans believe standing armies to be the end of liberty?
Article I, Section 8, Clause 12: [The Congress shall have Power . . .] To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; . .
How did state legislatures have power over congressional delegates?
Article I—the longest article of the Constitution—describes congressional powers. Congress has the power to: Make laws. Declare war.
Why did anti-slavery delegates want slaves to NOT be counted at all for purposes of calculating each state's number of representatives? Why did slave-state delegates want each slave to be counted as at least three-fifths of a person (if not as a whole person)?
Because it gave people more of an incentive to own more slavesFor more representation in the house of representatives
How did the Electoral College give slave states extra voice in the selection of the President?
Because, as we have seen, the Three-Fifths Clause served to increase the number of members each slave state had in the House of Representatives by counting their slaves as part (three fifths) of the population. Thus, the more slaves a state had, the more seats they would get in the House and, by extension, the more Electors they would get for selecting the President.
What are civil liberties? How they are different from natural or human rights?
Civil liberties are freedoms guaranteed to us by the Constitution to protect us from tyranny (think: our freedom of speech), while civil rights are the legal rights that protect individuals from discrimination (think: employment discrimination)
Order of: ratification of the Bill of Rights, ratification of the Articles of Confederation, first round of revolutionary-era state constitution making, Critical Period, Shays Rebellion, signing and ratification of the original U.S. Constitution, signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Declaration of IndependenceRevolutionary-Era State ConstitutionArticles of ConfederationShay's RebellionCritical PeriodU.S ConstitutionBill of Rights
Why did anti-slavery delegates want slaves to NOT be counted at all for purposes of calculating each state's number of representatives? Why did slave-state delegates want each slave to be counted as at least three-fifths of a person (if not as a whole person)?
Delegates/Voting
the seven articles of the Original Constitution.
FederalismPopular SovereigntyRep DemocracyBicameralismSeparation of PowersCheck and BalancesCivil Liberties
Which group—the Federalists or the Antifederalists—supported ratification of the U.S. Constitution? Which opposed ratification?
Federalist -- supportedAnti - opposed
For how long are terms for ..members of the U.S. House of Representatives?U.S. senators?U.S. presidents?
HoR: 2 yearUS Sen: 6 yearUS Pres: 4 year
After American's protest of the Stamp Act, Parliament made clear that it had authority to make laws "in all cases whatsoever." What act declared this?
Immediately after repealing the Stamp Act, Parliament issued the Declaratory Act. This act proclaimed Parliament's ability "to bind the colonies in all cases whatsoever." The message was clear: under no circumstances did Parliament abandon in principle its right to legislate for the 13 colonies.
The Constitution's Preamble refers to the idea of "popular sovereignty." What does this term mean?
In the preamble of the United States Constitution, the very first line states "We the people..." This is a bold phrase that announces to the world that in the United States, the people establish government and give it it's power. The citizens of the US are sovereign.
Be sure to know and understand all of the British responses to the Boston Tea Party. What was created in 1774 by Americans as a unified front of resistance to these new British policies?
In the spring of 1774, the British Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, which quickly became known in the North American colonies as the Intolerable Acts.
What was the primary obstacle to amending the Articles of Confederation? And how did the Founders get around this obstacle in order to draft a new constitution.
One of the biggest problems was that the national government had no power to impose taxes. To avoid any perception of "taxation without representation," the Articles of Confederation allowed only state governments to levy taxes. To pay for its expenses, the national government had to request money from the states.
Sixth design principle of the Articles of Confederation
Powers denied to states. States are denied certain powers under the Articles of Confederation. States may not send ambassadors to foreign countries, receive foreign ambassadors, or make any kind of arrangement, meeting or treaty with any king, prince or state. No person or state may accept any gift, including titles of nobility, from a foreign state. Neither Congress nor any state can give people noble titles.
What kind of democracy did the Founders create?
Representative Democracy
What did the Fugitive Slave Clause do?
The Fugitive Slave Clause of the United States Constitution, also known as either the Slave Clause or the Fugitives From Labor Clause, is Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3, which requires a "person held to service or labor" (usually a slave, apprentice, or indentured servant) who flees to another state to be returned to ...
The first representative legislative body was established in Virginia in 1619. What was that body called? And what were some principles the colonists believed they were entitled to?
The House of Burgesses was the first elected legislative body in English America and was the FIRST time settlers had the opportunity to control their own government!!!! The current Virginia General Assembly dates back to the establishment of burgesses at Jamestown in 1619. Standard VS.
What did the Original Constitution establish about the Atlantic Slave Trade?
The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
How were congressional members voted into office?
The U.S. House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
How were treaties with foreign governments guaranteed under the Articles of Confederation? What effect did this have on US foreign relations?
The problems of foreign policy were the main cause that led to the downfall of the Articles of Confederation and to the creation of the Constitution. The Articles of Confederation gave little authority or support to the national government and they failed almost every diplomatic mission because of it.
Revolutionary state constitutions were highly influenced by the idea of the separation of powers. Why is this?
The separation of powers provides a system of shared power known as Checks and Balances. Three branches are created in the Constitution. ... The Supreme Court can rule a law to be unconstitutional, but the Congress, with the States, can amend the Constitution. All of these checks and balances, however, are inefficient.
Why was the issue of representation in Congress resolved first before any discussion of central government powers?
They understood that whoever had the most votes in Congress would be able to determine the laws and policies that affected everyone else-Citizens in small states did not want to be outvoted in Congress by large states and the same for large states
our ways that the Original Constitution protected slavery.
Three Fifth's ClauseElectoral CollegeSlave Trade ClauseFugitive Slave Clause
How did the supermajority voting process work? Was it successful in creating and implementing laws?
To require a two-thirds vote, for example, to take any action would be to give to any number more than one-third of the members the power to defeat the action and amount to a delegation of the powers of the body to a minority." Some states require a supermajority for passage of a constitutional amendment or statutory ...
What does the term "requisition" mean? How did it function under the Articles of Confederation?
Under the Articles of Confederation Congress did not have the power to tax. ... Requisitions were an appropriation of state monies for the purpose of funding Congressional acts, similar to an unenforced tax upon the states for national goods and services.
What purposes were served by the system of checks and balances?
check in how much one branch had control
What did the Fugitive Slave Clause do?
granted slave owners a constitutional right to recapture runaway slaves who had fled to other states, including states where slavery was illegal. And, as importantly, it took away the right of states to pass laws to protect and/or emancipate runaway slaves.
According to that creed, what do the people have the right to do when confronted with a government that is destructive of the ends which governments should serve?
it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness ..."
According to that creed, what is the source of government's legitimate authority?
must be based on "the consent of the governed."
direct democracy
people hold the power, its direct
Why did the Founders choose a bicameral legislature instead of a unicameral one?
so one couldn't have power over the other
What was "the Great Compromise"? Why was the Constitutional Convention in a stalemate before it?
sought to solve the disagreement between large and small states at the CC over how to apportion seats in congress