Chapter 5: The Constitution
Who were the influential men that were Federalists?
-Alexander Hamilton -James Madison -John Jay
What was the Great Compromise?
-Congress would have two houses. One based off of population (House of Representatives) and the other would have two representatives no matter the population (Senate).
What was the New Jersey Plan?
-There would be a one house congress -Each state would have one vote in congress -Congress could set taxes and regulate trade -No President, but a committee named by Congress would carry out laws
What were some of the anti-federalists complaints about the constitution?
-destroy the liberties won in the American Revolution -A national government that would destroy state rights
What are the three main parts to the constitution?
-the Preamble -the seven articles -the twenty-seven amendments
Describe how the rules of the Articles of Confederation were too rigid.
1- Congress could not pass laws without the approval of 9 out of the 13 states. 2- The Articles could not be changed without the agreement of all 13 states
Describe how the lack of power was a weakness of the Articles of Confederation.
1- Congress had no power to collect taxes 2- Congress had no power to regulate trade 3- Congress had no power to enforce its laws
What were three weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
1- Lack of power and money 2- Lack of central power 3- Rules too rigid
Describe how the lack of central power was a weakness of the Articles of Confederation.
1- No single leader, or group, directed government policy 2- no national court system existed
List two ways the executive branch can check the two other branches of government.
1- The president can veto legislation 2- The president can appoint judges to the Supreme Court
List two ways the judicial branch can check the two other branches of government.
1- They can declare acts of legislature unconstitutional 2- They can declare presidential acts unconstitutional
List five ways the legislative branch can check the two other
1- They can impeach the president 2- They can impeach judges 3- They can override a presidential veto 4- They can reject the appointments of judges 5- They can refuse to approve treaties between two or more countries
What were some limits on the Articles of Confederation?
1- When Congress passed laws, they had no way to enforce them on the people. (no state governors) 2- Did not have the power to tax the people. The Confederation Congress could ask the states for money, but they had the right to say no. 3- The Confederation Congress could not make the states do anything.
What are three examples of concurrent powers?
1- collecting taxes 2- borrowing money 3- setting up courts and prisons
What are the five basic principles of government?
1- popular sovereignty 2- limited government and the rule of law 3- separation of powers 4- checks and balances 5- federalism
What are the two steps needed to amend the constitution?
1- proposal 2- ratification
What are three examples of reserved powers.
1- regulating trade between states 2-setting up schools 3- making rules for marriage and divorce
What were the two ordinances that the confederation congress passed?
1- the Ordinance of 1785 2- the Northwest Ordinance
What fraction of the states must approve an amendment before it can be ratified?
3/4 of the states
Define the supremacy clause.
A clause stating that the Constitution and other laws and other laws and treaties made by the national government are "the supreme law of the land".
An amendement that is officially part of the constitution is called what?
A formal amendement
Define limited government.
A government that can only do what the people allow them to do.
Define confederation.
A group of individual state governments that unite for a common purpose.
Define ordinances.
A law, usually of a city or country.
What was the Virginia Plan?
A plan for strong national government.It had a... -President -Courts -Congress with two houses there were based on population
What did federalists believe in?
A strong national government
Define checks and balances.
A system in which each branch of government is able to check, or restrain, the powers of others.
Explain Shays's Rebellion.
An uprising of Massachusetts farmers who did not want to lose their farms because of debt caused by heavy state taxes after the American Revolution.
What enlightenment thinker influenced the founding fathers to create the three branches of government, or separation of powers?
Baron de Montesquieu
Who was the oldest and one of the most respected delegates at the Constitutional Convention?
Benjamin Franklin
How did voting take place at the Constitutional Convention?
Each state would have one vote, no matter how many delegates represent each state. Also, a simple majority-in this case, seven votes- would decide any issue.
What was the Federalists Papers?
Essays that were written to defend the constitution
Explain the three-fifths compromise.
Every five enslaved people would equal three free people in the count for the House of Representatives.
Once all of the compromises were made between the delegates of all of the states, the Constitution was ready to be ratified. But, the country was divided into two groups of people. Who were they?
Federalists and Anti-Federalists
Who led the Constitutional Convention?
George Washington
What powers did the confederation congress have?
It controlled the army and had the power to deal with foreign countries on behalf of the states.
Explain the Ordinance of 1785.
It set up a plan for surveying western lands and described how western lands were to be sold. (1 mile by 1 mile squares)
What was the most important/influential portion of the Northwest Ordinance?
It stated that slavery or involuntary servitude will NOT be allowed in this new region.
What is the preamble?
It states the goals and purposes of the government.
What was another important compromise between the southern and northern states during this time period in regards to slavery?
It was agreed that congress, who was concerned about slavery, could not ban the slave trade until the year 1808. This was about 20 years in the future.
What groups of people were not allowed to attend the Constitutional Convention?
Native Americans, African Americans, and women
Were the conversations of the Constitutional Convention open to the public?
No, they were very secretive. The delegates made sure that the windows were closed, despite the summer heat, and the doors were guarded.
Did the people of the new United States feel confident after the war was over? Why or why not?
No. The United States had run up a large debt in trying to pay for the war for independence, and according to the Articles of Confederation, they could not collect taxes to pay off this debt. However, the states could tax and the people were running out of money because of this.
Who was the influential man that was not present at the Constitutional Convention and did not want to be there?
Patrick Henry. He was against a stronger central government.
Who were anti-federalists?
People who opposed the constitution
Who is a federalists?
People who supported the constitution
Where did the delegates of the Constitutional Convention meet?
Philadelphia at Independence Hall
Define enumerated powers.
Powers that are directly granted to the national government by the constitution.
Define concurrrent powers.
Powers that are shared by the state and national, or federal, government.
What was the only state that did not send delegates to the Constitutional Convention? Why?
Rhode Island. They opposed a stronger central government.
Who came up with the Great Compromise?
Roger Sherman
What was the war called that gave the United States their freedom from the British?
The American Revolution
What was created to gain the people's support of the constitution?
The Federalists Papers
What plan did William Patterson come up with?
The New Jersey Plan.
The delegates of the Constitutional Convention came up with a number of ideas on how to shape the government. What plan did James Madison come up with?
The Virginia Plan
Why were the Articles of Confederation necessary?
The colonies needed some form of united government to fight the war for independence.
What was the final result of the Constitutional Convention?
The delegates decided that they needed to start over, a new constitution. They decided that the Articles of Confederation were too weak to deal with the nation's many problems.
What was another important compromise between the southern and northern states in regards to the presidency?
The electoral college was created.
Define popular sovereignty.
The idea that the power lies with the people
Who liked the Virginia Plan? Why?
The large states because they would have more votes in congress.
Who did NOT like this plan? Why?
The larger states. They wanted states with more people to have more power.
Define rule of law.
The principle that the law applies to everyone, even those who govern.
After the Declaration of Independence was put into action, each state was ready to govern themselves. There was one main reason why they had to unite though. Explain.
The second continental congress realized that 13 individual states could not fight the British, so they had to unite to form a single strong army.
Who did not like the Virginia Plan?
The smaller states. They felt that their needs would go over looked because they had less influence on the government.
What was the argument over slavery before this compromise was put into place?
The southern states wanted to count slaves in their population so they could have more representatives in the House of Representatives. The northern states said that slaves were considered property and could not vote.
What compromise was created to fix the issue on slavery?
The three-fifths compromise
What did the framers of our government feel that separation of powers would prevent?
They felt that it would prevent one branch of government from gaining too much power over another.
What was the people's reaction to Shays's Rebellion?
They started to call for stronger national government.
Explain the Northwest Ordinance.
This law set up government for the Northwest Territory. It also provided a plan for admitting new states to the Union.
Who were the two influential men that were not present at the Constitutional Convention, but wanted to be there?
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams
The preamble states six purposes of the government. What is the second purpose?
To "establish justice"- to make sure that all citizens are treated equally.
The preamble states six purposes of the government. What is the first purpose?
To "form a more perfect union"- to unite the states so they can act as a single nation, for the good of all.
The preamble states six purposes of the government. What is the third purpose?
To "insure domestic tranquility"- to provide peace and order, keeping citizens and property from harm.
The preamble states six purposes of the government. What is the forth purpose?
To "provide for the common defense"- to be ready militarily to protect the country and its citizens from attack.
The preamble states six purposes of the government. What is the fifth purpose?
To "provide for the general welfare"- to help people live happy, healthy, and prosperous lives.
The preamble states six purposes of the government. What is the sixth purpose?
To" secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity"- to guarantee the basic rights of all Americans, including future generations.
Define the word amendments.
any changes in the constitution
How do the citizens of the United States exercise popular sovereignty?
by voting for officials to represent them in government
Article VI (6) of the constitution outlines what?
declares the constitution the "supreme law of the land"
Article VII (7) of the constitution outlines what?
describes how the constitution was to be ratified
Article V (5) of the constitution outlines what?
describes when and how the constitution can be changed
Enumerated powers are also called ___________.
expressed powers
the preamble can also be referred to as the ________________ to the constitution.
introduction
The colonists had hated strong British rule, as a result, the Confederation Congress/Articles of Confederation had _____________ power.
little
The seven articles are also know as the ______________ of the constitution.
main portion
The Confederation Congress was broken up into how many houses?
one- each state had only one vote on issues that were presented to the states.
Define reserved powers.
powers the constitution does not give to the federal government; powers set aside for the states
What was the first constitution of the United States of America called?
the Articles of Confederation
The first ten amendments to the constitution are called what?
the Bill of Rights
What was the compromise that made the anti-federalists become supports of the constitution?
the Bill of Rights
The Articles of Confederation created a legislature. What was it called at this time?
the Confederation Congress
What was it called when the delegates met again to fix the Articles?
the Constitutional Convention
What document officially ended the fighting between the British and the states in which the result granted the states their independence?
the Treaty of Paris
Limited government and rule of law are protected in what official government document?
the constitution
Article II (2) of the constitution outlines what?
the executive branch, or law-enforcing part of the government that headed by the President and the Vice President
Article III (3) of the constitution outlines what?
the judicial branch, or the court part of the government. This branch interprets the laws and sees that they are fairly applied.
Article I (one) of the constitution outlines what?
the legislative branch, or congress
Article IV (4) of the constitution outlines what?
the relationship between the states and the national government.
Define separation of powers.
the split of authority among the legislative, executive and legislative branches of government.
What is the outcome if a state law negates something that is in the constitution?
the supremacy clause
Explain an informal amendment.
unofficial changes to the constitution
