History - Unit 4 - New Government is Created
Minimum age to run for senate
30 years old
Minimum age to run for president
35 years old
Length of term for the president
4 years (2 terms maximum)
Authors of the Federalists Papers
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay
Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
congress couldn't tax or regulate commerce between states or states and foriegn nations
Accomplishments under the Articles of Confederation
created a method to settle and govern the Northwest territory
Checks and Balances
each branch of government has the power to limit the actions of the other two
typical traits of state constitutions
freedom of religion, republic, male taxpayers/property owners could vote, common people had power
House of Representatives
is the lower house of the United States Congress - makes and passes laws
Why antifederalists criticized the Constitution
it didn't have a Bill of rights
Supremacy Clause
it establishes that the federal constitution and federal law take precedence over state laws
Length of term for a judge
no fixed term — they serve until their death, retirement, or conviction by the Senate
Writ of Habeas Corpus (when can it be suspended?)
shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.
John Dickinson
the Articles of Confederation were drafted under him, he was at the Constitutional convention, from Pennsylvania
Northwest territory
the Ohio River valley area
Articles of Confederation
was created by the Continental Congress - This first national constitution created a loose confederation or league of states in 1777 - Congress drafted the Articles under John Dickinson of Pennsylvania - Congress's power was limited to prevent the problems experienced under Britain.
Anti-federalists
were opponents of ratification. - They feared a loss of liberties and distrusted the absence of a bill of rights. - They feared concentration of power in a distant elite, believing instead that power should remain in democratically elected state governments. - Leading Antifederalists included Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Patrick Henry
Executive Branch
President carries out laws
Minimum age to run for House of Representatives
25 years old
Length of term for a representative
2 years
Length of term for senator
6 years
Alexander Hamilton
Advocated a powerful central government - conservitive, feared too much democracy - favored balance or aristocracy, monarchy and republicanism - a politician and lawyer from New york
Constitutional Convention
After Shays' Rebellion, Congress called for a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation - they created an entirely new constitution - the Articles were flawed and needed at least two major changes: The power to regulate interstate and international commerce and the power to tax - In May, delegates from 12 states met in Philadelphia to propose Amendments to the Articles.
Branch who has the power to regulate trade
Congress
Elastic Clause
Congress can make all laws that are "necessary and proper" for carrying out its duties
Branch with the sole power to impeach
House of Representative
The Great Compromise
Roger Sherman proposed - Two Houses in Congress: the lower house was based a state's population. In the upper house, each state had two senators - system of federalism: power is divided between federal government and states.
Why is it significant?
Shays's Rebellion exposed the weakness of the government under the Articles of Confederation and led many—including George Washington—to call for strengthening the federal government in order to put down future uprisings.
Electoral college
The Founding Fathers established this in the Constitution, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens.
How does relate to the Constitution
The constitutional convention was needed to offer more support, more structure, they were worried that rebellions similar to Shays would happen elsewhere.
The circumstances of the rebellion
The farmers who fought in the Revolutionary War had received little compensation, and by the 1780s many were struggling to make ends meet.
Double Jeopardy
You cannot take someone to court for something twice
Bill of Rights
a document of rights that each American is entitled to, originally 10 but more get added, it wasn't originally in the constitution but added later
Preamble
a intro stating its purpose, aims and justification
Who was Shays
an American soldier, revolutionary and farmer famous for being one of the leaders and namesake of Shays' Rebellion, a populist uprising against controversial debt collection and tax policies in Massachusetts in 1786-87
John Jay
an author of the Federalists Papers - from New York
Federalists
favored the Constitution - They stressed the weaknesses of the Articles - They argued that only the proposed Constitution could remedy these weaknesses. - They were led by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton who, along with John Jay, published a series of essays called The __________________
Power/Responsibilities of President
implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress
Census
official count or survey of a population
Unicameral legislature
one-house legislature with either a weak governor or none at all
James Madison
proposed the virginia plan - was an author of the Federalists - he favored a large republic with diverse interests to preserve the common good, favored a system of checks and balances, came up with the Virginia plan, wrote the fed papers, assigned to write the Bill of Rights, known as the father of the constitution, from Virginia
Suffrage
right to vote
⅗ Compromise
solution to slavery - A slave counted as _____ of a person in determining representation in Congress and electoral votes for presidential elections - Importation of slaves could not be forbidden for twenty years - Northern states could not pass laws to help runaway slaves.
Federal system
the federal government and state governments share power
Separation of Powers
the government's power is divided among three branches: legislative, executive, judicial
Popular Sovereignty
the people are the only source of the government's power
Ratification process
to be by special conventions in each state, not by state legislatures - required approval of only 9 states
Bicameral
with two houses