U. S. Government vocabulary Ch 2
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- ordered government
- the first English colonists saw the need for an orderly regulation of their relationships with one another
- limited government
- the concept that government is no all-powerful - it is limited in what it may do and individuals have certain rights that gov't CANNOT take away
- representative government
- idea that gov't should serve the will of the people - that people should have a voice in deciding what government should and should not do
- Magna Carta
- included rights of trial by jury and due process - protection against the arbitrary taking of life, liberty, or property - established the principle that the power of the monarchy is NOT absolute
- The Petition of Right
- limited the king's power by demanding that the king no imprison political critics without trial by jury; not declare martial law; or rule by the military during peacetime - also no man should be compelled to make any gift or loan without the consent of Parliament -- challenged the idea of divine right of kings - the king now had to obey the law of the land just like everyone else
- English Bill of Rights
- signed by William & Mary - prohibited a standing army in peacetime except with the consent of Parliament and required that all parliamentary elections be free; no more suspending of laws by the king; no more levying taxes without the grant of Parliament; right to a speedy trial; freedom from excessive bail; no cruel or unusual punishment
- charter
- a written grant of authority from the king to establish a colony
- bicameral
- two (bi) house legislature
- unicameral
- one (uni) house legislature
- popular sovereignty
- principle that gov't can exist and function ONLY with the consent of the governed - it is the people who hold power
- ratification
- formal approval
- Articles of Confederation
- established a league of states - each state keeping its independence - the states came together for common defense against enemies
- Shays' Rebellion
- armed insurrection of Massachusetts farmers to protest the loss of their farms to tax collectors
- Framers of the Constitution
- the group of men who came together to write the Constitution - included Washington, Madison, Franklin (Jefferson was NOT among them)
- Father of the Constitution
- James Madison
- Virginia Plan
- called for a new gov't with 3 branches: legislative, executive, judicial; Bicameral legislature; Congress could use force to make a state obey national law; Congress would CHOOSE a national executive and a national judiciary -- called for the creation of a truly national government with greatly expanded powers & the power to enforce its decisions - NOT popular with smaller states
- New Jersey Plan
- keep the unicameral Congress of the Confederation with each State equally represented; called for a federal executive of more than one person chosen by Congress and could be removed by a majority of States' governors; the federal judiciary would be appointed by the executive
- main difference between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan
- How would States be represented in Congress? By population or money as in the Virginia Plan? Or would every state be equal as in the New Jersey Plan?
-
Connecticut Compromise
(Great Compromise) - agreement that Congress should be composed of two houses - the Senate where the States would be represented equally and the House where the number of representatives would be based on the population of each state
- Three-Fifths Compromise
- answered the question of should slaves be counted in the population of the Southern states -- each slave would be counted as "three-fifths" of a person
- Commerce and Slave Trade Commission
- Congress was forbidden the power to tax the export of goods from any state; was also forbidden the power to act on the slave trade for at least twenty years
- Federalists
- group that favored ratification of the new Constitution
- Anti-Federalists
- opposed the ratification of the new Constitution - especially the greatly increased powers of the central government over the States AND the lack of a Bill of Rights
- The Federalist
- 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison that defended the new Constitution
- Publius
- pen name of the authors of The Federalist Papers
- Name the three types of early colonies - how was the governor chosen in each? (CRP)
-
1. Charter colonies - governors were elected by white male landowners
2. Royal colonies - king named the governor
3. Proprietary colonies - governor was appointed by the proprietor -
Albany Plan of Union
(identify and give significance) - proposed by Ben Franklin; form an annual congress of delegates from each of 13 colonies; had the power to raise miliary forces, make war & peace, regulate trade, levy and collect taxes - would be remember later
-
Stamp Act Congress
(identify and give significance) - nine colonies sent delegates to New York to protest tax stamps on all legal documents & newspapers - was seen as "taxation without representation" - marked the first time a significant number of colonists joined to oppose the British gov't
-
First Continental Congress
(identify and give significance) - 55 delegates (exc GA) met in Philadelphia in response to the Intolerable Acts - sent a Declaration of Rights protesting Britain's policies to King George III
- Second Continental Congress (identify and give significance)
- Revolution had begun; each colony sent representatives; organized a continental army with G. Washington in command - significance: nation's first national gov't - served for five years
- Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
- committee of five - Ben Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston AND Thomas Jefferson who did almost ALL of the work
- Why were the 1780s known as the Critical Period?
- after the Revolutionary War, the country's economic and political problems had to be solved
- What three major general sources were used when the Framers wrote the Constitution?
- Montesquieu's THE SPIRIT OF THE LAWS, Rousseau's SOCIAL CONTRACT, John Locke's TWO TREATISES OF GOVERNMENT
- Name the first capital, president, and vice-president.
- New York City, George Washington President and John Adams Vice President