govt: ch. 2
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- What were the 3 ideas that the English colonists brought to North America that helped shape the government of US?
- Ordered government, limited government, and representative government.
- limited government
- the concept that the government is not all-powerful and restricted in what it may do
- representative government
- the idea that the government should serve the will of the people
- Magna Carta
- By barons to King John; protection against heavy-handed and arbitrary acts by the king; rights: trial by jury and due process of law, protection against the arbitrary taking of life, liberty, and property.
- Petition of Right
- Limited the king's power: can't imprison or punish someone but by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land, can't impose martial law (rule by the military) in time of peace or require ppl to shelter king's troops without consent
- English Bill of Rights
- prohibited a standing army in pecetime, except with the consent of Parliament, and required that all parliamentary elections be free. also right to a fair trial and freedome from excessive bail and from cruel&unusual punishment
- charter
- a written grant of authority from the king
- 3 kinds of colonies
- royal, proprietary, charter
- royal colony
- subject to the direct control of the Crown
- proprietary colony
- organized by a proprietor, a person to whom the king had made a grant of land. land could be settled and governed much as the proprietor (owner) chose.
- charter colony
- largely self-governing. based on charters granted.
- confederation
- a joining of several groups for acommon purpose
- New England Confederation
- settlements/colonies form a "league of friendship" for defense against Native Americans.
- Albany Plan of Union
- Franklin proposed the formation of an annual congress of delegates (representatives) from each of the 13 colonies. that body would have the power to raise military and naval forces, make war and peace with indians, regulate trade w/ them, tax, and collect
- Stamp Act of 1765
- Law required the use of tax stamps on all legal documents, on certain business agreements, and on newspapers
- Declaration of Rights and Greivances
- nine colonies protest against the Stamp Act. made this against the new british policies and sent it to the king. marked the first time a significant number of colonies joined to oppose the british govt.
- First Continental Congress
- members discussed the worsening situation of british policies (bc intolerable acts) and debated plans for action. sent a Declaration of Rights, protesting Britain's colonial policies, to King George III. urged all colonies to refuse trade w/ England
- Second Continental Congress
- became the nation's first national government, but didn't rested on a constitutional base. hancock=pres.
- Declaration of Independence authors:
- Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, Thomas Jefferson
- Common features of state constitutions
- popular sovereignty, limited government, civil rights and lbierties, separation of powers and checks and balances
- Articles of Confederation
- Established a "firm league of friendship" among the States.
- ratification
- formal approval
- structure of AoC:
- congress was the sole body. unicameral, made up of delegates chosen yearly by the States. each statehad one vote in the congress. no executive or legislative - handled by committees of congress. congress chooses its president.
- powers of congress under AoC
- make war and peace, send and recieve ambassadors, make treaties, borrow money, set up a money system, establish post offices, build a navy, raise and army by asking the states for troops, settle disputes among states
- weaknesses of AoC
- congress can't tax, one vote for each state regardless of its size, congress can't regulate foreign&inerstate commerce, no executive to enforce law, no national court system, amendment only w/ consent of all states, 9/13 majority to pass laws
- Mount Vernon
- Maryland and Virginia had a conference on their trade problems. negotiations so successful that they wanted a join meeting of all the states concerning a federal plan for regulating commerce
- Annapolis
- where the joint meeting after Mount Vernon was. only 5/13 states came.
- Framers of the Constituion
- the group of delegates who attended the Philadelphia Convention
- Virginia Plan
- Called for new government with 3 separate branches: legslative, executive, and judicial. legislature (congress) = bicameral. House of Representatives elected in each state. Senate by House
- New Jersey Plan
- retained unicameral Congress, with each of the states equally represented. to those powers congress alerady had, would be added closely limited powers to tax and to regulate trade between the states. also made "federal executive"
- Conneticut Compromise
- Congress should be composed of two houses. smaller Senate = States represented equally, House = representation based on its population
- Three-Fifths Compromise
- All free people should be counted, and so, too, should three-fifths of all other persons (blacks).
- Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise
- Congress forbidden the power to tax the export of goods from any state & can't act on the slave trade for a period of at least 20 yrs.
- Federalists
- favored ratification. stressed weaknesses of the Articles & supported constitution
- Anti-Federalists
- opposed ratification. against constitution bc of absence of mention of God, denial of States the power to print money, etc.
- 2 major features of the proposed Constituion drew the heaviest fire:
- 1) the greatly increased powers of the central government 2) the lack fo a bill of rights