7th SS - Chapter 4.1 To 4.3 Notes Flashcards
In forming state government, many states wrote what?
Constitution
What is a document that sets out basic laws, principles, organization, and processes of a government?
Constitution
What are the two reasons states wrote constitutions?
- Spell out rights of all citizens
2. Limit the power of government
Who was given most of the power in state constitutions?
The legislature
Under the state constitutions, what happened to the right to vote?
More people had right to vote than in colonial times.
Who had the right to vote?
A citizen had to be white, male and over 21. He had to own a certain amount of property or pay a certain amount of taxes.
Which was the first state to have a bill of rights (list of freedoms that the government promises to protect)?
Virginia
What did the Continental Congress creat in 1777?
Articles of Confederation
What did the Articles of Confederation creat?
A very loose alliance of 13 independent states
What was the single branch of government called under the National Government?
Congress - one house legislature
Under the Articles of Confederation, each state sent __________ delegate so each state had _________ vote.
One; one
Who retained most of the power under the Articles of Confederation?
The states
Name the five powers the Congress had.
- Power to declare war
- Appoint military officers
- Coin money
- Operate post offices
- Responsible for foreign affairs and could sign treaties
Name the three powers the Congress did not have.
- Limited powers, could pass laws but 9 states had to approve
- Could not regulate trade between states or between state and foreign countries
- Could not collect taxes
Two strengths of the Articles of Confederation.
- Land Ordinance of 1785
2. Northwest Ordinance
Name the 4 weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
- Did not give central government power to resolve conflicts among the states
- Without power to tax, had no way of repaying debts to individuals and foreign nations
- Trade between states was very difficult due to no common stable currency
- Foreign countries took advantage of the weakness of the central government to promote their own interests
Under the Articles of Confederation, the United States did what?
- Won its independence
- Negotiated a peace treaty with Britain
- Created rules for settling territories
What were the problems under the Articles of Confederation?
- Trade rivalries
- No power to tax/raise money
- Too weak to stand up to public unrest/conflicts between states
What set up a system for settling the Northwest Territories?
The Land Ordinance of 1785
Describe how the territory was divided.
Territory was surveyed and divided into townships - 6 mile squares. Each township was then further divided into 36 sections of one square mile each. Each township would have one section set aside to support public schools because of the belief that all the nation needed an education.
In 1787, Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance which applied to the territory north of the Ohio River. What did it do?
Set up a government for the territory, guaranteed basic rights to settlers, outlawed slavery and established a process for creating new states.
What five states would eventually be created from the Northwest Territory?
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin
During the mid 1700s, what happened that caused many Massachusetts farmers to lose their land because they could not pay their taxes?
Hard economic times - depression
More than 1000 farmers took part in the attack of the courthouse in Massachusetts, what was this called?
Shays’ Rebellion
What did Shays’ Rebellion even through it failed lead to?
A stronger national government
Why did Maryland want Virginia and other states to cede land claims west of the Appalachian Mountains?
They feared that “landed” states would become too powerful - those with more land would be more powerful
What year did the Articles of Confederation go into effect?
1777
Which two states claimed Vermont?
New York and New Hampshire
Which two European nations caused trouble for Americans?
Britain and Spain
What did the Ordinance of 1785 do?
Set up a system for settling the Northwest Territory - territory to be surveyed and divided into townships
What was the system for organizing the territory?
- Surveyed
- Divided into townships - 36 square miles
- Each township was divided into 1 square mile sections
- One section of each township was set aside to support public schools
What did the Northwest Ordinance do?
- Set up government for the Northwest Territory
- Guaranteed basic rights to settlers
- Outlawed slavery
- Created process to admit new states into nation.
Would the Northwest Ordinance establish new states or make the territories part of the old states?
As new states
Which states were created from the Northwest Territory?
Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio
What is a depression?
- Business activity slows
- Prices and wages fall
- Unemployment rises
After Shays’ Rebellion, what did leaders of several states do?
Called for a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation
Name the three founding fathers at the Constitutional Convention.
- Benjamin Franklin
- George Washington
- Alexander Hamilton
- James Madison
Who is called the “Father of the Constitution”? Why?
James Madison - he was quiet and rather shy but he was the best prepared delegate. He had done research for months. His keen intelligence and his ideas about how to structure a democratic government strongly influenced the other delegates.
Why did they keep the talks secret?
They wanted to speak their minds freely and be able to explore issues without pressures from outside.
Who worked out a compromise between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan?
Roger Sherman
What are the two house of Congress?
Lower - House of Representatives - representation based on population
Upper - Senate - each state would have 2 senators
What did Sherman’s plan become known as?
Great Compromise
What problem did the 3/5’s Compromise address?
Whether or not enslaved African Americans would be counted in the state’s population
Another disagreement over slavery concerned the ban on the ______________.
Slave trade
It was decided that the slave trade would not be banned for _______ years.
20 years
When was the Constitution ready to be signed?
September 17, 1787
What three delegates refused to sign?
- Edmund Randolph
- George Mason
- Eldridge Gerry
How many delegates were at the Constitutional Convention?
55 delegates
The Constitutional Convention was supposed to simply revise the Articles of Confederation but what happened?
The delegates soon agreed that the Articles were not enough and they chose instead to write an entirely new constitution for the nation.
Who proposed the Virginia Plan?
James Madison
Describe the Virginia Plan.
- Called for a strong national government
- Would have three branches -
A. Legislative Branch - pass laws
* 2 houses
* seats based on population so the larger a state’s population the more seats it would have in each house.
B. Executive Branch - carry out laws - a single national executive selected by Congress
C. Judicial Branch - decide if laws were constitutional - selected by Congress - ability to override laws
What ancient republic was admired by Americans?
Roman Republic
What 2 English documents influenced the Constitution?
- Magna Carta
2. English Bill of Rights
What 3 basic ideas were included in the Magna Carta?
- everyone had to obey laws
- taxes not raised without consulting Parliament
- citizens had certain rights
Private property rights influenced the American ________.
x
The English Bill of Rights upheld what?
- that elections should be held regularly
- Right to trial by jury
- allowed citizens to bear arms
- right of habeas corpus
Two American documents that influenced the Constitution were?
- Mayflower Compact
2. Declaration of Independence
What was the Enlightenment?
The belief that people could improve society through the use of reason.
What 2 ideals did the English philosopher John Locke discuss?
- That all people had the natural rights to life, liberty and property
- That government is an agreement between the ruler and the ruled. The ruler must enforce the laws and protect the people. If the ruler violates the people’s natural rights, the people have a tight to rebel.
Which of Locke’s principles was part of the Constitution?
That all people had the natural rights to life, liberty and property
Which French Enlightenment thinker influenced the structure of the American government?
Baron De Montesquieu
Which of Montesquieu’s idea was used for the structure of the government?
separation of powers - three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial
What did the separation of powers do?
designed to keep any person or group from gaining too much power
Which states supported the Virginia Plan?
Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts
Those states with smaller population opposed the Virginia Plan. They offered their own plan. What has it called?
The New Jersey Plan
Describe the New Jersey Plan.
Three branches of government - Executive, Judicial and Legislative. But Legislative branch would have only one house with one seat and one vote regardless of population.
How long is a senator’s term?
6 years
Having two legislative houses?
bi-cameral
Why was the Great Compromise important?
It was a vital step in creating the constitution because it let the small state delegates agree to support a strong central government.
Describe the 3/5’s Compromise.
It was decided that for every 5 slaves would equal 3 people for taxation and representatives purposes.
Who benefited from the 3/5’s Compromise?
The South because they gained more seats in the House of Representatives. The North reluctantly agreeded.
The Constitution was submitted to all 13 states. What had to happen so that the constitution could be put into effect?
At least nine of the thirteen states had to adopt it.
