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