American Heritage Exam 2 Flashcards
Article 1 of the Constitution
Established the Legislative branch as a bicameral legislature, set up by population. Brought up 3/5 compromise. Power to impeach the President. Senate has 6 year terms. Necessary and Proper clause
Article 2 of the Constitution
Established the Executive branch. 4 Year terms. Electoral College.
Article 3 of the Constitution
Established the Judicial Branch. Very brief, Supreme Court and lower courts are outlined.
1st Amendment to the Constitution
Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition
2nd Amendment to the Constitution
The right to Bear Arms
3rd Amendment to the Constitution
Quartering of Soldiers
4th Amendment to the Constitution
Search and Seizure
5th Amendment to the Constitution
Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination, Due Process, Takings
6th Amendment to the Constitution
Right to a speedy trial by Jury, Witnesses, Council
7th Amendment to the Constitution
Jury Trial in Civil Lawsuits
8th Amendment to the Constitution
Excessive Fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishment
9th Amendment to the Constitution
Non-enumerated rights retained by people
10th Amendment to the Constitution
Rights reserved to States or People
13th Amendment to the Constitution
Abolition of Slavery
14th Amendment to the Constitution
Citizenship Rights, Equal Protection, Apportionment, Civil War Debt
15th Amendment to the Constitution
Right to Vote not denied by Race
Federalist Paper 10
Madison - Factions. Majority Factions are bad. The Larger the nation, the more factions are present
Federalist Paper 51
Madison - Outlines checks and Balances
Federalist Paper 78
Hamilton - Judicial Branch is weak, supports judicial review, but it didn’t officially exist.
George Washington
1st President, Farewell Address, Leans Federalist Party
John Adams
2nd President of the United States, Loses 2nd Term in 1800, Federalist
Thomas Jefferson
3rd President of the United States, Dem-Rep party, won 1800
Andrew Jackson
7th President of the United States, Democratic, 1828, popular, Indian removal- Trail of Tears
Abraham Lincoln
16th President of the United States, Republican, 1860, Pro-union, anti-slavery
Shay’s Rebellion
An armed uprising by struggling farmers in 1786-1787 protesting economic hardships and lack of debt relief, which exposed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and spurred calls for a stronger central government.
Crevecoeur
“Letters from an American Farmer” Diversity + Hard work = citizen. “What then is the American, this new man?”
Corn Tassel
Cherokee Leader - Same area doesn’t mean shared ideas and beliefs
John Marshall
Judge during Marbury V Madison –> led to Judicial Review
McCulloch vs. Maryland
Established that congress had the authority to establish a national bank under the Necessary and Proper clause. Affirmed the supremacy of the federal law over state law.
Frederick Douglass
“What to the Slave is your fourth of July?”
George Fitzhugh
Proslavery - Slavery was beneficial for both African Americans and White People. More humane than the free labor in the North.
Stephen Douglas
Lincoln’s opponent, popular sovereignty on slavery
Charles Sumner
A leading figure in the antislavery movement
Alexander Stevens
Vice President of the Confederate States. Pro-slavery, Cornerstone Speech - the confederacy was built upon the belief in the racial inequality of African Americans
Thaddeus Stevens
Major proponent of reconstruction
John C Calhoun
Pro-Slavery, Slavery is positive good. Believed in concurrent Majority
Stacy Schiff
Founders saw this coming (Polarization, factions) but didn’t know the scale
Eric Foner
Second Founding
Danielle Allen
Consitution’s immoral compromise, celebrate good
Article 4 of the Constitution
State Relationships - must respect the laws of other states. Provides a process for admitting new states. Each state will receive federal protection.
Article 5 of the Constitution
Amendment creation process described
Article 6 of the Constitution
Supremacy Clause - Establishes the Constitution and the federal laws as the supreme law of the land.
Article 7 of the Constitution
Ratification of the Constitution - only 9 states needed to ratify it.
11th Amendment to the Constitution
Prevents citizens of one state, or citizens or subjects of foreign countries, from suing another state in federal court without that state’s consent
12th Amendment to the Constitution
Revised the Electoral College process by requiring separate votes for President and Vice President to prevent election ties and conflicts.
16th Amendment to the Constitution
Allowed Congress to collect a federal income tax
17th Amendment to the Constitution
Established the direct election of U.S. Senators by the people
18th Amendment to the Constitution
Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol (Prohibition)
19th Amendment to the Constitution
Granted women the right to vote (Women’s Suffrage)
20th Amendment to the Constitution
Changed presidential and congressional term start dates (January 20 and January 3).
21st Amendment to the Constitution
Repealed Prohibition
22nd Amendment to the Constitution
Limited the President to two terms in office
23rd Amendment to the Constitution
Gave Washington, D.C. residents the right to vote in presidential elections
24th Amendment to the Constitution
Prohibited poll taxes in federal elections
25th Amendment to the Constitution
Set rules for presidential succession and dealing with presidential disabilities
26th Amendment to the Constitution
Lowered the voting age to 18
27th Amendment to the Constitution
Delayed congressional pay raises until the next election
Human Predicament
Revolution, Anarchy, Competing Groups, Tyranny
The Good Society
We as a society should pursue Freedom, Virtue (The Good), and Welfare (Prosperity)
Collective Action Problem
A situation where people would be collectively better off if they could
cooperate but find themselves unable to do that because they have
conflicting interests and goals.
Rule of Law
Laws, not individuals, should govern a society. Everyone, including leaders, is subject to the law and no one is above it.
Thomas Hobbes
In its natural state, life with
others is “nasty, brutish, and
short.” “A war of all against all”
Martin Luther
Monk in the Catholic Church, 95 Theses, Faith alone saves.
Faith arises from reading the scriptures. Begins transfer of religious responsibility to the individual and away from the Church.
John Calvin
All are fallen/totally depraved
Man’s heart is evil and a slave to sin.
“Elect” saved/preserved by grace alone
God chooses who he wants, when he wants
No rewards for good behavior
John Winthrop
“For we must consider that we shall be as a “city upon a hill.” The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.”
Markets Vs. Mercantalism
- Command or planning
Power and authority of the government to create cooperation and resolve conflicting interests as well as allocate resources and set prices.
Examples: Mercantilism, Communism - Market
Free exchange creates cooperation, and market-determined prices create incentives that allocate resources
Example: Capitalism
5 Principles of Rule of Law
Generality
Prospectivity
Publicity
Consent
Due Process
Role of Profits
Profits: Excess of revenue over costs
High profits = Attract resources and new business activity
Low profits or losses = Firms Exit
Adam Smith
“The Wealth of Nations”,
1. Value of markets
2. Self-interest as motivation - “Not the benevolence of the butcher…”
3. Specialization
4. Invisible Hand
Government’s role in the Market
Prevent coercion and fraud
Provide basic transportation and communication networks
Define property rights
Enforce exchange agreements
Provide money
The Frontier (and its end)
The vast, unsettled western lands in the United States that offered opportunities for settlement and expansion. The “end of the frontier” refers to the closing of the frontier in 1890, marking the end of the era of westward expansion.
Reconstruction
The period (1865-1877) following the Civil War in which the U.S. government attempted to rebuild and integrate the Southern states back into the Union, while also addressing the rights of newly freed African Americans.
The Gilded Age
A term for the late 19th century (1870s-1900) in the U.S., marked by rapid industrialization, political corruption, and vast wealth inequality, with a shiny exterior (“gilded”) that masked widespread social and economic problems.
Industrialization and Private Power
The transformation from an agrarian economy to one based on mass production and factories, leading to the growth of powerful private corporations that dominated industries like steel, oil, and railroads.
Progressivism
A political movement (late 19th and early 20th centuries) aimed at addressing social, economic, and political issues caused by industrialization, urbanization, and corruption, focusing on reforms such as labor rights, women’s suffrage, and government accountability.
Populism
A political ideology or movement that advocates for the rights and power of ordinary people, often focusing on issues like economic fairness, opposition to elite power, and advocating for agricultural and rural interests.
Market Weaknesses
Failures in the free market system, such as monopolies, income inequality, and economic recessions, that can harm consumers, workers, and society at large.
Political Machines
Corrupt political organizations, often led by a single boss or small group, that control local or state governments through patronage, bribery, and manipulation of elections to maintain power and influence.
Women’s Suffrage
The movement and eventual legal victories that granted women the right to vote, culminating in the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920
The Great Depression
A severe worldwide economic downturn that began in 1929, triggered by the stock market crash, leading to massive unemployment, widespread poverty, and a long economic slump.
The New Deal
A series of government programs and reforms initiated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression to provide relief, recovery, and reform, including Social Security, labor rights, and public works projects.
Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Fiscal Policy: Government actions related to taxation and spending to influence the economy.
Monetary Policy: The central bank’s control over the money supply and interest rates to regulate inflation and stabilize the economy.
Hoover vs. FDR
The contrasting approaches of Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. Hoover favored limited government intervention, while FDR introduced the New Deal to provide direct relief and reform.
Plessy v. Ferguson
A landmark 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the doctrine of “separate but equal.”
Brown v. Board of Education
A 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, declaring that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional and mandated integration.
Minor v. Happersett
An 1875 U.S. Supreme Court case that ruled that the right to vote was not guaranteed to women under the U.S. Constitution, a decision that delayed women’s suffrage until the 19th Amendment.
Jim Crow and Segregation
The system of state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States from the late 19th century until the 1960s, discriminating against African Americans in public facilities, education, and voting.
The Civil Rights Movement
A decades-long struggle, primarily during the 1950s and 1960s, aimed at ending racial discrimination and securing civil rights for African Americans, including landmark events like the 1963 March on Washington and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Social Movements of the 1960s
A series of movements advocating for social change, including the Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Liberation, Anti-Vietnam War protests, and the rise of the counterculture.
Conservative Responses
Political and social reactions from conservative groups to movements for social change in the 1960s, often emphasizing traditional values, limited government, and resistance to liberal reforms.
Moral Individualism
A philosophical and political belief that individuals should have the freedom to make their own moral choices without interference from the government or society, often linked to classical liberalism.
Oneness vs. Manyness
A philosophical debate about whether society should prioritize unity and a shared identity (“oneness”) or celebrate diversity and individuality (“manyness”). This tension is often discussed in relation to national identity, immigration, and multiculturalism.
Obligations
Duties or responsibilities that individuals or groups have to others or society, often tied to ethical, legal, or moral expectations. In American history, obligations are often discussed in the context of citizenship, justice, and civil rights.
