ap gov chapter 2 vocabulary

Question 1

the Western Hemisphere of Earth, also called the Americas, which was unknown to Europeans before 1492

Answer 1

New World

Question 2

a brilliant inventor and senior statesman at the Constitutional Convention who urged colonial unity as early as 1754, twenty-two years before the Declaration of Independence

Answer 2

Benjamin Franklin

Question 3

the American phase of what was called the Seven Years War, fought from 1754 to 1763 between Britain and France with Indian allies

Answer 3

French and Indian War

Question 4

an economic theory designed to increase a nation’s wealth through the development of commercial industry and a favorable balance of trade

Answer 4

mercantilism

Question 5

cousin of President John Adams and an early leader against the British and loyalist oppressors; he played a key role in developing the Committees of Correspondence and was active in Massachusetts and colonial politics.

Answer 5

Samuel Adams

Question 6

a gathering of nine colonial representatives in 1765 in New York City where a detailed list of Crown violations was drafted; first official meeting of the colonies and the first official step toward creating a unified meeting

Answer 6

Stamp Act Congress

Question 7

loosely organized groups of patriotic American colonists who were early revolutionaries

Answer 7

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

Question 8

an African American and first American to die in what became known as the Boston Massacre in 1770

Answer 8

Crispus Attucks

Question 9

meeting held in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, in which 56 delegates (from every colony except Georgia) adopted a resolution in opposition to the Coercive Acts

Answer 9

First Continental Congress

Question 10

the first sites of armed conflict between revolutionaries and British soldiers, remembered for the “shot heard round the world” in 1775

Answer 10

Lexington and Concord

Question 11

meeting that convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, at which it was decided that an army should be raised and George Washington of Virginia was named commander in chief

Answer 11

Second Continental Congress

Question 12

the influential writer of Common Sense, a pamphlet that advocated for independence from Great Britain

Answer 12

Thomas Paine

Question 13

a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that challenged the authority of the British government to govern the colonies

Answer 13

Common Sense

Question 14

principle drafter of the Declaration of Independence; second vice president of the United States; third president of the United States from 1801-1809, cofounder of the democratic republican party created to expose federalists

Answer 14

Thomas Jefferson

Question 15

document drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 that proclaimed the right of the American colonies to separate from Great Britain

Answer 15

Declaration of Independence

Question 16

the belief that governments exist based on the consent of the governed

Answer 16

social contract theory

Question 17

commonly shared attitudes, behaviors, and core values about how government should operate

Answer 17

political culture

Question 18

the compact between the thirteen original colonies that created a loose league of friendship, with the national government drawing its powers from the states

Answer 18

Articles of Confederation

Question 19

the chaotic period from 1781 to 1789 after the American Revolution during which the former colonies were governed under the Articles of Confederation

Answer 19

critical period

Question 20

a rebellion in which an army of 1,500 disgruntled and angry farmers led by Daniel Shays marched to Springfield, Massachusetts, and forcibly restrained the state court from foreclosing mortgages on their farms

Answer 20

Shay’s Rebellion

Question 21

the meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that was first intended to revise the Articles of Confederation but produced an entirely new document, the US constitution

Answer 21

constitutional convention

Question 22

widely considered “the father of the nation,” he was the commander of the revolutionary armies; served as the presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention; and as the United States’ first president from 1789-1797

Answer 22

George Washington

Question 23

a document establishing the structure, functions, and limitations of a government

Answer 23

constitution

Question 24

a proposed framework for the Constitution favoring large states, it called for a bicameral legislature, which would appoint executive and judicial officers

Answer 24

virginia plan

Question 25

a framework for the Constitution proposed by a group of small states; it called for a one-house legislature with one vote for each state, a Congress with the ability to raise revenue, and a Supreme Court appointed for life

Answer 25

New Jersey Plan

Question 26

the final decision of the Constitutional Convention to create a two-house legislature, with the lower house elected by the people and powers divided between the two houses; also made national law supreme

Answer 26

the Great Compromise

Question 27

agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention stipulating that three-fifths of the total slave population of each state was to be for purposes of determining population for representation in the US House of Representatives

Answer 27

three-fifths compromise

Question 28

the system established by the Constitution through which the president is chosen by electors from each state, which has as many electoral votes as it has members of Congress

Answer 28

electoral college

Question 29

a key framer who envisioned a powerful central government, co-authored The Federalist Papers, and served as the first secretary of the treasury

Answer 29

Alexander Hamilton

Question 30

the French baron and political theorist who first articulated the concept of separation of power with checks and balances

Answer 30

Montesquieu

Question 31

the distribution of constitutional authority between state governments and the national government, with different powers and functions exercised by both

Answer 31

federalism

Question 32

a way of dividing the power of government among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each staffed separately, with equality and independence of each branch ensured by the Constitution

Answer 32

separation of powers

Question 33

vests all legislative powers in the Congress and establishes a bicameral legislature, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives; it also sets out the qualifications for holding office in each house, the terms of office, the methods of selection of representatives and senators, and the system of apportionment among the states to determine membership in the House of Representatives

Answer 33

Article 1

Question 34

the powers of the national government specifically granted to Congress in Article l, section 8 of the Constitution

Question 35

the final paragraph of Article |, section 8, of the Constitution, which gives Congress the authority to pass all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the enumerated powers specified in the Constitution; also called the elastic clause

Answer 35

necessary and proper clause

Question 36

the powers of the national government derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause

Answer 36

implied powers

Question 37

vests the executive power, that is, the authority to execute the laws of the nation, in a president of the United States; section 1 sets the president’s term of office at 4 years and explains the electoral college and states the qualifications for office and describes a mechanism to replace the president in case of death, disability, or removal from office

Answer 37

article ||

Question 38

powers that belong to the president because they can be inferred from the Constitution

Answer 38

inherent powers

Question 39

establishes a supreme court and defines its jurisdiction

Answer 39

article |||

Question 40

mandates that states honor the laws and judicial proceedings of other states, also includes the mechanisms for admitting new states to the union

Answer 40

article |V

Question 41

section of article |V of the Constitution that ensures judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state

Answer 41

full faith and credit clause

Question 42

specifies how amendments can be added to the constitution

Answer 42

article V

Question 43

contains the supremacy clause, which asserts the basic primacy of the Constitution and national law over state laws and constitutions

Answer 43

article V|

Question 44

portion of article V| of the constitution mandating that national law is supreme over all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government

Answer 44

supremacy clause

Question 45

those who favored a stronger national government and supported the proposed US constitution; later became the first US political party

Answer 45

Federalists

Question 46

those who favored strong state governments and a weak national government; opposed ratification of the US Constitution

Answer 46

Anti-Federalists

Question 47

a key framer often called the “father of the Constitution” for his role in conceptualizing the federal government, co-authored The Federalist Papers; served as secretary of state; served as the fourth US president from 1809-1817

Answer 47

James Madison

Question 48

a member of the founding generation who was the Chief Justice of the United States, a diplomat and co-author of The Federalist Papers

Answer 48

John Jay

Question 49

a series of 85 political essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison in support ratification of the US Constitution

Answer 49

The Federalist Papers

Question 50

the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, which largely guarantee specific rights and liberties

Answer 50

Bill of Rights