APGOV Ch.2 vocab.Kamya.Auberry

Question 1

Alexander Hamilton

Answer 1

A key Framer who envisioned a powerful central government, co-authored the Federalist papers, and served as the first Secretary of the Treasury.

Question 2

Anti-Federalists

Answer 2

Those who favored strong state governments and a weak national government; opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Question 3

Article I

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

Article II

Answer 4

Vests the executive power, that is, the authority to executive the laws of the nation, in a president of the United States; section 1 sets the president’s term of office at four 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.

Question 5

Article III

Answer 5

Establishes a Supreme Court and defines its jurisdiction.

Question 6

Article IV

Answer 6

Mandates that states honor the laws and judicial proceedings of other states. Article IV also includes the mechanisms for admitting new states to the union. See also “full faith and credit clause.”

Question 7

Article V

Answer 7

Specifies how amendments can be added to the Constitution.

Question 8

Article VI

Answer 8

Contains the supremacy clause, which asserts the basic primacy of the Constitution and national laws over state laws and constitutions. See also “supremacy clause”.

Question 9

Article of Confederation

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Benjamin Franklin

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

Bill of Rights

Answer 11

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which largely guarantee specific rights and liberties.

Question 12

checks and balances

Answer 12

A constitutionally mandated structure that gives each of the three branches of government some degree of oversight and control over the actions of the others.

Question 13

Common Sense

Answer 13

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

Question 14

constitution

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Constitutional convention

Answer 15

The meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that was first intended to revise the Articles of Confederation but produced an entirely new document, the U.S. Constitution.

Question 16

Crispus Attucks

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Critical Period

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Declaration of Independence

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Electoral College

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

enumerated powers

Answer 20

The powers of the national government specifically granted to congress in Article I, section 8 of the Constitution.

Question 21

federalism

Answer 21

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

Question 22

The Federalist papers

Answer 22

A series of eighty-five political essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Question 23

French and Indian war

Answer 23

The American phase of what was called the seven years war, fought form 1754, twenty-two years before the Declaration of Independence.

Question 24

First Continental Congress

Answer 24

Meeting held in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1776, in which fifty-six delegates (from every colony except Georgia) adopted a resolution in opposition to the Coercive Acts.

Question 25

full faith and credit clause

Answer 25

Section of Article IV of the Constitution that ensures judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state.

Question 26

George Washington

Answer 26

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 to 1797

Question 27

implied powers

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Great Compromise

Answer 28

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.

Question 29

James Madison

Answer 29

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 U.S. president from 1809 to 1817.

Question 30

John Jay

Answer 30

A member of the Founding generation who was the first Chief Justice of the United States, A diplomat and co-author of the Federalist papers.

Question 31

Lexington and Concord

Answer 31

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

Question 32

mercantilism

Answer 32

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

Question 33

necessary and proper clause

Answer 33

The final paragraph of Article I, 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.

Question 34

Montesquieu

Answer 34

The french baron and political theorist who first articulated the concept of separation of powers with checks and balances.

Question 35

New Jersey Pan

Answer 35

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.

Question 36

New world

Answer 36

The Western Hemisphere of Earth, also called The Americans, which was unknown to Europeans before 1492.

Question 37

political culture

Answer 37

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

Question 38

Samuel Adams

Answer 38

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.

Question 39

Second Continental Congress

Answer 39

Meeting that convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, at which it was decided that an army should be raised named commander in chief.

Question 40

separation of powers

Answer 40

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.

Question 41

Shay’s Rebellion

Answer 41

A rebellion in which an army of 1,500 disgruntled and angry farmers led by Daniel Shays marched to Springfield, Massachusetts, and forcibly restrained gages on their farms.

Question 42

social contract theory

Answer 42

The belief that government exist based on the consent of the governed.

Question 43

Sons and Daughters of liberty

Answer 43

Loosely organized groups of patriotic American colonists who were early revolutionaries.

Question 44

Stamp Act congress

Answer 44

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 nation.

Question 45

Supremacy clause

Answer 45

Portion of Article VI of the Constitution mandating that national law is supreme over (that is, supersedes) all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government.

Question 46

Thomas Jefferson

Answer 46

Principle drafter of the Declaration of independence; second vice president of the United States; third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. Co-founder of the Democratic-Republican Party created to oppose Federalists.

Question 47

Three-Fifths Compromise

Answer 47

Agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention stipulating that three-fifths state of the total slave population of each state was to be for purposes of determining population for representations in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Question 48

Virginia Plan

Answer 48

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

Question 49

Thomas Paine

Answer 49

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

Question 50

Federalists

Answer 50

Those who favored a stronger national government and supported the proposed U.S. Constitution; later became the first U.S. political party.

Question 51

inherent powers

Answer 51

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