APGOVCH.2: The Constitution Key Terms

Question 1

Alexander Hamiltion

Answer 1

an American statesman and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

Question 2

Anti-Federalists

Answer 2

a movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution.

Question 3

Article I

Answer 3

establishes the legislative branch of the federal government, the United States Congress.

Question 4

Article II

Answer 4

section that makes the executive branch of the government.

Question 5

Article III

Answer 5

establishes the judicial branch of the federal government.

Question 6

Article IV

Answer 6

shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence.

Question 7

Article V

Answer 7

describes the process whereby the Constitution, the nation’s frame of government, may be altered.

Question 8

Article VI

Answer 8

establishes the laws and treaties of the United States made in accordance with it as the supreme law of the land, forbids a religious test as a requirement for holding a governmental position and holds the United States under the Constitution responsible for debts incurred …

Question 9

Articles of Confederation

Answer 9

the original constitution of the US, ratified in 1781, which was replaced by the US Constitution in 1789.

Question 10

Benjamin Franklin

Answer 10

an American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States

Question 11

Bill of Rights

Answer 11

first ten amendments to the United States Constitution.

Question 12

Checks and Balances

Answer 12

counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated, typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of individuals or groups.

Question 13

Common Sense

Answer 13

pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–76 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies.

Question 14

Constitution

Answer 14

a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed.

Question 15

Constitutional Convention

Answer 15

a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution.

Question 16

Crispus Attucks

Answer 16

black man, became the first casualty of the American Revolution when he was shot and killed in what became known as the Boston Massacre.

Question 17

Critical Period

Answer 17

a period during someone’s development in which a particular skill or characteristic is believed to be most readily acquired.

Question 18

Declaration of Independence

Answer 18

the formal statement written by Thomas Jefferson declaring the freedom of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain.

Question 19

Electoral College

Answer 19

a body of electors established by the United States Constitution, constituted every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president of the United States.

Question 20

Enumerated Powers

Answer 20

The powers of the federal government that are specifically described in the Constitution, describe how a central government with three distinct branches can operate effectively.

Question 21

Federalism

Answer 21

mixed or compound mode of government, combining a general government with regional governments in a single political system.

Question 22

Federalists

Answer 22

a member or supporter of the Federalist Party.

Question 23

The Federalist Papers

Answer 23

a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym “Publius” to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution.

Question 24

First Continental Congress

Answer 24

a meeting of delegates from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies who met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution.

Question 25

French and Indian War

Answer 25

A series of military engagements between Britain and France in North America between 1754 and 1763. American phase of the Seven Years War.

Question 26

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Answer 26

the obligation under Article IV of the U.S. Constitution for each state to recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.

Question 27

George Washington

Answer 27

1st President of the United States; commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution

Question 28

Great Compromise

Answer 28

an agreement made between large and small states which partly defined the representation each state would have under the United States Constitution, as well as in legislature. (conneticut compromise, sherman compromise)

Question 29

Implied Powers

Answer 29

powers of U.S. government which have not been explicitly granted by the Constitution but that is implied by the necessary and proper clause to be delegated for the purpose of carrying out the enumerated powers.

Question 30

Inherent Powers

Answer 30

powers that Congress and the president need in order to get the job done right. logical part of the powers delegated to Congress and the president.

Question 31

James Madison

Answer 31

member of the Continental Congress. A leader in the drafting of the Constitution, he worked tirelessly for its adoption by the states, contributing several essays to The Federalist Papers. He served as president from 1809 to 1817, after Thomas Jefferson.

Question 32

John Jay

Answer 32

American statesman, Patriot, diplomat, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, negotiator and signatory of the Treaty of Paris of 1783, second Governor of New York, and the first Chief Justice of the United States.

Question 33

Lexington and Concord

Answer 33

The first battle of the Revolutionary War, fought in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775.

Question 34

Mercantilism

Answer 34

the economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances, which a government should encourage by means of protectionism.

Question 35

Montesquieu

Answer 35

French political philosopher who advocated the separation of executive and legislative and judicial powers (1689-1755)

Question 36

Necessary and Proper Clause

Answer 36

section of the United States Constitution that enables Congress to make the laws required for the exercise of its other powers established by the Constitution.

Question 37

New Jersey Plan

Answer 37

proposal for the structure of the United States Government presented by William Paterson at the Constitutional Convention on June 15, 1787. (small state plan and paterson plan)

Question 38

New World

Answer 38

one of the names used for the majority of Earth’s Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas

Question 39

Political Culture

Answer 39

widely shared beliefs, values, and norms that define the relationship between citizens and government, and citizens to one another.

Question 40

Samuel Adams

Answer 40

American Revolutionary leader and patriot; an organizer of the Boston Tea Party and signer of the Declaration of Independence (1722-1803)

Question 41

Second Continental Congress

Answer 41

convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting in the spring of 1775 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Question 42

Separation of Powers

Answer 42

The doctrine of dividing powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The principle of splitting governmental powers between separate branches of the government, none of which are to infringe upon the powers of the other.

Question 43

Shay’s Rebellion

Answer 43

armed uprising in Massachusetts, mostly in and around Springfield during 1786 and 1787.

Question 44

Social Contract Theory

Answer 44

theory or model that originated during the Age of Enlightenment and usually concerns the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual

Question 45

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

Answer 45

secret organizations formed in the American colonies in protest against the Stamp Act Stamp Act

Question 46

Stamp Act Congress

Answer 46

new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Ship’s papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed.

Question 47

Supremacy Clause

Answer 47

United States Constitution’s Article VI, stating that all laws made furthering the Constitution and all treaties made under the authority of the United States are the “supreme law of the land.”

Question 48

Thomas Jefferson

Answer 48

political leader of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; one of the Founding Fathers; the leader of the Democratic-Republican party.

Question 49

Thomas Paine

Answer 49

American Revolutionary leader and pamphleteer (born in England) who supported the American colonist’s fight for independence and supported the French Revolution (1737-1809)

Question 50

Three-Fifths Compromise

Answer 50

compromise reached among state delegates during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention.

Question 51

Virginia Plan

Answer 51

proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch. Propose a structure of government to the Philadelphia Convention