ApGovCh.2.Alyssa.Lujano Flashcards
New World
The Western Hemisphere of Earth, also called The Americas, which was unknown to Europeans before 1492.
Benjamin Franklin
A brilliant inventor and senior statesman at the Constitution Convention who urged colonial unity as early as 1754, twenty-two years before the Declaration of Independence.
French and Indian War
The American phase of what was called the Seven Years War, fought from 1754 to 1763 between Britain and France with Indian allies.
Mercantilism
An economic theory designed to increase a nation’s wealth through the development of commercial industry and a favorable balance of trade.
Samuel Adams
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.
Stamp Act Congress
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.
Sons and Daughters of Liberty
Loosely organized groups of patriotic American colonists who were early revolutionaries.
Crispus Attucks
An African American and first American to die in what became known as the Boston Massacre in 1770.
First Continental Congress
Meeting held in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, in which fifty-six delegates adopted a resolution
Lexington and Concord
The first sites of armed conflict between revolutionaries and British soldiers, remembered for the ¨shot heard round the world¨ in 1775.
Second Continental Congress
Meeting in Philadelphia in 1775 at which it was decided that an army should be raised and George Washington of Virginia was named commander in chief.
Thomas Paine
The influential writer of Common Sense, a pamphlet that advocated for independence from Great Britain.
Common Sense
A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that challenged the authority of the British government to govern the colonies.
Thomas Jefferson
Author 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.
Declaration of Independence
Document drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 that proclaimed the right of the American colonies to separate from Great Britain.
Social contract theory
The belief that governments exist based on the consent of the governed.
Political Culture
Commonly shared attitudes, behaviors, and core values about how government should operate.
Articles of Confederation
The compact between the thirteen original colonies that created a loose league of friendship, with the national government drawing its powers from the states.
Critical Period
The chaotic period from 1781 to 1789 after the American Revolution during which the former colonies were governed under the Articles of Confederation.
Shay’s Rebellion
Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.
Constitutional Convention
The meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that was first intended to revise the Articles of Confederation but produced and entirely new document, in the U.S. constitution.
George Washington
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.
Constitution
A document establishing the structure, functions, and the limitations of a government.
Virginia Plan
Drafted by James Madison, and presented by Edmund Randolph to the Constitutional Convention on May 29, 1787, the Virginia Plan proposed a strong central government composed of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
New Jersey Plan
Opposite of the Virginia Plan, it proposed a single-chamber congress in which each state had one vote. This created a conflict with representation between bigger states, who wanted control befitting their population, and smaller states, who didn’t want to be bullied by larger states.
Great Compromise
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.
Three-Fifths compromise
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 U.S. House of Representatives.
Electoral College
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.
Alexander Hamilton
A key Framer who envisioned a powerful central government, co- authored The Federalist Papers, and served as the first secretary of the Treasury.
Montesquieu
The French baron and political theorist who first articulated the concept of separation of powers with checks and balances.
Federalism
The distribution of constitutional authority between state government and the national government, with different powers and functions exercised by both.
Separation of Powers
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.
Checks and Balances
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.
enumerated powers
the powers of the national government specifically granted to congress in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.
Article I
Legislative Branch - Organizations, powers, and restraints
necessary and proper clause
A 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.
Implied powers
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.
Article II
the section that makes the executive branch of the government. The Executive branch of the government is the branch that has the responsibility and authority for the administration throughout the day of the state.
Inherent powers
powers that belong to the president because they can be inferred from the constitution.
Article III
Establishes a Supreme Court and defines its jurisdiction.
Article IV
includes mechanisms for admitting new states to the union. “full faith and credit clause”.
Full faith and credit clause
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.
Article V
Specifies how amendments can be added to the constitution.
Article VI
Contains the supremacy clause, which asserts the basic primacy of the Constitution and national law over state laws and constitutions. “supremacy clause”
Supremacy Clause
Portion of Article VI of the Constitution mandating that national law is supreme over all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government.
Federalist
Those who favored a stronger national government and supported the proposed U.S. Constitution; later became the first U.S. political party.
Anti- Federalist
Those who favored strong state governments and a weak national government; opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
James Madison
often called the “Father of the Constitution” for his role in conceptualizing the federal government. Co- authorized the Federalist papers; served as secretary of state; served as the fourth president from 1809-1817.
John Jay
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.
The Federalist Papers
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.
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which largely guarantee specific rights and liberties.
