Chap 2: The Founding and the Constitution

Question 1

settler colonialism

Answer 1

form of colonialism that seeks to remove native americans from land and replace with new settler population

Question 2

Articles of Confederation

Answer 2

Americas first written constitution
adopted by Continental Congress in 1777
enforced 1781 to 1789

Question 3

confederation

Answer 3

system of government in which states retain sovereign authority, except for powers expressly delegated to national gov’t

Question 4

first two american colonies? settled on land…?

Answer 4

jamestown, virginia (1607)
plymouth, Mass (1620)
land already controlled by powerful native nations (algonquin, pequot, narragansett)

Question 5

what made possible growth of colonies?

Answer 5

settler colonialism
settlers forcibly confiscated land from native americans and rejected native land ownership

Question 6

Tea Act of 1773

Answer 6

Britain grants East India Company monopoly on British tea exports (co. planned to sell tea directly within the colonies rather than work through merchants)

Question 7

consequences of tea act

Answer 7

radicals join elites to protest act
antitax americans block unloading of tea
Boston Tea Party (Dec 16 1773)

Question 8

slavery was critical to…?

Answer 8

the early development of the colonial economy
allowed for an imagined future without Britain

Question 9

slavery economic results

Answer 9

Responsible for major agricultural/mineral exports of period (tobacco, rice, sugar, coffee, gold, silver)
Vital to manufacturers in north
Essential to building of sprawling southern plantations (home to G.W and James Madison)
*slavery was accepted due to its vital role in sustaining the colonial economy

Question 10

coercive/intolerable acts

Answer 10

passed in early 1774
closed off Boston Harbor
recinded Mass charter (colony now under more direct British rule)
passed in response to Boston Tea Party

Question 11

first continental congress

Answer 11

12 delegates
sep 5 - oct 26, 1774
Sam A, G.W, John A, etc.
discuss boycotting british goods, establishing american rights, plan for C.C 2

Question 12

drafting of Dec of Independence

Answer 12

Second continental congress (1776) appoints comittee to draft statement of American independence from british rule
Tom Jefferson chosen to draft

Question 13

Declaration of Independence

Answer 13

document justifying American repudiation of British rule
ratified July 4th, 1776 by Second Continental Congress

Question 14

John Locke

Answer 14

17th century British philosopher
Argued monarchical power not absolute/dangerous and should be limited
People’s lives, liberty, property require protection
People of a country have the right to overthrow a gov’t they believe to be unjust/tyrannical

Question 15

Thomas Hobbes

Answer 15

17th cen political thinker
did not advocate for democratic gov’t
belived gov’t authority a necessary antidote to human existence in gov’t-less state of nature (nasty, short, brutish)
gov’t must be limited in power
political systems derive their powers from contract theroy (people give up some freedoms in exchange for ordered society)

Question 16

Montesquieu

Answer 16

French 17th cen philosopher
Power must be balanced by power as defense against tyranny
Achieved through separation of governing powers (basic functions separated with some overlap)

Question 17

Articles of Confederation federal powers

Answer 17

single congress making up national gov’t
declare war/make peace, negotiate treaties/alliances, issue currency, borrow money, regulate trade with the Native nations

Question 18

Articles of Confederation weaknesses

Answer 18

Federal law only enforceable by states
No national army (state militias)
National gov’t cannot collect taxes
States use different currencies
All 13 states had to be in agreement to amend constitution

Question 19

Shays’ Rebellion

Answer 19

Daniel Shays, former army captain, leads mob of farmers to prevent forclosure on homes (Mass. fall 1786)
Mob attempt to seize federal arsenal at Springfield
Rebellion demonstrates the weakness of the states under the Articles

Question 20

The Constitutional Convention

Answer 20

Delegates meet in Phily (Independence Hall), May 1787 to discuss the Articles (May 25th - Sep 17 1787)

Question 21

Constitutional Convention: Virginia Delegation

Answer 21

Consisting of representatives from Virginia (G.W, James Madison) led by Edmund Randolph
Proposal to revise and add to the Articles included the Virginia plan

Question 22

Virginia Plan

Answer 22

Proposed that representation in national legislature be based on state population and/or proportion of state revenue contributed to national gov’t
Proposed bicameral legislature (2nd chamber reps elected by 1st chamber)

Question 23

New Jersey plan

Answer 23

Alternative resolution to Virginia plan
Proposed by William Patterson
Proponents argued populous states would dominate the legislature
Proposed equal representation in legislature regardless of popultation
Proposed unicameral legislature

Question 24

Conneticut/Great Compromise

Answer 24

Bicameral legislature
House - based on pop
Senate - equal representation

Question 25

Slavery during late 18th cen

Answer 25

Support began to wane
Involvement of slaves in rev war weakened support for slavery
*Crispus Attucks - considered the first Black to be killed in rev war
*Colonies promised freedom to slaves that fought for them in rev war
*Colonies such as Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania outlawed slavery after the War

Question 26

Why is “slave” or “slavery” not included in the Constitution?

Answer 26

Embarassment of protecting the institution of slavery
There was moral and economic debate over slavery which showed fundamental differences between north and south
Ultimately both the north and south benefited economically from slavery

Question 27

3/5ths compromise

Answer 27

Southerners wanted to count slaves towards seats in the house
*Sparks debate over property being counted as free persons
Compromise counts 3/5 of enslaved population towards seats

Question 28

Extension of slave trade in constitution

Answer 28

10 of 13 colonies had outlawed importation of slaves
3 states - Georgia, S.C, N.C - threatened to leave the convention if slave trade banned
Clause extended slave trade for 20 years to keep union intact (fed granted authority to tax slave imports)

Question 29

Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 repercussions

Answer 29

Constitution entrenched and protected a dehumanizing institution
Wove white supremacy into the fabric of new nation, solidifying system of racial hierarchy still being challenged today

Question 30

Congress Powers

Answer 30

authority to collect taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce, declare war, and maintain an army and navy

Question 31

House of Representatives

Answer 31

Elected directly by popular vote
Depend on pop of state
2 year terms
Sole power to originate revenue bills
Approves enactment of laws in conjunction with senate

Question 32

Senate

Answer 32

Elected directly by popular vote (17th ammendment, 1913)
6 year terms
Power to ratify treaties and approve presidential appointments
Approves enactment of laws in conjunction with House

Question 33

Purpose of staggered Congressional Elections

Answer 33

1/3 of Senate terms end every 2 years
According to Alexander Hamilton, to avoid “excessive democracy” where Congress would be resistant to popular pressure in the Senate

Question 34

expressed powers

Answer 34

Powers of gov’t explicitly stated within the constitution

Question 35

necessary and proper/elastic clause

Answer 35

Powers implicitly granted to federal gov’t in order to carry out expressed powers
*implied powers

Question 36

Purpose of the Presidential office

Answer 36

Framers viewed lack of executive as a source of weakness
Meant to prevent tendency toward stalemate caused by separation of powers and legislature
President afforded significant independence from branches (especially congress)
Executive branch powers are often implied

Question 37

Framers intention with presidency

Answer 37

to create an office that would make the federal gov’t the agency capable of timely/decisive action against national issues
Protection againt excessive democracy with electoral college

Question 38

Framers purpose with constitution

Answer 38

Nationalizing governmental power while checking radical democratic impulses while preventing national gov’t from infringing on liberty/property ownership

Question 39

The Judicial Branch

Answer 39

powers reside in the supreme court
Meant to determine if powers are federal, state or both
assigned jurisdiction over conflicts between individuals of different states

Question 40

judicial review

Answer 40

power of supreme court
determining if actions of congress or the executive are in line with law/constitution
Not expressly stated in constitution
*Power assumed by Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison

Question 41

higher law

Answer 41

concept
the constitution and its ammendments are intended to be a framework from which the processes of governing and making ordinary law can take place

Question 42

supremacy clause

Answer 42

Article VI of the Constitution
laws and treaties passed/ratified by the federal gov’t are the “supreme law of the land”
binds state, local, federal officials to take an oath to uphold the constitution

Question 43

checks and balances

Answer 43

mechanisms through which each branch of government is able to participate in and influence the activities of the other branches

Question 44

federalism

Answer 44

a system of government in which power is divided, by a constitution, between a central government and regional governments

Question 45

Federalists

Answer 45

supported stronger central gov’t
united in their support of the constitution
Included Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, G.W
Believed elites were most fit to govern (feared excessive democracy)
Property owners, merchants, creditors

Question 46

Antifederalists

Answer 46

Opposed constitution and favored more decentralized federal system
divided over possible alternatives
Included Patrick Henry, George Mason, George Henry
Made up of small farmers, frontiersman, shopkeepers
Feared concentration of power in hands of elites

Question 47

Representation: Federalists

Answer 47

believed that an advantage of representative democracy to be the possibility that citizens would elect those with greater experience and talent to represent them

Question 48

Representation: Antifederalists

Answer 48

Believed representatives should be a true image of the people with the knowledge of their circumstances and wants
Believed true representation to be virtually impossible with a population as diverse and large as that of the US

Question 49

Source of Tyranny: Federalists

Answer 49

tyranny over the few by the many
feared a popular majority, united by a common impulse of passion/interest would be adverse to the rights of the minority and would “trample on the rules of justice”
size and diversity of the nation would be protection from tyrannical majority

Question 50

Source of Tyranny: Antifederalists

Answer 50

feared the tyranny by the few over the many
feared the tendency of republics to become aristocratic
criticized gov’t institutions created by the constitution without direct responsibility to the people

Question 51

Federalist Papers

Answer 51

a series of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay supporting ratification of the Constitution

Question 52

tyranny

Answer 52

oppressive government that employs cruel and unjust use of power and authority