Chapter 2

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 government 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 Representations; 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 execute 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.

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 law over state laws and constitutions.

Question 9

Articles 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 established the structure, functions, and limitations of a government.

Question 15

Constitutional Convention

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Cripsus Attack

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 the 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

Federalists

Answer 22

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

Question 23

The Federalist Papers

Answer 23

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 24

First Continental Congress

Answer 24

Meeting held in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, in which fifty-six delegates (from every colony except Georgia) adopted a resolution in opposition to the Coercive Acts.

Question 25

French and Indian War

Answer 25

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

Question 26

full faith and credit clause

Answer 26

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 27

George Washington

Answer 27

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 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

implied powers

Answer 29

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

Question 30

inherent powers

Answer 30

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

Question 31

James Madison

Answer 31

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 32

John Jay

Answer 32

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 33

Lexington and Concord

Answer 33

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

Question 34

mercantillism

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Montesquieu

Answer 35

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

Question 36

necessary and proper clause

Answer 36

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 37

New Jersey Plan

Answer 37

A framework for the Constitution proposed by a group of small states; it called for 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 38

New World

Answer 38

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

Question 39

political culture

Answer 39

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

Question 40

Samuel Adams

Answer 40

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 41

Second Continental Congress

Answer 41

Meeting that convened in Philadelphia on May 01, 1775, at which it was decided that an army should be raised and George Washington of Virginia was named commander in chief.

Question 42

separation of powers

Answer 42

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

Question 43

Shay’s Rebellion

Answer 43

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.

Question 44

social contract theory

Answer 44

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

Question 45

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

Answer 45

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

Question 46

Stamp Act Congress

Answer 46

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

Question 47

supremacy clause

Answer 47

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 48

Thomas Jefferson

Answer 48

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 49

Thomas Paine

Answer 49

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

Question 50

Three-Fifths Compromise

Answer 50

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 representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Question 51

Virginia Plan

Answer 51

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