Constitutional Convention Flashcards
articles of confederation (year written)
1781
articles of confederation (main author)
ben franklin
articles of confederation (nation name)
usa
articles of confederation (organization)
confederation
articles of confederation (government type)
republic
articles of confederation (judicial)
no judicial
articles of confederation (executive)
no executive
articles of confederation (legislative)
unicameral
articles of confederation (name)
congress
articles of confederation (law approval)
9/13 states
articles of confederation (amendments)
13
articles of confederation (representation)
1 vote (equal)
articles of confederation (commerce)
federal government (difficulty)
articles of confederation (currency)
state and federal currency
articles of confederation (taxes)
federal government asked but states refused
articles of confederation (sovereignty)
states
articles of confederation (supporters)
anti-federalists/states rights advocates
constitution (year written)
1787
constitution (main author)
james madison
constitution (nation name)
usa
constitution (organization)
union of all states
constitution (government type)
republic
constitution (judicial)
supreme court
constitution (executive)
president
constitution (legislative)
bicameral
constitution (name)
congress (house of representatives and senate)
constitution (law approval)
2 house vote
constitution (amendments)
2/3 vote of both houses/3/4 vote of state legislature
constitution (representation)
senate: equal representation; HOR: population
constitution (commerce)
congress
constitution (currency)
federal government
constitution (taxes)
congress can levy taxes
constitution (sovereignty)
federal government
constitution (supporters)
federalists
6 problems under the articles of confederation
- unicameral congress - each state had one vote
- there was no executive branch
- there was no common currency
- each colony was selfish
- there was no federal supreme court
- each colony was claiming land west of the Appalachians
the constitutional convention took place in ___________
philadelphia
what is compromise
each side in a dispute has to give up a little in order to forge an agreement among the disagreeing parties
what is the new jersey plan
(william patterson) proposed that there should be equal representation in congress
what is the virginia plan
(edmund randolph) proposed that representation in congress be based on population
what is the connecticut compromise
(aka great compromise) a bicameral (two house legislature) would be formed
north - ___________ in population. slaves can count OR only if __________ paid for them
slaves should not count, taxes
south - _________ in population
slaves should count
what is the 3/5 compromise
in the population count, each slave would count as 3/5 of a person. (this meant 5 “other” persons would = 3 free white citizens)
what did the north (federalists) want
they wanted the federal government to have ultimate power or say. this later formed the federalist party
what did the south (states rights) want
wanted the states to maintain governmental power. (like things were under the articles of confederation). later formed the democratic party and later the democratic/republican party
what is the commerce and slave trade compromise
congress could not stop the slave trade until 1808
how will the president be chosen
the founding fathers set up at the constitutional convention the electoral college
what was the compromise for the president’s term
the executive would serve 4 year terms with no term limits. (the first president george washington served for 8 years)
many other decisions [about the president’s term] were made during the long ___________
constitutional convention
what is the virginia plan
madison’s plan for a national government with greatly expanded powers
what is the new jersey plan
paterson’s plan for a national government, which greatly resembled the articles of confederation
what is the connecticut compromise
a combination of virginia and new jersey plans
what is the three fifths compromise
a plan to satisfy southerners’ desire to inflate the population count of their states
what is the commerce and slave trade compromise
a plan to satisfy southern fears that the federal government might be funded through export duties
although the constitution is often called a “bundle of compromises,” nearly all of the delegates were dedicated to the concept of
popular sovereignty, separation of powers, and checks and balances
to whom did the three-fifths compromise refer
enslaved people
which of the following was NOT a major source of ideas for the constitution
spanish colonial law
what is alexander hamilton’s plan
alexander hamilton of new york presented a 3rd plan that was modeled on the british government, which he admired
what are the 7 articles (1787)
article I. establishment of legislative branch (law making)
article II. establishment of executive branch (enforce laws)
article III. establishment of judicial branch (interpret laws)
article IV. relationship between states
article V. amendment process
article VI. declaration of constitutional supremacy
article VII. ratification (formal approval) of constitution
what was the purpose of amendments
make the constitution a “living document”; so that the document can grow and change overtime just as the nation would grow and change
what is the bill of rights (1791)
first ten amendments modeled after the english bill of rights - the goals of listing freedoms and natural rights of citizens
what are amendments (1791-present)
continuation of constitutional changes that have occurred between 1791-present
legislative (federal level)
congress
legislative (state level)
CA state legislature (state assembly and senate)
legislative (local level)
city council
executive (federal level)
president
executive (state level)
governor
executive (local level)
mayor or city manager
judicial (federal level)
US supreme court
judicial (state level)
california supreme court
judicial (local level)
LA county municipal courthouse (in Inglewood)
the power to _________ is given to a ________ made up of two chambers to represent different interests: a ___________ to represent the states; a ___________ to be more responsive to the people’s will
make laws, legislature, upper house (senate), lower house (HOR)
which states favored the new jersey plan
small population states
representation based on population was which plan
virginia
what was the last name of the man proposing the great compromise
sherman
which plan suggested equal representation
new jersey
which legislative body has an equal number of representatives
senate
which man proposed the virginia plan
edmund randolph
which man proposed the new jersey plan
william paterson
why were the southern states willing to count every slave
more people = more representation = more power in congress
why did the north want every slave to be counted
so that there would be more taxation
explain how the 3/5 compromise worked
the debate was over whether slaves would be counted when determining a state’s total population for legislative representation and tax purposes. the number would then be used to determine the number of seats that a state would have in the HOR. the effect was to give the southern states a third more seats in congress and a third more electoral votes than slaves had been ignored
do you think the 3/5 compromise worked
no it was not fair because i believe that the slaves were 100% people and slaves were as good as anyone else and the government should count them as human beings
what city selected as the site of the constitutional convention
philadelphia
who was chosen to preside over the convention meetings
george washington
debates occurred over _________ in congress
representation
edmund randolph’s ___________ plan favored large states
virginia plan
william paterson’s new jersey plan favored _______ states
smaller population
what plan favored representation based on population
virginia plan
what plan favored equal representation
new jersey plan
what compromise settled the issue of representation
great compromise/connecticut plan
this compromise settle the conflict between ___ and _____ states
large population and small population
one compromise dealt with electing the president. what body was formed to choose the nation’s leader
electoral college
what compromise established a method for cutting slaves
3/5 compromise
one compromise resulted in the decision that the president would serve __ year terms in office
4 years
if the total number of slaves in the south was 20,000 how many would be counted in the population
12,000 votes
if the total number of slaves in the south was 39,500 how many would count in the population
23,700 votes
a representative government _________
serves the people
the first national government for the united states was
the second continental congress
which of the following was a plan of government for the states during the war of independence
the articles of confederation
the connecticut compromise called for a legislature
made up of two houses. in the smaller house all states would be represented equally; in the larger house, representation would be decided by population
what were the positions of the federalists toward ratification
favored ratification/constitution
what were the positions of the anti-federalists toward ratification
opposed ratification/constitution
who became the new nation’s first president
george washington
james madison was a ________
federalist
3 issues involved in the ratification debate
- absence of words slavery and god
- bill of rights
- number of states to ratify
(true/false) the absence of a bill of rights was cause for many people to oppose ratification of the constitution
true
(true/false) most opponents of ratification believed the new constitution gave too little power to the national government
false
which of the following was NOT an objection to the new constitution
the constitution did not incorporate principles of natural law
what was the significance of the Federalist’s papers
it was a convincing commentary on the meaning of the constitution
which of the following are rights the constitution explicitly guaranteed during the ratification process
no freedom of speech, press, or religion (no bill of rights)
the idea that government and its officers are always subject to-never above- the law is described as the ______
rule of law
the principle of ______ expresses the concept that government must be conducted according to constitutional principles
constitutionalism
judicial review is the power to declare a government action that violates some provision of the constitution to be _______
unconstitutionalism
the _______ is the brief introduction that begins the constitution
preamble
what is judicial review
the power of the courts to decide whether the government acts are constitutional
what is unconstitutional
illegal; null and void; of no force and effect
what is federalism
the division of power between a central government and several regional governments
what is separation of powers
a governmental system having basic political powers distributed among three distinct and independent branches
which of the following principles holds that government may do only those things that the people have given it power to do
limited government
the principle of popular sovereignty means that
people are the only source for governmental power
which of the following constitutional principles was devised as a compromise between a powerful central government and a loose confederation of states
federalism
