Early Republic Unit Vocab Flashcards
Understand the meanings and concepts
Articles of Confederation
-Written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain. (U.S Department of State)
-States only had one vote
-Was all what the states could agree on
How did the Articles of Confederation look? What were the laws like?
-Each state had one vote; it took 9/13 states to approve any law, while unanimous for changing the document.
-National government could not tax
-Congress could on request money from states
- The Articles of Confederation would sell land to generate money
-Worked ineffectively because people who were hired to sell this land usually kept the money earned to themselves
-It could decide war and peace, coin money, set weights, measures, and regulate native relations (very similar to Albany Plan of Union 1754).
-The states had possession of the vital powers of commerce and taxation.
-The Confederation was responsible for much of the war debt
-Since it had to request money from the states, it once requested 45 million from the states and was largely refused.
-Wasn’t able to maintain an army or navy.
-able to have it by law, didn’t have enough money
-leaders like Jefferson were fearful that an army was a threat to civilian govt or turn against it creating a tyranny.
-Jefferson also opposed this because they thought militias were enough.
Checks and Balances
a system that allows each branch of a government to amend or veto acts of another branch so as to prevent any one branch from having too much power
How is the Constitution a reflection of Enlightenment thinkers?
-John Locke’s and Rousseau’s concept of “social contract”
-when individuals gave up some of their natural rights in exchange for the protection of the government
-Montesquieu’s call for “separation of powers”
-principle of the constitution which divides the government into three branches
- Rousseau’s call for religious freedom which inspired Jefferson and other leaders.
- Was later established to the Bill of Rights part of the:
First amendment
-John Locke had the most importance towards the Constitution.
Social Contract
When individuals gave up some of their natural rights in exchange for the protection of the government.
Separation of Powers
Principle of the Constitution which divides the government into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
Who wrote the Constitution
-James Madison
- was considered the “Father of the Constitution”
James Madison
-Wrote the Consitution
- Made the important contribution of:
-Virginia Plan ——> later altered
-Separation of Powers
-Bill of Rights
Virginia Plan
One of the important outcome of the 2nd Constitutional Convention
-Talked about Separation of Powers
-Discussed bicameral legislature based on population
- federal gov’t had increased powers
Great Compromise/ Connecticut Plan
- House of Reps based on population
-proportional representation
-Equal population for Senate
-Equal vote
-Combination of Virginia Plan and New JErsey Plan
New Jersey Plan
-Unicameral legislature
-Every state had equal vote and received equal representation
Bill of Rights
the first ten amendments of the Constitution which grant the liberty of it’s citizens.
Three-Fifths Clause/Compromise
-Slaves count as 3/5’s of a person for representation purposes and taxes.
Nationalism
-The identification with one’s own nation and support for its interests
- the idea that we are better
-aggressive patriotism
Ratification
the action of formally signing or giving formal consent to a treaty,law,etc.
Branches of the government
Legislative Branch
-Bicameral
-Senate and House of Representatives
-Responsibility to create laws
-Executive Branch
-President and Vice presidents and cabinet
-Judicial Branch
-Highest Court -----> Supreme Court
Marbury v. Madison
Established the concept of judicial review or the right of the Supreme Court to determine an act or law unconstitutional
Judicial Review
The right of the Supreme Court to determine an acct or law unconstitutional
Federalists
-Believe in “loose” interpretation of Constitution.
-Favored strong central government
Federalists included
-Alexander Hamilton
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Election of 1800
Why do we care about it?
-It was the peaceful transfer of power between the two political parties
-It showed to the world that our democracy was going to survive
War of 1812
-Second war with Britain
-The cause of the war was impressment and war hawks
——> the act of forcibly seizing men and compelling them to serve in the military, particularly in a navy, often through intimidation and physical coercion
-People of the west like Henry Clay; they wanted more land and they thought of taking Canada
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-Helped establish some nationalism for our nation
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