Test Flashcards
What did Thomas Jefferson mean when he said “the pursuit of happiness”
Property
What where the basic liberties that the colonist wanted when they broke away from Great Britain? (3 answers)
No quartering, no tax without representation, life liberty pursuit of happiness
When (year and time of the year), what type of people, what did they go to do. Constitutional convention
1787 summer
Older white men
To revise the articles of confederation
How were delegates to the national legislature selected under the
A of C
State legislature
What where the A of C? Why did they fail
Our first constitution
Too many weaknesses
How where the Pennsylvania and Massachusetts constitutions different
(2)
PA- more democratic, unicameral
MA- less democratic, bicameral
How did Shay’s rebellion have an affect on attendance at the constitutional convention
(2)
Proved A of C was weak and encouraged other states to attend
What was the main issue in framing the U.S. Constitution
How strong to make the Gov.
Differences between the Virginia plan and the New Jersey plan
VA- based on pop. Bicameral
NJ- equal representation unicameral
How was the conflict between the NJ and VA plan resolved
What did it do
Great compromise- created congress
What compromise was settled after the great compromise
What is that for
Senate- equal representation and house based on pop.
How was popular majority rule limited by the U.S. Constitution
Amendment process made difficult
How are separation of power and federalism related to each other
Both separation of powers and federalism involves a check and balance
How have most amendments to the U.S. Constitution been ratified
State legislatures
What were the federalism papers? Who wrote them? What were #10 and #51 about?
These papers were written to encourage ratification
Thomas Jefferson
10- factions
51-separation of powers
Why did some delegates hesitate to include a Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution
(2)
Already limits in the government
States had bill of rights in their constitutions
Why was the bill of rights finally agreed upon
Because federalist knew they had to for ratification
Why was slavery not mentioned in the US Constituition
Because the constitution wouldn’t be ratified with it
How was the issue of the importation of slaves mentioned in the US Constitution, what year, what was this called
Importation would end in 20 years
1808
Commerce and Slave trade compromise
Discuss Charles Beard’s economic interpretation of the U.S. Constitution
People who loaned money to pay for the revolution wanted a strong national gov’t so they could get repaid
Differentiate between federalist and anti-federalist beliefs in strong federal gov,t. Their interpretations
Federalist-strong central gov, loose interpretation
Antis-strong state gov, strict interpretation
What is a line-item veto
Veto part while approving the rest
Differentiate between cooperative and dual federalism
Cooperative- blurred lines between state and federal (marble cake)
Dual- each is supreme in their own spheres (layer cake)
What is a confederation type of gov
A loose league of freindships
What amendment deals with its states rights
10th
Which founding father was the most for a strong national gov
Alexander Hamilton
Which founding father opposed a strong national gov
Thomas Jefferson
Who was the first Chief Justice to expand the powers of the national gov
James Madison
Gibbons v. Ogden Effects
Congress controls interstate commerce
Marburg v. Madison. Effects
Judicial review
McCullough v. Maryland. Effects. (2)
National gov’t overrides states/ supremacy clause
Dred Scott v. Sanford. Effects
Slaves were property not people and could not sue in court
What is nullification and when was this an issue?
When a state says something is unconstitutional
Civil war
What is interstate commerce
Trade between states
Examples of states powers (3)
Conducting elections
Education
Licenses
What’s the differences of initiative, referendum, and recall
Initiative- citizens start a law
Referendum- citizens vote on an initiative
Recall- removing an elected official from office
Define: Grant-in-aid Categorical grant Mandate Block grant Revenue-sharing
Grant-in-aid- federal $ given to states/ conditions can be attached
Block grant- lump some of $ for public benefit
Mandate-federal gov force states to complete project or do something
Condition of aid- terms states have to meet in order to get federal $
Categorical grants- $ for specific purposes. String attached
How could census results have an effect on grants
States gain or lose population which means more or less money
Define:
Checks and balances
Separation of powers
Checks and balances- each branch keeps an eye on the other branches, to make sure they aren’t getting too strong
Separation of powers- each branch has certain powers delegated to it
What’s devolution
Federal gov’t giving less to the states
