UNIT 2: Revolution and Early National Period

Question 1

A new Republican Culture

Answer 1

revolution gave boost to liberty and equality, and hereditary aristocracy was rejected;

Americans questioned social order and hierarchial structures and debated meaning of equlity;

property requirements for suffrage were reduced;

indentured servitude gradually was disappearing (between 1776-1780);

capitols moved closer to frontier;

women became more assertive but were denies voting

Question 2

Republican motherhood

Answer 2

need more educated people

Question 3

Toward Religious Freedom

Answer 3

Revolution gave boost to religious liberty

Question 4

Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom

Answer 4

drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1777;
passed in 1786;

disestablished the Anglican Church in Virginia
(there isn’t a tax-established church anymore);
got rid of religious requirements for those running for the office;

leaders expressed support for religious values as foundation for virtue and public morality

Question 5

James Madison

Answer 5

Thomas Jefferson’s supporter;
stated that America offers assylum to persecuted and oppressed of every nation and religion

Question 6

Slavery and the Revolution

Answer 6

the concept of freedom as universal entitlement ispired debate over slavery;
anti-slavery sentiment in America; slaves embraced the language of liberty and demanded freedom;

between 1777 and 1804, northern states took steps towards emancipation;

some slaveholders in the South voluntarily emancipated their slaves;

despite rhetoric of freedom, the American Revolution did not end slavery;

George Washington freed his slaves (in his will).

Question 7

Vermont and New Hampshire

Answer 7

Vermont - first;
quick elimination of the institution of slavery in 1777

Question 8

New State Institutions

Answer 8

States wrote new constitutuons, establishing their governments as republics (colonies have become states);

state constitutions replaced the original charters (foundations of colonial law) given by Britain;

there was disagreement about how the government should be structured;

most state constitutions granted natural rights (Bill of Rights)

Question 9

Pennsylvania’s Constitution

Answer 9

most radical but still democratic; no governor (no executive branch); one-house legislature that was elected annually by all male taxpayers (a responsive system)

Question 10

Massachusetts’ Government

Answer 10

created by John Adams;
a more balanced system with two-house legislature

Question 11

Bill of Rights

Answer 11

was mentioned by Thomas Jefferson in Declaration of Independence

Question 12

Vermont and Georgia

Answer 12

one-house legislature

Question 13

Articles of Confederation

Answer 13

established rights in the aftermath of Independence;
America’s first constitution created a “perpetual union” but central power was severely limited;
the document was adopted in 1777 and ratified in 1781;

created a national government that replaced the Continental Congress

Question 14

Confederation

Answer 14

loose union of semi-independent states

Question 15

National Congress/Confederation Congress

Answer 15

single legislative body: each state has one vote;
there were 2-7 delegates depending on the size of state

Question 16

Articles of Confederation

Answer 16

amendments required approval from every state

Question 17

Confederation

Answer 17

had weak national government (Congress): no taxing power, no power to regulate trade, no executive, no national judiciary;

the national government could conduct war, participate in foreign and Native American relations, borrow and issue money

Question 18

Western Land Claims

Answer 18

accomplishments of the national Confederation;
west of Appalachian Mountains;
territories claimed by existing states in the east depending on each state’s charter, one could claim;
claims and counterclaims over the years;
the states gave up the land and agreed that it was under control of nagtional government

Question 19

Congress’ Accomplishments

Answer 19

got control over Western territories;
planned to create new states

Question 20

Law Ordinance of 1785

Answer 20

passed in 1785;
orderly process of surveying, marketing, and selling land;

came out of National Congress

Question 21

Thomas Jefferson

Answer 21

came up with a plan to create new states in the arly 1780s;

once the states have enough people, they will join the union

Question 22

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Answer 22

an act of the Confederation Congress;
established a framework for governing the Northwestern territory;
provided a path for new states to join the union and prohibited slavery in the territory

Question 23

Republican Ideology

Answer 23

Americans favoured the Republican form of government (the power is in the hands of the people);

anarchy and tyranny were major threats to republics

Question 24

Montesquieu

Answer 24

French judge;
the principal source of the theory of separation of powers;
Republic cannot flourish in large territory

Question 25

James Madison

Answer 25

a leading philosopher and a leading force for a new Constitution; states that size of the U.S. is the source of stability; various interest will check and neutralize each other; broad coalition of minorities will form; republican aristocracy will emerge

Question 26

American Problems

Answer 26

ineffective, unstable state governments (contradictory laws passed); commercial warfare between states; inability to address economic crisis, high national debt; internal domestic creditors (relied on states for contributions), foreign creditors (Britain, France, Netherlands); James Madison and Alexander Hamilton proposed a 5% import tax; failed in Congress; failure to pay soldiers sparked Newburg Conspiracy in 1783; British troops remained on American soil and Spain closed lower Mississippi for American trade; made harder for those moving closer to the interior of the country (New Orleans was under Spanish rule)

Question 27

Newburg Conspiracy

Answer 27

formed in 1783; a plan to overthrow government; diffused by George Washington

Question 28

Inability to address economic crisis

Answer 28

American exports did not raise enough money to operate successfully; the attempt to create an import tax that would go to the national government had failed as well

Question 29

Toward a New Constitution

Answer 29

Nationalists demanded to overhaul Articles of Confederation; ecomonic challenges are too severe

Question 30

Nationalists

Answer 30

a group led by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton in Congress

Question 31

Annapolis Convention

Answer 31

occurred in the fall of 1786; reached an agreement to meet again to amend the Articles of Confederation; James Madison convinced anough people to recommend such a meeting (not even half of the states showed up); next meeting set for spring of 1787 in Philadelphia

Question 32

Shay's Rebellion

Answer 32

occurred in 1786; Daniel Shays, a farmer and a veteran of the Revolutionary War, led the rebellion; uprising of small farmers in Massachusetts; many were unable to pay mortage; some closed down; shut down courts and attacked federal arsenal; nobody was forclosed; 3,000 men were put together to shut down this rebellion; Daniel Shays ran away to New Hampshir and eventually pardoned

Question 33

Crisis Mentality

Answer 33

breakdown of law and order; fear that Shay's rebellion shows it; it's a threat of private property and the smooth functioning of our society; helped Philadelphia meeting (12 states showed up; the only one that didn't: Massachusetts)

Question 34

George Washington about Daniel Shays

Answer 34

(down in Virginia) "If government cannot check these disorders, what security has a men?"

Question 35

Charles Pigme about Daniel Shays Rebellion

Answer 35

(down in South Carolina) "This is a threat of anarchy or, for what it's worth, pure democracy."

Question 36

Philadephia Convention

Answer 36

took place in 1787 in the Philadelphia State House (now called Independence Hall)

Question 37

Constitutional Convention

Answer 37

Philadelphia Convention that took place in 1787; 55 Founding Fathers (America's elite) attampted to balance liberty and power; support for strong national government, federalism, checks and balances; levy taxes; coin money; regulate interstate commerce; make war; foreign treaties; enforce national laws; limit state power

Question 38

Federalism

Answer 38

some powers are on the national level; some powers are with the states; some powers are shared; separation of powers

Question 39

Separation of Powers

Answer 39

Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary

Question 40

First to Arrive to the Constitutional Convention

Answer 40

James Madison; came with a draft of New Constitution; stated, " Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty as well as the abuses of power"

Question 41

Decision to limit state power

Answer 41

cannot infringe on private property, cannot make money, cannot interfere with commerce, cannot create tariffs, cannot make treaties

Question 42

The Virginia Plan

Answer 42

two houses proportional to population of states; Senate (the upper house) chosen by the states' legislatures; House of Representatives elected directly by the people

Question 43

The New Jersey Plan

Answer 43

suggested by the smaller states; one house; each state one vote; (larger states argued that small states like Delaware should not have the same amount of power); same structure of Congress as the Old Constitution (can tax and regulate trade)

Question 44

The Great Compromise/Conneticut Compromise

Answer 44

each state is given two Senators; House of Representatives based on population

Question 45

Threatened Convention's Unity

Answer 45

Slavery; Northern delegates: slavery has been outlawed or is on the way out

Question 46

Three-fifth clause

Answer 46

on "other persons" gave Southern states additional power

Question 47

New Constitution about Slave Trade

Answer 47

prohibited from interfering with international slave trade until 1808; escaped slaves are to be returned to owners; Convention said that can import slaves bur for twenty more years; during this time period: 170,000 - 180,000 slaves imported

Question 48

Constitutional Convention

Answer 48

a strong, independent executive; elected by electoral college; Commander in Chief: veto power, foreign policy (treaties), power of appointments (judges and government officials); creation of federal judiciary

Question 49

Veto Power

Answer 49

the power to block legislature passed by Congress; a check in the legislative branch and is part of the separation of powers in the U.S. Constitution

Question 50

Electoral College

Answer 50

a separate body that is chosen by the states and meets every four years to solely elect the president; average voters were not trusted enough to elect the President

Question 51

Left to vote on the Constitution

Answer 51

the Convention finished in September; some stayed in Philadelphia for the long summer of 1787; 44 out of 55 Founding Fathers were left to vote on the Constitution; 39 voted yes

Question 52

Ratification of the Constitution

Answer 52

took place from 1787 to 1790; done by special state conventions; does not require unanimous votes; the majority of nine states were necessary (13 states at the time); federalists supported; anti-federalists were suspicious of central power and oppossed ratification; all states agreed by 1790

Question 53

The Federalist Papers

Answer 53

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John James have collaborated on

Question 54

Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry

Answer 54

Anti-federalists

Question 55

Patrick Henry

Answer 55

radical from Virginia; "Give me liberty or give death"; did not go to the Philadelphia Convention; "smelled a rat"

Question 56

The Bill of Rights

Answer 56

result of anti-Federalist activism; James Madison (author) initially 200 proposald but Madison reduced to 12; in the end, there were 10 only; first 10 amendments to the Constitution protect individual rights

Question 57

The American victory that convinced the French to join the American clause

Answer 57

Saratoga (not Trenton)

Question 58

The first shots of the Revolutionary War were shot in

Answer 58

Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts

Question 59

Common Sense

Answer 59

written by Thomas Paine; published before Thomas Jefferson's "Declaration of Independence"