Unit 2a: Constitution & Early Republic

Question 1

Republican Motherhood

Answer 1

The expectation that a woman’s role in the 1700s was teaching their children about politics and being good citizens in the home, especially to the boys of the family.

Question 2

Checks and Balances

Answer 2

system established by the Constitution that includes sharing power among the branches of government and prevents any one branch from becoming too powerful

Question 3

Separation of Powers

Answer 3

separate powers given to the legislative branch, executive and judicial branch; each branch has their own power to make sure the other two do not abuse their power

Question 4

Bill of Rights

Answer 4

first ten amendments in the Constitution that protect individual rights that were finally approved in 1791

Question 5

Ratify

Answer 5

to approve

Question 6

Amend

Answer 6

to change, make changes to

Question 7

Amendments

Answer 7

additions to the Constitution; currently there are 27 Amendments in the Constitution; the Constitution was changed 27 times

Question 8

Veto

Answer 8

official rejection of legislation (law or bill trying to be passed); this particular power is given to the office of the President (Executive branch)

Question 9

Republic

Answer 9

system of government run by elected representatives

Question 10

Democracy

Answer 10

system of government where the citizens are allowed to vote for their representation

Question 11

Articles of Confederation

Answer 11

a failed document that created an association of states but still allowed them to rule themselves and be independent

Question 12

Ben Franklin

Answer 12

one of the authors of the Articles of Confederation, leading Patriot during the Revolution, representative from Pennsylvania

Question 13

Daniel Shays

Answer 13

former Revolutionary War Captain; Massachusetts farmer who led an uprising against the government to protest taxes, debt and foreclosures of farms

Question 14

Constitutional Convention

Answer 14

meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 where delegates wrote the Constitution

Question 15

The Great Compromise

Answer 15

plan proposed by Roger Sherman of CT who combined both the NJ Plan and the VA Plan to have both an upper and lower house of government and find an agreement to establish government in the United States

Question 16

Roger Sherman

Answer 16

introduced the Great Compromise, known as the Great Compromiser

Question 17

New Jersey Plan

Answer 17

written by William Patterson suggesting each state have an equal vote in government; this plan was supported by smaller states

Question 18

William Patterson

Answer 18

proposed the New Jersey Plan

Question 19

Virginia Plan

Answer 19

written by James Madison; plan based on a state’s population; took power away from the states and gave it to the central government; supported by big states who had large populations

Question 20

James Madison

Answer 20

proposed the Virginia Plan; becomes the Father of the Constitution; leader of the Federalists

Question 21

3/5th Compromise

Answer 21

an agreement in which three-fifths of a state’s slave population could be counted towards representation in the lower house

Question 22

Federalists

Answer 22

name given to supporters of getting the Constitution approved in its original format

Question 23

Anti-Federalists

Answer 23

name given to supporters who was against the Constitution was originally written; wanted a Bill of Rights included to protect individual rights, feared a strong national government

Question 24

Alexander Hamilton

Answer 24

first treasurer of the U.S.; stated that the first thing the US government must do is pay back all loans, proposes starting a bank, becomes leader of the Federalists

Question 25

John Adams

Answer 25

ambassador to Great Britain; 1st Vice President of the U.S.; 2nd President of the U.S.

Question 26

Thomas Jefferson

Answer 26

Father of the Declaration of Independence; 1st Secretary of State (dealt with representatives of other countries); leader of the Anti-Federalists

Question 27

Marbury vs. Madison

Answer 27

court case which ruled that the Supreme Court has final say on legal matters; Supreme Court becomes the law of the land; establishes judicial review

Question 28

Judicial Review

Answer 28

gives the Supreme Court the authority to review laws and claim whether they are constitutional or unconstitutional

Question 29

Federal Government

Answer 29

the national or central government

Question 30

cabinet

Answer 30

the president’s group of closest advisors

Question 31

Secretary of State

Answer 31

member of the president’s cabinet that deals with foreign affairs

Question 32

Bi-cameral

Answer 32

a 2 house legislature (Congress)- includes an upper and a lower house

Question 33

Articles of Confederation

Answer 33

The Articles of Confederation were established during the Revolutionary War by the Continental Congress. Due to fears of concentrated power, the Articles intentionally established a weak central government.

Question 34

What two key provisions were part of the Land Ordinance of 1785, passed under the Articles of Confederation?

Answer 34

The Land Ordinance of 1785 (a) set a method for surveying and settling western territory, and (b) provided a section of land in each township be set aside for public education.

Question 35

In Shays’ Rebellion, a group of farmers led by Daniel Shays in Western Massachusetts shut down county courts. Why?

Answer 35

Shays and his followers shut down the county courts to prevent land seizures and imprisonment for debt. Debts were required to be repaid in hard currency, which was scarce.

Shays’ Rebellion was a response to the economic depression and high taxes resulting from Revolutionary War debt, and highlighted the weakness of the government established by the Articles of Confederation.

Question 36

unicameral

Answer 36

Unicameral is a legislature with one chamber. The Articles of Confederation established a unicameral legislature.

Question 37

What is a tariff?

Answer 37

A tariff is a tax imposed upon goods when they are either imported or exported. As an example, a country may charge a tax of 10% of the value of a table when that table is exported to a foreign country.

Question 38

The Constitutional Convention was called in response to the Annapolis Convention. What was the Constitutional Convention’s initial purpose?

Answer 38

The Constitutional Convention’s initial purpose was to revise the Articles of Confederation. A group of strong nationalists, including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, convinced the Convention to draft an entirely new governing document.

Question 39

The first act of the Constitutional Convention was to name George Washington to preside over their activities. Why?

Answer 39

Washington was universally respected throughout the 13 colonies. As the presiding officer, Washington would hold the Constitutional Convention together, and provide legitimacy to the Convention’s activities.

Question 40

To whom did the Constitutional Convention assign the task of drafting the Constitution?

Answer 40

James Madison

In preparing the section detailing the legislative branch, Madison suggested the Virginia Plan.

Question 41

What was the Virginia Plan?

Answer 41

The Virginia Plan, drafted by James Madison, called for a bicameral legislature with two branches. Each state would send legislators to each branch based upon the size of their population.

Question 42

Describe the New Jersey Plan.

Answer 42

The New Jersey Plan called for a unicameral legislature where each state, regardless of population, had the same number of legislators.

Question 43

How did the Constitutional Convention resolve the differences between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan?

Answer 43

The Convention adopted the Connecticut Plan, otherwise known as the Great Compromise.

Question 44

Slavery proved a divisive issue during the Convention, with the South wanting slaves counted for purposes of population, and the North insisting that they not be counted. How was the issue resolved?

Answer 44

The Convention passed the Three Fifths Compromise. For purposes of representation in the House of Representatives, each slave counted as 3/5 of a person.

In addition, the Constitution banned the importation of slaves after 1808.

Question 45

Many different proposals were put forth regarding the office of the President. What powers did the Convention eventually provide the President?

Answer 45

The Convention gave the President the power to:

1. Engage in foreign policy as the nation’s representative
2. Have a four-year term limit (but could be re-elected to multiple terms)
3. Veto legislation passed by Congress

Question 46

When would the newly drafted Constitution take effect?

Answer 46

The Constitution would only take effect when it was ratified by nine states. Each state called a separate convention to decide whether to accept the Constitution.

Question 47

Those in favor of the new Constitution were known as _____.

Answer 47

Federalists

The Federalists, led by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, thought that a strong central government was essential to the survival of the United States.

Question 48

What did the Anti-Federalists believe?

Answer 48

The Anti-Federalists believed that a strong federal government would impinge upon the rights of the states and the people.

The Anti-Federalists, led by George Mason and John Hancock, appealed to the fear of a strong government stemming from the colonial period.

Question 49

John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton wrote a series of 85 newspaper articles advocating for the Constitution. Collectively, what are these documents known as?

Answer 49

The Federalist Papers

Question 50

The First Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789. What did the Act accomplish?

Answer 50

The only court mentioned in the Constitution was the Supreme Court. The Judiciary Act of 1789 (a) placed five associate justices and one Chief Justice on the Court’s bench, (b) established 13 District Courts – one for each state, and (c) organized three Courts of Appeals as a layer between the District and Supreme Courts.

Question 51

What was Alexander Hamilton’s proposal to put the new nation on a firm financial footing?

Answer 51

proposals:

1. The federal government would assume the individual states’ Revolutionary War debt, and the debt would be paid off at face value
2. A high tariff on imported goods, to protect domestic manufacturers
3. A national bank, to protect the nation’s credit at home and abroad

Question 52

Many Anti-Federalists, led by Thomas Jefferson, opposed Hamilton’s plan to create a strong central government. Why?

Answer 52

Jefferson and his supporters had two main objections to Hamilton’s plan. First, they viewed Hamilton’s plan with suspicion, because they were concerned that as the federal government gained power, the states would lose it. They also felt that it would benefit the rich and hurt poor farmers.

Question 53

How did Washington react to the outbreak of war between the French and the British following the French Revolution?

Answer 53

Washington was concerned that the United States was too weak to become entangled in European affairs; and in 1793 he declared that the United States would stay strictly neutral. As such, the United States would support neither Britain nor France.

Question 54

Did the vast majority of Americans oppose or support the French Revolution?

Answer 54

Support for the French Revolution was strong in the United States, although there was concern about the intense violence and mob attacks which accompanied it.

Thomas Jefferson and his allies proved to be the French Revolution’s strongest supporters.

Question 55

Why is the Whiskey Rebellion (1791) named after whiskey?

Answer 55

To raise funds for the new federal government (as well as to protect new American industry), Alexander Hamilton had wanted to establish a high tariff, but Congress established a lower one and raised the needed funds by taxing various domestic products, including whiskey.

Farmers in Western Pennsylvania, incensed at having to pay a tax on the whiskey they distilled from surplus corn, attacked the tax collectors.

Question 56

How did Washington respond to the Whiskey Rebellion?

Answer 56

Washington adopted some 15,000 state militiamen into the federal army, which was placed under the command of Alexander Hamilton, who was still Secretary of the Treasury, and who now had to direct troops to suppress a rebellion against a tax to which he’d been opposed.

Even so, when Hamilton’s troops arrived, the rebellion collapsed without bloodshed.

Question 57

In 1796, Washington announced that he would retire after two terms, setting a precedent for future American Presidents. What did Washington warn against in his Farewell Address?

Answer 57

First, Washington warned Americans against forming political parties, a process which was already well underway. Throughout the country’s early years, political parties were coalescing around the two leading figures of the day, Hamilton and Jefferson.

More importantly, Washington warned against involvement in European affairs and “permanent alliances” with European powers. Washington’s advice has continued to guide American Presidents.

Question 58

In the 1796 election, John Adams, a Federalist, was elected President, and Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, was elected Vice President. How did it come about that the President and Vice President were from different political parties?

Answer 58

The Constitution as written did not allow for political parties, and merely stated that the person who got the most electoral votes would be President, and that the person who got the second most electoral votes would be Vice President. Thomas Jefferson finished in second place, by three electoral votes.

The Twelfth Amendment, passed in 1804, allowed electors to cast two separate votes for President and Vice President.