Government Test 2 Review

1. Government Test 2 Review

2. Articles of Confederation

3. Document first created before Constitution • United the states and provided as their government during the Revolutionary War and a few years after until it eventually failed. • Showed that a stronger national gov. was needed

4. Achievements including Northwest Ordinances of Articles of Confederation

5. It gave the states a lot of power and gave us a good basis for the Constitution • It also provided for the Northwest Ordinance which was a land and agreement that created the Northwest Territory, enabling the United States to expand into the Great Lakes area.

6. Weaknesses of Articles of Confederation

7. It had a unicameral legislature where the states were not represented equally based on population size • The national government did not have the power to levy taxes (tax ppl) • The national government was weak and did not have the power to raise an army • The states picked which laws they wanted to abide by leading to more of a loose union of states than a solid government.

8. Shays’ Rebellion

9. This was the rebellion that brought down the Articles of Confederation. • When the national government couldn’t raise an army to put down the rebellion, it demonstrated how weak the national government really was. • It was a rebellion of farmers who protested the tax on whiskey.

10. Constitutional Convention

11. This was the meeting of our forefathers to create the Constitution. Representatives from all over met and planned out the Constitution and wrote it.

12. Framers

13. Also known as the Founding Fathers, these were the guys responsible for creating the Constitution at the Constitutional Convention. • Included Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and many others.

14. James Madison

15. He wrote the actual Constitution and was a Federalist.

16. Virginia Plan

17. Bicameral legislature based on population • Both houses of the legislature would feature proportional representation; basically, this means that the more people a state has, the more representatives it gets in the legislature. Clearly, larger states favored this plan. • the Virginia Plan proposed a strong national government that could make and enforce laws, and collect taxes. The people would be governed by two governments - the state and national. A system such as this is known as a Federal system of government.

18. New Jersey Plan

19. Its legislature only had one house which featured equal representation - each state gets the same number of representatives. This way, smaller states had the same power in the legislature as larger states. • This was the plan created by the smaller states in response to the Virginia Plan because they wanted to be represented equally.

20. Connecticut Compromise (the House and Senate)

21. This was the creation of a bicameral legislature where there were two houses created- one represented based on population and the other the same per state. • Today this is our House of Representatives that is based on population size per state and the Senate which was two representatives per state.

22. Three-fifths Compromise

23. The North wanted to count slaves as part of the population for tax purposes but not for representation in government, and the South wanted to count the slaves so they could get more representation in government but didn’t like taxes. • This was the compromise, so slaves counted as 3/5 of a person for both tax purposes and voting and government representation.

24. Compromise on Slave Trade

25. An agreement during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 protecting the interests of slaveholders by forbidding Congress the power to tax the export of goods from any State, and, for 20 years, the power to act on the slave trade.

26. Ratification Debate

27. The Antifederalists wanted a guaranteed Bill of Rights before they ratified the Constitution, but the Federalists claimed that since the state’s had their own constitutions and the Constitution was already fantastic, a Bill of Rights was not necessary. • People like Alexander Hamilton and James Madison even helped write the Federalist Papers telling why to ratify the Constitution. • Not everyone would ratify it though until a Bill of Rights was ensured.

28. Federalists including The Federalist, Hamilton, James Madison, and Jay

29. The Federalist also known as the Federalist Papers was a collection of letters written by Federalists especially Alexander Hamilton that specifically explained why the Constitution should be ratified and the changes it provided. • Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay were a strong Federalists who helped write the document and helped the Constitution get ratified.

30. Anti-Federalist (including extralegal and lacked a bill of rights)

31. They were doubtful of the Constitution especially after just leaving Great Britain and had some complaints about the Constitution. • Extralegal- they thought that the Framers should have just amended the Articles of Confederation and had no right to create a whole new document. • Bill of Rights- They wanted there to be guaranteed rights to the people that were promised by the government.

32. Structure of the Constitution

33. The basic structure of the Constitution is: The Preamble - states the purpose and the goals of the Constitution The Articles - lay out the specifics for separation of power and rights of each branch of Gov The Amendments - additions to the Constitution

34. Preamble goals

35. 1. form a more perfect union • 2. establish justice • 3. ensure domestic traquility(peaceful environment 2 live) • 4. provide for the common defense • 5. promote the general welfare (well being of ppl helped) • 6. secure the blessing of liberty for ourselves and our posterity (freedom to ppl like in bill of rights) • "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

36. Articles I-VII Know What They Are!!!

37. Article1- legislative • Article2- executive • Article3- Judicial • Article4- relationship among states • Article5- Amendment process (self-destruct button) • Article6- Supremacy Clause • Article 7- Ratifying the Constitution

38. Article 1 describes the Legislative branch and how it consists of two houses. The House of Representatives and the Senate have the power to make the laws. • Article 2 covers the Executive branch and how the Presidential election process included the Electoral College. It also includes what the President and his people can and can not do. • Article 3 describes the Judicial Branch and how the Judicial system includes one supreme court. • Article 4 says that Congress may decide which state is admitted into the union. The rights given to states and how new states will be added to the union • Article 5 states that the Amendments have to be approved by 2/3 of both houses. It requires a 3/4 majority of the states or their delegates to pass them. • Article 6 says that the Senators and Representatives have to support the Constitution. Any debts arrange prior to adaptation of the Constitution should remain valid, just like they were under the Articles of Confederation • Article 7 describes how the Constitution takes effect after being ratified by 9 states. Explains how many state ratifications are needed in order for the proposed Constitution to take place in the United States

39. Amendment Process

40. Demonstrates a federal system of government • Proposal- national level needs 2/3 votes, passes senate and house by 2/3 majority • Ratification- state level needs ¾ votes • Time limit established by Congress

41. Popular Sovereignty

42. This is the idea of popular rule where the people have a say in their government and aid in the decision making process • The authority of the government is created from the consent of its people, and the power is in the people

43. Separation of Powers

44. An idea created by Montesquieu, this is the idea that the powers should be separated into branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial) so no one becomes too powerful. • The division of the government into 3 branches

45. Checks and Balances

46. This is also an idea by Montesquieu • legislative, executive, and judicial are three branches not independent of one another because the Constitution set up a system of checks and balances to help ensure that no one branch became too powerful. • Each branch has powers that it can use to check and balance the operations and power of the other two branches like the ability to veto, impeach, and approve.

47. Judicial Review

48. This is the power of the court/ judicial branch to review legislation and laws made by the legislative and determine if the law is constitutional or not • It’s and example of checks and balances • Basically the court reviews a law and tells if it is illegal/bad or not, and if so it can be nullified or overturned.

49. Limited Government

50. Our government has restrictions so it can not do some things. • A limited government is a government that cannot interfere with personal liberties and individual rights much because it is against the law.