Federal Government Test 1

1774

British adopt Coercive Acts to punish the colonies.

First Continental Congress rejects plan of union but adopts Declaration of Americans Rights denying Parliament’s authority over internal colonial affairs.

Civil Liberties

Constitutional and legal protections from government interference with personal rights and freedoms such as freedom of assembly, speech, and religion.

Legislative Branch

Congress made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate

1775

Battles of Lexington and Concord

Second Continental Congress assumes the role of revolutionary government

Civil Rights

The powers or privileges conferred on citizens by the Constitution and the courts that entitle them to make claims upon the government. Civil rights protect individuals from arbitrary or discriminatory treatment at the hands of the government.

Liberty

the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. the power or scope to act as one pleases.

1776

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense published; moved the issue of independence to the center stage

Declaration of independence adopted on July 4, 1776 by the Second Continental Congress

Commerce Clause

The Clause in Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution that gives Congress the authority to regulate commerce with other nations and among the states.

Limitations on powers

In a democratic society, limits on power are crucial to prevent abuse and protect individual liberties, commonly achieved through a constitution, separation of powers, and checks and balances

10th Amendment

The amendment that offers the most explicit endorsement of federalism to be found in the Constitution: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people

Concurrent Federalism

a system where the federal government and the state governments share certain powers, rather than having exclusive control over specific areas

Magna Carta

meaning "Great Charter" in Latin, is a foundational document signed by King John of England in 1215, guaranteeing certain rights to the English people and establishing the principle that the king is subject to the law, not above it. Magna Carta was the first document to state that citizens had such rights

13th Amendment

abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, except as punishment for a crime. It was ratified on December 6, 1865

Confederation

A political system in which states or regional governments retain ultimate authority except for those powers they expressly delegate to a central government

Maranda Warning

Requirement that police inform suspects that they have the right to remain silent and a right to have counsel while being interrogated. Failure to inform suspects of their rights will result in any confession or evidence thus obtained being inadmissible against them at trial

14th Amendment

Granted the newly abolished slaves citizenship. Then the amendment declares that no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without the due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”. It reaffirms the constitutional prescription of apportioning seats in the House of Representatives according to a state’s population but then makes an exception: if a state fails to allow Black men to vote in federal and state elections, the number of seats allocated to it will be reduced proportionately. Congress made readmission to the Union contingent on a state’s ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. (ratified in 1868)

Constitution

A document outlining the formal rules and institutions of government and the limits placed on its powers

Missouri Compromise

The plan, enacted in 1820, matched Missouri’s entry as a slave state with Maine’s as a free state, thereby maintaining the balance in the Senate between free and slave states. Moreover, the South agreed to accept Missouri’s southern border as the northern boundary beyond which slavery could not extend in the future (latitude 36°30’).

15th Amendment

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” (ratified in 1870)

Declaration of Independence

The document drafted by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, declaring the independence of the thirteen colonies from Great Britian

Monarchy

a form of government with a monarch at the head.

1st Amendment

Guarantees freedom of religion, speech, assembly, and press, and the right of people to petition the government for redress of grievances

Declaration of rights and resolves

The Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress was a statement of rights and grievances that was adopted in 1774. It was a response to the Intolerable Acts, a series of laws passed by the British Parliament that punished the colonies for opposing taxes.

Necessary and proper clause

The last clause of Article 1, Section 8 of the constitution. This clause grants Congress the authority to make all laws that are “necessary and proper” and to execute those laws

2nd Amendment

Protects the right of states to maintain militias

Democracy

a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

New Jersey Plan

New Jersey delegate William Paterson’s proposal for reforming the Articles of Confederation. Introduced at the Constitutional Convention (1787), the New Jersey plan was favored by delegates who supported states’ rights

3rd Amendment

Restricts quartering of troops in private homes

Due Process Clause

A clause found in both the 5^th and 14^th Amendments to the Constitution protecting citizens from arbitrary action by the national and state governments

Obscenity

Defined as publicly offensive acts or language, usually of a sexual nature, with no redeeming social value. The Supreme Court has offered varying definitions in its ruling over the years.

4th Amendment

Protects against “unreasonable searches and seizures”

Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It declared that all enslaved people in the Confederate states were free. The proclamation was a major turning point in the Civil War and the fight to end slavery in the United States. (preliminary proclamation issued on Sept. 22, 1862)

Oligarchy

a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution.

• a country governed by an oligarchy

5th Amendment

Ensures the right not to be deprived of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” including protections against double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and government seizure or property without just compensation

Enumerated Powers

The explicit powers given to Congress by the Constitution in Article 1, Section 8. These include the powers of taxation, coinage of money, regulation of commerce, and provision for the national defense

Patrick Henry

Antifederalist from Virginia. Sensing his fellow Virginian’s hidden agenda, war hero Patrick Henry announced he “smelt a rat” and refused to join the delegation to Philadelphia. Patrick Henry is best known for his famous speech "Give me liberty, or give me death". He delivered this speech at the Second Virginia Convention in 1775.

6th Amendment

Guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury

Executive Branch

Presidential branch

Plessy V. Ferguson

The coup de grace came in 1896 when the Supreme Court, ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, declared the South’s Jim Crow laws and systematic segregation constitutional” The case arose when shoemaker Homer Plessy, who was seven-eighths white (but still Black, according to law), appealed his conviction for having violated Louisiana’s segregation law by sitting in a “whites only” railroad car.

8th Amendment

Protects against excessive bail or cruel and unusual punishment

Federalism

A system of government in which power is divided between the central government and several regional governments. in the United States the division is between the national government and the states

Politics

The process through which individuals and groups reach agreement on a course of common, or collective, action- even as they disagree on the intended goals of that action

9th Amendment

Provides that people’s rights are not restricted to those specified in amendments 1-8

Federalists

Name given to 2 related, but not identical, groups in late 18 century American politics. The first group, led by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, supported ratification of the Constitution in 1787 and 1788. Subsequently, Hamilton and John Adams led the second group, the Federalist Party, which dominated national politics during the administrations of George Washington (1789-1797) and John Adams (1797-1801)

Poll Tax

A tax imposed on people when they register to vote. In the decades after the Civil War this tax was used primarily to disenfranchise black voters. With passage of the 24^th Amendment, in 1964, it became unconstitutional

Affirmative action

Policies of programs designed to expand opportunities for minorities and women and usually requiring that an organization take measures to increase the number or proportion of minorities and women in its membership or employment

Free Exercise Clause

The second clause of the 1^st Amendment. The free exercise clause forbids the national government from interfering with the exercise of religion

Republic

A form of democracy in which power is vested in elected representatives

Alexander Hamilton

Nationalists: Constitutional reformers led by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton who sought to replace the Articles of Confederation. Opposed at the Constitutional Convention (1787) by states’ rights proponents, the nationalists favored a strong national legislature elected directly by the citizenry rather than the states and a national government that could veto any state laws it deemed unfit.

Federalists: Name given to two related, but not identical, groups in late-eighteenth century American politics. The first group, led by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, supported ratification of the Constitution in 1787 and 1788. Subsequently, Hamilton and John Adams led the second group, the Federalist Party, which dominated national politics during the administrations of George Washington (1789-1797) and Adams (1797-1801).

Full Faith and Credit Clause

The Full Faith and Credit Clause is a clause in the United States Constitution that requires states to respect each other's laws and judgments. It's found in Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution.

Samuel Adams

The Boston resistance leader called the colonists to assemble at Philadelphia in the fall of 1774 for what became the First Continental Congress. Was also an antifederalist.

Articles of Confederation

The contract among the thirteen original states that formed the basis of the first national government of the United States from 1777-1789, when it was supplanted by the Constitution

George Washington

George Washington (1732-1799) is famous for being the first president of the United States, leading the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War, and helping to establish the U.S. Constitution

Segregation

The political and social practice of separating whites and blacks into dual and highly unequal schools, hospitals, prisons, public parks, housing, and public transportation

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) is best known as a Founding Father of the United States. He was also a scientist, inventor, and writer.

• Signed the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the Treaty of Alliance with France, and the peace treaty with Great Britain in 1783 

• Argued for American liberty at home and abroad 

• Persuaded the British Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act 

• Convinced the French to aid the colonists in the American Revolution 

• Served as the first Postmaster General

Gideon Rule

The Gideon rule is the principle that anyone charged with a crime has the right to legal representation, regardless of their economic status. This right applies to both federal and state courts.

The Gideon rule came about after the Supreme Court's 1963 decision in Gideon v. Wainwright. The case involved Clarence Earl Gideon, who was denied a lawyer by a Florida court. Gideon was charged with breaking and entering and sentenced to five years in prison. He appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that his Sixth Amendment rights were violated. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Gideon.

Separation of Powers

The distribution of government powers among several political institutions. In the U.S., at the national level power is divided between the three branches: Congress, the president, and the supreme Court

Bicameral Government

one where the legislative (lawmaking) branch is divided into two separate chambers or houses (ex: Senate and house of reps)

September 17, 1787

The language of the Constitution (not including the amendments) was adopted by a convention of the states on this day.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution

Grandfather Clause

statutes stating that only those people whose grandfather had voted before Reconstruction could vote, unless they passed a literacy test or wealth test. After the civil war this mechanism was used to disenfranchise African Americans

Shay’s Rebellion

Uprising of 1786 led by Daniel Shays, a former captain in the Continental Army and a bankrupt Massachusetts farmer, to protest the state’s high taxes and aggressive debt collection policies. The rebellion demonstrated a fundamental weakness of the Articles of Confederation- its inability to keep peace- and stimulated interest in strengthening the national government, leading to the Philadelphia convention that framed the constitution

Black Codes

Laws enacted by southern legislature after the Civil War that prevented former enslaved people from voting and holding certain jobs, among other prohibitions

Ideology

A comprehensive, integrated set of views about government and politics

Social Contact Theory

Individuals voluntarily relinquish certain rights and freedoms to a governing body in exchange for protection and societal order, forming a basis for legitimate political authority

Block Grant

A broad grant of money given by the federal government to a state government. the grant specifies the general area (such as education or health services) in which the funds may be spent but leaves it to the state to determine the specific allocations.

Interest Groups

Organized groups of people seeking to influence public policy

Supremacy Clause

A clause in Article VI of the Constitution declaring that national laws are the “supreme” law of the land and therefore take precedence over any laws adopted by states or localities

Checks and Balances

A constitutional mechanism giving each branch some oversight and control of the other branches. Examples are the presidential veto, Senate approval of presidential appointments, and judicial review of presidential and congressional actions

James Madison

James Madison is renowned as a Founding Father and is popularly called the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights, as well as authoring The Federalist Papers

4th president

was secretary of state under Thomas Jefferson before his presidency

Symbolic Speech

refers to nonverbal, nonwritten communication that conveys a message, like wearing an armband or burning a flag, and is generally protected under the First Amendment

Citizen

a legally recognized subject or national of a state or commonwealth, either native or naturalized.

Judicial Branch

The Supreme Court

Virginia Plan

Constitutional blueprint drafted by James Madison that sought to reform the Articles of Confederation introduced at the Constitutional Convention (1787), the plan proposed a tripartite national government, but unlike the subsequent Constitution, it provided for a popularly elected legislature that would dominate national policymaking

Warrant

a document issued by a legal or government official authorizing the police or some other body to make an arrest, search premises, or carry out some other action relating to the administration of justice.