Civics test 2

the origins of america gov

The Enlightenment:

 an intellectual movement in Europe that took place in the 1600s and 1700s

John Locke:

• reasoned that people have natural rights

• a government is only legitimate if it has consent of the people

• people have the right to rebel to protect their natural rights

Jean-Jacques Rousseau:

believed property rights  and other basic rights such as freedom of speech and religion should come from people living in a community

Thomas Hobbes:

introduced the social contract theory

By the mid-1700s, what did most colonial governments have?

had a legislature

Limited government:

the concept a government’s power is not absolute

Representative government:

a government in which people elect delegates to make laws and conduct government

Which English document forced King John to recognize certain rights and later became associated with limited government?

The Magna Carta

Why did the English Bill of Rights contribute to tension between Britain and the American colonies?

The king disagreed and saw the colonists as subjects of the British without the same rights as those living in Britain

According to the notes, which document began the colonial tradition of written constitutions?

the Mayflower Compact

Lexington and Concord: 

first battle of the Revolutionary War

Thomas Paine:

published Common Sense

What two events changed the relationship between the American colonies and Britain?

The French and Indian War

-The British expected the colonists to pay some of the war debt through taxes

King George III

-he became king in 1760 and levied taxes on many products

When did the First Continental Congress meet?

September 1774

Which action was taken by the Second Continental Congress? 

the Congress assumed government powers

Who was selected to draft the Declaration of Independence? 

Thomas Jefferson

Which part of the Declaration of Independence lists specific complaints against King George III? 

The List of Grievances

What was a major achievement of the Articles of Confederation?

-a 1783 treaty was signed recognizing American independence

-a fair policy was established for land in the West

-Congress set up multiple departments 

Shays’s Rebellion: 

In 1786 an armed group led by Daniel Shays attempted a raid on a federal arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts

What type of legislature did the Articles of Confederation establish?

a unicameral legislature (one house)

What could the government do under the Articles of Confederation? 

- declare war and peace

- maintain an Army and a Navy

- make treaties with other nations

-borrow or request money from the states

regulate affairs with Native Americans

- establish a post office

- decide certain disputes between states

- coin money

What could the government NOT do under the Articles of Confederation? 

establish an executive branch, president, or King

-establish a national court system

-levee or collect taxes

-require states to provide money for running the government

-regulate trade

-force anyone to follow the law

-pass a law without the consent of nine states

- amend the Articles without the consent of all 13 states

Under the Articles of Confederation, how many states had to agree for Congress to pass a law? 

13/13

Who was unanimously chosen to preside over the Constitutional Convention? 

George Washington

When did the Constitutional Convention take place? 

May of 1787

The Virginia Plan: 

called for representation in the legislature to be based on state population

What did the New Jersey Plan propose? 

called for equal representation among all states

What did the Great Compromise establish? 

proposed a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives and the Senate

What was the strongest argument of the Anti-Federalists against the new Constitution? 

lacked Bill of Rights

Who were the authors of The Federalist Papers? 

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and others

How many states had to ratify the Constitution for it to take effect? 

9/13

Which state was the last to ratify the Constitution? 

Rhode Island

How did the Constitutional Convention settle the debate over how to choose the president? 

The Electoral College System

What did the Three-Fifths Compromise address?

-there was disagreement over how to count enslaved persons for representation and taxation

-the debate was solved with the 3/5 compromise

-the 3/5 compromise said slaves were to count for 3/5 for both taxing and representation