Chap 1 History of the Constitution

gov. means government; pop. means population

Magna Carta (Great Charter)

forced onto King John by his Barons; said that monarchy was not absolute and introduced trial by jury and due process

The Petitions of Right

made by parliament and signed by king; challenged idea of divine rights, monarch is subjected to laws

English Bill of Rights

made by parliament and signed by king; prevents abuse of power, inspired US bill of rights

Baron Monteasquei

a french man who wrote The Spirit of Laws, made the idea of separation of power (wanted 3 distinct branches of gov.) and idea of checks and balances

Articles of Confederation

a plan of gov. made after the American Revolution; made a “firm league of friendship” for states with a central gov; was ratified by 13 states

What were the powers of congress under the Articles of Confederation?

• make war and peace

• set up a money system

• build a navy

• raise an army by using state’s troops

What were the weaknesses of congress under the Articles of Confederation?

• couldn’t collect taxes

• no trade regulation

• no national court

• 9/13 majority of sates to pass laws

• amendments are made only with all state’s consent

Why did they chose to replace the articles with the constitution instead of just revising?

• they needed to collect taxes to pay for war debt, but the states refused to help

• each state had their own printed money

• Shay’s rebellion pushed them to change

Shay’s Rebellion

farmers went bankrupt due to post-war depression, so Daniel Shay lead a mob that forced judges to close courts and request change

Philadelphia Convention

framers, a group of delegates, framed the constitution and posed ideas until they reached a compromise. 12/13 states attended in secrecy

Virginia Plan

an idea of gov. with three branches, a bicameral congress that was based on pop. and money

New Jersey Plan

an idea of gov. that features a unicameral congress, with each state represented equally; they expected large states to dominate in this plan

Connecticut Compromise

an idea of gov. that has a bicameral congress; first the senate where states are represented equally, second a house of representatives where the number of representatives is based on pop.

3/5 ths Compromise

an idea to address the concern of if slaves should be counted in the pop. of the southern states; said they count all “free” people and “3/5 of all other” people

Federalist

those who supported the constitution; includes Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison

Why did the federalist support the constitution?

• handle the country’s problems

• provide order and stability

• protect trade and the country

• provides separation of powers

• set up system of checks and balances

Anti-Federalist

those who did NOT support the constitution; includes Samuel Adams, John Haycock, James Monroe

Why did the anti-federalist oppose the constitution?

• no Bill of Rights

• feared the gov. would have too much power and become a monarchy

• state and local gov. better meet people’s needs

• it would never overrule state laws

• held in secret

• favored the wealthy

What are the Federalist Papers?

a collection of 85 essays supporting the Constitution written by the Federalist; first published as letters to the people via various newspapers

Bill of Rights

first 10 amendments of the constitution. Ensures the gov. doesn’t take too much power and list basic rights of the people

Unitary Government

centralized gov. in which gov. power belongs to a single central agency; any local gov. power is decided by the main gov.

Federal Government

gov. where power is divided between the central and local gov.

Confederate Government

an alliance of independent states; central gov. is limited in power

Presidential Government

features separation of powers between branches

Parliamentary Government

form of gov. where executive branch is made up of a prime minister and an officials cabinet

Separation of Powers

system of gov. where powers are divided among three independent and coequal branches of gov.

Checks and Balances

system of overlapping the powers of the branches to permit each branch to check the actions of the others

Judicial Review

the power of the courts to determine the constitutionality of a governmental action