TAMU POLS 206 Chapter 2 - Kent

The Founding and the Constitution

Governor’s Council

Present in each colony, and served as a mini House of Lords with the most influential men in the colony serving effectively as a high court

General Assembly

Present in each colony, was elected directly by the qualified voters in each colony and serves as a House of Commons

French and Indian War

(1754 - 1763) The French, from their base in Canada, fought the British in the colonies for control of the North American empire. Both nations were interested in rights to the territory that extended west of the colonial settlements.

Treaty of Paris 1763

Settled the French and Indian war. Britain acquired a lot of territory, but there came a staggering debt of approximately 130 million pounds

Proclamation of 1763

Established a boundary along the Appalachian Mountains, prohibiting British colonies from settling west of this line

Sugar Act

The first law passed by Parliament for the specific purpose of raising money in the colonied for the Crown. Other acts passed earlier had been enacted for the purpose of controlling trade.

Stamp Act

Required the payment of a tax on the purchase of all newspapers, pamphlets, almanacs, and commercial and legal documents in the colonies

Stamp Act Congress

Assembly that issued a declaration of rights and grievances that acknowledged allegiance to the Crown but reiterated the right to not be taxed without consent

Declaratory Act

King’s response to the Stamp Act Congress. Stated that the King and Parliament had “full power and authority” to enact laws binding on the colonies “in all cases whatsoever”

Townshend Acts

Passed in 1767. Imposed duties on various items, including tea, imported into the colonies, and created a Board of Customs Commissioners to enforce and collect the duties

Tea Act

Enacted in 1773. Passed to help the financially troubled British East India Company by relaxing export duties and allowing the company to sell its tea directly in the colonies.

Intolerable/Coercive Acts

Acts that closed the port of Boston, revised the Massachusetts colonial government, and required colonists to provide food and housing for British troops stationed in the colonies

First Continental Congress

Leaders from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia to respond to the intolerable acts. Denounced British policy and organized a boycott of British goods. Encouraged the colonial militias to arm themselves and began to collect and store weapons in an arsenal in Concord.

Lexington and Concord

Where shots were fired & the American Revolution started

Common Sense

Publication where Thomas Paine attacks King George III as responsible for the provocations against the colonies and converted many wavering Americans to the cause of independence

Richard Henry Lee

A delegate to the Second Continental Congress from Virginia that proposed a resolution stating “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.”

Declaration of Independence

Formal document listing colonists’ grievances and articulating the colonists’ intention to seek independence; formally adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

Articles of Confederation

A written statement of rules and principles to guide the first continent-wide government in the colonies during the war and beyond. Created a “league of friendship” among the states

Congressional Power

Could not raise troops, regulate commerce, or levy taxes.

Annapolis Convention

Delegates from only five states attended, issued a report calling upon all 13 states to attend a convention in Philadelphia the following May to discuss all matters necessary “to render the constitution of the federal government adequate to the exigencies of the Union”

Shay’s Rebellion

Armed uprising by debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers frustrated with the state government. Sparked the interest in a stronger national government

Constitutional Convention

Meeting of delegates from 12 states in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787, at which was drafted an entirely new system to govern the United States.

Virginia Plan

“Large states plan.” Proposed three branches and two houses, with membership proportional to each state’s population

New Jersey Plan

“Small states plan.” Called for a one-house legislature in which each state, regardless of size, would have equal representation

Connecticut/Great Compromise

Agreement to have a bicameral legislature with an upper house and a lower house. The upper would have two representatives from each state, and the lower would be proportional to population

Three-Fifths Compromise

Five enslaved people would be counted as the equivalent of three “free persons” for purposes of taxes and representation in congress

Separation of Powers

The principle that each branch of government enjoys separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility.

Checks and Balances

A system of limits imposed by the Constitution that gives each branch of government the limited right to change or cancel the acts of other branches.

Enumerated powers

Those powers granted to Congress that are listed in the Constitution, including exclusive federal powers as well as concurrent powers shared with the states.

Rule of Secrecy

The Constitutional Convention’s agreed-upon rule which forbade publication or discussion of the day-to-day proceedings of the convention. Gave the Federalists on the inside a distinct advantage

Ratifying Conventions

A specially elected body of citizens convened to deliberate and vote on whether to approve a proposed document

Federalist Papers

A series of articles authored by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay that argued in favor of ratifying the proposed Constitution of the United States, outlined the philosophy and motivation of the document

United States Code

The collection of “the general and permanent laws of the United States”. Volume 1 begins with four “organic acts” of the United States

The Northwest Ordinance

An organic act that set the framework for turning territories into states

Organic Act

A legal act that forms or organizes the basis for government. Essentially, constitutional acts because they constitute the legal foundations of a government

Alienability

A concept borrowed from property law (property is “in-______” if a person cannot sell it or give it away”)

Second Treatises of Government

John Locke argues that people cannot have a right to commit suicide because they do not own themselves, rather God owns humans. So we cannot “give” our lives away

Invisible Hand Theory

A metaphor introduced by Adam Smith that describes how individuals pursuing their own self-interest in a free market unintentionally benefit society as a whole

Three-fourths

Portion of the states that must approve the ratification of a new amendment

Marbury v. Madison

Supreme court case that established judicial review

Loose Construction

Constitutional interpretation that gives provisions broad and open-ended meanings (implied powers)

Strict Construction

Belief that the government only possesses powers strictly stated in the Constitution