PS 101: TEST 1

Chapters: 2, 3, 11

what are the federalist papers?

85 essays penned by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the pseudonym “Publius”

what was the goal of the federalist papers?

pushing public opinion toward ratification of the newly proposed Constitution

what did the federalist papers encompass?

• potential dangers from foreign forces

• safeguarding against insurrection

• revenue problems

• more topics that could be more easily resolved

what were antifederalists concerned about? why?

• the lack of a bill of rights

• it would lay out the limitations of a federal government and allow for people to be aware when such rights were potentially endangered

what did federalists worry about the bill of rights?

it could be interpreted as definitive and that any right not expressly listed would be unallowed

where did the majority of colonists come from?

England and Scotland

what was the first English settlement in North America? when was it founded/by who? what is it now?

• Jamestown

• 1607; as the trading post of the Virginia Company of London

• Virginia

what was the first New England colony? when was it founded/by who? what is it now?

• Plymouth

• 1620; founded by Plymouth Company

• Massachusetts

what is the Mayflower Compact?

a document made by Pilgrim leaders in 1620 to set up a government on the Mayflower ship

what was the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut?

settlers from Massachusetts organized the Connecticut Colony and adopted America’s first written constitution

what did the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut call for?

• laws to be made by an assembly of elected representatives from each town

• the popular election of a governor and judges

what is Plessy v. Ferguson?

• 1896

• “separate but equal” society between white/black Americans was not problematic

• allowed for decades of racial discrimination

what is Brown v. Board of Education?

• 1954

• overturned Plessy

• allowed for political and legal barriers against black Americans to be gradually removed as the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum

what is textualism?

looks at the plain meaning of a text and how it may be understood at the time of its writing

what are originalists?

looks at how the text would be understood at the time of its writing but apply its perceived intent without considering how such a text may be reinterpreted over time

what is pragmatic interpretation?

interpretation that weights societal consequences and the costs and benefits of a particular ruling

what did the Massachusetts Body of Liberties of 1641 do?

protect individual rights

what did the Pennsylvania Frame of Government of 1682 do?

established principles that were later expressed in the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights

what is the Bill of Rights?

the first 10 amendments made to the Constitution that list the freedoms that cannot be infringed on by the government

what was the earliest colonial legislature?

the Virginia House of Burgesses

why did the British government decide to impose harsher taxes on American settlers?

• to pay its war debts from the French and Indian War/Seven Years’ War

• to finance the defense of its expanded North American empire

what was the Sugar Act of 1764?

• passed by British Parliament

• imposed a tax on all sugar imported into the American colonies

what was the Stamp Act of 1765?

• passed by British Parliament

• first direct tax on American colonists

• imposed a tax on all legal documents and newspapers to use specifically embossed paper

who declared “no taxation without representation”?

James Otis Jr. — a Massachusetts attorney

what other items were being taxed in 1767 by the British Parliament against the American colonies?

• glass

• paint

• lead

• many other items

what was the Boston Tea Party?

a boycott against all British goods over anger on taxation

what were the Coercive Acts/Intolerable Acts of 1774?

British Parliament closed the Boston Harbor and placed the government of Massachusetts under direct British control

what was the response to the Coercive Acts/Intolerable Acts?

New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island proposed a colonial congress — First Continental Congress

what was the First Continental Congress?

a gathering of delegates from 12/13 colonies to protest the Coercive Acts

what did the First Continental Congress decide?

• the colonies should send a petition to King George III to explain their grievances

• called for a continued boycott of British goods

• required each colony to establish an army

how did the British government respond to the First Continental Congress?

• viewed actions as open acts of rebellion

• even stricter and more repressive measures

what was the Second Continental Congress?

• assumed the powers of a central government

• declared that the militiamen who had gathered around Boston were now a full army

• named George Washington as commander in chief

what is Common Sense? who wrote it? what was it about?

• pamphlet to mock King George III and attacked every argument favoring the king

• Thomas Paine

• how the United States could survive independently economically

what was the first step of independence from Britain?

• SCC votes for free trade at all American ports with all countries EXCEPT Britain

• SCC suggested all colonies establish state governments separate from Britain

what are unicameral legislatures?

• a legislature with only one chamber

• unchecked by any executive authority

what is a confederation?

a voluntary association of independent states

what are the Articles of Confederation?

• nation’s first Constitution

• established a national form of government following the American Revolution

• provided for a confederal form of govt in which the central govt had few powers

what are some Congressional powers under the Articles of Confederation? (6)

1. establish and control the armed forces, make war, and establish peace

2. enter into treaties and alliances

3. settle disputes among the states under certain circumstances

4. regulate coinage (not paper money) and set standards for weights and measures

5. borrow money from the people

6. create a postal system, courts to address issues related to ships at sea and government departments

what are some powers that Congress lacked under the Articles of Confederation? (8)

1. could not force states to meet military quotas

2. not regulate commerce between states or other nations

3. cannot enforce treaties

4. cannot directly tax the people

5. no power to enforce its laws

6. any amendment to the Articles required all 13 states to consent

7. no national judicial system

8. no executive branch

what did the Treaty of Paris do?

confirm the colonies’ independence from Britain

what was Shay’s Rebellion?

• a rebellion of angry farmers in western Massachusetts

• seized country courthouses and disrupted debtors’ trials

• attacked the national govt’s arsenal in Springfield

what type of government did Hamilton and Madison favor?

a strong central government

what was the Constitutional Convention?

• convention of delegates from the states to amend the Articles

• ended up writing a new constitution (current) that established a federal form of govt

who were the delegates to the Constitutional Convention?

• Washington

• Hamilton

• Madison

• George Mason

• Robert Morris

• Franklin

• others of lesser notability

what did the Virginia Plan propose?

• a bicameral legislature: lower chambers chosen by people, smaller, upper chamber chosen by elected members of lower chamber. number of reps proportionate to state’s population

• national executive branch elected by the legislature

• national court system created by the legislature

what is a bicameral legislature?

a legislature made up of two chambers or parts

what was the New Jersey Plan?

alternative Virginia Plan favorable for smaller states

• Congress would be able to regulate trade and impose taxes

• each state would have only one vote

• acts of Congress would be the supreme law of the land

• an executive office of more than one person would be elected by Congress

• the executive office would appoint a national Supreme Court

what was the Great Compromise?

• a lower chamber (House), number of reps would be determined by population of state

• upper chamber (Senate), two members from each state elected by state legislatures