MIDTERM SS (H)

• The structure and organization of the US Government consists of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
• Hamilton was a federalist and Jefferson was an Anti Federalist so they had differing views on how the country should go about and be run.
• The executive branch of the US Government includes the President and Vice President.
• If the President ever dies, resigns or is unable to do duties, the Vice President becomes President.
• The Presidential Cabinet is part of the executive branch of the US Government.
• There are 15 federal departments who are advisors to the President in different topics.
• The Secretary of each department is like the “head” to each of them.
• The judicial branch of the US Government is made up of the Supreme Court and other federal courts.
• Most cases in the judicial branch of the US Government deal with problems about the constitution.
• The Supreme Court of the US Government has 9 justices.
• 4/9 justices have to agree for a case to be taken in the Supreme Court of the US Government.
• The winner of a case in the Supreme Court of the US Government must have 5-9 justices on their side.
• The legislative branch of the US Government is made up of congress, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
• The job of congress is to make laws.
• There are two branches to congress: the House of Representatives, based on state population, with 2 year terms, and the Senate, with everyone having 2 senators, serving 6 year terms.
• The House of Representatives initiates revenue bills and can impeach federal officers.
• The Senate provides advice for treaties with other countries and confirms presidential appointments.
• Checks and balances ensure that one branch of government will not become too powerful.
• Mercantilism is a system that aims to increase the profits of someone by increasing exports and imports.
• The Treaty of Paris 1783 allowed the Americans to gain any lands up to the Mississippi River, a significant expansion.
• The British were strong in numbers, had highly trained troops, and a navy, but lacked passion for the war.
• The failures of the Articles of Confederation led to the creation of the Constitution as they caused the government to reform and consider how this would not allow the country to function.
• The major compromises reached at the Constitutional Convention were a legislative branch with two houses: the Senate, where each state has the same number of representatives regardless of size, and the House of Representatives, where the number of seats per state is based on the population of each state.
• Jefferson and Hamilton had different views on the role of the Constitution and the federal government.
• George Washington had a significant impact on the creation and functions of the Executive Branch, including the name “Mr President”, serving two terms, and more.
• The three important battles for the Continental Army were the Battle of Saratoga, the Battle of Trenton, and the Battle of Princeton.
• The rights protected in Amendments from the Bill of Rights include freedom of speech, press, religion, and protest, the right to bear arms, the quartering act, no unlawful searches, the right to remain silent, the right to a lawyer, the right to a jury in civil cases, no excess punishment or bail fees, and more rights than in the constitution.
• Mercantilism was implemented in the colonies by Britain since they had cut off all other options to import goods from them.
• The Continental Army fought for their land and were weak in numbers but had strong willpower.
• The argument over the ratification of the Constitution was between Federalists, who believed in a single unified body to rule all states, and Anti-Federalists, who advocated for separate states for reasons such as trade benefits.
• The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation led to conflict in the new nation as the central government had no power and was unable to perform its duties.
• The Americans were victorious in the Revolutionary War due to their strong willpower, strategic planning, and ability to gain allies.
• The French and Indian War was caused by the greed for the mississippi valley since it was very well off geographically.
• The French and Indian War led to the American Revolution because the British won the war and therefore had control over the Mississippi valley, which the colonists wanted to move over to.
• The economies of the Northern and Southern colonies differed, with the South being mostly based on farming and crops, and the North being more about manufacturing goods.
• The key Acts that led to the American Revolution were the Navigation Acts, Intolerable Acts, Quartering Acts, Stamp Acts, Tea Act, Writs of Assistance, and the Boston Massacre.
• The reasons to support and oppose declaring independence from Britain were that the British were taking their power too far and abusing the colonists, and that the British were very strong and well off in terms of Army and Navy.
• The key ideas/concepts included in the Declaration of Independence were that the king was abusing them, that everyone deserves the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that Governments should get power from the people not just 1 person.
• The strengths and weaknesses of both the Americans and British during the American Revolution were that the Americans had passion for this, and the British had a strong Army and Navy.