POLS - Ch.2

• Amendments: a change added to the bill law or constitution
• The constitution has been around for over 200 years

  True or False?

  True
• Britain faced debt and turned to American colonies and their taxes for revenue. In the 1760s, sought to impose new taxes on the colonies. Mainly relied on tariffs and taxation of goods

  • Stamp Act and Sugar Act
  • "No taxation without representation"
  • Colonists were angry with British taxes and rebelled - Farmers, Merchants
• The first goal of the Articles of Confederation was to limit the powers of the central government. Under the Articles, the central government was based entirely in Congress, yet Congress had little power.
• Boston Tea Party

  • Most merchants just wanted to rescind the Tea Act, other rebels wanted to break away from Britain completely
  • Resulted in the convening of the First Constitutional Congress
  • Developed the Declaration of Independence
• When was the Declaration of Independence written?

  1776
• Declaration of Independence

  • Assertion that "unalienable rights" that include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness could not be controlled by government
  • Influenced by John Locke
  • Despite the differences of colonists, the declaration focused on unification of the colonial groups
• Articles of Confederation – Americas' first written constitution; served as the basis for America's ◦national government until 1789
• Confederation – a system of government in which stated retain sovereign authority except for ◦powers expressly delegated to the national government
• The Annapolis Convention was held to discuss the Articles of Confederation and to propose a new constitution.
• The Annapolis Convention

  • International weakness and domestic turmoil
  • Improve and reform the Articles of Confederation
  • 55 attended and 39 would sign the new constitution
• Shay's Rebellion 1786 - 1787

  • Farmer led a rebellion to prevent the foreclosures of the debt-ridden farms
  • Resulted in the Annapolis Convention
• Who led the Shay Rebllion?

  Daniel Shay
• Who influenced the Articles of Confederation?

  John Locke
• How many signed the reformed constitution?

  39
• What were the Acts that the British imposed on the North Americans in an effort to relieve financial burden?

  Stamp Act & Sugar Act
• The Great Compromise 1787 - gave each state an equal number of senators regardless of its population but linked representation in the House of Representatives to population
• Virginia Plan – a framework for the constitution, introduced by Edmund Randolph, that called ‣ for representation in the national legislature based on the population of each state
• New Jersey Plan – a framework for the Constitution, introduced by William Patterson, that ‣ called for equal state representation in the national legislature regardless of population
• Three-Fifths Compromise – the agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 ‣ that stipulated that for the purposes of the apportionment of congressional seats, only three-fifths of slaves would be counted
• Bicameral – having a legislative assembly composed of two chambers or houses
• Checks and Balances – mechanisms through which each branch of government is able to participate in and influence the activities of the other branches; presidential veto power of congressional legislation, the power of the Senate to approve presidential appointments, and judicial review of congressional enactment
• Bill of Rights – first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, ratified in 1791; they ensure certain rights and liberties to the people
• Separation of Powers – the division of governmental power among several institutions that must cooperate in decision making
• Federalism – a system of government, in which power is divided, by a constitution, between a central government and regional governments
• Expressed Powers – specific powers granted by the Constitution to Congress
• Elastic Clause – The concluding paragraph of Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution which provides Congress the authority to make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out its enumerated powers
• Executive Branch

  • President and VP
  • Specified in Article II
  • Contains the powers of the Presidency
• Judicial review – the power of the courts to review and, if necessary, declare actions of the legislative and executive branches invalid or unconstitutional; the Supreme Court asserted this power in Marbury v. Madison
• Judicial Branch

  • specified in Article III
  • Supreme Court, local courts
• Supremacy Clause – Article VI of the Constitution, which states that laws passed by the national government and all treaties are the supreme law of the land and superior to all laws adopted by any state or subdivision
• Separation of Powers: legislative, executive, and judicial
• Due to the supremacy clause, any law that is passed by the national government, takes precedent and power

  True or False?

  True
• Federalists – those who favored a strong national government and supported the Constitution proposed at the American Constitutional Convention of 1787

  • Feared "excessive democracy"
  • Favored strong national government
• Antifederalists – those who favored strong state governments and weak national government and who were opponents of the Constitution proposed at the American Constitutional Convention of 1787

  • Government should be in the hands of the people, feared concentration of power in the hands of the elites
  • Power to states' governments and protection of individual rights
• Federalist Papers – a series of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay supporting ratification of the Constitution
• Tyranny – oppressive government that employs cruel and unjust use of power and authority
• 27 amendment currently
• Limited Government – a principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution
• Exclusive Powers: Powers granted to one branch that are not given to other branches