Articles of Confederation
an organization/ agreement which consists of a number of parties or groups united in a loose alliance or league
What is a Confederation?
Describe the structure of the U.S. Constitution.
Preamble
7 Articles
Amendments (first 10 are Bill of Rights)
These are the three branches of government and the main powers that they have.
Legislative branch = makes laws
Executive branch = enforces laws
Judicial branch = interprets laws
The first amendment protects these four things.
What are speech, press, right to petition, and right to assemble?
This event demonstrated the seriousness of the nation's debt problems as the U.S.'s own citizens threatened the nation's national defense. It was the final straw that made Americans realize the Articles needed to be changed.
What is Shay's Rebellion?
The two branches of government missing under the AoC.
Executive and Judicial
This section of the U.S. Constitution protects individual liberties.
What is the Bill of Rights?
When a government shares power between a national government and states.
What is a federal government or federalism?
This third amendment was included in the Bill of Rights because British officials during the Revolution era abused property rights and privacy.
What is no quartering of troops during times of peace?
This outlined the process to create new states based on democratic principles.
What is the Northwest Ordinance of 1787?
* outlawed slavery * established public education *respected Native Americans
This percentage was needed in order to pass any major laws under the Articles.
Two-thirds majority or about 66%
The establishers of the U.S. government.
Who are "the people"?
This plan advocated for representation in the legislative branch to be determined by population.
What is the Virginia Plan?
This Amendment places limits on the government's ability to search property.
The sixth amendment has to do with criminal cases and ensures that the accused has this.
The right to a speedy and fair trial.
These two countries provided challenges for the new government under the AoC because the national government could not raise an army to deal with them.
What are Spain and Great Britain?
*Spain closed off the Mississippi River to Americans
* The British refused to leave forts on the western frontier
To enable the delegates to speak freely at the Constitutional Convention without fear of consequences of backlash from the people, the Framers decided to do what?
The Framers kept all discussions at the Convention secret until they had come up with a document they could present to the people to debate.
Soon after meeting at the Constitutional Convention, delegates decided to do this.
This was the purpose of the first 10 amendments of the Constitution.
What is to protect the privileges and powers of individuals?
This amendment states that there is to be no cruel or unusual punishment which has sparked a lot of debate over the death penalty (capital punishment).
What is the 8th amendment?
This was the biggest challenge that stood in the way of the new nation in terms of raising money to pay off their debts.
What is: They were unable to tax their citizens (only states could do that). The national government could ask to borrow from states or foreign creditors. Their only other way to raise money was to sell lands.
In order to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful and creating a tyrannical government, the Framers created this system.
These states would have favored the New Jersey Plan.
What are small states (Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut)?
This is the reason federalists didn't believe a Bill of Rights was needed.
After 1808 Congress could stop this.