Definitions
What is a civil war?
A war between citizens of the same country
What was the main cause of the Civil War?
Slavery
Who has more power? The State or Federal government?
The Federal government
Under the U.S. Constitution do the States or Federal governments hold more power?
The Federal government holds more power
What caused the Whiskey Rebellion?
The government put a large excise tax on Whiskey
What is sovereignty?
The exclusive authority to govern
The election of Lincoln threatened to unite the North against _________
Slavery (or the South)
Which of the following is/are a part of the federal government? The president, congress, the supreme court
All of them
Under the Articles of Confederation do the States or Federal governments hold more power?
Why was whiskey a bad choice for an excise tax?
Because people believed it was medicinal and used it as currency
What was the Confederacy?
The Southern states that seceded during the Civil War and fought to keep slavery
What was Lincoln's main goal during the Civil War?
To keep the country united
After the Constitution was implemented did the Federal government have more or less power?
What was one problem the Constitution fixed from the Articles of Confederation?
Extended the power to tax to the federal government
Gave the federal government the ability to coin money without a vote first
Declaring war is only something the federal government can do
What did the whiskey rebellion remind people of? Why might they have been overly sensitive to a high tax?
It reminded them of the taxes Great Britain enforced on the Colonists.
What is Congress?
The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate
What did Fugitive slave laws say?
If a slave escaped to the North, they were not free and had to be sent back to the South.
What's one argument for States having more power than the Federal government?
State governments can focus more on local issues and needs, and understand local preferences and urgent local issues
Under the Articles of Confederation, do states have to listen to each other or to Federal law?
No, they each had sovereignty
Why might citizen's reactions to the whiskey tax have been so violent?
They have a history of being taxed unfairly, and are used to responding through violence (The Revolutionary War).
What is Secession?
When a state leaves the country to become independent
Why did Southern states think Northern states were breaking the Constitution?
Because they were not following the fugitive slave laws
What's one argument for the Federal government having more power than the States?
Federal power can override discriminatory state or local laws and make sure freedoms and rights are uniform for all
Why did we call the government under the Articles a "League of Friendship?"
Cooperation between states was voluntary. They were encouraged to agree and be friendly, but they did not have to listen to one another.
How does the Whiskey Rebellion relate to Federalism?
People protested the tax at first, but it proved that the federal government does have the power to tax citizens and will enforce it