Early Influences
This Enlightenment thinker influenced our Founding Fathers with the idea of Separation of Powers & Checks and Balances.
Baron de Montesquieu
The debt caused by this event caused the British government to begin taxing the American colonies.
The French and Indian War
This was the first attempt at a written constitution for the new United States.
Articles of Confederation
This term refers to a legislative branch with 2 chambers (or houses).
Example: U.S. Congress which consists of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.
BICAMERAL Legislature
The Declaration of Independence was signed on this date.
July 4th, 1776
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights..that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.." Which Enlightenment idea is present in this Declaration of Independence quote?
Natural Rights or Natural Law (life, liberty, and property)
This is how the colonists protested the Stamp Act, which taxed goods such as newspapers and playing cards.
Boycotting British goods
In which system of government, the states have the majority of the power and are united by a weak central government.
Confederal system
This group of men favored a strong federal government and supported ratifying the U.S. Constitution.
Federalists (they wrote the Federalist Papers)
This person was the main author of the Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson
This document was the first evidence of Self-Government in the American colonies.
Mayflower Compact
A series of laws passed by the British Parliament to punish the American colonists for the Boston Tea Party
Coercive Acts (or Intolerable Acts, as the colonists referred to them)
DAILY DOUBLE:
As a result of this event, the United States realized they needed a stronger central government to put down rebellions.
Double your points by explaining what specific weakness was exposed with this event.
Shays' Rebellion
Double Jeopardy Answer: Congress had to power to collect taxes, so did not have money to raise an army to put down such rebellions.
This group believed that in order to limit the power of the federal government and protect the people, a bill of rights needed to be added to the Constitution
Anti-Federalists
Name two punishments in the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)
Boston Port Act - Closed the Boston Port to trade
Quartering Act - Forced colonists to house soldiers
Massachusetts Gov. Act - Appointed a Royal Governor in charge of Massachusetts colony instead of their elected legislatures
Administration of Justice Act - Moved trials of British officials accused of crimes in the colonies to Great Britain.
This document was written in 1215 in order to limit the power of the government (King) in England.
(Latin for the "Great Charter")
Magna Carta
This pamphlet was written by Thomas Paine in order to convince American colonists to support independence from Great Britain.
"Common Sense"
These 2 branches of government did not exist under the Articles of Confederation
Executive and Judicial
Which goal from the Preamble to the Constitution means to "guarantee peace within our country"?
"...insure domestic tranquility"
This man was one of the main authors of the Federalist Papers.
Alexander Hamilton or James Madison
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…” This Declaration of Independence quote is referring to this Enlightenment idea.
Social Contract
What was meant by the following excerpt from the Grievances section of the Declaration of Independence?
“He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.”
King George III sent British soldiers to the colonies without the permission of the colonial governments and during peacetime.
Which of the following was NOT a weakness of the Articles of Confederation:
1. The President had too much power
2. No national court system to settle disputes
3. Central government could not enforce laws (no Executive Branch)
4. No power to regulate trade
5. Unanimous approval from all 13 states needed to amend (change) the Articles
1. The President had too much power was NOT a weakness-- there was no President or Executive Branch under the AOC
These are the four principles of government (big ideas) first created in the Magna Carta.
1. Limited Government
2. Rights
3. Rule of Law
4. Due Process