Declaration of Independence
Who was the main author?
Thomas Jefferson
Supported a single person as in a strong leadership role for the executive branch
Federalist 70
How many votes were needed on legislation under the Articles of confederation?
9 states
Who was elected President of the Constitutional Convention?
George Washington
Those who supported the new Constitution and wanted a stronger national government were known as
Federalists
What was the first successful attempt of the colonies to set up a system of government of the states working together, as it resulted in the British government repealing the Stamp Act?
Stamp Act Congress
a loose association of independent states.
Confederation
What are the 3 inalienable rights?
life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness
Which document argued that the size of the United States was too large for an efficient strong central government?
Brutus 1
What had to happen to make changes to the Articles of Confederation?
All 13 states had to agree, as all states had the power to veto changes
What was the original purpose of the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
To revise the Articles of Confederation so it could address national emergencies.
85 newspaper articles written to defend the Constitution and to argue for its ratification
Federalist papers
What was the compact of the thirteen original states that set up the first government of the United States?
Articles of Confederation
What is the name of the idea that the government’s right to rule comes from the people?
popular sovereignty
What did the colonists claim in the closing paragraph?
official disassociation from the British government with all powers that official governments have
Argues for lifetime appointments during “good behavior” for the judicial branch?
Federalist 78
How many votes did each state have under the Articles of Confederation?
One vote per state
The Constitution took affect when it was ratified by how many states according to the Constitution?
State conventions with 9 out of 13 states.
Which was the only one of the 13 colonies not to send any representatives to the Constitutional Convention and also was the last state of the 13 colonies to ratify the Constitution?
Rhode Island
What was the first unsuccessful attempt toward unity of the colonies, as it was rejected?
Albany Plan of Union
the belief that people agree to government to protect natural rights and can remove rulers who violate these rights.
social contract theory
How was it stated that the British government responded when the colonists repeatedly asked for changes from the British government?
They felt they were repeatedly ignored
To explain how factions can be limited and to argue that the proposed government was not likely to be controlled by a faction
Federalist 10
farmers trying to prevent foreclosure on their property for debts and taxes owed.
Shays's Rebellion
A unicameral (one branch) legislature where each state had the same number of representatives
New Jersey Plan
What was the first state to ratify the Constitution?
Delaware
counted an enslaved person as three-fifths of a free person for the purposes of calculating a state’s representation and taxation.
Three-Fifths Compromise
Resolved the issue of the power of large versus small population states
Great Compromise
What does the introduction to the Declaration of Independence say?
If people are going to take a step as big as declaring independence, they should do so in writing and give the reasons for it
Which document had the main premise that “People have natural rights that cannot be taken away by government and that people have a right to revolt if government is denying their natural rights.
Declaration of Independence
Why was the federal government under the Articles of Confederation made to be intentionally weak?
The colonists were breaking away from tyranny under the rule of Great Britain and did not want to duplicate it with another strong national government.
The Constitution was written in which year?
1787
Antifederalists opposed the Constitution on the grounds that
there was not a Bill of Rights and that they worried the president could be too powerful
What compromise was in the Constitution regarding the slave trade across the Atlantic Ocean
would not be eliminated in the next twenty years.
Rights that the government cannot take away
inalienable rights
Which philosopher’s beliefs from Enlightenment Principles were the main points of the Declaration of Independence largely based on?
John Locke
Argued that tyranny would be prevented through separation of powers and checks and balances by the new government?
Federalist 51
What was the significance of Shays’s rebellion?
It showed that the inability of the Confederation to maintain order and that Congress lacked the power to confront national emergencies
a two-house legislature with one house giving the same number of representatives to all states and the other based on population of each state.
The Great Compromise
Which type of state would have been in favor of the proposed Virginia Plan?
A state with a relatively large population
What was the biggest difference between the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress?
The First Continental Congress’s goal was to restore harmony between Great Britain and the colonies, while the Second Continental Congress formed after the Revolutionary War had started with the battles of Lexington and Concord.
Why did smaller, less-populous states prefer the New Jersey Plan regarding how the legislative branch was structured?
There would be one house, and all states would have equal representation in it.