Studied by 34 peopleTags & Description
Which state first disestablished it’s Anglican Church?
Virginia because people did not want to pay the church tax since they thought some of it went to the King of England
What lands were briefly available in the East after the colonies achieved independence?
Loyalist lands since they were seized by mobs during the Revolution and usually weren’t returned
Which state still allowed slave imports for 3 years after the end of the war in 1786?
Georgia
Which state freed their slaves before the Revolutionary war? (not sure if this is 100% right)
Rhode Island
Why was education a priority in the colonies?
Since they wanted to spread power to significantly more people, it was important that most people were decently educated.
Which state takes the lead in pushing for public schools?
Massachusetts
Why was Maryland the last state to agree to ratify Articles of Confederation?
Unlike larger states such as Virginia and New York, Maryland lacked claims to Western land. They feared that larger states with Western land could:
1. Get more resources
2. Split into new states and gain more representation (due to the 1 vote per state legislature)
What was the overarching reason why the Articles failed and were so weak?
It required all 13 states to agree to make amendments.
What was the “one state veto?”
The ability for 1 state to stop the entire Union from changing the Articles
Which state kept stopping the Union from giving the Articles more power? (taxing power)
Rhode Island
What were some issues the states had to deal with in the Old Northwest territory?
Native Americans
Land Company Claims
Land promised to Revolutionary war veterans
State claim
Why was it surprising that the Land Ordinances worked?
They did not have much authority, but people still listened somehow.
How did the Land Ordinance of 1785 work?
A surveyor measured the land and divided it into square pieces (Square miles or less) which were auctioned off.
How did the Land Ordinance of 1787 work? (Northwest Ordinance)
It allowed for the creation of new states.
Congress designated a territory and appoints a governor and council
Once 5,000 adult males moved in, they could elect a legislature and could send 1 representative to Congress
Once 60,000 people total moved in, they could write their own constitution and become a state
What was interesting about new states entering the Union?
They entered on equal footing with existing states, slavery was prohibited in the Old North West Territory, and they all had freedom of religion
Why would slavery become a hot topic later on?
It wasn’t profitable in the colder North but supported the economy in the South (with the invention of the cotton gin).
What new states were added under the Northwest Ordinance?
Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota
What were 3 Issues during the Confederation Period that he government faced?
Weak Government
No executive branch meant states had to enforce laws
Elections for Congress were held each year so no one wanted to make any big changes
Couldn’t tax or tariff
Foreign Relationships
British soldiers were moving at “all convenient speed” but not really
The Mississippi River wasn’t shared with Spain so they funded Native raids to slow down US expansion
Economy
The homespun economy was being hurt by the readdition of British trade
Barbary pirates were screwing US trade in the Meridditiaon which was originally protected by the British
Why was it important that the government could impose tariffs?
It would allow them promote home spun economy by increasing prices on British manufactured goods.
How did the government try and get money without taxing? (and failed)
Printing more money, only causes inflation
Trying to get a loan from other countries, no one wants to
Sell land, they don’t have that much and it isn’t that valuable
What caused State Tariff wars?
One state would put tariffs on another to promote their local economy, so the other state would put a tariff on them, and the tariffs kept increasing, screwing merchants. (Federal government couldn’t put limits on tariffs)
How does George Washington stop the tariff wars between Virginia and Maryland?
He brings the governments together at the Mount Vernon Agreement (Mount Vernon Compact?) which limited tariffs and did other things to increase trade cooperation
What was the Annapolis Convention?
Hamilton tried to call states together to help regulate the tariffs, but only 5 states showed up. Leads up to the Constitutional Convention
What happened during Shay’s Rebellion?
Massachusetts farmers are angry since they are barely being paid for participating in the revolutionary war and taxes keep being raised. They believe the issue is the government since wealthy people generally held office. So they march on a courthouse
What are the consequences of Shay’s Rebellion?
Becomes a catalysis for the Constitutional Convention since the states are scared of something similar happening. (GW was pretty spooked)
Where some rules at the Constitutional Convention?
Everything was done in secrecy so people could change opinions, speak freely, and slow down public action (Except Madison who remembered everything)
People only speak again after everyone else had spoken
The whole constitution was voted at the end, instead of each bit being voted on 1 by 1 to increase flexibility and force people to compromise
What were some influences on the Constitution?
State Constitutions
English Tradition/Law (Magna Carta)
Enlightenment Thinkers (John Locke, Montesquieu)
Greeks/Romans
What forms of government did the Greeks have?
Democracy (Athens) - Rule by Many (House)
Monarchy - Rule by one (President)
Aristocracy - Rule by elite/few (Senate)
What form of government did the Romans have and why?
The Roman Empire was a republic since they had too many people to do a direct democracy. Natural Laws applied to all, Civil Laws applied to local areas
What type of government did the US want and why?
They wanted a filtered democracy since (they = constitutional convention people) they did not trust the public to make 100% correct decisions.
ex. Electoral College, caucus system: candidates were chosen by state, senate was elected by state legislature
What are the two versions of Federal?
Federal: National Government
Federal System/Federalism: Splits government’s power between 2 states and national
What are the 3 branches of government and their national and state equivalents?
Executive: President, Governor
Legislative: House + Senate, bicameral state legislature
Judicial: Supreme Court, State Court
What was the biggest concern at the Constitutional Convention?
Representation, proportional or equal?
What was the Virginia plan?
Proposed by Edmund Randolph from Virginia, had a proportional legislature. Bicameral with a lower house elected by the people, an upper house elected by the lower house,
What was the New Jersey
Proposed by William Patterson, had equal representation. Unicameral with representatives selected by state legislatures, executive branch would have no veto power
What was the Connecticut Compromise?
Proposed by Roger Sherman, had 2 bodies, the House with proportional representation and the Senate with equal representation. (Tax bills must start in the house because they are affected proportionally)
What was the 3/5th compromise?
States with many slaves wanted slaves to count toward their population totals to get more representation, but also did not want to have to pay more taxes. States without many slaves did not want other states getting more representation, so they agreed that slaves would be considered 3/5 of a white person.
What was the Slave Trade Compromise (Commerce Compromise)
South could raise money quickly with export, but did not like tariffs, so they agreed with the North to not import any more slaves if they did not have to deal with export tariffs.
Article 1 Section 1:
Legislative power is with Congress and creates House and Senate
Article 1 Section 2:
House, based off proportional representation which is updated every 10 years
Reps need to be 25 years or older, citizen for 7 years, and live in their state (Our local rep is Lori Trahan)
Max of 1 rep per 30,000 people
435 reps max
House chooses their Speaker
House has the sole power of impeachment
Reps serve for 2 years until relection
Article 1 Section 3:
Senate, based off equal representation with 2 senators per state
1/3 of the Senate is reflected every 2 years, 6 year terms
must be 30 years or older, 9 years as a citizen, lives in state
senate has the power to try impeachment
Article 1 Section 4:
Rules for Congress, state chooses how to elect reps and senators
congress assembles atleast once a year on the first Monday December
Article 1 Section 5:
Each body can choose how to control its members
Each body has to keep a record of proceedings
cant be adjourned for more than 3 days
Article 1 Section 6:
senators and reps get paid, and can ignore arrest in order to go to meetings temporarily
Article 1 Section 7:
All tax bills come from the House
bills with majority pass thru president (within 10 days) who can veto, but can be unvetoed with 2/3 majority
Article 1 Section 8:
Congress Powers
tax
loan
regulate foreign trade
uniform rule and law thingy
regulate value of money
punish people for screwing with economy
make post offices and post roads
promote progress in science and arts
make courts inferior to supreme
punish people in international waters
declare war
raise armies
make navy
control land and naval forces
call militia
control militia
exercise control over any small area
make laws to maintain government
Article 1 Section 9:
no corruption lol
no discrimination
no big tax
no corrupt trial
no direct tax
no state tariffs
no preference
no money from treasury for no good reason
no nobility
ignore this stuff ^
Legislative vs Executive Checks
Congress approves presidential appointments, controls president’s budget, can override veto
Can impeach president
President can veto legislation, can also propose legislation to congross
Executive vs Judicial Checks
Chief Justice presides over impeachment of president, can also stop executive action with injunction
Courts can declare president’s acts unconstitutional
President appoints judges (with congress approval)
Judicial vs Legislative Checks
Congress can change laws that courts need to uphold and change how courts works
Can create or abolish lower courts
Can change size of supreme court
Senate confirms president’s judicial appointments
Congress can impeach judges
Courts can declare congress’ laws unconstitutional
Note
Flashcard