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| Landmark English documents that influenced the framers |
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Definition
*Magna Carta
*Petition of Right
*English Bill of Rights |
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| President of 2nd Continental Congress |
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| Wrote most of the Declaration of Independence |
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| Known as the "Father of the Constitution" |
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| Commander of the Continental Army and first president of the U.S. |
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Term
| What did the Declaration of Independence declare? |
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Definition
| declared the colonies' independence from Britain. |
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| What did the Declaration of Independence announce |
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Definition
| The birth and creation of the United States of America |
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Term
| Taxation without Representation |
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Definition
| Colonists believed they should not have to pay taxes because they had no one to represent (speak for them) in Britain's Parliament - the law-making body of British Government. |
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| First plan of governemnt for the U.S. |
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Definition
| Articles of Confederation |
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| Major weakness of Articles of Confederation |
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Definition
| Congress had no power to make states obey the Articles or national laws. |
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| Where was the Constitutional Convention held? |
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Definition
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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Definition
| created Congress as a bicameral (two house) legislature. State representation in the House of Representatives is based on the population of a state. In the Senate, representation is equal as each state gets two senators. |
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| allowed the states to count three of every five slaves in their state populations. |
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| Why is the 3/5 compromise no longer needed? |
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Definition
| the 13th amendment made slavery illegal in the U.S., so the compromise is no longer in effect. |
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| supported ratification of the Constitution. |
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were against the Constitution because:
1. they thought it gave too much power to the national (federal) government
2. it did not contain a listing of individual rights and freedoms - a Bill of Rights |
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Definition
| the people are the power to U.S. government |
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| Government can do only what the people allow it to do, and must obey the Constitution |
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| Powers of government are divided among the three branches: legislative, executive and judicial |
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| Each branch has powers to stop (check) actions of the other branches. |
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| Powers of federal courts to look over laws and other government actions and determine if they're fair and legal according to the Constitution |
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Definition
| Government power is divided between the federal (national) government and the state governments. |
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| change or addition to the Constitution |
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| 1st method of amending the Constitution |
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Definition
| A proposed amendment is passed by both houses of Congress, and then must be approved by 3/4's (38 of 50) of the state legislatures. |
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Term
| Other ways to amend Constitution - Political Parties |
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Definition
| Are not mentioned in the Cosntitution, but exist and exert great influence. For example, Congress is organized around political parties, and presidential nominees are determined through a nomination process centered around political parties |
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| Other ways to amend Constitution - Executive Action |
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| actions taken by the president within the powers of the office |
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| Other ways to amend Constitution - Congress |
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Definition
| Has passed many laws to define what the Constitution says |
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| Other ways to amend the Constitution - Courts |
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Definition
| Through judicial review, courts interpret a law to determine if it agrees with the Constitution. if not, a law is cancelled or must be changed. |
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Term
| Other ways to amend the Constitution - Custom |
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Definition
| Many things have been done simply becuase they make sense, or because it is the way it has always been done. For example, several presidents have died in office, and the V. P. has always taken over. However, the Constitution did not make this action a law until 1967. |
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