AP GOV Chapter 2 Key Terms- Selena Gomez

Question 1

Crispus Attucks

Answer 1

An American man of African and Native American descent who was the first American killed in both the Boston Massacre and the American Revolution

Question 2

Critical Period

Answer 2

A period when a major, lasting shift occurs in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties

Question 3

Declaration of Independence

Answer 3

An important U.S. document that declared America’s separation from Great Britain

Question 4

Electoral College

Answer 4

The system established by the Constitution through which the president is chosen by electors from each state, which has as many electoral votes as it has members of Congress

Question 5

Enumerated Powers

Answer 5

The powers of the national government specifically granted to Congress in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution

Question 6

Federalism

Answer 6

A form of government in which power is divided between the federal government and the states

Question 7

Federalists

Answer 7

Those who favored a strong national government and supported the proposed U.S. Constitution; later became the first U.S. political party

Question 8

The Federalist Papers

Answer 8

A series of eighty-five political essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of ratification of the U.S. Constitution

Question 9

First Continental Congress

Answer 9

Meeting held in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, in which fifty-six delegates (from every colony except Georgia) adopted a resolution to the Coercive Act

Question 10

French and Indian

Answer 10

The American phase of what was called the Seven Years War, fought from 1754 to 1763 between Britain and France with Indian allies

Question 11

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Answer 11

Section of Article IV of the Constitution that ensures judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state

Question 12

George Washington

Answer 12

Widely considered the “Father of the Nation,” he was the commander of the revolutionary armies; served as the presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention; and as the United States’ the first president from 1789 to 1797

Question 13

Great Compromise

Answer 13

The first decision of the Constitutional Convention to create a two-house-legislature, with the lower house elected by the people and powers divided between the two houses; also made national law supreme

Question 14

Implied Powers

Answer 14

The powers of the national government derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary proper clause

Question 15

Inherent Powers

Answer 15

Powers that belong to the president because they can be inferred from the Constitution

Question 16

James Madison

Answer 16

A key Framer often called the “Father of the Constitution” for his role in conceptualizing the federal government. Co-authored The Federalist Papers; served as secretary of state; served as the fourth U.S. president from 1809 to 1817

Question 17

John Jay

Answer 17

A member of the Founding generation who was the first Chief Justice of the United States. A diplomat and co-author of the Federalist Papers

Question 18

Lexington and Concord

Answer 18

The first sites of armed conflict between revolutionaries and British soldiers, remembered for the “shot heard round the world” in 1775

Question 19

Mercantilism

Answer 19

An economic theory designed to inverse a nation’s wealth through the development of commercial industry and a favorable balance of trade

Question 20

Montesquieu

Answer 20

The French baron and political theorist who first articulated the concept of separation of powers with checks and balances

Question 21

Necessary and Proper Clause

Answer 21

The final paragraph of Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution, which gives Congress the authority to pass all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the enumerated powers specified in the Constitution; also called the elastic clause

Question 22

New Jersey Plan

Answer 22

A framework for the Constitution proposed by a group of small states; it called for a one-house legislature with one vote for each state, a Congress with the ability to raise revenue, and a Supreme Court appointed for life

Question 23

New World

Answer 23

The newer parts of the planet that the Europeans discovered. This consisted of North and South America.

Question 24

Political Culture

Answer 24

Commonly shared attitudes, behaviors, and core values about how government should operate

Question 25

Samuel Adams

Answer 25

Cousin of President John Adams and an early leader against the British and loyalist oppressors; he played a key role in developing the Committees of Correspondence and was active in Massachusetts and colonial politics

Question 26

Second Continental Congress

Answer 26

Meeting that convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, at which it was decided that an army should be raised and George Washington of Virginia was named commander in chief

Question 27

Separation of Powers

Answer 27

A way of dividing the power of government among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each staffed separately, with equality and independence of each branch ensured by the Constitution

Question 28

Shay’s Rebellion

Answer 28

A rebellion in which an army of 1,500 disgruntled and angry farmers led by Daniel Shays marched to Springfield, Massachusetts, and forcible restrained the state court from foreclosing mortgages on their farms

Question 29

Social Contract

Answer 29

The belief that governments exist based on the consent of the governed

Question 30

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

Answer 30

Loosely organized groups of patriotic American colonists who were really revolutionaries

Question 31

Stamp Act Congress

Answer 31

A gathering of nine colonies representatives in 1765 in New York City where a detailed list of Crown violations was drafted; first official meeting of the colonies and the first official step toward creating a unified nation

Question 32

Supremacy Clause

Answer 32

Portion of Article VI of the Constitution mandating that national law is supreme over (that is, supersedes) all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government

Question 33

Thomas Jefferson

Answer 33

Principle drafter of the Declaration of Independence; of second vice president of the United States; third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. Co-founder of the Democratic-Republican Party created to oppose Federalism

Question 34

Thomas Paine

Answer 34

The influential writer of Common Sense, a pamphlet that advocated for independence from Great Britain

Question 35

Three-Fifths Compromise

Answer 35

Agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention stipulating that three-fifths of the total slave population of each was to be for purposes of determined population for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives

Question 36

Virginia Plan

Answer 36

A proposed framework for the Constitution favoring large states. It called a bicameral legislature, which would appoint executive and judicial offers

Question 37

Benjamin Franklin

Answer 37

A brilliant inventor and senior statesman at the Constitutional Convention who urged colonial unity as early as 1754, twenty-two years before the Declaration of Independence

Question 38

Common Sense

Answer 38

A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that challenged the authority of the British government to govern the colonies

Question 39

Articles of Confederation

Answer 39

The compact between the thirteen original colonies that created a loose league of friendship, with the national government drawing its powers from the states

Question 40

Constitutional Convention

Answer 40

The meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that was first intended to revise the Articles of Confederation but produced an entirely new document, the U.S. Constitution

Question 41

Constitution

Answer 41

A document establishing the structure, functions, and limitations of a government

Question 42

Alexander Hamilton

Answer 42

A key Framer who envisioned a powerful central government, co-authored The Federalist Papers, and served as the first Secretary of the Treasury

Question 43

Checks and Balance

Answer 43

A constitutionally mandated structure that gives each of the three branches of government some degree of oversight and control over the actions of others

Question 44

Article I

Answer 44

Vests all legislative powers in the Congress and establishes a bicameral legislature, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives; it also sets out the qualifications for holding office in each house, the terms of office, the methods of selection of representatives and senators and the system of apportionment among the states to determine membership in the House of Representatives

Question 45

Enumerated Powers

Answer 45

The powers of the national government specifically granted to Congress in Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution

Question 46

Article II

Answer 46

Vests the executive power, that is, the authority to execute the laws of the nation, in a president of the United States; section 1 sets the president’s term of office at four years and explains the Electoral College and states the qualifications for office and describes a mechanism to replace the president in case of death, disability, or removal from office

Question 47

Article III

Answer 47

Establishes a Supreme Court defines it jurisdiction

Question 48

Article IV

Answer 48

Mandates that states honor the laws and judicial proceedings of other states. Article IV also includes the mechanisms for admitting new states to the union

Question 49

Article V

Answer 49

Specifies how amendments can be added to the Constitution

Question 50

Article VI

Answer 50

Contains the supremacy clause, which asserts the basic primacy of the Constitution and national law over state laws and constitutions

Question 51

Anti-Federalists

Answer 51

Those who favored strong state governments and a weak national government; opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution

Question 52

Bill of Rights

Answer 52

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which largely guarantee specific rights and liberties