Chapter 2 The Constitution Flashcards
An economic theory designed to increase a notion’s wealth through the development of commercial industry and a favorable balance of trade
mercantilism
Meeting of representatives of nine of the thirteen colonies held in New York City in 1765, during which representatives drafted a document to send to the king listing how their rights had been violated
Stamp Act Congress
Organizations in each of the American colonies created to keep colonists abreast of developments with the British; served as powerful molders of public opinion against the British
Committees of Correspondence
Meeting held in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, in which fifty-six delegates (from every colony except Georgia) adopted a resolution in opposition to the Coercive Acts.
First Continental Congress
Meeting the 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.
Second Continental Congress
Document drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 that proclaimed the right of the American colonies to separate from Great Britain
Declaration of Independence
The compact among the thirteen original colonies that created a loose league of friendship, with the national government drawing its powers from the states
Articles of Confederation
Type of government where the national government derives its powers from the states; a league of independent states
confederacy
A 1786 rebellion in which an army of 1,500 disgruntled and angry farmers led by Daniel Shays marched to Springfield, Massachusetts, and forcibly restrained the state court from foreclosing mortgages on their farms
Shay’s rebellion
A document establishing the structure, functions, and limitations of a government
constitution
The general plan for the Constitution offered in Philadelphia. Its key points were a bicameral legislature, and an executive and a judiciary chosen by the national legislature
Virginia Plan
A framework for the Constitution proposed by a group of small states. Its key points were a one-house legislature with one vote for each state, a Congress with the ability to raise revenue, and a Supreme Court with members appointed for life.
New Jersey Plan
The final decision of the Constitutional Convention to create a two-house legislature with the lower house elected by the people and with powers divided between the two houses. It also made national law supreme.
Great Compromise
Agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention stipulating that each slave was to be counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of determining population for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Three-Fifths Compromise
A way of dividing the power of the government among the legislature, executive, and judicial branches, each staffed separately, with equality and interdependence of each branch ensured by the Constitution
separation of powers
A constitutionally mandated structure that gives each of the three branches of government some degree of oversight and control over the others
checks and balances
system of government where the national government and state governments share power, derive all authority from the people, and the powers of the government are specified in a constitution
federal system
Seventeen specific powers granted to Congress under Article I, section 8, of the Constitution
enumerated powers
The final paragraph of Article I, 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
necessary and proper clause
Powers derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause,. These powers are not stated specifically but are considered to be reasonably implied through the exercise of delegated powers
implied powers
Section of Article IV of the Constitution that ensures judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and forcible in any other state
full faith and credit clause
Portion of Article IV or the U.S. Constitution mandating that national law is supreme to (that is, supersedes) all other laws passed by the states or any subdivision of government
supremacy clause
Those who favored a stronger national government and supported the proposed U.S. Constitution; later became the first U.S. political party
Federalists
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
The Federalist Papers
