CHAPTER 4: THE U.S. CONSTITUTION: ORIGINS, PRINCIPLES, AND DEVELOPMENT Flashcards
(39 cards)
What does the Declaration claim about human equality?
All men are created equal
What does the Declaration claim about natural rights?
Endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
What does the Declaration say about the legitimate ends (i.e., purpose) of government?
Secure Rights
According to the Declaration, what is the source of the government’s legitimate authority?
Instituted among men, delivering their just powers from the consent of the governed
According to the Declaration, what do the people have the right to do when confronted with a government that is destructive of the ends which governments should serve?
Right of the government to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government
Make sure to know and understand the first five design principles of the Articles of Confederation discussed in the textbook and how these contributed to the weakness of the central government. Make sure to also know and understand the sixth design principle of the Articles of Confederation discussed in the textbook. (See all below with additional guiding questions)
o Confederal Structure (i.e., the “great and radical vice in the construction of the … Confederation”)
o No Distinct Branches of Government (Simply a Unicameral legislature)
o Lack of Clear Supremacy of Treaties and Other National Laws
o Tight Control of Congressional Delegates by State Legislatures
o Supermajority Voting in Congress
o No Direct Control by the People over Congress
What does the term “requisition” mean? How did it function under the Articles of Confederation? Why did the central government’s reliance on requisitions for raising revenue contribution to the weakness of the government?
o Requisitions were orders to contribute to the central government issued by congress to the state’s government
o States routinely ignored them – treating them as requests instead of requirements
What was “the great and radical vice” in the design of the Articles of Confederation according to Alexander Hamilton? Why did this “vice” contribute so greatly to the weakness of the Articles of Confederation?
The problem was that the central government was unable to effectively exercise power over the state governments.
According to the textbook, what was the primary obstacle to amending the Articles of Confederation?
o The only lawful way to amend the Articles was by unanimous consent of the state legislatures.
And how did the Founders get around this obstacle in order to establish the U.S. Constitution in 1787-88? (hint: the idea of “popular sovereignty” was important here)
The Founders decided to submit the Constitution to special popularly elected ratifying conventions in each state. And to make things easier, instead of requiring all thirteen states to ratify, they only required that nine out of thirteen state conventions ratify
What was “the Great Compromise”?
Sought to solve disagreement between large and small states at the constitutional convention over how to apportion seats in congress
Why was the Constitutional Convention in a stalemate before it? What were the names of the two main plans that were being debated before the Great Compromise broke the stalemate?
Disagreement over the Virginia plan (Large State Plan) and the New Jersey Plan (Small State Plan). For the delegates, the question of how representation in Congress was apportioned was the most important issue.
What was the scheme of representation in each of those two main plans?
o Virginia Plan proposed having the number of representatives allocated to each state in congress be based on the size of each state’s population (Proportional Representation)
o New Jersey Plan proposed having the Articles of Confederation’s scheme of representation wherein each state had an equal number of votes – Equal state of representation
Why did anti-slavery delegates want slaves to NOT be counted at all for purposes of calculating each state’s number of representatives?
Anti-slavery delegates said it was unjust to make special accommodations for slaveowners’ “property.”
Why did slave-state delegates want each slave to be counted for the purposes of representation?
Gives more power to the slave states by increasing their representation
What’s the name of the compromise that was reached over how to count slaves?
The three-fifths compromise
What is the Electoral College? And how did it give slave states extra voice in the selection of the President?
System established by the U.S. constitution for selecting presidents. By this system, each state is allocated a number of individuals called electors equal to the number of members each state is allocated in the house of representatives and senate. The person who becomes the president is the person who wins the most votes from these electors.
What did the Original Constitution establish about the Atlantic Slave Trade?
Could not be abolished before 1808, twenty years after the year (1788) they expected the Constitution to be ratified.
What did the Fugitive Slave Clause do?
Granted slave owners a right to recapture runaway slaves who had fled to other states where slavery was illegal. And it took away the right of states to pass laws to protect or free runaway slaves.
Make sure to know and understand the six design principles of the original U.S. Constitution
These principles are popular sovereignty, limited government, separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review, and federalism.
What is federalism?
Principle of government that means authority is partly divided and partly shared between federal (national government) and state government
Did the federal system created by the U.S. Constitution give state governments more or less power and independence compared to what they had under the Articles of Confederation?
The federal system lessened the power of state governments and increased the power of the federal government
What is the name of the clause in the Constitution that grants federal laws superior authority over state laws?
Supremacy Clause
How does the Constitution’s Preamble reflect the principle of “popular sovereignty.”
o The constitution’s preamble begins and ends with the words “We the people…do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.”
o The U.S. constitution was enacted under the authority of the sovereign people, whereas the articles were enacted under the authority of the sovereign states.
