Unit 1 - Constitutional Foundations Flashcards

1
Q

Federalism

A

Refers to the division and sharing of power between the national and state governments.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Popular Sovereignty

A

A doctrine in political theory that the government is based on the consent of the people. The government’s source of authority is the people.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

The 13 Colonies

A

A group of settlements that became the original states of the United States of America.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Salutary Neglect

A

The British policy of letting the colonies ignore most of the British Laws

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Representative

A

A person chosen or appointed to act or speak for another or others.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

House of Burgesses

A

The first democratically-elected legislative body in the British American colonies. Made in Virginia.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Mercantilism

A

A form of economic nationalism that sought to increase the prosperity and power of a nation through restrictive trade practices.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Nationalism

A

The identification with one’s own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or of the interests of other nations.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Legislative Branch

A

Made up of Congress (the Senate and House of Representatives) and special agencies and offices that provide support services to Congress. Approves federal judges, can impeach the president, and can override the president’s veto.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Executive Branch

A

Made of the president, vice president, and the Cabinet. Has the power to veto bills, appoint judges, and pardon people.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Judicial Branch

A

Made up of all the courts. Can declare presidential acts unconstitutional. Can declare laws unconstitutional.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

The Constitution

A

A set of fundamental rules that determined how America would be run.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Bill of Rights

A

The first ten amendments.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Checks and Balances

A

The powers the branches have to check the others branches to ensure that one branch is not overpowering the others.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Unwritten Constitution

A

The processes of our government that are considered an essential part of the system but are not actually in the Constitution.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Amendment

A

An addition or alteration made to the constitution. George Washington knew that America would change and so he allowed these amendments to be made.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Precedent

A

An earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be followed in the future.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Nullification

A

The constitutional theory that individual states can invalidate federal laws or judicial decisions they deem unconstitutional

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

The American Revolution

A

The war that the 13 colonies fought to gain their independence from Britain.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Loyalists

A

Colonists in favor of British control.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Patriots

A

Colonists not in favor of British control.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Judicial Review

A

Review by the US Supreme Court of how constitutional an act or law is.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Sectionalism

A

An exaggerated devotion to the interests of a region over those of a country as a whole.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Abolition

A

Ended slavery.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

The Confederacy

A

A collection of 11 states that seceded from the United States in 1860 following the election of President Abraham Lincoln. Had Jefferson Finis Davis as the president. Supported slavery.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Secession

A

The act of a state leaving the nation to become independent.

27
Q

The Emancipation Proclamation

A

Where President Abraham Lincoln declared that all enslaved people would be set free after the Civil War.

28
Q

French and Iroquois War

A

The Iroquois wanted to expand their territory. One of the bloodiest wars in North American. War over the beaver population. When the war ended, the Iroquois went to a state of neutrality with Britain and France.

29
Q

Iroquois Confederacy

A

Most powerful government of the Eastern Woodlands Native Americans. Made up of several nations. Defended its land from Europe for more than two-hundred years.

30
Q

Indentured Servitude

A

A form of labor where an individual is under contract to work without a salary to repay an indenture or loan. These individuals were called indentured servants.

31
Q

Enlightment

A

A European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition.

32
Q

Mayflower Compact

A

An agreement between the Pilgrims and other passengers on The Mayflower who formed their own government.

33
Q

French and Indian War (Seven Years War)

A

A conflict between France and Great Britain that began in 1754 as a dispute over North American land claims in the region around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Each sides were supported by the Natives.

34
Q

Quartering Act

A

British troops were required to live in the colonists’ houses.

35
Q

Townshend Act

A

Taxed imports such as glass, lead, tea, paper, and paint for revenue.

36
Q

Coervice Acts (Intolerable Act)

A

A series of four laws passed by the British Parliament to punish the colony of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party. Closing the Boston harbor, stopped town meetings, etc.

37
Q

Hessian Mercenaries

A

The German soldiers hired by the British to help fight against America.

38
Q

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

A

A 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies.

39
Q

Articles of Confederation

A

Created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments. Had many weaknesses such as having no national currency, congress having no power to tax, enforce laws, and trade.

40
Q

Virginia Plan

A

Bicameral government with representation based on population.

41
Q

New Jersey Plan

A

Unicameral government with every state having the same representation.

42
Q

Great Compromise

A

The senate would have equal representation whilst the house of representatives would be based on population.

43
Q

Concurrent Powers

A

Powers that are shared with the federal and state government.

44
Q

Reserved Powers

A

Powers given to the state governments.

45
Q

Delegated Powers

A

Powers given to only the federal government.

46
Q

Whiskey Rebellion

A

The rebellion based on the excise tax, the tax on whiskey. Farmers refused to pay this tax and Washington came with an army.

47
Q

Loose Constructionist vs. Strict Constructionist

A

Loose constructionists believed in a loose interpretation of the constitution. Strict Constructionists believed in a strict interpretation and literal interpretation of the constitution.

48
Q

Ordinance of 1787

A

Outlined the process for admitting a new state to the Union, and guaranteed that newly created states would be equal to the original thirteen states.

49
Q

War of 1812

A

A war fought by America and Great Britain because of the impressment of American sailors by the British Navy, as well as disagreements over trade, western expansion, and Native American policy.

50
Q

Conquistadores

A

A person who is out to conquer new territory

51
Q

Transatlantic Slave Trade

A

The transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. America would trade resources to African kings for people to enslave.

52
Q

Writ of habeas corpus

A

Orders the custodian of an individual in custody to produce the individual before the court to make an inquiry concerning his or her detention, to appear for prosecution.

53
Q

Sugar Act

A

Cut the duty on foreign molasses from 6 to 3 pence per gallon, retained a high duty on foreign refined sugar, and prohibited the importation of all foreign rum. Colonists started smuggling in goods.

54
Q

Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause)

A

Granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the enumerated list of powers.

55
Q

Indian Removal Act

A

An exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for their removal west of the river Mississippi.

56
Q

Trail of Tears

A

Ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the “Five Civilized Tribes” by the United States government. More than 5000 miles.

57
Q

Gettysburg Address

A

President Abraham Lincoln delivered a short speech at the close of ceremonies dedicating the battlefield cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Honoring a request to offer a few remarks, Lincoln memorialized the Union dead and highlighted the redemptive power of their sacrifice.

58
Q

Proclamation of 1763

A

The proclamation line of 1763 was a British-produced boundary marked in the Appalachian Mountains at the Eastern Continental Divide.

59
Q

Compromise of 1850

A

California would be admitted as a free state. Leaving the option of legalizing slavery to the territories of New Mexico and Utah. Allowing the new territory gained after the Mexican-American War either to prohibit slavery or to permit slavery in the territory.

60
Q

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787

A

Outlined the process for admitting a new state to the Union, and guaranteed that newly created states would be equal to the original thirteen states.

61
Q

Lobbying

A

Communicating directly or soliciting others to communicate with any official or his staff in the legislative or executive branch of government or in a quasi-public agency, for the purpose of influencing any legislative or administrative action.

62
Q

The Free Soil Party

A

The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into the western territories of the United States.

63
Q

The Compromise of 1877

A

The Compromise of 1877 was an informal, unwritten deal that settled the disputed 1876 U.S. Presidential election; through it Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded the White House on the understanding that he would remove the federal troops from South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana.