Unit 2 Test Review Flashcards
(23 cards)
How was the national government set up under the articles
There were three main ideas:
- There needed to be a central government
- The government needed to have limited power
- There should be a representative democracy
What are the 9 weaknesses of the AoC AND why were they problems AND what was their solution
- Congress under the Articles was unicameral (one house) making it so that each state had one vote, no matter its size
-Why is it a problem?: bigger states believed that they should have more say because they have more people, smaller states believed they should have an equal say because they had less people
-What did the Constitution create?: A two house congress (bicameral), a one house senate, and one house of representatives that included two representatives per state - Congress was powerless to collect taxes and create money
-Why is it a problem?: Government can’t do anything or give anything to its citizens and there was no exchange between the nations or each state
Solution: Congress could collected taxes and coin money - Congress could not regulate foreign or interstate trade
-Why is this a problem? The states with the resources took advantage of the states without (Ex: New York taxing the shipments that came in)
-Solution: Congress could regulate foreign and interstate trade - No executive branch to enforce acts of congress
- Why is this a problem? If the states didn’t agree with the law, they didn’t have to enforce it
-Solution: President heads the executive branch to enforce acts of congress - No national court system to handle disputes between states
-Why is this a problem? No national group to handle legally handle state disputes
-Solution: Created a national court system to handle disputes between states - Amendments (any change to constitution) made only with consent of ALL of the states
-Why is this a problem?: No one would agree AKA: nothing would change
-Solution: Amendments ratified (formally accepted/ made law) by 3/4 of the states - A 9/13 majority of BOTH houses needed to pass laws, (super majority)
-Why is this a problem?: Not enough people will vote and it’s harder to pass and get the majority rules
-Solution: A simple majority majority of BOTH houses needed to pass laws - Articles only a “firm league of friendship”
Why is it a problem?: What legally is a friend??? Who will enforce their friendship
-Solution: Constitution created a strong national government - The national government could not raise an army, only request that the states send soldiers
-Why is this a problem?: Pirates (No shipping protection) the states could fight
-Solution: Nationally raised armed forces with a craft if necessary
Why did the Articles originally fail?
They didn’t give the government the power it needed to resolve the squabbles and misunderstandings that had arisen between the states
What did the constitutional convention originally start out as
A REVIZING of the constitution not an entire REWRITING
How many branches were in the Virginia plan and what were they
Three; Legislative, executive, and judicial
How many houses would there be (and what were they) under the Virginia plan
Two: The House of Representatives and the Senate
How were the representatives chosen
Voters in each state would elect the members of the House of Reps. and then the legislatures would choose the members of the senate
How many branches were there in the New Jersey plan and how did this differ from the Virginia plan
Three branches- legislative, executive, judicial; it differed from the Virginia plan because there was a central government that would raise taxes, regulate trade and enforce national laws
How were How were states represented under the NJ plan
They all had an equal say, no matter how small or big they are
How many houses were there under the NJ plan
Congress consisted of one house that would be elected by state legislatures, NOT directly by the people
Who was the state Rep. elected by in the NJ plan
The state legislatures
What was the Connecticut compromise also known as
The Great compromise
How many houses were there under the CC
There were two houses, one being the House of Representatives and one being the Senate
How was the state represented under the CC
A states current population would determine the states representation
How many Reps. would each state have under the CC
Two
What is the Three-Fifths compromise
That three fifths of the slaves in any state would be counted in population figures
What did the federalists want
They wanted the constitution to be ratified (they thought that the AoC were weak and supported the constitution)
What did the Anti-Federalists want
They wanted the AoC to stay as they were and objected the constitution for its strong central government and its lack of a bill of rights
What did the federalists have to agree with in order to ratify the constitution
The Bill of Rights
What is limited government
A government that should not be all powerful
Why did congress need money after the Revolutionary War
Because they were a fresh, new country that NEEDED money in order to build itself up
What were the two agreements made between the northern and southern states at the constitutional convention
- Southerners were forbidden to tax the export goods of any state
- Congress could not abolish the slave trade for at least twenty years after the constitution went into effect
What was the final decision that was made that final got the constitution ratified
The U.S would be a representative democracy
