Semester Exam
Review
Answers
Seven Principles of
Government
Federalism
• A federal system divides power between a central government
and smaller, local governments
• It allows individual states to deal with local problems at the
local level– so long as their actions are constitutional.
Checks and Balances
• Each branch of government has the built in authority and
responsibility to restrain the power of the other two branches.
This system makes government less efficient, but also
prevents tyranny by one branch (p58)
Separation of Powers
• The constitution assigns specific powers to each of the three
branches:
• Legislative (Congress)
• Executive (President)
• Judicial (Supreme Court)
Colonization
Region
Colony
Why
Founded?
New England
Rhode Island
Religious Freedom
By Who?
Roger Williams
Anne Hutchison
Climate
Long, cold winters
Rocky soil, not good
for farming
Many forests and
rivers
Located on the
North Atlantic Coast
Middle
Pennsylvania
Religious Freedom
Quakers
William Penn
Very flat, fertile
land
Mild winters
Southern
Georgia
Founded as a refuge
for debtors and
convicts
James Oglethorpe
Mild climate
Fertile (rich) Soil
Very ling growing
season
Warm and sunny
Maryland
Religious freedom
Virginia
Economic $$$
Lord Baltimore &
the Catholics
Economy
Trade
- Fishing
- Whaling
- Timber
- Fur
Shipping
Subsistence farming
”Breadbasket
Colonies”
Produced wheat,
grain, iron, and
dairy
Plantation
agriculture
- Cotton
- Rice
- Tobacco
- Indigo
- Sugar cane
Jamestown
• Founded in 1607
• 1st successful attempt at colonization
• Suffered many hardships in the beginning
• Ex. Focused on gold instead of growing food, illness, etc.
Natural boundaries of the
13 colonies
(West)
Appalachian
Mountains
(East)
Atlantic Ocean
Mayflower Compact
• 1620
• Set forth ideas of self – government (self- rule) in the colonies
• Written aboard the Mayflower by men before pilgrims landed
at Plymouth
• Seen as a way to bind themselves to agreed upon laws.
Puritans
• Emigrated to escape religious persecution
• Established Massachusetts Bay Colony, New Hampshire,
Connecticut
Triangular (Transatlantic) Trade
The Middle Passage was the 2nd leg of the trip (from Africa
to the West Indies). Slaves were subjected to horrible to
horrible conditions & many died.
Mercantilism
• Britain's policy to control colonial trade & make money for
Britain.
• “Our corn will fetch its price in any market in Europe, and our
imported good must be paid for…”
-Thomas Pain, Common Sense, 1776
Raw Materials
Colonies
Manufactured Goods
Mother
Country
(Britain)
Bering Strait Land Bridge
• Native American Indians migrated to the Americas from Asia
by crossing this bridge.
Fundamental Orders of
Connecticut
• Extended voting rights to non-church members
• Limited the power of the governor
• Expanded the idea of representative government
Road
to the
Revolution
Declaration of Independence
• Written in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson
• Listed colonial grievances against King George III
Writ of Assistance
• Search warrant used to search ships for smuggled goods
The
American
Revolution
Battle of Yorktown
• U.S. victory
• Cornwallis became trapped in and surrendered
• Ended the American Revolution
Battle of Saratoga
• Turning point in the war
• Benjamin Franklin helps negotiate the Treaty of Alliance with
France and Spain
Confederation
to
Constitution
Anti- Federalists
• Against ratification
• Wanted stronger states & more rights for people
• Insisted the Bill of Rights be added to the constitution (said it
didn’t do enough to protect peoples rights)
Virginia Plan
• Big states wanted to be based on population
• 3 Branches of Government
• Legislative Branch would have 2 houses
• Houses were based on population
Great Compromise
• Combined the New Jersey Plan (small state) and Virginia (big
state) plans
• 3 branches of government
• (Bicameral) 2 house legislative branch
• Senate based on equality: 2 Senators per state
• House of Representatives based on population
Articles of Confederation
• Held the government together after the American Revolution
• Weaknesses
•
•
•
•
•
No chief executive or national court
No power to settle disputes between states or make treaties
No power to tax, regulate trade, or settle land disputes
No international credibility
National gov’t and each state allowed to print and coin money
• Federal gov’t had very little power!
Constitutional Convention
1787
• Constitution was written
• Caused by Shay’s Rebellion
• When our Founding Fathers got together to discuss problems
with the government established after we won the American
Revolution
• Instead of revising the Articles of Confederation, they ended
up writing a totally new system of government, WHICH WE
STILL USE TODAY!
Constitution
• Written in 1787
Amending the Constitution:
• 2/3 vote (in both houses) needed to propose an amendment
• 3/4 vote (state legislatures) needed to ratify an amendment
Shay’s Rebellion
• A group of farmers rebelled against the government because
of high debt and high state taxes.
• America’s leaders realized that an armed uprising of common
farmers spelled DANGER for the nation.
• This forced those in charge to look at our system of
government.
• (Under the Articles of Confederation, the national government
had little power.)
3/5ths Compromise
• Solution for counting slaves in the population for taxes and
representation.
• Slaves will count as 3/5ths of a person
Launching a
New Republic
George Washington
• Wanted the US to follow a foreign policy based on the principle of
non-involvement in European affairs (avoid entangling foreign
alliances).
• Trade was fine, but he wanted US to not get involved with anything
happening across the ocean or we might get pulled into their
problems
• Warned against creating political parties
• It would split the people into factions(groups) against each other
instead of everyone working for the good of the United States.
• Warned against taxing the American people too heavily.
• He felt the people would not soon forget what Britain had done to
the colonies with taxes and that we should be careful not to repeat
the same mistakes.
• Washington set many precedents as President!
• Ex. Creating a cabinet, serving two 4 year terms, etc.
Alexander Hamilton
•
•
•
•
Federalist – wrote many Federalist Papers
Believed the US should be Urban
Wanted strong Federal Government
1st Secretary of State
Creation of Political Parties
Thomas Jefferson
Democratic - Republicans
Alexander Hamilton
Federalists
• Weak national government
• Strong state governments
• Strict construction
(interpretation) of the
Constitution
• Against the national bank
• Economy based on farming
• Supporters: farmers,
tradespeople
• Strong national
government
• Weak state governments
• Loose construction
(interpretation) of the
Constitution
• For the national bank
• Economy based on
manufacturing and
shipping
• Supporters: lawyers,
merchants, manufacturers,
clergy
Landmark
Court Cases
Marbury v. Madison (judicial
review)
• Allowed the Supreme Court to decide if a law passed by
Congress is Unconstitutional
• Unconstitutional: If a law is made that says something that goes
against something the constitution says, it is considered
“unconstitutional”
• The Constitution is the SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND so it must
come before ANY OTHER LAWS
• This power is called the principle of Judicial Review (the judges
can review!)
John Marshall
• 4th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
• (almost single-handedly) gave new power to the Constitution
• Established 3 Principles
• Principle of judicial review
• Supreme Court had the power to set aside laws of state
legislatures
• Supreme Court had the power to reverse decisions of state courts
• Constitution should be treated as a “living” document
Louisiana
Purchase
&
War of 1812
Louisiana Purchase
•
•
•
•
Purchased in 1803 by Thomas Jefferson
Doubled the size of the U.S.
800,000 sq. mi. for three cents per acre
We were guaranteed the Mississippi waterway to the Gulf of
Mexico which included New Orleans
• Paved the way for the westward expansion of the United
States
Causes and effects of the War of
1812
• Causes
• British sailors
kidnapped our sailors
and ships and MADE
them enter the British
Navy (Impressment)
• British interfere with
American shipping and
trade
• War blocked British
goods from being
imported
• Effects
• Renewed patriotism
and love for the USA!
• Weakened Native
American resistance
• Increased American
manufacturing
because we started
refusing to buy British
goods.