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| Declaration of Independence |
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| written by Thomas Jefferson and the Second Continental Congress, explained to the world that the colonists wanted to be free from England because England had violated their rights |
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| Constitutional Convention |
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| representatives from twelve states met in 1787 and agreed to abandon the Articles of Confederation and create a constitution for a strong, central government |
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| agreement among the Pilgrims that they would make their decisions through voting and self-government |
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| early government in Virginia where elected representatives governed the colony |
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| trade between the colonies and England benefited England because it was the "Mother Country". The British sold expensive manufactured goods to the colonists and the colonists sold cheap, raw materials like cotton and tobacco to England. |
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| war over land between Britain and France; Native Americans took sides with the French. England won and gained control of Canada, but had a lot of debt from the war. |
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| Britain taxed colonists on paper goods such as newspapers, books and documents. |
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| To protest British taxes on tea, a group of protesters threw tea off a British ship in the Boston harbor. |
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| Conflict between British soldiers and American colonists; resulted in the death of five colonists |
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| Wrote the Declaration of Independence, later became President of the United States |
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| Second Continental Congress |
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| Group of people who met together and approved the Declaration of Independence. |
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| An army general who led the colonists in the Revolutionary War against England. When the United States was formed, became the first president. |
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| Articles of Confederation |
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| America's first national government; states were loosely associated with each other and the national government was weak. Later replaced with the Constitution. |
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| the plan of government for land in the Northwestern U.S.; described the steps new territories would have to take to become states. |
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| debtors and farmers in Massachusetts demanded money to pay off debts. It was shut down by the state government, but if it had spread, the Confederation would have been too weak to stop it. Made the colonies realize the Articles of Confederation were too weak and they needed a stronger national government. |
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| Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia |
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| Large and small states disagreed on how they should be represented in government; agreed on bicameral legislation. House of Representatives would be represented by size of population, Senate would have equal representation of two Senators per state. |
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| Southern states wanted slaves counted as population so that their population would e bigger and the Northern states disagreed. Decided that three-fifths of the slave population in a state would count as population. |
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| argued in favor of the Constitution; thought that a strong government was needed to protect against rebellion and foreign attacks. |
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| Principle of the Constitution that says that power is held by the people who choose their representatives by voting. |
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| system for sharing power between national and state governments |
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| powers held by both state and federal governments, such as the power to tax |
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| powers held only by state governments, such as giving licenses |
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| power in the U.S. government is divided between three branches (legislative, executive, and judicial) to prevent any one part of government from getting too powerful |
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| federal government only has powers given to it by government |
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| Implied Powers and the Elastic Clause |
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| expands the power of the federal government by giving Congress whatever additional powers needed to carry out powers given in the Constitution |
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| First ten amendments of the Constitution; limits the powers of state and federal governments. |
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| To keep national government from becoming too powerful or oppressive, each branch of government has ways to stop or "check" the other branches |
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| The Constitution can be changed by creating Amendments. After Congress approves an Amendment, 3/4 of the states must ratify it. |
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| practices that came into effect after the Constitution was written |
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| The Legislative branch, comprised of the Senate and House of Representatives. Makes the nation's laws. |
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| Part of Congress. Has 100 members - 2 from each state. |
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| Part of Congress. Has 435 members - number per state depends on state population. |
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| The branch of government that the President is part of. Carries out the laws. |
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| Limits the president to two terms (4 years each, 8 years total) in office |
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| System that decides who president is. Electors (A state's total Senators and Representatives in the House) vote for the President (usually) based on who the people in their state want for office. |
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| The Judicial Branch. Has 9 members, nominated by Presidents and confirmed by Senate. They decide on cases which involve federal law or disagreement between states. |
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| power of the Supreme Court to decide if a law is Constitutional. |
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| Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who introduced judicial review and the power of the national government to make decisions for states. |
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| established the principle of judicial review and the Supreme Court's power and authority as the final interpreter of the Constitution. |
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| Maryland passed a law required the Bank of the U.S. to pay state tax. The Supreme Court ruled that states cannot tax agencies of the national government, such as the bank. When a state law conflicts with a federal law, the federal law wins. Decision was considered part of the "elastic clause" because the Constitution doesn't say this. |
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| Guarantees freedom of opinions, such as freedom of religion, speech, press, right to gather peacefully and write the government when you are upset |
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| gives the right to bear arms (have weapons) |
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| says that Americans never have to let soldiers live in their homes |
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| says that you cannot be "unreasonably" searched or have things taken from you by the government |
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| says people cannot have their life, freedom or property taken from them without due process. people have the right to know what crime they are charged with, to not be tried for the same crime twice, and to not have to give evidence against themselves. |
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| says that people have the right to a speedy trial by a jury, to be able to confront people accusing them of a crime, and to be represented by a lawyer. |
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| says people have a right to trial by jury |
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| Prevents bail from being set too high and prevents "cruel or unusual" punishment |
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| Says that just because some rights are listed doesn't mean that people don't have other rights that are not listed |
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| States and people have rights in addition to national rights |
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| Says slavery is not allowed. |
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| Gave former slaves citizenship, says all citizens should have equal protection under the law |
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| Guaranteed freed slaves the right to vote |
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| Says Senators must be directly elected by voters. |
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| Gave women the right to vote |
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| Outlawed poll taxes (paying to vote) in national elections |
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| Gave people the right to vote at age 18 |
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| thought the Constitution created a government that was too powerful and would violate people's rights |
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