Unit 2 US Test Review

1. French military & financial assistance (esp. after Battle of Saratoga) contributed most to US victory in the Revolution.

2. Declaration of Independence stated that people have right to abolish govs. destructive of their rights, NOT that:

· Men are created unequal

· Gov. derives power from God

· No taxation w/o representation

3. British strategy after 1778 was to seize key southern posts, enlist aid of loyalist militiamen (Tories), & move northward to pacify one region after another, NOT :

· subdue New England by severing it from other colonies, invading it from Quebec, & blockading it from the sea

· capitalize on their relations with Native Americans in order to stabilize backcountry & then press eastward toward the seacoast

· hang on until Americans were worn down, out of supplies, & bankrupt

4. Relations between elites & common people changed as result of the American Revolution because elites learned that they would have to treat common people with respect in order to receive their support, NOT because:

· Distribution of wealth changed dramatically during the Revolutionary era

· new state constitutions radically democratized politics & reduced the power of elites

· departure of loyalists removed most of the pre-Revolutionary elite from US

5. During the Revolution, Americans generally avoided arming blacks, but British eagerly recruited runaway slaves

6. S. Carolina was less likely than Maryland to support American Revolution because S. Carolina population had a much higher percentage of blacks than Maryland population.

7. A problem with Spanish entry into the American Revolution against Britain was that Spain entered as ally of France rather than of the United States

8. British advantages in the Revolution:

· greatest navy and best-equipped army in the world

· superior industrial resources

· coherent structure of command (compared to Minute Menà often deserted)

· But did NOT have a greater commitment to the conflict (unlike colonies, which had independence at stake)

9. General Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown resulted largely from the French fleet winning control of Chesapeake Bay.

10. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 stipulated:

· British recognition of American independence

· establishment of boundaries of the new United States from Atlantic Ocean to Mississippi River between Great Lakes & Spanish Florida

· Americans  allow  British collection of prewar debts from colonists

11. One of the purposes for writing the Declaration of Independence was to convince potential foreign allies of American determination to gain independence (esp. France, a potential ally)

12. American Tories believed that separation from Britain was an illegal act that would ignite an unnecessary war,  NOT that:

· Parliament had right to tax colonies (no taxation without representation, as in England)

· only independence could preserve the colonists' constitutional rights

· king, not Parliament, was responsible for colonial problems

13. Spinning bees and dressing down in homespun contributed to the solidarity of resistance by displaying fewer differences in appearance between rich and poor, (uniting classes) NOT :

· ways in which poor women were forced to support the Army

· tactics used by loyalists to demonstrate that independence would lower American standard of living

· to help raise money and provide clothing for the Continental Army

14. George Washington's primary goal as commander-in-chief of the continental Army was to avoid decisive military losses (had experience from French-Indian, was a Virginian planter, aka. elite), NOT to prevent British reinforcements from coming ashore.

15. At the Peace of Paris (1783), it was  NOT  promised that Congress would restore all property confiscated from Loyalists during the war

16. The new state constitutions adopted during the American Revolution generally protected the people's civil liberties with a bill of rights, and did NOT :

· eliminate all property qualifications for voting (usually only elite or white land-owners)

· generally did not contain a bill of rights (had one to protect rights of state peoples)

· abolished the office of governor (just had new, younger governors & removed older ones from office)

· provided for unicameral legislatures (created by Articles of Confederation, for the national government only) 17. During the Revolution, women took on new responsibilities. After the war, things just went back to normal, and few concrete reforms were made for women. 1. In order to become a law, a bill in Congress must pass both houses of Congress in identical form (majority per house has to say Yes)

2. The following amendments to the Constitution were part of the Bill of Rights:

· freedom of speech, press, and religion

· trial by jury

· protection against illegal search

· the right to bear arms

· NOT the direct election of senators

3. According to the Constitution, the president is chosen by the  Electoral College .

4. Under the Constitution, the status of the western Indian tribes was not clearly defined.

5. The American Constitutional Convention of 1787 was dominated by men having large property holdings or commercial interests (like Jefferson, Washington, Hamilton, etc.)

6. The due process clause in the U. S. Constitution requires that  a standard set of procedures must be followed before any action is taken to punish persons accused of breaking the law .

7. Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation government:

· lacked the power to levy taxes

· lacked the power to regulate commerce

· could not compel states to abide by the terms of international treaties it had made

· lacked a strong executive (had unicameral legislature, aka 2-party Congress, rule)

· It did  NOT  lack power to borrow money.

8. In the Constitutional Convention, voting qualifications were made residual powers because of the widespread variation of voting requirements in the states (ex: MA, SC, NJ, NY…), NOT because of:

· desire to follow the practice of English common law

· Unwillingness of the fed. government to bear expense of elections

· realization that more state & local officers than federal officers were to be elected

· Conviction of framers that power to define citizenship should rest with the states.

9. The U. S. Constitution includes provisions on all of the following subjects:

· powers reserved to the states (all powers Constitutional & not given to the fed. government)

· state militia

· definition of treason

· enumerated powers of Congress (listed in Constitution)

· NOT size of the Cabinet (president can have as much members as necessary)

10. The central compromise of the Constitutional Convention involved the issue of representation of large and small states (NJ vs. VA; resulted in CA compromise), NOT the

· balance of powers within the federal government

· relationship of state and federal powers

· abandonment of the Articles of Confederation

· powers of the presidency

11. The first amendments to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, were added to protect individual citizens from power of the fed government.

12. The "elastic clause" of the Constitution to gives Congress greater powers than those explicitly delegated to it (like creating banks, tariffs, roadsà Hamilton)

13. Both the Articles of Confederation and & U.S. Constitution provided for a  Congress with legislative powers , NOT :

· A Supreme Court with judicial powers (Articles of Confed. did not have judicial branch; federal government mediated state disputes, etc.)

· president with executive powers (Articles of Confed. had unicameral legislature with executive, not a president)

· local governments with veto powers (under Articles of Confederation, states can ignore fed. government)

14. In James Madison's tenth Federalist, the most dangerous threat to the U. S. Constitution was presented by factions, NOT:

· the president's war powers, the Supreme Court, or freedom of speech (had checks & balances and a Bill of Rights, so was not concerned with these)

· a standing army

15. According to the U. S. Constitution, revenue bills must originate with the House of Representativesà then checked by the Senate.

16. During the early 1780s, the authority of the national government was vested in the legislative branch (Articles of Confederation had unicameral legislature)

17. People had the most impact on the federal government through the House of Representatives (elected by people & determined by them the length of term of office of its members)

18. When the Founding Fathers established the electoral college system, they expected that partisan conflict over the election of a president could be avoided, NOT that:

· mass education would improve the electorate and make direct popular election reasonable (no; majority were small planters or illiterate workers)

· a democratic system would evolve whereby the people would select the president according to a weighted formula which equates the popular and electoral votes (no; electoral college did not always vote for the president the people voted them to vote for)

· a democratic party system would develop, thus making selection of the president a popular decision (no; had electoral college instead of direct voting for president

19. The 3/5 Compromise of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 provided that for purposes of representation and taxation, 5 slaves would be counted as 3 free persons

20. The right of trial by jury (from fear of unfair sentencing, likes with the admiralty courts from Navigation Act of 1696), protected by the Bill of Rights, was in the Constitution as originally ratified, NOT :

· freedom of the press/religion (John Peter-Zenger trial)

· right to bear arms (militias needed weapons)

· protection against self-incrimination

21. According to the United States Constitution, each of the following may be accomplished by a simple majority vote:

· Congress declares war

· Senate approves the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice

· Congress passes an immigration law

· electoral college must select a president · NOT when Senate ratifies a treaty (Supreme Court has to rule it Constitutional) 1. Women emerged from the American Revolution with the prescribed new responsibility of raising sons and daughters as good republican citizens; could NOT do anything else (like enjoying the vote, serving in local political office, or becoming public school teachers)

2. The primary issue in dispute in Shay's Rebellion was the jailing of individuals/seizure of their property for failure to pay taxes during a time of economic hardship.

3. The Jay Treaty (1794) provided for  evacuation of English troops from their posts along the Great Lakes  (along with grating England “most-favored-nation” status, agreeing to pay off debts to British merchants, & not trading certain things (like tar & turpentine) to France or other nations)

4. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the precedent of equality of new states with old.

5. In the Republican vision of America, education was essential because an ignorant electorate could not be trusted to preserve democracy

6. Causes of John Adam's defeat in the presidential election of 1800 (against Jefferson):

· the Alien and Sedition Acts

· the XYZ Affair

· Alexander Hamilton's disagreement with John Adams (Adams wanted peace, while Hamilton wanted US to profit from quasi-war with France)

· the failure of Adams to support war with France (was Federalist, but followed Washington’s Farewell Address for European neutrality and ended up splitting his party)

· NOT because of British harassment of American sailors

7. The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions argued that the right to determine the constitutionality of a law passed by Congress rested in the states, NOT the Supreme Court.

8. While Chief Justice John Marshall presided over the Supreme Court, its decisions laid the groundwork for a "broad" (sometimes strict, sometimes loose) interpretation of the Constitution.

9. The Federalists made a last gasp attempt to maintain power by creating new federal courts and judges (ex: Adams’s “Midnight Appointments” on day before Jefferson was president)

10. The treaties of the 1780s negotiated by the new American government with Native Americans of the interior intended to open trans-Appalachia to white settlement

11. Shay's Rebellion reflects the economic hardships of the "Critical Period"

12. In the election of 1796, the Federalist Party divided when Southern Federalists refused to support Adams because of his refusal to fight against France (?)

13. Purposes of Alexander Hamilton's tax, tariff, and debt manipulation schemes during the presidency of George Washington included binding the interests of the moneyed class to the new federal government (supported the wealthy), NOT :

· ridding the federal government of debt as soon as possible (wanted to keep debt to keep taxing Americans)

· ending undue government interference in the economy (esp. wanted government to interfere with manufacturing & businesses)

· maintaining the United States as an agrarian society (did not support farmers)

· promoting the importation of British manufactured goods (wanted to strengthen manufacturing in the states)

14. During the 1790s, Federalists and Republicans openly disagreed over:

· the extent of popular control of government

· foreign policy toward England and France

· the activities of Citizen Genet

· the fiscal (of or pertaining to the public treasury or revenues) policies of the national government

- Battle of Bunker/Breed’s Hill: 1st major fight in American Revolution; (RI, CN, & NH forces vs. British)

- Natural Rights Philosophy- Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness

- Somerset Case- abolished slavery in Britain

- Quock-Walker Case (MA)- takes Jefferson’s words from Constitution, but bends them to abolish slavery in MA

- Lafayette- French admiral who brought French forces to Yorktown

- Major Battles in US Revolution: #1= Saratoga, #2= Valley Forge, #3= Yorktown. Together, they make  SaVY  (“savvy”).

- Robert Morris- PA merchant (later, Congress Treasurer) who profited greatly from war with France, Spain, & Holland, countries that replaced Britain as consumer goods sources

- John Paul Jones- (“I have not yet begun to fight”) sailed to England, gave the British navy a hard time in Bonhomme Richard vs. Serapis (after Ranger sinks, Jones takes the Duras, nicknamed Bonhomme Richard as tribute to Ben Franklin, and harasses the heavily-cannoned Serapis and other British naval ships)

- Lord Cornwallis- PA general who repulses & foils Howe’s attack on Philadelphia to gather Tories.

- Annapolis Convention- called together states to ratify Articles of Confederation

Constitution

· Preamble-brief introductory statement of the Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles

· Logrolling- when members of congress support each other's hometown projects not for the merit of the project but simply as a reciprocate exchange. Logrolling is closely akin to, and results in, pork barrel legislation that loads up spending bills with hometown project money, often directed toward suspect causes or construction. It is an affliction of the democratic process that seems incurable.

· Riders- principles of responsible motorcycling: “We. Your American Legion Riders, Ride for God and Country, The American Legion Family, and Allied Veterans everywhere, Protect those that protect us…”

· Quorum- number of members required to be present for business to be legally conducted in the Legislative Branch

· Seniority- written provisions of the constitution/ judicial interpretation can elevate a senior high court judge to the apex (supreme) court.

· Committee systems- not mentioned in the Constitution, but are more efficient ways to run legislative branch

·Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate. By rule, the Presiding Officer gives the Majority Leader priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the floor of the Senate.

· Majority Leader customarily serves as the chief representative of his/her party in Senate, and sometimes even in all of Congress if the House of Representatives and thus the office of Speaker of the House is controlled by the opposition party.

· Whip- an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature; are party 'enforcers', who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy. Role is also to ensure that elected representatives of their party are in attendance when important votes are taken.

· Gerrymandering- a form of boundary delimitation (redistricting) in which electoral district/ constituency boundaries are deliberately modified for electoral purposes, thereby producing a contorted or unusual shape. May be used to achieve desired electoral results for a particular party, or may be used to help or hinder a particular group of constituents (ex: a political, racial, linguistic, religious or class group)

· Amendment Process- 2/3 of each house/national convention, state legislatures; & 3/4 states

· Ratification- 60% of Senate/Congress (?)

· NJ Plan- unicameral Congress w/tax-levying power, regulate commerce, & name a plural executive w/ no veto in Supreme Court

· VA Plan- 3 separate branches (like today), a truly national government w/ laws binding to states & citizens; bicameral Congress (House of Representatives & Senate)

· Philadelphia Convention for Constitution (Constitutional Convention)- discussed Constitution & slavery; agreed that slave trade should stop, but only a $10 fine for continued trade

· James Madison- father of the constitution, president after Jefferson (was 4th), was a Democratic-Republican (against Federalists like Hamilton). Opposed factions (parties) in “The Federalist, #10”

· CN Plan- proposed by Roger Sherman

· Bill of Rights- adopted in 1791, developed by George Mason