Why did many Americans originally support a weak national government under the Articles?
They feared a strong central government like the British monarchy
A written plan of government.
Constitution
The Supreme Court can declare a law unconstitutional. Which constitutional principle does this help maintain?
Checks and balances or limited government
The idea that government power comes from the people.
Popular sovereignty
What clause says federal law is the supreme law of the land?
The Supremacy Clause
What does limited government mean?
Government is not all-powerful and must obey the law
Powers specifically given to the national government are called what?
Enumerated powers
Powers shared by both the national and state governments are called what?
Concurrent powers
Congress passes a law creating a national bank even though the Constitution does not specifically list “create a bank” as a power. What constitutional clause would supporters use to justify this?
The Necessary and Proper Clause
Which group supported ratification of the Constitution?
Federalists
What document was the first governing framework of the United States?
The Articles of Confederation
What event showed the weaknesses of the Articles and convinced many leaders that changes were needed?
Shays’ Rebellion
Which group worried that the new national government would become too powerful?
Anti-Federalists
Powers kept by the states are called what?
Reserved powers
What clause requires states to respect one another’s public acts, records, and court decisions?
Full Faith and Credit Clause
What Enlightenment thinker argued that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property?
John Locke
What constitutional principle allows each branch to limit the powers of the other branches?
Checks and balances
Name 3 weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
No power to tax, no national judiciary, unanimous consent to amend, no ability to regulate commerce, no ability to raise a national army, no executive branch
What is federalism?
A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments
According to the social contract, where does government get its power?
From the consent of the governed (the people)
What clause allows Congress to make laws that are necessary and proper for carrying out its powers? Hint: is also where we derive the concept of implied powers.
The Necessary and Proper Clause/ elastic clause
Congress passes a law, the president signs it, and then the Supreme Court rules it unconstitutional. What principle is being demonstrated?
Checks and balances
If both a state and the national government pass laws on the same issue and they conflict, which law wins?
The national law, because of the Supremacy Clause
What compromise created a two-house Congress?
The Great Compromise
Which compromise counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for representation and taxation?
The Three-Fifths Compromise
A state lowers its voting age to 16 for state elections, but not for federal elections. Which principle of government helps explain why states can have some different rules from each other?
Federalism
What constitutional principle divides power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches?
Separation of powers
True or False: The Great Compromise created a bicameral legislature.
True
Which founding document says that people have the right to alter or abolish a government that does not protect their rights?
The Declaration of Independence
What protection did Anti-Federalists most want added to the Constitution?
A Bill of Rights
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