Midterm Study Guide
1. Weaknesses of Articles of Confederation
a. Couldn’t tax
b. No national currency
c. Could not regulate trade; states were taxing each other and entering into trade wars
2. Shays’ Rebellion
a. Farmers revolt in Western Massachusetts
b. Couldn’t pay mortgages; banks foreclosing on loans
c. Farmers wanted government to help
d. Showed the weakness of the national government
3. Constitutional Convention
a. Why did it take place – to revise the Articles
b. Compromises Reached
i. 3/5 compromise – every 5 slaves would count as 3 free men toward
representation
c. Great compromise
i. Two house legislature
ii. One house would have equal representation
iii. One house would have representation based on population
4. Powers of President
a. Commander in Chief of armed forces
b. Grant reprieves and pardon
c. Make treaties with approval of 2/3 of Senate
5. Federalism – division of powers between national government and state governments
6. Checks and balances – each branch has the power to limit the powers of every other branch
7. Separation of powers – division of powers among 3 branches
a. Judicial
b. Executive
c. legislative
8. Bill of rights
a. 1st Amendment
i. Speech
ii. Press
iii. Religion
iv. Assembly
v. Petition the government
b. 3rd Amendment - Government cannot house soldiers in private homes
c. 4th Amendment – no unreasonable search and seizure; police need a warrant or
probable cause
d. 5th Amendment
i. Can’t be tried for same crime twice (double jeopardy)
ii. Protection against self-incrimination ( “I plead the 5th ) – right to remain silent
iii. Eminent Domain – government can take property, but must be for public use
and must provide just compensation
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e. 8 Amendment
i. No cruel or unusual punishments
ii. No excessive fines
iii. No excessive bail
9. Judiciary Act of 1789 - established the lower courts; set the basic structure of the federal court
system that is still in place today
10. Hamilton’s Economic and Political views
a. Strong federal government
b. Gov’t run by wealthy, well-educated
c. Loose construction
d. Economy based on trade and manufacturing
11. Jefferson’s Economic and Political views
a. Limited national government; stronger state governments
b. Government run by “plain” people
c. Strict construction
d. Economy based on farming
12. How bills become laws
a. Pass by a simple majority in both houses
b. President signs or vetoes
c. If vetoed, goes back to house where it originated
d. Veto can be overridden with 2/3 vote of each house
13. Federalists vs. Anti-federalists
a. Federalists wanted to ratify constitution – needed a stronger government
b. Anti-Federalists did not want to ratify
i. No protection of individual rights
ii. US government would become too strong
14. Whiskey Rebellion
a. US placed and excise tax on whiskey
b. Hurt farmers of west because they turned corn into whiskey – only way to make money
c. Farmers in W. Pennsylvania revolted
d. US army put down the rebellion
e. Show US would use force to enforce federal laws in individual states
15. Impressment – practice of the British navy seizing American sailors and forcing them to serve in
the British navy
16. Declaration of Neutrality – French expected us to help them in return for their help in the
Revolutionary war. Washington issued a statement declaring that the US would not support
either side in this conflict.
17. XYZ Affair
a. France began seizing American ships heading for Britain
b. President Adams sent John Jay, John Marshall and Elbridge Gerry to France to negotiate
a solution; supposed to meet with prime minister
c. France sent 3 low level officials, known as X, Y and Z. They demanded $250,000 bribe to
see him
d. Outraged Americans – led to heavy anti-French sentiment in US
e. Unofficial naval war ensued for 2 years
18. Alien and Sedition Acts
a. Federalists saw influx of immigrants (mostly anti-British and anti-Federalist) as threat to
the government
b. Passed 4 laws to “protect” government
i. Raised residency requirement for citizenship from 5 to 14 years
ii. President could jail or deport aliens suspected of activities posing a threat to the
national government
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iii. Sedition Act – made it a crime for American citizens to “print, utter, or publish …
any false, scandalous, and malicious writing” about the government – most
controversial of the four laws
c. Seen as an attempt to limit the power of the Democratic-Republican
Louisiana Purchase
a. Doubled the size of the US
b. Bought from France for 15 million dollars
c. Gave US control of Mississippi River and all of its tributaries east of Rocky Mts.
Monroe Doctrine – statement warning Europe to stay out of Western Hemisphere;
Missouri Compromise
a. Maine entered as a Free state
b. Missouri entered as slave state
c. No slavery in the rest of Louisiana Territory north of 36⁰30’
d. Kept balance of free and slave states
Election of 1824
a. JQ Adams vs. Jackson
b. Jackson won popular vote, but no one won a majority of electoral votes
c. Vote went to House; Clay convinced House to vote for Adams
Marbury v. Madison – established principle of judicial review
Judicial review – concept that the courts can determine if a law violates the Constitution
Nullification – concept that a state can choose not to enforce (consider null and void) a federal
law that it considers unconstitutional
Secession – concept that because the US is a voluntary union of states, any state can withdraw
from that union at any time
War hawks – group of young congressmen mostly from the west and south that strongly
supported war with Great Britain
Qualifications of President
a. Minimum 35 years old
b. Resident of the US for at least 14 years
c. Lifelong citizen of the US
d. Serves 4 year term
Qualifications of Senator
a. Minimum 30 years old
b. Citizen of US minimum of 9 years
c. Resident of state he represents
d. Serves 6 year term
Qualifications of Congressman
a. Minimum 25 years old
b. Citizen of US for at least 7 years
Judges
a. No qualifications
b. Serve for life (under good behavior – can be impeached)
c. Salary cannot be reduced while in office
Elastic Clause – Article I, Section 18 of the Constitution; gives Congress power to pass laws
“necessary and proper” to carry out its functions; stretches power of government
Protective Tariff – tax on foreign goods used to encourage people to buy domestic goods
Ex post facto laws – law that punishes a person for committing an act that was legal at the time
that the act was committed
35. Impeachment – act of formally charging a government official with wrongdoing
36. Nationalism – idea that the interests of the nation as a whole are more important than the
interests of an individual state or section of the government
37. Sectionalism – idea that each section of the country (northeast, south, west) fought for what
was in the best interest of that section
38. Sedition – making negative remarks, in speech or print, about the government
39. Treason – waging war against one’s own country, or providing aid or comfort to its enemies
40. Spoils system – system of removing high ranking officials from office and replacing them with
people who helped win the election; started by Andrew Jackson
41. Writ of Habeas Corpus – a written document requiring that an arrested person be brought
before a judge to determine if he is being detained lawfully
42. Current senators from NJ
a. Robert Menendez
b. Cory Booker
43. Current President and Vice President
a. Barack Obama
b. Joe Biden
44. Article 6 of Constitution – supremacy clause; Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and if
national and state laws conflict, national law takes precedence
45. McCulloch v. Maryland – court case that stated that states could not tax a federal institution;
“the power to tax is the power to destroy”; temporarily saved the BUS
46. American System
a. Two purposes
i. Unify the regions of the country – decrease sectionalism
ii. Create a strong, self-sufficient economy
b. Three Points
i. Internal improvements, especially for transportation
ii. Protective tariff to encourage Americans to buy American made goods
iii. Reestablish a National Bank to create a nationally accepted currency
47. National Road – road across the Appalachian Mountains from Cumberland, Maryland to
Vandalia, Illinois
48. Erie Canal – canal that connected Lake Erie to the Hudson River, providing an all-water route
from Northwest Territory to Atlantic Ocean
49. Adams-Onis Treaty
a. Spain agreed to cede Florida to US
b. Spain gave up its claim to Oregon Territory
50. The Federalist – series of pro-Constitution newspaper editorials written by John Jay, Alexander
Hamilton and James Madison
51. Five Civilized Tribes – Native American tribes in southeast that had begun to adopt European
culture before being removed from their land
52. Trail of Tears – forced removal of the Cherokee from their land in Georgia to Oklahoma; ¼ of
them died on the way
53. Cotton Gin – invented by Eli Whitney; more efficient way to separate cotton fiber from seeds;
led to the extension of slavery – needed more slaves to pick the crop
54. Northwest Ordinance – law passed in 1787; established procedure by which new territories
could become states; put many of our rights in writing for the first time.
55. Tecumseh – Shawnee leader who tried to create a Native American confederacy west of the
Appalachian Mountains;