APAG Ch. 2 Assignment 1 Answers

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APAG Ch. 2 Assignment 1 Answers
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• 1. What type of govt. was established by the
  Jamestown settlers? What was the survival rate
  of the early settlers?

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• The colonists at Jamestown instituted a
  representative assembly, setting a precedent in
  govt. that was to be observed in later colonial
  adventures.
• The survival rate was poor
• 4,800 of the first 6,000 settlers died.

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• 2. What was the Mayflower Compact? Why was it
  significant?

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• The Mayflower Compact was a political statement
  (not a constitution) in which the signers agreed
  to create and submit to the authority of a
  govt., pending the receipt of a royal charter.
• Its significance is twofold it depended on the
  consent of the affected individuals, and it
  served as a prototype for similar compacts in
  American history.

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• 3. Starting with the Fundamental Orders of
  Connecticut in 1639, give a description of the
  laws that were enacted and the significance of
  them.

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• The Fundamental Orders gave the colonists the
  ability to make their own laws.
• The Mass. Body of Liberties in 1641 supported the
  protection of individual rights.

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• The Penn. Frame of Govt. in 1682 and Penn.
  Charter of Privileges of 1701 established the
  rationale for our modern Constitution and Bill of
  Rights.
• The overall significance is that it allowed the
  colonists to acquire crucial political experience
  and made it easier to establish their own
  constitutions once independence was declared.

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• 4. What was the response of the colonists to
  the Sugar Act of 1764, the Stamp Act., and the
  Intolerable Acts?

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• They were outraged by these acts and called for
  the colonial congress to be held in Philadelphia
  which became the Continental Congress.

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• 5. What do you think was the significance of
  the First Continental Congress?

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• There was little talk of independence, but the
  formation of committees in every community to spy
  on neighbors was an act of cooperation among the
  colonies, which represented a step toward the
  creation of a national govt.

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• 6. What was the significance of the Second
  Continental Congress? Why were the Resolution of
  Independence and the subsequent Declaration of
  Independence necessary?

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• Both were necessary to establish the legitimacy
  of the new nation in the eyes of foreign
  governments, as well as the eyes of the colonists
  themselves.

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• 7. Who was the author of the Declaration of
  Independence? What items were eliminated? Why?

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• The author was Thomas Jefferson. His
  condemnation of the slave trade was eliminated to
  satisfy Georgia and North Carolina.

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• 8. Why do you think it has become on of the
  worlds most famous and significant documents?

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• The words of the document speaks for itself, We
  hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all
  Men are created equal, that they are endowed by
  their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
  that among these are Life, Liberty, and the
  Pursuit of Happiness.

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• 9. Who was John Locke? What was important about
  his Two Treatises on Government?

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• He was an English philosopher who wrote that all
  people possess certain natural rights, including
  the rights to life, liberty, and property, and
  that the primary purpose of govt. was to protect
  these rights. Government was to be established
  by the people through a social contract - an
  agreement among the people to form a govt. and
  abide by its rules.

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• 10. Who were the Republicans of 1776-1780 and
  what did they oppose? What did this opposition
  finally lead too?

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• They were the anti-Royalists in New England and
  Virginia. They were against a strong central
  government. They opposed monarchy, executive
  authority, and virtually any form of restraint on
  the power of local groups.
• Their opposition led to increased power for the
  legislatures.

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• 11. What did the Articles of Confederation
  accomplish? What were the weaknesses?

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• It settled certain states claims to western
  lands. The passage of the Northwest Ordinance of
  1787 established a basic pattern of government
  for new territories north of the Ohio River.

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• Its weaknesses included
• It lacked the ability to demand revenues from
  the states
• The actions of Congress required the consent of
  nine states.
• It lacked a national system of courts
• It lacked power to raise money for the militia.

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• What caused Shays Rebellion? What did it
  demonstrate?

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• Farmers debts caused the rebellionthree times
  as many people in prison for debt as there were
  for all other crimes.
• It demonstrated that the central govt. could not
  protect the citizenry from armed rebellion or
  provide adequately for the public welfare.

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• What were the problems in the country realized by
  the Annapolis meeting on Sept. 11, 1787?

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• They realized that their were problems with the
  relationship between the states and the central
  govt. They also realized that there were
  problems with the national legislature, the lack
  of executive leadership, and the lack of policies
  for economic stability.

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• Describe the delegates to the Constitutional
  Convention.

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• Thirty-three were members of the legal profession
• Three were physicians
• Almost 59 were college graduates
• Seven were former chief executives of the
  respective states
• Six were owners of large plantations
• Eight were important businesspersons.

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• 15. Describe the factions that formed at the
  Convention.

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• The majority of the delegates were strong
  nationalistswanting a strong central govt.
• Washington and Franklin wanted a limited national
  authority based on separation of powers.
• Morris and Rutledge distrusted the common people
  to engage in self-govt.

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• Hamilton led the monarchists
• Madison and Wilson wanted a central govt.
  founded on popular support
• Randolph and Mason of Ga., Gerry of Mass., Martin
  and Mercer of Maryland wanted a strong central
  govt. with narrowly defined republican principles

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• 16. What was the major concern of the other
  delegates?

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• Claims to the western lands. As long as those
  lands became the common property of all of the
  states, they were willing to support a central
  government.

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• What was the sole purpose for the meeting in
  Philadelphia?

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• To amend the Articles of Confederation

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• 18. Describe Randolphs Virginia Plan. Who
  benefited by it?

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• It called for a bicameral legislature with the
  lower chamber chosen by the people and the
  smaller upper chamber chosen by the lower
  chamber.
• The creation of an unspecified national
  executive, elected by the legislature
• The creation of a national judiciary appointed by
  the legislature

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• The plan favored the larger states.

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• 19. Describe William Patersons New Jersey Plan.
  Who benefited by it?

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• It called for a one state, one vote rule
• Congress would be able to regulate trade and
  impose taxes.
• All acts of Congress would be the supreme law of
  the land
• Several people would be elected by Congress to
  form an executive office
• The executive office would appoint a Supreme Court

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• It would basically leave the status quo and the
  smaller states would benefit.

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• What was the Great Compromise that prevailed?

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• It called for
• A bicameral legislature in which the House of
  Representatives would be apportioned according to
  the number of free inhabitants in each state,
  plus three-fifths of the slaves
• An upper house, the Senate, which would have
  two members from each state elected by the state
  legislature

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• 21. What major issue was settled by the 3/5
  Compromise? Did it completely solve the problem?
  Why or why not?

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• It solved how to deal with slaves in the
  representational scheme.
• It did not completely solve the problem of
  slavery because many delegates wanted to end
  slavery completely. It just postponed the
  problem for 20 years.

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• 22. Describe the two major aspects of the
  Madisonian Model.

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• Separation of powers the executive,
  legislative, and judicial powers were separated
  so that no one branch had enough power to
  dominate the other
• Checks and balances each branch had to power to
  check actions of the others
• Congress could override a veto with 2/3 vote
• The Supreme Court could declare acts of the
  other two branches unconstitutional

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• 23. Where did Madison get his ideas for these
  two aspects?

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• He got them from the influential French political
  thinker Baron De Montesquieu in his book The
  Spirit of the Laws

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• 24. Describe how the branches of the federal
  government have been able to get around the
  checks on their power.

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• If the president vetos a law passed by Congress,
  it can override the veto with a 2/3 vote. It
  also controls the purse.
• If the Senate wont approve a presidential
  appointment, the President can wait until
  Congress is in recess and then make a recess
  appointment
• Example John Bolton as ambassador to the
  United Nations

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• 25. What was the system devised to choose the
  executive? Why did they choose this system? Has
  it been a problem at times in our history?

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• They chose the electoral college system to make
  the president completely independent of the
  Congress.
• The college is made up of the number of
  representatives from each state.
• The problem is that a candidate can win the
  electoral votes without winning the popular vote.

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• Another problem is that a candidate may not
  receive a majority of electoral votes and then
  the election is decided in the House of
  Representatives. The Senate would decide the
  Vice-Pres.
• Congress chose the Pres. Vice-Pres. In 1801
  (Thomas Jefferson Aaron Burr)

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• The House chose the president in 1825 (John
  Quincy Adams)
• George Bush won the electoral votes in 2000 but
  lost the popular vote by more than a half million
  votes.