Chapter 2

First Continental Congress Meeting held in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, in which fifty- six delegates ( from every colony except Georgia) adopted a resolution in opposition to the Coercive Acts.

Unlike Great Britain’s unitary system of government, wherein all of the powers of the government reside in the national government,

had no provi-sion for a judicial system to handle the growing number of economic conflicts and boundary disputes among the individual states.

did not allow Congress to regulate commerce among the states or with foreign nations

marched on the courthouse in Springfield, Massachusetts, to stop the state court from foreclosing on their farms. Unrest such as this prompted quick action to remedy the weakness of the Articles of Confederation.

bicameral legislature, an executive and a judiciary chosen by the national legislature. three branches, the legislative, executive, and judicial. 2- house legislature with 1 elected by the people, the other from persons nominated by state leg

In dividing power between the national and state governments, national power would be supreme.

checks and balances A constitutionally mandated structure that gives each of the three branches of government some degree of oversight and control over the actions of the others.

Its key features are: 1. Three distinct branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. 2. Three separately staffed branches of government to exercise these functions. 3. equality and independence of each branch.

The final paragraph of Article I, sec-tion 8, of the Constitution, which gives Congress the authority to pass all laws “ necessary and proper” to carry out the enumerated powers specified in the Constitution; also called elastic clause.

implied powers Powers derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause. These powers are not stated specifically but are considered to be reasonably implied through the exer-cise of delegated powers.

full faith and credit clause Provision of the Constitution that mandates states to honor the laws and judicial proceedings of other states.

supremacy clause Portion of Article VI of the U. S. Constitution mandating that national law is supreme to ( that is, supersedes) all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government.

Those who favored a stronger national government and supported the proposed U. S. Constitution; later became the first U. S. political party

The Federalist Papers A series of eighty- five political papers written by Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison and John Jay in support of ratification of the U. S. Constitution.

First Amendment Freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly

created a loose league of friendship between the new national government and the states. Among the major flaws were Congress’s inability to tax or regulate commerce, the absence of an executive to administer the government, the lack of a strong central government, and no jud

The proposed U. S. Constitution created a federal system that drew heavily on Montesquieu’s ideas about separation of powers. These ideas concerned a way of parceling out power among the three branches of government, and checks and balances to prevent any one branch from having too much power.

The drive for ratification became a fierce fight between Federalists and Anti- Federalists. Federalists lobbied for the strong national government created by the Constitution; Anti- Federalists favored greater state power. ¦

Therefore, they designed a deliberate two- stage formal amendment process that required approval on the federal and state levels; this process has rarely been used. However, informal amendments, prompted by judicial interpretation and by cultural and social change, have had a tremendous impact on the Constitution.