Political Dictionary Chapter 2

Prepared by Stephanie Oliva

1)      Limited Government- the concept that the government is not all powerful, that it is restricted in what it may do and each individual has rights that the government cannot, under any circumstances, take away. This concept is rooted in English belief and was put into practice by the time America was first settled. It began in England, and was slowly spreading.

2)      Representative Government- Another concept carried to America by the English. It is the idea that the government should serve the will of the people. This also encompasses the idea that the people should have a voice in deciding what the government should and should not do. This idea was also slowly gaining support in England by the time it reached America.

3)      Magna Carta- or the Great Charter is the document signed by King John in 1215. He was forced to do so by a group of barons that were tired of his tyrant ruling. They were tired of his military campaigns and heavy taxes. The barons wrote this document to seek protection against random acts by the King. It included many fundamental rights like: trial by jury and due process of law. These protections were originally for the rich, but over time it was adapted to cover all the people.

4)      Petition of Right- this limited King Charles I power. He could no longer imprison or punish anyone unless they have a proper trial with a jury of his peers. The King could not impose martial law in time peace or require homeowners to shelter the king’s troops without their consent. This petition challenged the idea of divine rights of kings, and declared that even a monarch has to obey the law.

5)      English Bill of Rights- this document was one of the many changes that occurred after the Glorious Revolution. In 1688 Parliament gave the crown to William and Mary of Orange. But Parliament would not stand for more abuses and so required William and Mary to sign this document. It prohibited a standing army in peacetime, except with the consent of Parliament, and required that all elections be free. It also added that to execute or suspend laws must be done with the consent of Parliament, that taxing the people for their own use, without consent of Parliament is illegal, and that the subjects have the right to petition the King. This document also includes right to a fair trial, no excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment.

6)      Charter- a written grant of authority from the king. Many colonies were established with this authority from the king. The problem with charters is that the King had the power to revoke a charter whenever he wanted. Virginia was originally a charter colony until it was revoked. By 1775, there was only two charter colonies, which were Connecticut and Rhode Island.

7)      Bicameral- two house legislature. The United States of America has a bicameral legislature. In the royal colonies, the king appointed a governor to serve as the colony’s chief executive. A council, chosen by the King, served as an advisory body to the governor. After a while the council became the upper house of colonial legislature and the highest court in the colony. Property owning, adult, white, males elected the lower house.

8)      Proprietary- colonies organized by a proprietor, or a person to whom the king gave a grant of land. This person used the land to set up colonies. By 1775, there were three proprietary colonies, which were: Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. By charter that granted land could be settled and governed much as the owner chose. In 1963 the king granted land to Lord Baltimore, which became Maryland, and he granted land to William Penn in 1681 and 1682, and they became Pennsylvania and Delaware, respectively.

9)      Unicameral- a one house legislature. The proprietary colony of Pennsylvania had a unicameral legislature, unlike the royal colonies. The proprietor appointed the governor. In a one-body legislature, the governor’s council did not act as one house of the legislature. Appeals from the decisions of the proprietary colonies could be carried to the king in London.

10)  Confederation- is a joining of several groups for a common purpose. In 1643 the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut colonies formed the New England Confederation. In this confederation, the settlements formed a “league of friendship” for defense against the Native Americans. The confederation loss its importance and dissolved in 1684, as danger from the natives left, and as more problems erupted between them.

11)  Albany Plan of Union- 1754 British Board of Trade called a meeting of seven of the Northern colonies at Albany: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. The purpose was to discuss the problems of colonial trade and the danger of attacks from the French or Native Americans. Benjamin Franklin offered the Albany Plan of Union in which he proposed a formation of an annual congress of delegates form each of the 13 colonies. They would have the power to make war, peace, raise military and naval powers, and regulate trade. It was turned down.

12)  Delegates- representatives. This word was first used to describe the representatives of each of the 13 colonies, that, according to Benjamin Franklin’s Albany Plan of Union, would come together to raise military and naval forces, make war, peace, regulate trade, and collect taxes.

13)  Boycott-a refusal to buy or sell certain products or services. The colonies denounced the taxes that Parliament placed on them without their consent. But after the Stamp Act was repealed, Parliament passed more taxes, and this angered the colonists so much that they issued many boycotts and mob violence erupted at many ports.

14)  Repealed- revoked. In 1774 Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts to punish the Boston colonists for their behavior at the Boston Tea Party. Delegated from 12 of the colonies showed up at the First Continental Congress. The delegates urged each of the colonies to refuse all trade with England until the taxes and trade regulations were repealed. They also sent the King a Declaration of Rights, in which they protested his colonial policies. The delegates also called for local committees to be formed to enforce boycotts.

15)  Popular Sovereignty- government can only exist with the consent of the governed. This was one of the principles that the states had in common, when they wrote their state constitutions. They also had in common the rights of limited government, civil rights and liberties, and separation of powers and checks and balances. These constitutions were very brief and declarations of principle and statements of limitation on governmental powers.

16)  Articles of Confederation- enacted on November 15, 1777, it was the delegate’s first plan of government. This government established a “firm league of friendship” among the states. Under the Articles, each state kept its freedom, independence, and every power not delegated to the United States”. The states came together “for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare.

17)  Ratification- formal approval. The Articles of Confederation had to be ratified by all 13 states in order for the Articles to come into effect. Eleven states ratified the Articles within one year. Delaware ratified it in February 1779, and Maryland gave its approval until March 1, 1781, and the Articles became effective on that date.

18)  Presiding Officer- Congress would choose one of its members as its president, which is the presiding officer. The Articles of Confederation did not have an executive or judicial branch. Committees of Congress handled these functions. This presiding officer was not the president of the United States. Civil officers such as postmasters were to be appointed by the Congress.

19)  Framers- group of delegates who attended the Philadelphia Convention. These men were outstanding people, and were men of knowledge, public experience, wealth, and prestige. Their collective public service record was impressive. Two of them were to become Presidents of the Unites States, and one a Vice President. Seventeen later served in the Senate, and eleven served in the House of Representatives.

20)  Virginia Plan- Virginia had much to say at the Philadelphia Convention. The first plan for constitution was then named after them. It was largely the work of James Madison. It called for a new government with three separate branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislature Congress would be bicameral. Representation in each house was to be based on either State’s population or amount of money it gave to the central government. The members of the House of Representatives were to be elected in each state and the Senate was to be chosen by the House form lists of persons nominated by state legislatures.

21)  New Jersey Plan- under this plan the new government would have a unicameral Congress of the Confederation, with each of the states equally represented. Congress would also have the limited power to tax and regulate trade between the states. It also called for a federal executive of more than one person. The executive would be chosen by Congress, and could be removed by the States. The federal judiciary would be composed of a single supreme Tribunal appointed by the executive.

22)  Connecticut Compromise- this compromise settled the dispute that had erupted between the Virginia and New Jersey Plans. It called for a bicameral Congress. In the Senate the States would be represented equally and in the House of Representatives they would be represented based on population. It was basically a combination of the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. This satisfied the small states and allowed them to support a strong central government. It is often called the Great Compromise.

23)  Three Fifths Compromise- the framers agreed with this, to compromise between the states that wanted to include slaves in their population, and those they didn’t. It allowed for all free people to be counted and all slaves would be counted as three fifths of a person. For the three fifths won by the Southerners, the Northerners got a price. This would also have to do with the amount of money to be raised in each State by any direct tax levied by Congress. So the Southerners could count their slaves, but they would have to pay for them.

24)  Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise- this compromise forbade Congress the power to tax the export of any goods from any state. It was also illegal to act on the slave trade for a period of at least twenty years. Congress could not interfere with the slave trade in any state except for a small head tax, at least until the year 1808.

25)  Federalists- After the Constitution was printed and circulated, two groups emerge, Federalists and Anti-Federalists. The federalists favored ratification. Many who had attended the Philadelphia Convention led the federalists. The most active were: James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. The federalists stressed the weaknesses of the Articles. They argued that a new government based on the proposed constitution could overcome the difficulties facing them.

26)  Anti Federalists- those who opposed ratifying the Constitution. Among the most prominent leaders are: Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams. They attacked nearly every part of the Constitution. Many disliked: the ratification process, the absence of any mention of God, the denial to the States of a power to print money, and much more. They highly disliked the strong powers given to the central government, and the lack of a bill of rights.

27)  Quorum- majority. The new Congress convenes on March 4, 1789. It met in Federal Hall in New York City. It lacked a quorum and so it could not count the electoral votes until April 6^th. They found that George Washington was unanimously elected President of the United States of America. John Adams was elected Vice President with a big majority.