| A | B |
|---|
| Articles of Confederation | The first plan of government for the United states |
| Shay's Rebellion | a revolt of Massachusetts farmers, led by Daniel Shays, against the land taxes |
| Northwest Ordinance | law that set out a plan for new territories to become states |
| Richard Allen | former slave who founded the Free African Society (the first organization for Africans' rights) |
| statehood | to become a state |
| Northwest Territory | land that became Indiana Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois |
| Alexander Hamilton | Delegate to the Constitutional Convention; first Secretary to the Treasury |
| Gouverneur Morris | wrote the Constitution by puttting together the resolutions and decisions of the Convention |
| James Madison | "Father of the Constitution" |
| Virginia Plan | Madison's proposal for a government with three branches, with two houses of Congress based on population |
| New Jersey Plan | like Virginia plan, but gave each state the same number of representatives in Congress |
| Roger Sherman | Connecticut judge, and Convention delegate who proposed the Great Compromise |
| Great Compromise | Plan for Congress to have 2 seperate houses. House of Representatives to have representatives based on population, and Senate, to have two representatives from each state |
| compromise | when each side gives up something in order to reach an agreement |
| ambassador | an official representative sent to another country |
| Electoral College | in Presidential election, each state has as many votes as the number of senators and representatives in congress |
| Legislative Branch | Congress, the lawmaking body |
| Executive Branch | President |
| Judicial Branch | made up of judges, decides meaning of laws |
| Supreme Court | body of judges in Judicial Branch |
| point of view | position from which a person looks at something |
| amendments | additions to the Constitution |
| Preamble | introduction to the Constitution |
| democracy | type of government in which the people hold the power |
| republic | system of government in which people choose representatives to make the laws and run the government |
| federal system | division of power of government between the states and the central government |
| checks and balances | powers of one branch of government are balanced by the powers of another -- each branch can check, or stop, another |
| veto | refuse to approve |
| ratify | officially approve |
| Federalists | supporters of the Constitution |
| Antifederalists | opponents of the Constitution |
| Bill of Rights | document that describes the basic rights of the people |
| George Mason | wrote "The Demand for Rights" |
| New York City | country's temporary capital |
| George Washington | elected first President of United States |
| secretary | an official "head" of ecah government department or office |
| Cabinet | the heads of the three departments and the Attorney General |
| Attorney General | made sure that the country's laws were obeyed |
| political parties | group of people who share similar ideas about governments |
