A | B |
Articles of Confederation & Perpetual Union | a plan for a loose union of the states under the authority of the Congress |
Northwest Ordinance | basis for governing much of the western territory, created new territory north of Ohio river & east of Mississippi to become states |
duties | taxes on imported goods |
recession | economic slowdown |
Shay's rebellion | August 1786, farmers in western Massachusetts rebelled against taxes |
Daniel Shays | a farmer that lead 1,200 farmers in rebellion |
James Madison | influential nationalists, constructed constitution, and wrote Virginia Plan |
Alexander Hamilton | New York delegate that called for a constitutional convention |
Edmund Randolph | governor of Virginia, introduced Virgina Plan to Constitutional convention |
Virginia Plan | proposed scrapping Articles of Confederation and creating a new national government with two houses of Congress & the power to make laws & raise money through taxes |
William Paterson | delegate from New Jersey & offered the New Jersey Plan to the Constitutional Convention |
New Jersey Plan | modified Articles of Confederation by making Central government stronger, one house of Congress, raising taxes, regulating trade |
popular sovereignty | rule by the people through a representative system |
federalism | divided government power between national and state governments |
separation of powers | government principle in which power is divided among different branches |
legislative branch | two houses of Congress to make the laws |
executive branch | headed by president, would implement and enforce the laws passed by Congress |
judicial branch | a system of federal courts that would interpret federal laws and render judgement in cases involving those laws |
checks and balances | prevents any one of the three branches from becoming too powerful-each branch had the ability to limit power of other branches |
veto | reject the acts of Congress |
impeach | formally accuse of misconduct |
amendments | changes to the Constitution |
Federalists | supporters of the Constitution |
Antifederalists | opponents of the Constitution |
John Hancock & Patrick Henry | prominent Antifederalists |
"The Federalist" | 85 essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, & John Jay in support of ratifying the Constitution |
Samuel Adams | American patriot & Massachusetts Antifederalist |
Bill of Rights | first ten amendments of the Constitution |
inflation | the loss of value of money |
House of Representatives | members based on population of state-tax & spending bills originate here, can impeach any federal official it suspects of wrongdoing or misconduct, propose laws(bills) |
Senate | set number of members for each state(2)-tries impeached officials, ratify treaties made by president, confirms presidential appointments, propose laws(bills) |
Land Ordinance of 1785 | established method for surveying the western lands-arranged the land into townships six miles square and each townships was divided into 36 sections, one mile square |
Thomas Jefferson | unable to attend the Constitutional Convention because he was serving as the American minister to France |