| A | B |
|---|
| constitution | plan of government |
| executive branch | branch of government that enforces the laws |
| legislative branch | branch of government that makes the laws |
| judicial branch | branch of government that interprets the laws |
| republic | government run by the people through elected representatives |
| specie | gold or silver coin |
| Articles of Confederation | a loose alliance of states; our first plan of governement |
| Shay's Rebellion | outburst over taxes; convinced many that our National government needed more power |
| James Madison | "Father of the Constitution" |
| Thomas Jefferson | "Father of the Declaration of Independence" |
| "We the people..." | Opening words of the preamble of the Constitution |
| amend | to revise or change |
| checks and balances | keeps one branch of government from becoming too powerful |
| veto | an example of a check and balance the President has over the Congress |
| approval of appointees | example of a check the Senate has over the President |
| declaring a law unconstitutional (judicial review) | example of a check the judicial branch has over the legislative branch |
| Supreme Court | head of the judicial branch |
| President | head of the executive branch |
| Senate/Congress | head of the legislative branch |
| Three-Fifths compromise | agreement over how slaves should be counted when determining a state's representation |
| Great Compromise | set up a two house legislature |
| Senate | legislative body with an equal number of representatives from every state |
| House of Representatives | legislative body with representation based on state population |
| two | number of Senators per state |
| 435 | number of representatives in the House of Representatives |
| federal | form of government in which power is shared between the states and the national government |
| separation of powers | principle that the legislative, executive, and judicial branches would all have distinct areas of authority |
| Electoral College | limits the people's power to directly elect a President |
| ratify | to formally approve |
| Antifederalists | against the Constitution; fear a strong national government |
| Federalists | For the Constitution; desire a strong national government |
| Bill of Rights | Amendments to the Constitution that guarantee personal freedom |
| 10 | Number of amendments in the Bill of Rights |
| George Washington | First President of the U.S. |
| John Adams | First Vice President of the U.S. |
| inauguration | official swearing in ceremony |
| Cabinet | advisors to the President; head of major departments of the executive branch |
| administration | term of office |
| domestic affairs | internal matters of a country |
| First Secretary of State | Thomas Jefferson |
| bicameral | two house |
| 1787 | year the Constitution was drafted |
| Philadelphia | place the Constitution was drafted |
| The Federalist Papers | series of articles arguing in favor of the Constitution |
| federation | the national government is stronger than the state governments |
| women, African-American, poor | groups not represented at the Constitutional Convention |
| George Washington | chairman of the Constitutional Convention |
| Virginia or Randolph Plan | large states wanted representation based on population |
| New Jersey Plan | small states wanted representation equal for each state no matter the size |
| Patrick Henry | leading Anti-Federalist |
| location of Washington D.C. | on the banks of the Potomac |
| make treaties; coin money; create post office | powers held by the legislative branch under the Articles of Confederation |
| collect taxes; raise an army; regulate trade | powers denied the national government under the Articles of Confederation |
| Land Ordinance of 1785 | set up a procedure for purchasing land west of the Appalachian Mountains |
| Northwest Ordinance of 1787 | set up a procedure to admit states to the union |
| slavery | prohibited in the Northwest territories by the Northwest Ordinance |
| Ohio,Indiana, Illionis, Michigan, Wisconsin | states included in the Northwest Territory |
