| A | B |
|---|
| constitution | a document stating the rules under which a government will operate |
| executive | a person who runs the government and sees that the laws are carried out |
| Land Ordinance of 1785 | surveyors divided public land into townships and within each township there would be a school. |
| Northwest Ordinance of 1787 | guaranteed basic rights for settlers and banned slavery in the NW Territory. Also set up a process for admitting states. |
| Shay's Rebellion | When Daniel Shays, a former war captain, led 1,000 to revolt against the government who had taken their farms when the farmers couldn't pay their taxes. |
| depression | In the 1780s, when business slowed and unemployment rose. |
| aim of the Constitutional Convention | to revise the Articles of Confederation |
| James Madison | An influential delegate from Virginia who took careful notes at the convention. |
| The Virginia Plan | James Madison was the principal author of this plan. It called for a central government with 3 powers: a. executive, legislative & judicial |
| Two-house Legislature | The Virginia plan called for a 2 house legislature |
| New Jersey Plan | called for a single house of Congress with equal representation for each state |
| The Great Compromise | Roger Sherman worked out the agreement that 1)House of Representatives would be based on population 2) Senate would allow each state to have 2 representatives |
| Three-Fifths Compromise | Congress agreed that each enslaved person would be counted as 3/5 of a free person. (a gain for the south b/c it got more seats in the House of Representatives) |
| Gouverneur Morris | A gifted writer who was responsible for writing the Preamble (introduction) to the Constitution. |
| "We the People...." | important because the Constitution claims to take its authority from the people rather than from the states. |
