| A | B |
|---|
| Articles of Confederation | the nation's first form of government following Independence |
| Shays' Rebellion | an uprising of debt-ridden farmers who protested the high taxation that many states imposed following independence |
| Constitutional Convention | originally met to amend the Articles of Confederation, but instead threw it out and started over |
| Philadelphia | where Constitutional convention was held |
| 55 | Delegates at the convention |
| Rhode Island | did not send a delegate to the Constitutional Convention |
| federalism | spliting of power between the national and state governments |
| Ben Franklin | oldest member at the Constitutional Convention |
| George Washington | leader of the Constitutional Convention |
| Virginia Plan | wanted a bicameral Congress with representation based on population |
| New Jersey Plan | wanted unicameral Congress with equal representation for all states |
| Great Compromise | Made a bicameral Congress with one house having equal representation and the other having rep based on population |
| 3/5 Compromise | dealt with how slaves would be counted for representation and taxation purposes |
| Commerce & Slave Trade Compromise | Congress got control of interstate and foreign trade and South got non-interference with slavery for 20 years |
| Electoral College | method established to elect the President and Vicec President |
| Federalist Papers | written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay to encourage ratification of the Constitution |
| Anti-Federalists | fought against ratification of the Constitution because it gave too much power to the national govt |
| Preamble | sets out the goals of the new govt |
| legislative branch | Congress |
| executive branch | President, Vice-President, and Cabinet |
| judicial branch | Supreme Court |
| VETO | rejection of a proposed bill |
| override | power of Congress to check a Presidential VETO |
| checks and balances | designed to keep any one branch of government from becoming too powerful |
| Article I | set up the legislative branch |
| Article II | set up the executive branch |
| Article III | set up the judicial branch |
| popular sovereignty | majority rules |
| limited government | even minorities rights are protected |
| enumerated powers | those specifically given to the federal govt by the Constitution |
| reserved powers | those that the Constitution gives directly to the states |
| concurrent powers | shared by both the national and state governments |
| Supremacy Clause | no state law can conflict with or override a federal law |
| Separation of Powers | division into three branches of govt so that no one is too powerful |
| Amendment | change of the Constitution |
| implied powers | not written specifically in the Constitution |
| Elastic Clause | allows Congress "to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper" to carry out its duties |
| constitution | detailed, written plan of government |
| bicameral | a legislature consisting of 2 parts or houses |
| ratify | to vote appoval |
| Federalist | those in favor of the constitution |
| Rule of Law | the prinple that the law applies to every one - even those who govern |
| Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison | wrote the Federalist Papers |
| James Madison | Father of the Constitution; His personal account of the convention gives us much of the information that we know about the Constitution |
