| A | B |
|---|
| Articles of Confederation | 1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weaknesses-no executive; no judicial; no power to tax; no power to regulate trade) |
| Land Ordinance of 1785 | Law that allowed for the division and sale of public lands to settle debts from the Revolutionary War and finance the operation of the new government. |
| Northwest Ordinance of 1787 | Created the Northwest Territory (area north of the Ohio River and west of Pennsylvania); established conditions for self-government and statehood; included a Bill of Rights; and prohibited slavery. |
| Daniel Shays' Rebellion | An armed rebellion of western Massachusetts farmers in 1786 to prevent state courts from foreclosing on debtors. Nationalists saw such unrest as proof of the inadequacy of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation. |
| U.S. Constitution | The document written in 1787 and ratified in 1788 that sets forth the institutional structure of the U.S. government and the tasks these institutions perform. It replaced the Articles of Confederation. |
| Great Compromise | Agreement between small and large states at the Constitutional Convention that created a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House of Representatives and equal representation in the Senate. |
| Limited Government | A government whose powers are restricted by the division of power into separate branches and different levels of government. |
| Three-Fifths Compromise | Outlined the process for states to count slaves as part of the population in order to determine representation and taxation for the federal government. |
| Anti-Federalists | Group that opposed the new Constitution because they believed the national government would be too powerful and would eliminate the power of the states. (Patrick Henry; Samuel Adams; James Monroe) |
| Federalists | Supporters of the U.S. Constitution at the time the states were contemplating its adoption. (Alexander Hamilton; James Madison; John Jay) |
| Ratification | Formal approval; final consent to the effectiveness of a constitution; constitutional amendment; or treaty |
| The Federalist Papers | A series of 85 essays that laid out a series of reasoned arguments designed to persuade the people that the structure of the new Constitution actually protected and strengthened the United States. Written by Madison; Jay; and Hamilton. |
| Alexander Hamilton | A Federalist from New York; the first Secretary of the Treasury; and wanted a strong central government |
| James Madison | Father of the Constitution; |
| John Jay | Federalist leader; and first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. |
| Constitutional Convention | 1787 Meeting in Philadelphia of elected representatives from the thirteen original states that led to the Constitution of the United States. |
| Bill of Rights | First ten amendments to the Constitution. adopted in 1791 by the states two years after the ratification of the Constitution; it established the basis of civil liberties for Americans. |
