chapter 9: the Confederation and the Constitution (1776-1790)

Virginia Plan

"Large state" proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress The plan favoured larger states and thus promoted smaller states to come back with their own plan for apportioning representation

Great Compromise

*1787* Popular term for the measure which reconciled the New Jersey and Virginia plans at the constitutional convention, giving sates proportional representation in the house and equal representation in the senate The compromise broke the stalemate at the convention and paved the way for subsequent compromises over slavery and the Electoral college

Northwest Ordinance

*1787* created a policy for administering the Northwest Territories it included a path to statehood and forbade the expansion of slavery into the territories

"The Federalist"

*1788* Collection of essays written by John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton and published during the ratification debate in New York to lay out the Federalists' arguments in favour of the new Constitution Since their publication, these influential essays have served as an important source for constitutional interpretation

Society of the Cincinnati

*established 1783* exclusive, hereditary organisation of former officers in the Continental Army many resented the pretentiousness of the order, viewing it as a vestige of pre-Revolutionary traditions

Lord Sheffield

Authored a widely-sold pamphlet that Britain would win back America's trade anyhow Insisted that commerce would naturally follow "old channels"

civil law

Body of written law enacted through legislative statutes or constitutional provisions In countries where civil law prevails, judges must apply the statutes precisely as written

republican motherhood

ideal of family organisation and female behaviour after the American Revolution that stressed the role of women in guiding family members toward republican virtue

Land Ordinance of *1785*

provided for the sale of land in the Old Northwest and earmarked the proceeds toward repaying the national debt

Old Northwest

territories acquired by the federal government from the states, encompassing land northwest of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi River, and south of the Great Lakes the well-organised management and sale of the land in the territories under the land ordinances of *1785* and *1787* established a precedent for handling future land acquisitions

disestablished

to separate an official state church from its connection with the government following the Revolution, all states did this to the Anglican Church, though some New England states maintained established Congregational Churches well into the nineteenth century

civic virtue

willingness on the part of citizens to sacrifice personal self-interest for the public good deemed a necessary component of a successful republic

three-fifths compromise

*1787* Determined that each slave would be counted as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of apportioning taxes and representation The compromise granted disproportionate political power to southern slave states

Articles of Confederation

*1781* first American constitution that established the United States as a loose confederation of states under a weak national Congress, which was not granted the power to regulate commerce or collect taxes the Articles were replaced by a more efficient Constitution in 1789

Shay's Rebellion

*1786* armed uprising of western Massachusetts debtors seeking lower taxes and an end to property foreclosures though quickly put down, the insurrection inspired fears of "mob rule" among leading Revolutionaries

Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

*1786* measure enacted by the Virginia legislature prohibiting state support for religious institutions and recognising freedom of worship served as a model for the religion clause of the first amendment to the Constitution

New Jersey Plan

*1787* "Small-state plan" put forth at the Philadelphia convention, proposing equal representation by state, regardless of population, in a unicameral legislature Small states feared that the ore populous states would dominate the agenda under a proportional system

Patrick Henry

A champion of states' rights; chosen as a delegate from Virginia but declined to serve, declaring that he "smelled a rat"

common law

Laws that originate from court rulings and customs, as opposed to legislative statutes The United States constitution grew out of the Anglo-AMerican common law tradition and thus provided only a general organisational framework for the new federal government

Daniel Shays

Leader of Shay's Rebellion and a revolutionary war veteran Concerned with many farmers like him who were losing their farms through mortgage foreclosures and tax delinquencies Together, they demanded that the state issue paper money, lighten taxes, and suspend property takeovers

antifederalists

Opponents of the *1787* Constitution, they cast the document as anti-democratic, objected to the subordination of the states to the central government, and feared encroachment on individuals' liberties in the absence of a bill of rights

federalists

Proponents of the 1787 constitution, they favoured a strong national government, arguing that the checks and balances in the new Constitution would safeguard the people's liberties