US History (Texas) Chapter 5 Forming a Government

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), during the Revolutionary War

Popular Sovereignty

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.

Executive Branch

the branch of government that carries out laws

Judicial Branch

the branch of government that interprets laws

Legislative Branch

the branch of government that makes the laws

Suffrage

the legal right to vote

New Jersey Plan

the proposal of a unicameral , or one-house, legislature, giving each state an equal number of votes, thus equal voice, in the federal government.

Interstate Commerce

trade between states

Constitution

A document which spells out the principles by which a government runs and the fundamental laws that govern a society

Land Ordinance of 1785

A law that divided much of the United States into a system of townships to facilitate the sale of land to settlers.

Depression

A long-term economic state characterized by unemployment and low prices and low levels of trade and investment

Shays Rebellion

A series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays to block foreclosure proceedings.

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

Federalists

A term used to describe supporters of the Constitution during ratification debates in state legislatures.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Agreement that each slave counted as three-fifths of a person in determining representation in the House for representation and taxation purposes (negated by the 13th amendment)

James Madison

"Father of the Constitution," Federalist leader, and fourth President of the United States.

Virginia Plan

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

George Mason

Anti-Federalist that wanted guaranteed individual rights, American Revolutionary leader from Virginia whose objections led to the drafting of the Bill of Rights (1725-1792)

Northwest Ordinance

Enacted in 1787, it is considered one of the most significant achievements of the Articles of Confederation. It established a system for setting up governments in the western territories so they could eventually join the Union on an equal footing with the original 13 states

Great Compromise

Compromise made by Constitutional Convention in which states would have equal representation in one house of the legislature and representation based on population in the other house

Ratification

Formal approval, final consent to the effectiveness of a constitution, constitutional amendment, or treaty

Daniel Shays

Head of Shay's Rebellion; he and several other angry farmers violently protested against debtor's jail; eventually crushed; aided in the creation of constitution because land owners now wanted to preserve what was theirs from "mobocracy"

Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

Measure enacted by the Virginia legislature prohibiting state support for religious institutions and recognizing freedom of worship. Served as a model for the religion clause of the first amendment to the Constitution.

Amendments

Official changes, corrections, or additions to the Constitution

Antifederalists

Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government, generally.

Tariffs

Taxes on imports or exports

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution

Constitutional Convention

The meeting of state delegates in 1787 in Philadelphia called to revise the Articles of Confederation. It instead designed a new plan of government, the US Constitution.

Federalist Papers

a series of 85 essays written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay (using the name "publius") published in NY newspapers and used to convice readers to adopt the new constitution

Magna Carta

a document constituting a fundamental guarantee of rights and privileges.

Federalism

a form of government in which power is divided between the federal, or national, government and the states

Inflation

a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money.

Northwest Territory

a region westward of the United States bounded by the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and the Great Lakes. The region was given to the United States by the Treaty of Paris in 1783.