| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Constitution | a set of basic principles that determines the powers and duties of a government |
| republicanism | support for a system of representative government known as a republic |
| limited govermant | A political principle which holds that government should be bound by laws that limit it's powers |
| ratification | Formal approval |
| suffrage | voting rights |
| Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom | Legislation that gave people in Viginia freedom of worship and freedom to speak their opinions about religion |
| Articles of Confederation | a document that created the first central government for the United States. It was written in 1777; was teplaced by the constitution in 1789 |
| Land Ordinance of 1785 | Legislation passed by Congress authorizing surveys and the division of public lands in the western region of the country |
| Northwest Ordinance of 1787 | Legislation passed by Congress to establish a political structure for the lands in the northwest territory and create a system for the admission of new states |
| Northwest Territory | Lands including present day Illinios, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota; organized by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 |
| Tariffs | Taxes on imports and exports |
| Interstate Commerce | trade that is conducted between states |
| Inflation | increased prices for goods and services combined with the reduced value of money |
| debtors | poeple who owe money |
| creditors | people who lend money |
| depression | a steep drop in wconomic activity combined with rising unemployment |
| Shays Rebellion | uprising of Massatusetts farmers, led by daniel Shay , to protest high taxes, heavy debt, and farm foreclosure |
| Daniel Shays | a revelutionary war vet who was the main leader of Shays rebelion |
| popular sovereignty | the idea that political authority belongs to the people; also a principle that would allow voters in a particular teritory to decide whether to ban of permit slavery |
| federalism | System of government in which power if distributed between a central authority and individual states |
| Legislative branch | division of the government that proposes bills and passes them into laws |
| judicial branch | Divison of the federal government that if made up of the national courts; interprets laws, punishes criminals, and settles disputes between states |
| Checks and balances | a system established by the constitution that prevents any branch of government from becoming too powerful |
| Constitutional Convention | meeting in Philadelphia at which delagates from states wrote the constitution |
| James Madison | Took great notes and joined many talks at the Constitutional Convention. Was a very important delegate |
| Virginia Plan | plan for goverment proposed at the Constitutional Convention in which the national government wouls have three branches-executive, judical, and legislative; representation in the legislature would be determined by state population |
| William Paterson | presented the New Jersy plan or the small state plan after the Virgina Plan or large state plan was presented. These plans were options to replace the Articles of Confederation |
| New Jersey Plan | Proposial to create a unicameral government with representation by state rather then by population; rejected at the Constitutional Convention |
| Great Compromize | Agreement worked out at the Constitutional Convetion establishing that a state's population would determine representation in the lower house of legeslature, while each state would have equal representation in the upper house of legislature |
| Three-Fifths Compromise | agreement worked out at the Constitutional Connvention stating that three fifths of the slaves in each state should be counted as part of the state's population for determining representation in the lower house of Congress |
| amendments | official changes, correlations, of additions to a law of constitution |
| Antifederalists | people who oppose ratification of the Constitution |
| George Maison | a constitutional convetion delegate that became an antifederalist because the canstitution did not have a Bill of Rights |
| Federalists | People who support ratification of the constitution |
| federalist Papers | sereis of essays that defend the Constitution and tried to reassure Americans that the states would not be overpowerd by the proposed national government |
| Bill of Rights | first 10 amendments to the Constitution , ratified in 1791 |
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