APUSH Confederation and Constitution Test
About this set
Created by:
slsgymnastics on September 22, 2011
Log in to favorite or report as inappropriate.
Order by
42 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 articles of confederation | first attempt at a government in the United States. Gave very limited powers to the federal government. |
| new state constitutions | all the states had their own constitutions. They made their own money, had their own armies, and created their own taxes. |
| western land claims | smaller states were upset that larger states had more land, which they could sell to pay off war debts, while the smaller states had to tax themselves more to pay them off. |
| northwest ordinance of 1787 | areas in the Old Northwest were first considered republics, and when they reached a population of 60,000, they could join the union. |
| economic problems | war debts, inflation, interstate trade |
| war debts | US owed a lot of money from the war, but couldn't tax, so they had no way to repay it |
| inflation | huge problem for the middle class. Congress tried to solve it by fixing prices, but it didn't work. Continental money was worthless, inflation caused by printing too much |
| interstate trade | states would tax/tariff each other and didn't even use the same money. Sometimes had to pay a toll to go to a different state. |
| shays' rebellion | a group of farmers that protested because they were losing their land. They wanted cheaper money, lighter taxes and suspension of mortgage foreclosures. Led by Daniel Shays. |
| annapolis | convention occurred in Annapolis, Maryland. Only 5 states showed up though, so they couldn't do much to fix commerce. |
| Alexander Hamilton in Annapolis | he called for a convention in one year in Philadelphia to fix the whole articles. |
| Philadelphia Convention | (1787) delegates from all the states met in Philadelphia to "revise" the Articles, which is what Congress asked them to do. Most of them wanted to create a new document completely though instead of revise the Articles. |
| foreign affairs | America was seen as weak |
| Foreign affairs with France | wanted America to pay back the money they loaned them during the war |
| Foreign affairs with Spain | "openly unfriendly towards America". They had a part of Mississippi, and created alliances with the Native Americans to make sure they were on their side, not the American's side. |
| Foreign affairs with Great Britain | refused to make a commercial treaty or repeal the Navigation Acts |
| Three-Fifths Compromise | slaves counted as 3/5 a person when counting population |
| Great Compromise | House and Senate were created |
| Virginia Plan | (large state plan) wanted representation in congress to be population based |
| New Jersey Plan | (small state plan) wanted every state to have equal representation |
| Federalist Papers | Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison wrote articles for the New York newspapers trying to convince people to support the federalists and the constitution |
| Supreme Law of the Land | (supremacy clause) all state laws must not conflict with the constitution |
| Bill of Rights | states the rights of citizens. Anti-federalists were concerned that they weren't included in the Constitution |
| Ratification process | states held ratification conventions, needed to be passed by 9 states |
| First states to ratify constitution | four small states, Pennsylvania was the first large state |
| Last states to ratify constitution | Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island |
| Federalist | supported the constitution and a more unified federal government |
| Alexander Hamilton | leader of the Federalist party |
| James Madison | dubbed the "father of the Constitution" |
| Antifederalists | were against the constitution and a unified government. Wanted power to go to the states. |
| Patrick Henry | anti-federalist in Virginia |
| George Mason | antifederalist |
| delegated powers | (enumerated) powers the federal government has, like foreign affairs, declare war, have an army, etc. |
| concurrent powers | powers shared by the state and the federal government, like collect taxes, make roads, etc. |
| reserved powers | powers given to the states, like establishing local government, schools, marriage, have elections, etc. |
| Legislative | makes laws |
| Executive | enforces laws |
| Judicial | interprets laws |
| Republican form of Government | the people have control over the government |
| Elastic Clause | (Necessary and Proper Clause) Congress can make laws that are needed |
| Bicameral legislature | two legislative or parliamentary chambers in government (Senate and House) |
| checks and balances | (separation of powers) branches of government can "check" each other so no branch gets too powerful. (ex. President can veto congress, congress can override president, president appoints judges, judges can say a law created by congress and accepted by President is unconstitutional, etc.) |
First Time Here?
Welcome to Quizlet, a fun, free place to study. Try these flashcards, find others to study, or make your own.