Early American Government and the Northwest Territory

Vocabulary review covering the creation of the first national government under the Articles of Confederation and the ordinances organizing the Northwest Territory.

How did English law limit the power of the monarchy?

1. Magna Carta-required royalty to obey English laws; and

2. The English Bill of Rights declared the supremacy of Parliament

Who wrote the Virginia Statute for Relgious Freedom?

Thomas Jefferson

What did the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom declare?

No person could be forced ot attend church or pay taxes for a church

Rule of Law

The principle that all people are subject to the law and that the law is fairly applied and enforced

Constitution

A set of basic principles that determines the powers and duties of a government

Suffrage

the right to vote

Articles of Confederation

Ratified in 1781, this document created the first National Government;

1. writers used state constitutions that emphasized states' rights and powers,

2. created a federal government with limited power that could ask states for money and soldiers, But states could refuse.

Land Ordinance of 1785

A measure passed by Congress that set up a system for surveying and dividing western lands that were acquired after the war.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

An ordinance that created a system for the admission of new states.

— required public education for all citizens,

— and banned slavery.

Admission requirements under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Requirements stating that the population of a territory:

• must reach 60,000 and

• settlers had to draft a state constitution.

Northwest Territory

Western lands acquired after the war that Congress had to organize and divide; included areas that are now Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.