Giddes APUSH Chapter 9

Society of Cincinnati

Society of Cincinnati

continental Army officers who formed an exclusive hereditary order organization; many Americans ridiculed lordly pretentiousness

Disestablished

to separate an official state church from its connection w/govt; all churches in colonies were de-anglicized + reformed as Protestant Episcopal Church; struggle for separation fiercest in VA

Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

1786; a document that officially stated separation of govt + religion; TJ + co-reformers (including Baptists) created this; allowed VAians to worship freely + outlaws tax money to fund churches

Civic virtue

central to republican ideology; notion that democracy depended on willingness of citizens to sacrifice personal self-interest for the public good

"Republican Motherhood"

idea that American women had special responsibility to teach 'civic virtue' to their children; elevated women to a newly prestigious role as the special keepers of the nation's conscience; expanded educational opportunities for women

Fundamental law

written documents that state constitutions were intended to represent; superior to temporary impulses of ordinary legislation (constitution isn’t supposed to be easily changed)

Articles of Confederation

1781; Congress appointed a committee to draft a constitution for new nation before declaring independence; adopted in Congress in 1777; translated to French after Battle of Saratoga; not ratified until 1781 (8 months after W at Yorktown); 7 states (notably NY + VA) had huge amounts of land, + other 6 (PA + MD) had little to no; big complaint that states w/large acreage could sell their tracts + pay off pensions/debts while the states w/o land had to tax themselves; Congress pledged to use large areas for common benefit; replaced by a more efficient Constitution in 1789

Articles of Confederation part 2

"loose confederation"; brought together 13 states for common problems; only legislative branch (other 2 left to states); delegated were selected by state legislatures; every state had 1 vote; bill of importance had to have support of at least 9 states; amendments had to be approved by all states; Congress was purposefully weak cuz of British parliament; congress couldn't regulate commerce, which caused states to establish different + conflicting laws abt navigation; congress established tax quota instead of tax-collect for each state + they could contribute voluntarily (lucky to even 1/4 of requests)

Old Northwest

farsighted pieces of legislation that were related to an immense part of the public domain acquired from the states; area NW of Ohio River, E of MI River, + S of Great Lakes

Land Ordinance of 1785

first of red-letter laws; provided that acreage of Old Northwest should be sold + used to help pay off national debt; surveyed before sale + settlement (installing confusion + lawsuits); divided in townships (each in turn to be split into 36 sections (1 mile each) + 16th section was for schools); orderly settlement

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

law related governing of Old Northwest; came to grip w/how a nation should deal w/its colonies; first temporary tutelage + then permanent equality; 2 evolutionary territorial stages: 1st, area subordinate to federal govt + 2nd, when area can sustain 60k settlers, then might be admitted by Congress as a state + it'll have privileges of 13 charger members; forbade slavery, but exempted slaves already there

Allen Brothers

from Vermont; disgruntled w/state so intrigued by Brits to take over VT

Relations with Britain, Spain, and France

all were bad; Britain declined commerical trade + repealed Navigation Laws; stopped trade w/America WI + tried to take over VT; Spa controlled MI + closed river to American commerce; claimed large area (including FL) + succeeded (w/Britain) in preventing America from taking over 1/2 of total colonies; Fra demanded repayment of money they loaned US during war + restricted trade w/American WI

John Jay

secretary for foreign affairs; hoped insults Americans got would humiliate them into framing a new govt to be strong enough to command respect

Shays's Rebellion

an uprising that flared up in western MA in 1786; led by Captain Daniel Shays (revolution veteran); impoverished backcountry farmers + revolutionary veterans that lost their farms through mortgage/taxes demanded the state issued paper money, lighten taxes, + suspend property takeover

"Mobocracy"

rule/domination by masses; after Shays's Rebellion, propertied class got worried of this + needed for stronger central govt; believed it was revolution result

Articles of Confederation meeting in Annapolis

in 1786 VA called for convention to talk abt control of commerce (big issue); 9 states appointed delegates, but only 5 states represented; nothing could be done from this horrible attendance; saved by Hamilton when he called upon Congress to summon a Convention in Philly the next year to bolster entire AOC

Alexander Hamilton

from NY + 31 yrs old; brilliantly saved the convention from complete failure by calling upon Congress to summon a Convention in Philly the next year to bolster entire AOC; 32 yrs old when at the Convention; advocate of a powerful central govt; his eloquent 5 hour speech didn't convince anyone but himself; would help to build strong central govt

Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia

May 25 to Sept 17, 1787; met to revise AOC; instead signed a new govt plan (Constitution); 55 delegates came from 12 states (RI didn’t send delegates); sessions were completely secretive w/armed sentinels at the doors to prevent advertisement of their dissension or the harmful arguments into mouths of opposition

George Washington

unanimously elected chairman/president of Constitutional Convention in Philly; prestige of "the Sword of the Revolution" served to quiet tempers

James Madison

31 yrs old; Federalist + profound student of govt; made such notable contributions that he's "the Father of the Constitution"

Virginia Plan

scheme proposed by Madison of VA; aka "large-state plan"; first to push forward as framework of Constitution; essence was that representation in both houses of bicameral (having 2 branches) legislature/Congress should be based on population; naturally gives larger states an advantage

New Jersey Plan

proposed by William Paterson of NJ; aka "small-state plan"; provided equal representation in a unicameral Congress, regardless of size + population, as already extant in AOC

"Great Compromise"

proposed by Roger Sherman; bicameral legislature combining NJ + VA plans; larger states would have representation by population in House of Representatives + smaller states would have equal representation in Senate (2 per state)

House of Representatives

lower house of Congress; larger states were concede representation by population; where all tax + revenue bills originate

Senate

upper house of Congress; smaller states appeased by equal representation; each state would have 2 delegates

Common law

US Constitution grew out of Anglo-American tradition; made it unnecessary to be specific abt every detail; provided a flexible guide to rules of procedure; opposite of civil law; open to interpretation + became a part of Constitution

Civil law

opposite of common law; detailed legal codes + were lengthy; body of written law enacted through legislative statutes or constitutional provisions; judges must apply the statutes precisely as written

Electoral College

large group of people representing states who would cast their votes for election of president + vice president; citizens indirectly elect president; electoral vote of each state depends on # of representatives in Congress; larger states have the advantage in round of popular voting, but smaller states would have larger voice if no candidate got a majority of electoral votes + election thrown to House of Representatives (each state would have 1 vote each

"Three-Fifths Compromise"

compromise between N + S states if slaves counted in their population; slaves counted as 3/5 of a person to determine direct tax + representation in the house of representatives

Checks and balances

a system that allowed each branch of govt to limit powers of the other branches to prevent abuse of power

Direct/indirect vote

direct vote: when u vote urself (only in case of 1/2 of house of representatives where propertied citizens were allowed to vote for their officials directly); indirect vote: when people elect a representative to vote on laws on their behalf (presidents are elected indirectly by electoral college + senators are indirectly elected by state legislatures)

Anti-Federalists

people who opposed stronger federal govt + constitution; wanted states to have more power; many were small farmers, paper moneyites + debtors; leaders included S Adams, Patrick Henry, + Henry Lee; lack of bill of rights made them think that the constitution was jeopardizing individual rights + brought aristocratic elements

Federalists

supporters of Constitution; favored a strong national govt; had wealth, power + influence; lived near coast/seaboard; more educated + controlled press; included Washington, Madison, Franklin + Hamilton; argued that checks + balances in new Constitution would safeguard ppl's liberties

Bill of Rights

first 10 amendments of the constitution; ratified in 1791; ensured certain individual rights + liberties to people; anti-federalists were concerned that this doc was lacking, but federalists gave assurance that congress would add this to the constitution

The Federalist Papers

essays that Jay, Madison, + Hamilton wrote together for NY newspapers; designed as propaganda to draw support for federalism; remains most penetrating commentary ever written on the Constitution + still widely sold