Chapter #5 Forming a Government

US history

George Washington

Served as President of the Constitutional Convention and first President of the United States

Daniel Shays

Revolutionary War Veteran
Head of Shay's Rebellion
Led several other angry farmers violently protested against debtor's jail

John Jay

First chief justice of the Supreme Court
One of the writers of The Federalist Papers

Ben Franklin

Oldest member of the Constitutional Convention at age 80'

Delegate from Pennsylvania

Alexander Hamilton

One of the writers of The Federalist Papers

Founder of the Federalist party

He was the New York delegate to the Constitutional Convention

A famous musical on Broadway about him is now a sell-out show!

James Madison

"Father of the Constitution"

Federalist leader

4th President of the United States

Roger Sherman

He helped draft The Great Compromise (Connecticut Plan)
that determined how states would be represented in Congress

Patrick Henry

"Give me Liberty or Give me Death!"

Anti-federalist (the new Constitution did not guarantee certain freedoms)

Edmund Randolf

Governor of Virginia
Proposed The Large State (Virginia Plan) at the Constitutional Convention

John Locke

English philosopher during The Enlightenment who argued that people have natural rights

Convention

A meeting of delegates in Philadelphia

Tariff

A tax on imported goods

Constitution

A document which spells out the principles and laws by which a government runs

Suffrage

the right to vote

Confederation

an alliance of republics or states

Federalists

Supporters of the Constitution

Amendment

A change in, or addition to, a constitution or law

Northwest Land Ordinance

Dealt with the land in the future states of OH, IN, IL, MI, WI, and MN

This divided land into 6-mile x 6-mile townships

Provided for the building of public schools in each new township

Slavery was outlawed in any new states north of the Ohio River

Anti-federalists

People who were AGAINST the Constitution

These people wanted STATES to keep their power

People who feared the new Constitution did not guarantee enough RIGHTS or freedoms!

Bill of Rights

The First 10 amendments to the Constitution

Ratify

To approve or formally ok something

9/13 states were needed to approve the new Constitution

3/5 Compromise

The agreement at the Constitutional convention to count slaves as 3/5 of a person for the purpose of deciding the population and determining how many seats each state would have in Congress

Federalism

A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments

Popular Sovereignty

This means that the people (the "populous") are free (or "sovereign") to vote and govern themselves

Checks and Balances

A system that divides each branch of government to keep their powers equal

The New Jersey Plan

The proposal by the small states at the Constitutional Convention

Called for 3 branches of government

Called for equal representation of each state (1 vote) in Congress, regardless of the state's population.

This plan allowed STATES to keep most of the power

The Virginia Plan

"Large state" plan for the new constitution; favored by the most populous states

Called for 3 branches of government

Called for representation in both houses of Congress to be based on a state's population

The Connecticut Plan

"The Great Compromise" plan

The plan was acceptable to both large and small states

Magna Carta

Require British monarchs to obey the same laws as their people

The Virginia Statute

The first state law to give religious freedom and separation of church and state to its people

Post-Revolutionary War Debt

Money owed to other countries and creditors after the American Revolution

Solutions Were These:
1. Sell land in the NW Territory
2. Collect property taxes
3. Tax imported goods

Constitutional Convention

A meeting in Philadelphia in 1787

A meeting to REVISE the Articles of Confederation

New York City

First capital of the United States

President Washington governed the new United States from NYC - the first nation's capital

John Adams

America's first Vice-President

America's second President

The Federalist Papers

A series of 85 essays written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay

Written under the penname "publius"

Published in newspapers and used to convince readers to adopt the new constitution

English Bill of Rights

Required English monarchs to get the ok of parliament when making decisions

The first use of checks and balances

The Iroquois League

A political confederation of five Native American tribes (the Seneca, Oneida, Mohawk, Cayuga, and Onondaga)

Served as a model of representative government for the new United States

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States

Problems:
1. States only had 1 vote
2. No national currency $
3. No president/executive
4. No national court system