Chapter 7: Creating Republican Governments, 1776–1790

What did Thomas Paine argue for in Common Sense?

A republican government instead of a monarchy

What is republicanism?

A system where citizens elect representatives to govern

What was coverture?

The legal system where married women had no separate legal identity from their husbands

What was Republican Motherhood?

The belief that women should educate and raise virtuous future citizens

Why was slavery a contradiction of the Revolution?

Americans promoted liberty and equality while continuing to enslave people

What happened to the free Black population after the Revolution?

It grew significantly, with new Black churches, schools, and communities developing

When were the Articles of Confederation drafted and ratified?

Drafted in 1777 and ratified in 1781

What was a major weakness of the Articles of Confederation?

The national government could not directly tax Americans

How many votes did each state have under the Articles?

One vote per state

What was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787?

It created a process for western territories to become states and banned slavery in the Northwest Territory

What was Shays’ Rebellion?

A 1786–1787 uprising by debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers protesting taxes and land seizures

Why was Shays’ Rebellion important?

It showed the weaknesses of the Articles and increased support for a stronger national government

What was the original purpose of the Constitutional Convention?

To amend the Articles of Confederation

What did the Constitutional Convention ultimately create?

The U.S. Constitution and a stronger national government

What was the Virginia Plan?

A plan for representation based on state population

What was the New Jersey Plan?

A plan giving every state equal representation

What was the Great Compromise?

A two-house Congress with equal representation in the Senate and population-based representation in the House

What is federalism?

The division of power between the national and state governments

What are checks and balances?

A system that prevents one branch of government from becoming too powerful

What was the Three-Fifths Compromise?

Three-fifths of the enslaved population was counted when determining representation

When could Congress first prohibit the Atlantic slave trade under the Constitution?

1808

Who were the Federalists?

Supporters of the Constitution and a stronger national government

Who were the Anti-Federalists?

Opponents of the Constitution who feared excessive national power and the lack of a Bill of Rights

Who wrote The Federalist Papers?

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay

What did Federalist No. 10 argue?

Madison argued that a large republic could help control political factions and prevent unstable majority rule

How many states had to ratify the Constitution for it to take effect?

9 of the 13 states

When was the Bill of Rights ratified?

1791

What does the Bill of Rights protect?

Individual liberties such as freedom of religion and speech, due process, fair trials, and protection from unreasonable searches

When did George Washington become president?

04/30/1789

What were the main goals of Hamilton’s financial program?

Establish national credit, create a national debt and bank, raise revenue through taxes, and encourage manufacturing

What happened when the French Revolution began in 1789?

Many Americans initially supported it, but it later increased political divisions in the United States

What was Washington’s position toward the French Revolution?

He declared U.S. neutrality

Anti-Federalists

those who opposed the 1787 Constitution and favored stronger individual states

bicameral

having two legislative houses, an upper and a lower house

checks and balances

the system that ensures a balance of power among the branches of government

Connecticut Compromise

also known as the Great Compromise, Roger Sherman’s proposal at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature, with the upper house having equal representation for all states and the lower house having proportional representation

conservative Whigs

the politically and economically elite revolutionary class that wanted to limit political participation to a few powerful families

coverture

the legal status of married women in the United States, which included complete legal and economic dependence on husbands

democracy

a system of government in which the majority rules

Electoral College

the mechanism by which electors, based on the number of representatives from each state, choose the president

Federalists

those who supported the 1787 Constitution and a strong central government; these advocates of the new national government formed the ruling political party in the 1790s

majority rule

a fundamental principle of democracy, providing that the majority should have the power to make decisions binding upon the whole

manumission

the releasing of an enslaved person by his or her owner

monarchy

a form of government with a monarch at its head

proportional representation

representation that gives more populous states greater political power by allowing them more representatives

radical Whigs

revolutionaries who favored broadening participation in the political process

three-fifths compromise

the agreement at the Constitutional Convention that three out of every five enslaved persons would be counted when determining a state's population for purposes of representation

unicameral

having a single house (of legislative government)