Revolutionary war:

Bicameral legislatures

Institutions that have two separate chambers or houses for legislative decision-making.

Popular elections

Elections in which the electorate has the right to choose their representatives directly.

Property requirements

Conditions that mandates individuals to own property in order to be eligible to vote.

Basis of American governments

Founded on religious covenants, local compacts, regional differences, and political philosophies.

French and Indian War

Conflict between British colonists and French forces that set the stage for colonial resistance.

Stamp Act Congress

Meeting of representatives from several colonies to protest British taxation.

Boston Tea Party

A protest against British taxation where colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor.

Intolerable Acts

British laws intended to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party.

Continental Congress

A convention of delegates from the colonies that became the governing body during the American Revolution.

Declaring independence

Effort to announce a break from British rule and garner international support.

Taxation without representation

The principle that it is unjust to tax individuals without their consent through elected representatives.

Home rule

The ability of a colony or region to govern itself without external control.

Collective action problem

A situation in which individuals may benefit from cooperation but have an incentive to shirk.

Articles of Confederation

The first national constitution that established a decentralized government.

Unclaimed congress

A Congress established under the Articles that had limited authority.

No national executive or judiciary

Absence of centralized authoritative structures in the Articles of Confederation.

Defects of the Articles of Confederation

Flaws including lack of power to tax, enforce treaties, or regulate commerce.

Shays' Rebellion

An armed uprising in 1786 by Massachusetts farmers protesting economic injustices.

Philadelphia Convention

The gathering intended to revise the Articles of Confederation.

Self-interest is natural

The view that individuals act based on their own interests but governance must guide these interests.

Separation of powers

The principle of dividing government powers among different branches.

Checks and balances

System ensuring that no branch of government becomes too powerful.

National supremacy

The doctrine that federal law takes precedence over state laws.

Delegates of the Constitutional Convention

55 representatives from 12 states who came together to draft the new constitution.

39 signed the constitution

The number of delegates who agreed to sign the U.S. Constitution.

Social, economic and political elite

The demographic that largely represented the delegates at the Constitutional Convention.

All were male and white

Description of the demographic characteristics of the Constitutional Convention delegates.