US History Chapter 7- The Critical Period

confederation

a close alliance of sovereign states

Articles of Confederation

First US constitution. Weak central government with limited powers. No executive branch or national court system. More power to states. Couldn't tax or regulate trade. Replaced by US Constitution in 1789

unicameral

having only one house

chief executive

the president of Congress

Treaty of Paris

the Confederation’s greatest triumph in foreign affairs; forced Great Britain to recognize American independence; US was to restore the property of the Loyalists and allow British subjects access to American courts to recover debts owed

Northwest Territory

all lands that passed into the hands of the national government

Ordinance of 1784

written by Thomas Jefferson; proposed creation of ten new states out of the territory, each would be equal to the other states in the Union; proposed banning slavery in the region and giving land to the settlers instead of selling it

Land Ordinance of 1785

concentrated on the settlement of the territory; divided the new lands into orderly townships for sale and development; each township would contain 36 sections of one square mile; each lot was to be sold for a dollar an acre

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

concerned the government of the territory; divided it into 3-5 states that would go through three stages to be admitted to the Union

hard money

silver and gold

Newburgh Conspiracy

created by a group of officers in New York; intended to force Congress and the states to grant them their back pay

Shays’s Rebellion

led by war vet Daniel Shays; insurrection of farmers against courts in western parts of Massachusetts; attempted to seize weapons from an arsenal

Annapolis Convention

called together by the legislatures of Virginia and Maryland; not well attended; Hamilton wrote a resolution calling for another convention to remedy the weaknesses of the Confederation government

James Madison

“the Father of the Constitution”

Constitutional Convention

a gathering of talent as well as a collection of regional and individual interests; 12 states represented; first task was to elect a convention president to chair the proceedings

Virginia Plan

written by James Madison; advocated a bicameral Congress with the number of representatives based on state population

bicameral

two-house

New Jersey Plan

written by William paterson; advocated a unicameral Congress with each state having only one vote regardless of its population

Roger Sherman

offered the Great Compromise to end the debate between delegates at the Constitutional Convention

the Great Compromise

written by Roger Sherman; proposed that representation in the lower house be based on state population whereas representation in the Senate be equal for all states regardless of size; made both sides give up something and both sides got something

Three-Fifths Compromise

settled the issue of how slaves should be counted; allowed three-fifths of the total slave population of a state to be included for representation purposes in the house; those states would also have to pay taxes on the slave population; sought to maintain a balance between states with a small slave population and states with large slave population

republic

a government run by representatives chosen by and accountable to the voters

limited government

the underlying theme of the Constitution; delegates knew it was needed based off of the British tyranny

separation of powers

prevented any group or individual from gaining too much power; division of the government into three branches

legislative, executive, and judicial

the three branches of government

Congress

(based on separation of powers)- makes the laws

the president

(based on separation of powers)-executes and enforces the laws

the courts

(based on separation of powers)-interpret the laws

checks and balances

designed to thwart an accumulation of power by establishing a balance of power among the three branches of government; president has the right to veto; houses can override veto if two-thirds agree; Supreme Court can nullify acts of Congress and the president if it is unconstitutional

Federalism

the division of power between national and state levels of government; struck a balance between state and national demands; provides flexibility by giving citizens a voice in their affairs at the local and state level

popular sovereignty

the idea that the ultimate source of governmental power lies in the people

the Preamble

introduced the charter of the Constitution and the idea of popular sovereignty

Electoral College

elects the president indirectly; each state has a number of electors equal to the state’s representation in Congress

amendments

changes to the Constitution; an expression of the people’s sovereignty

Federalists

supporters of the Constitution

Anti-Federalists

opposers of the Constitution

Cato

the pseudonym of New York governor George Clinton; denounced the Constitution

Publius

pen name of Alexander Hamilton; responded to the Anti-Federalist articles

The Federalist Papers

85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay; carefully explained and defended constitutional provisions of power

The Anti-Federalist Papers

collected writings and speeches by opponents of the new Constitution; written in response to the Federalist Papers

Anti-Federalists

group consisting of Patrick Henry, Edmund Randolph, James Monroe, George Mason, George Clinton, and William Paterson

George Washington

elected first president of the United States