Chapter 4 - Eighth Grade American History - Review Guide S

What is the Bill of Rights?

The first ten amendments to the Constitution

What is a constitution?

A plan of government in how it will operate

What were the Articles of Confederation?

Document that organized our government. (First national government in America) after the American Revolution.

What was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787?

It was a plan for governing the territory and forming new states.

What was Shay's Rebellion?

an uprising by farmers in western Massachusetts protesting mortgage foreclosures; encouraged states to have a meeting to strengthen the Articles of Confederation.

In the Great Compromise creating the United States Constitution, how was it decided to count slaves when dealing with representation in Congress?

Every five slaves would be counted as three individuals when establishing representation in Congress and for the purpose of taxation. This was referred to as the Three-Fifths Compromise. This compromised was voided in 1865 at the end the American Civil War.

What was the Land Ordinance of 1785?

Law which designed a system for managing and settling lands in the Northwest Territory. This area was divided into townships (one mile by one mile sections - 36 sections would make a township) and the public would be allowed to purchase this land.

What did most of the first thirteen states have before the United States Constitution?

Bill of Rights

How did Shays' Rebellion show some of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?

People were fearful of how a weak central government would be able to suppress future rebellions.

What is the phrase "We the People" referring to in the Preamble of the United States Constitution?

The Constitution gets its authority from the people.

Why were changes needed in the Articles of Confederation?

The central government was too weak to be effective.

What are some rights of the protected under the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution?

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of the Press

How did the Bill of Rights become part of the United States Constitution?

It became part of the Constitution through the Amendment process.

Before the individual states would accept the Articles of Confederation as their central government, what problem had to be overcome?

States had to abandon claims of lands west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Why were some people against the ratification of the United States Constitution?

The document did not include a Bill of Rights expressing the rights and privileges of the people.

What was the First Amendment to the United States Constitution?

Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Expression, Right to Peaceful Assembly, Right to Petition the Government.

What is the responsibility of a citizen in a republic form of government?

To be an INFORMED citizen and to vote in elections.

What were the three Compromises in ratifying the United States Constitution?

The Great Compromise - representation in Congress

Three-Fifths Compromise - How to count slaves in representation and taxation

Slave Trade Compromise - Slave trade from overseas would end after a twenty-year time period.

Why did the smaller states not favor the Virginia Plan during the Constitutional Convention?

The smaller states feared that they would not have enough power in Congress under the new government.

What was the Constitutional Convention?

meeting of delegates in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation, which produced the new U.S. Constitution

What was the Virginia Plan?

representation based on population, favored large states

Why were the Anti-Federalists against the Constitution?

The Constitution did not include a Bill of Rights.

What is an immigrant?

a person who leaves his own country to make his home in another country

What does naturalized mean?

Going through a process to become a citizen of a country.

What is patriotism?

Patriotism is the love and devotion one has for his or her own country.

What is a citizen?

a legally recognized member of a country

What is local government?

Government on the county, parish, city, town, village, or district level

What is infrastructure?

the basic support systems needed to keep an economy going, including power, communications, transportation, water, sanitation, and education systems

What is a Constitutional Initiative?

the power of citizens to call for votes that change the constitution

What is the meaning incriminate?

To accuse someone of a crime or to cause the appearance of guilt in a crime; under the Constitution, you cannot incriminate yourself.

What is a resident alien?

A legal immigrant who permanently lives in the US

What is a veto?

Executive (president) rejection of a bill

What is a bill/

a proposed law

What is the meaning of impeach?

To accuse an official of a wrongdoing or misuse of power and remove that person from office.

What is popular sovereignty?

the idea that the authority of government comes from the people

What are the Federalist Papers?

A collection of 85 papers that explain the meaning, purpose and structure of the Constitution - written by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton.

Who were the Federalists?

people who supported the adoption of the constitution as our new form of government

What is separation of powers?

an act of vesting the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government in separate bodies.

What is the Magna Carta?

A document that King John's nobles forced him to sign. It extended rights to all citizens and said that the government couldn't raise taxes without a council's approval. It also said not even the monarch was above the law.

What is a dictatorship?

a government in which a person or small group has absolute power

What is a republic?

A government in which citizens rule through elected representatives

What was the Three-Fifths Compromise?

Each slave would be counted as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of a determining a state's representation in the House of Representatives.

What was the Great Compromise?

Created a bicameral legislature (combined VA and NJ plans to create Congress) one house based on representation, one house has equal representation

What was the New Jersey Plan?

Each state had the same amount of delegates in Congress, so the size didn't matter