U.S. History Units 2 & 3: American Revolution, Articles of Confederation, and Constitution

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing key terms, factions, governing plans, and structural concepts from U.S. History Units 2 and 3.

Enlightenment

An intellectual movement emphasizing reason, natural rights, and limits on government power.

Natural Rights

Rights people possess by nature, not rights granted solely by government.

Patriots

Colonists who supported independence from Great Britain.

Loyalists

Colonists who remained loyal to Great Britain during the American Revolution.

Republican Ideology

The belief that people should govern through elected representatives in a republic, with power limited to protect liberty.

Direct Democracy

A system in which citizens vote directly on laws or government decisions.

Representative Democracy

A system in which citizens elect representatives to make decisions for them.

Expansion of Political Participation

The development where more people gained opportunities to participate in politics, though rights remained unequal and restricted.

State Constitutions

Written plans defining a state's government, powers, and limits.

Separation of Church and State

The principle that government and religious institutions have separate roles and government should not control religion.

Articles of Confederation

America's first national governing system, which created a weak central government while states retained most power.

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

Deficiencies under the first governing system, including the national government's struggle to raise money, inability to regulate interstate trade, and lack of a strong executive.

Shays' Rebellion

An uprising by Massachusetts farmers that exposed weaknesses in the national government under the Articles of Confederation and convinced leaders a stronger government was needed.

Constitutional Convention

The 1787 meeting where delegates developed a new Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.

U.S. Constitution

The nation's foundational governing document, establishing a stronger federal government, limiting power, and protecting liberty.

Virginia Plan

A proposal at the Constitutional Convention favoring larger states that based representation in Congress on population.

New Jersey Plan

A proposal at the Constitutional Convention that protected equal representation for each state in Congress regardless of population.

Great Compromise

An agreement establishing a two-house Congress with population-based representation in the House of Representatives and equal state representation in the Senate.

House of Representatives

The chamber of Congress where each state's representation is based on population.

Senate

The chamber of Congress where every state has equal representation with two senators.

Legislative Branch

The branch of the federal government (Congress) whose main job is to make federal laws.

Executive Branch

The branch of the federal government consisting of the president and executive branch that enforces federal laws.

Judicial Branch

The branch of federal courts whose main job is to interpret laws and resolve legal disputes.

Separation of Powers

Dividing government authority among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Federalism

Dividing and sharing power between the national government and state governments.

Checks and Balances

A system in which each branch can limit the powers of the other branches to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful.

Founding Fathers

Leaders who helped establish the United States and its government, including George Washington, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin.

Federalists

Supporters of ratifying the Constitution who favored creating a stronger national government.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of ratification or critics who feared centralized national power and demanded stronger protections for rights and state authority.

Federalist Papers

Essays written to encourage public support for ratifying the Constitution.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution, providing explicit protections for individual rights and liberties.

Three-Fifths Compromise

A compromise that counted three-fifths of the enslaved population for congressional representation and direct taxation, granting slaveholding states additional political representation.

"All Other Persons"

The constitutional phrase in the original counting provision referring to enslaved people, distinguished in the text from free persons.

Naturalization Act of 1790

A law that limited eligibility for naturalized U.S. citizenship to free white persons.

Jeffersonian Republicans

Supporters of Thomas Jefferson who generally favored limited federal power, stronger state authority, and an agricultural republic.