Social Studies Ch. 7 Vocab/People/Events

**Constitution**

plan of government

**Bicameral**

two-house government

**Republic**

a government in which citizens rule through elected representatives

**Petition**

to apply to

**Ordinance**

law

**Depreciate**

to fall in value

**Depression**

a period when economic activity slows and unemployment increases

**Manumission**

the freeing of individual enslaved persons

**Proportional**

corresponding in size

**Compromise**

an agreement between two or more sides in which each side gives up some of what it wants

**Amend**

to improve

**Convention**

a meeting

**Federalism**

sharing power between the federal and state governments

**Legislative Branch**

the law making branch

**Executive Branch**

headed by the president

**Electoral College**

a group made of presidential electors

**Judicial Branch**

the court system

**Checks & balances**

**e**ach branch has a way to limit the power of others so that no one single branch can dominate the government.

**Amendment**

something added to a document

**Tradition**

cultural beliefs and practices

**Articles of Confederation**

**The first national Constitution in which the states had more power than the national government**

**Shays’s Rebellion**

**The rebellion of 1000 angry Massachusetts farmers. They rebelled against courts who were foreclosing their farms in 1786.**

**James Madison**

**A Virginia planter, who notes at the convention led to the final draft of the new Constitution. He is nicknamed, “the Father of the Constitution.”**

**Alexander Hamilton**

**A New York lawyer who suggested a convention to discuss the topic of trade in the states and creation of a strong central government.**

**Virginia Plan**

**A plan suggested by Edmund Randolph and James Madison which was supported by the large states. It had a two house legislature, a chief executive, and a court system. The members of the lower house would be elected by the people, and the upper house would be chosen by the lower house.**

**New Jersey Plan**

**A plan suggested by William Paterson that was favored by small states because it had a one house legislature, with one vote for each state. Under this plan, congress could set taxes and regulate trade.**

**Great Compromise (Connecticut Plan)**

**This idea by Roger Sherman was a combination of the Virginia and the New Jersey Plan. There was a two house legislature. The upper house, The House of Representatives will have a certain number of states depending on the population of it. The Lower house, the Senate would have one seat for every state.**

**Three-fifth Compromise**

**Because state population mattered in the House of Representatives, counting of slaves was now an issue for southerners. Solution was to count every enslaved person as “three fifths” of a free person.**

**John Locke**

**An English philosopher who introduced the idea of all people having “natural rights”, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He also wrote a book called Two Treaties of Government, which told us about a “social contract” between the people and the ruler.**

**Baron de Montesquieu**

**A French writer who came up with the concept of separation of powers to control the powers of government. His book was called** ***The Spirit of Laws*****.**

**Conduct foreign affairs, maintain armed forces, borrow money, issue currency**

**Under the Articles of Confederation the National Government Could . . .**

**Edmund Randolph**

**Proposed the creation of a strong national government and he introduced the Virginia Plan**

**James Madison**

**Was a keen supporter of a strong national government. His notes documented the convention’s notes**

**Roger Sherman**

**Suggested a compromise that became the Great Compromize**

**Gouverneur Morris**

**Took Madison’s notes and made them into three articles**