American Revolution & Constitution Lecture Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical events, figures, and concepts related to the American Revolution, the Articles of Confederation, and the drafting and ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

American Revolution (1776-1783)

A conflict characterized more as an accelerated evolution than a radical overthrow, with most daily life continuing for the populace.

Articles of Confederation (1777-1781)

The first national charter, providing for a loose confederation or firm league of friendship among 13 independent states.

Massachusetts Constitution (1780)

The first state constitution to require a special convention for amendment and the longest-lived constitution.

Industrial Colic (1786)

An economic crisis caused by British surplus goods flooding the American market after the war, leading to an industrial depression.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

A uniform national land policy that established a two-stage territorial evolution for admitting new states and prohibited slavery in the territory.

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

Lacked authority to regulate interstate commerce, enforce tax collection, or protect itself, leading to economic and foreign policy struggles.

Land Ordinance of 1785

Established a system to survey and sell the Old Northwest to fund the national debt, reserving Section 16 of every township for public schools.

Shays's Rebellion (1786)

An uprising of farmers, led by Captain Daniel Shays, protesting mortgage foreclosures, high taxes, and depreciated paper currency, which struck fear in the property class.

Annapolis Convention (1786)

A convention called by Virginia to discuss interstate commerce, which became the first formal push for a national solution to the Articles of Confederation's weaknesses.

Constitutional Convention (1787)

A gathering of 55 delegates in Philadelphia to draft a new constitution, shifting focus from merely revising the Articles of Confederation to broader reforms.

Virginia Plan

Proposed by James Madison, it called for a bicameral legislature where both chambers were apportioned by population, favoring larger states.

New Jersey Plan

Proposed a single-chamber legislature with each state having one vote, preserving the equal footing of smaller states.

Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)

Resolved the representation dispute by creating a House of Representatives based on population and a Senate with equal representation (two senators per state).

Three-fifths Compromise

An agreement that each enslaved person would count as 3/5 of a free person for the purposes of both representation and taxation.

Electoral College Compromise

Established an indirect election of the President by electors, with the House of Representatives deciding if no candidate wins a majority.

Article I, Section 9, Clause 1

A constitutional provision allowing Congress to end the importation of slaves after 1807.

Republican Government

A system where power ultimately resides in the people, but is exercised through representative institutions.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that the authority of the government is derived from the consent of the governed.

Federalists

Advocates for a strong central government, including George Washington, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, who argued for economic stability and a standing army.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of a strong central government, including Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry, who feared aristocratic domination, loss of state sovereignty, and the lack of a Bill of Rights.

Article 7 (Ratification)

Stipulated that the Constitution would become law when nine of the thirteen states ratified it through specially elected conventions.

Federalist Papers

A series of 85 essays published in New York newspapers by Madison, Hamilton, and John Jay, defending and explaining the Constitution to shape public opinion.

Federalist No. 10

An essay by James Madison arguing that a large republic can effectively control factions and protect against the tyranny of the majority.

Federalist No. 51

An essay by James Madison explaining the system of checks and balances, where 'ambition must be made to counteract ambition'.

Checks and Balances

A self-limiting system embedded in the Constitution, allowing each branch of government to check the powers of the others.

Manhood Suffrage

The voting right generally limited to property-owning white males during the early American republic.

Republican Motherhood

The concept that mothers were the primary cultivators of virtuous citizens, expected to instill republican virtues in their children to support the nation's survival.

Primogeniture

A medieval inheritance law, abolished by American states, granting the right of the eldest son to inherit all property.

Separation of Church and State

The principle that the government should not establish or favor any particular religious denomination.

Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1786)

A landmark law led by Thomas Jefferson that legally separated church and state in Virginia.

Philadelphia Quakers (1775)

Founded the world's first anti-slavery society, marking the birth of organized abolitionism in America.

Bonded Labor

Refers to indentured servitude, which became virtually nonexistent in the United States by 1800, reflecting growing democratic ideals.