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A More Perfect Union
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Constitution A formal plan of government
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Legislature a group of people with the power to make, change, or repeal laws for a state or country
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Bicameral a legislature consisting of two houses, or chambers
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Republic a government in which citizen’s rule through elected representatives
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Articles of Confederation
The first constitution of the United States
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Weaknesses of the Articles
Could not regulate trade Could not force citizens to join the army Could not deal with the nation’s finances Could not impose taxes Did not have an established leader
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Petition A formal request
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Confederation Congress
American Congress under the Articles of Confederation Established an arrangement for handling new states in the west
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Ordinance A law or regulation
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Northwest Territory Territory established by the Confederation Congress of all the land north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River
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Depreciate To fall in value
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Depression A period of low economic activity and wide spread unemployment
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Shay’s Rebellion A pair of civilian attacks led by Daniel Shays on a court house and a federal arsenal Forced courts to close so they could not confiscate the land of farmers Helped point out that the newly formed government needed to be improved
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Quakers Created the first antislavery organization in America
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Manumission The freeing of individual enslaved persons
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Constitutional Convention
a meeting of state delegates in 1787 leading to the adoption of a new Constitution
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Constitutional Convention
Every state except Rhode Island sent delegates to fix the flaws of the Articles of Confederation. Rhode Island opposed a stronger central government and did not attend the Convention Meeting took place in Philadelphia at the Independence Hall George Washington unanimously selected to preside over the convention
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Constitutional Convention (continued)
Patrick Henry was elected as a delegate, but he opposed the Convention and did not attend Ben Franklin, 81, was the oldest delegate at the convention Thomas Jefferson did not attend because he was in Europe representing the American government
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James Madison Convention was secret, so there is no official record of the things discussed. Most information from the meeting comes from James Madison’s notebook of daily events. Known as the “Father of the Constitution” since it was his basic plan for government that the convention used
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Proportional To be the same as or corresponding to
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Virginia Plan designed by James Madison called for a legislature with two houses with representation in each house based on population and an executive and judicial branch selected by the legislature Larger states liked this plan Smaller states felt it would ignore their interests
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New Jersey Plan Proposed by William Patterson
called for a single legislative house with equal representation for each state. Smaller states liked this plan Larger states felt they should have more power than the smaller ones
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Compromise An agreement between two or more sides in which each side gives up some of what it wants
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Great Compromise Headed by Roger Sherman
Agreement providing a dual system of congressional representation Broke a deadlock between the large and small states Senate representation would be equal for each state (New Jersey Plan); this pleased the small states House of Representatives representation would be based on population (Virginia Plan); this pleased the large states
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Three-fifths Compromise
Agreement providing the amount that enslaved persons would count as in determining representation in Congress
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George Mason Proposed a bill of rights during the Constitutional Convention He and other delegates feared the new government might abuse its power without one The proposal was defeated
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Magna Carta Placed limits on the power of the monarch
The king had to rely on Parliament to pay for wars and fund the royal government
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Parliament England’s lawmaking body, or legislature
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Enlightenment A movement in the 1700’s that promoted knowledge, reason, and science as the means to improve society
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John Locke English philosopher who influenced the Framers of the Constitution Believed all people have natural rights Believed that government is based on a contract between the people and the ruler
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Natural Rights Life, liberty and property
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Baron de Montesquieu French philosopher who influenced the Framers of the Constitution Believed that the powers of the government should be separated and balanced against each other
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Federalism Sharing of power between federal and state governments
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Federal Powers Under the Constitution (Expressed Powers)
Tax the entire nation Regulate national and international trade Control national currency Raise an army Declare war Pass laws “necessary and proper” to carry out responsibilities
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State Powers Under the Constitution (Reserved Powers)
Regulate trade within state borders Establish local governments and schools Collect taxes within the state
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Legislative Branch Defined in Article I of the Constitution
The law making branch of the government Called Congress Consists of the House of Representatives (like the Virginia Plan) and the Senate (like the New Jersey Plan)
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Executive Branch Defined in Article II of the Constitution
The branch of government that carries out the laws Headed by the President
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Electoral College A special group of voters selected by their state’s voters to vote for the president and vice president
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Judicial Branch Defined in Article III of the Constitution
The branch of government that interprets the nation’s laws Headed by the Supreme Court
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Checks and Balances System of government where each branch is able to restrain the power of the other two branches
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Ratify To approve
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Federalists Supporters of the Constitution
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The Federalist Papers A book, using a series of essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay supporting the Constitution
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Antifederalists People who opposed the Constitution
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Amendment An addition to a formal document
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Bill of Rights First 10 amendments to the Constitution
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State Ratification Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution Rhode Island was the last state to ratify the Constitution
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