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Forming a New Government
Ch. 10
33
History
4th Grade
02/18/2008

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Term
Articles of Confederation
Definition
weak form of government for the United States after the Revolutionary War; this formed a "firm league of friendship" between states instead of a strong central government
Term
ratify
Definition
to approve something
Term
Congress
Definition
the main governing body under the Articles of Confederation; it couldn't collect taxes, eachstate had one vote in Congress, and 9 out of 13 states had to vote to pass a law
Term
legislative branch
Definition
Congress; the part of government that passes laws; this was the only branch of government under the Articles of Confederation
Term
executive branch
Definition
branch of government headed by a President that carries out the laws; under the Articles of Confederation there was no ___ branch
Term
judicial branch
Definition
branch of government that interprets the laws; a court system headed by the Supreme Court; there was no ___ branch under the Articles of Confederation
Term
inflation
Definition
period during which prices rise rapidly; problem in government under the Articles of Confederation
Term
nationalists
Definition
group that wanted a stronger form of national government; this was the start of one of the first political parties
Term
Shays' Rebellion
Definition
uprising of farmers led by Daniel Shays protesting the high taxes that were forcing farmers to sell their land; although this was unsuccessful, it showed we needed a stronger central government
Term
Northwest Teritory
Definition
lands that extended west to the Mississippi River that were gained from the British byt he Treaty of Paris
Term
Northwest Ordinance
Definition
official order that set up the steps for territories to become states; it also prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory
Term
delegates
Definition
representatives
Term
Constitutional Convention
Definition
meeting of delegates from the colonies whose original goal was to revise the Articles of Confederation; they ended up replacing the Articles with a new Constitution
Term
George Washington
Definition
leader of the Constitutional Convention
Term
James Madison
Definition
a nationalist delegate to the Constitutional Convention who wrote daily notes of their progress
Term
Alexander Hamilton
Definition
delegate to the Constitutional Convention who was a Federalist leader
Term
Virginia Plan
Definition
plan proposing 3 branches of government with representation in Congress based on state population; this was popular in the larger states but was not fair for the smaller states
Term
New Jersey Plan
Definition
plan giving each state equal power in Congress by giving each state the same amount of representatives regardless of size; this was a popular plan for the smaller states
Term
compromise
Definition
plan where each side gives up something to reach an agreement
Term
the Great Compromise
Definition
plan proposed by Roger Sherman in which Congress would have 2 parts; the Senate, where each state would have equal representation, and the House of Representatives, where each state would have representatives based on population
Term
Three-Fifths Compromise
Definition
compromise between the Northern and Southern states under which slaves would be counted as part of a state's population for both representation in Congress and for taxes,however,only 3 out of 5 slaves would be counted
Term
Preamble
Definition
the introduction to the Constitution
Term
reserved powers
Definition
powers left by the Constitution for state governments (education and elections)
Term
shared powers
Definition
powers that the federal government shares with the state government (tax laws and managing roads)
Term
checks and balances
Definition
system that guards against one branch of government becoming too powerful; each branch has power over the other
Term
veto
Definition
power of the President to refuse to sign bills into law
Term
separation of powers
Definition
each branch of government has different and separate powers
Term
Federalists
Definition
name that the Nationalists came to be known as; they wanted a strong national government; this became one of the 2 major political parties
Term
Antifederalists
Definition
group not happy with the power that the new Constitution gave the federal government; they wanted individual rights guaranteed; this became one of the 2 major political parties
Term
Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock
Definition
Antifederalists who wanted to protect individuals' freedoms and rights
Term
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay
Definition
Federalist leaders who wrote a series of essays in favor of the Constitution called the Federalist.
Term
amendment
Definition
addition or change to the Constitution
Term
the Bill of Rights
Definition
the first 10 amendments to the Constitution; these guaranteed individual rights and freedoms; without this the Constitution would not have been ratified
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