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Unit 4 Colonies Voca
Unit 4 Colonies Vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Articles of Confederation I | the first official government in the United States, written and ratified during the American Revolution |
Articles of Confederation II | US government that failed because it lacked a strong central government; the states were too powerful |
Articles of Confederation III | US government that only had a legislative branch and Congress could not tax |
Northwest Ordinance | law passed in 1787 that determined how a territory could become a state; also banned slavery in the Northwest Territory |
Land Ordinance | law that organized land in the Northwest Territory and auctioned off land to pay for the national debt |
State of Franklin | lost state located in East Tennessee that applied to be the 14th state, but was denied |
Northwest Territory | North of the Ohio River Valley where slavery was banned; Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin would be here |
Shays Rebellion | revolt of farmers in Massachusetts over unfair taxes; showed that the Articles of Confederation could not keep law and order |
James Madison | father of the Constitution; presented the Virginia plan at the Constitutional Convention; took notes and explained the major principles of the Constitution |
George Washington I | elected the chairman of the Constitutional Convention |
George Washington II | unanimously elected first president; only served two terms, set an example for future presidents to follow |
Constitutional Convention | meeting of 55 delegates to revise the Articles of Confederation, but drafted the Constitution in Summer of 1787 |
Constitution | US government that strengthened the power of the federal government while also sharing power with the states |
Great Compromise I | agreement made over how larger and smaller states would be represented at the Constitutional Convention |
Great Compromise II | agreement that established the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress |
Bicameral | word that means "a two house legislature" |
Three-Fifths Compromise | agreement at the Constitutional Convention over how the Southern states would count slaves for representation in Congress |
Preamble I | the opening paragraph of the Constitution, states the purpose of the Constitution |
Preamble II | begins with the phrase "We the People" |
Bill of Rights I | the first ten amendments to the Constitution |
Bill of Rights II | part of the Constitution that protects individual rights and liberties |
Seperation of Powers | idea that the powers of government are divided among three branches - Legislative, Executive, and Judicial |
Veto | the ability of the president to reject a bill passed by congress |
Override | the ability of Congress to pass a bill that the president has vetoed |
Legislative | branch of government that writes the laws |
Executive | branch of government that enforces the laws |
Judicial | branch of government that applies or interprets the laws |
Senate | upper house of Congress where each state has an equal number of representatives |
House of Representatives | lower house of congress where the number of representatives per state is based on the state's population |
Checks and Balances | the ability of each branch of government to control the other two; keeps any one branch from becoming too powerful |
Federalism | idea that power is shared between a central government and state governments |
First Amendment | freedom of religion, speech, press, petition, and assembly |
Second Amendment | right to bear arms |
Third Amendment | right to not house and feed US soldiers in your home |
Fourth Amendment | protection from unwarranted searches and seizures from the government |
Tenth Amendment | says that powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states |
Ratification | the process of approving a constitution or amendment |
Federalists | group that wanted the Constitution to be ratified |
Anti-federalists I | group that opposed ratification of the Constitution |
Anti-federalists II | group that feared the Constitution would turn into a monarchy |
Anti-federalists III | their biggest contribution to American history is that they demanded a Bill of Rights be added to the Constitution |
Federalist Papers | series of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to convince Americans to ratify the Constitution |