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Unit 4 Vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Articles of Confederation | The first official government of the United States, written and ratified during the American Revolution |
Articles of Confederation | US government that failed because it lacked a strong central government, the states were too powerful |
Articles of Confederation | 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 |
State of Franklin | Lost state located in East Tennessee that Applied to be the 14th state but it was denied |
Northwest Territory | North of the Ohio River valley where slaves were 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 major principles of the Constitution |
George Washington | Elected the chairman of the Constitution Convention |
George Washington | Unanimously elected first president, only served two set 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 | Agreement made over how larger and smaller states would be at the Constitutional Convention |
Great Compromise | 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 counts slaves for representations in Congress |
Preamble | The opening paragraph of the Constitution, states the purpose of the Congress |
Preamble | Begins with the phrase "We the People" |
Bill of Rights | The first ten amendments to the Constitution |
Bill of Rights | Part of the Constitution that protects individual rights and liberties |
Separation 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 laws |
Executive | Branch of government that enforces the laws |
Judicial | Branch of government that applies or interprets the law |
Senate | Upper house of Congress where each state had an equal number of representatives |
House of Representatives | Lower house of Congress where the number of representatives per state is based on that 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 government |
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 |
Anitfederalists | Group the opposed ratification of the Constitution |
Antifederalists | Group that feared the Constitution would turn into a monarchy |
Antifederalists | Their biggest contribution to American history is that they demanded a bill of rights to the Constitution |
Federalist papers | Series of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay to convince Americans to ratify the Constitution |
Land Ordinance | Law that organized land in the Northwest Territory and auctioned off land to pay for national debt |