This set of flashcards covers the early years of United States history until the creation of the US Constitution
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| 73228369 | Articles of Confederation | Plan for United States government in which states joined together in a loose union---under this plan the states had the most power and the central (federal) government was weak | |
| 73228371 | Shays' Rebellion | Farmers in Massachusetts, led by Daniel Shays, rebelled against the state government because many were in debt and were losing their farms----showed the central (federal) government was weak | |
| 73228372 | Constitutional Convention | Meeting held in Philadelphia to initially revise the Articles of Confederation. Founding Fathers decided an entire new plan of government, or constitution, was needed. | |
| 73228373 | James Madison | Authored the Virginia Plan. Many principles of the Constitution are based on his ideas. Madison is known as the "Father of the Constitution" | |
| 73228374 | Virginia Plan | Plan that called for 3 branches of government, with a 2 house legislature that had representation in both houses determined by population---this plan favored large states | |
| 73228375 | New Jersey Plan | Plan that called for 3 branches of government with a 1 house legislature in which representation for each state was equal---this plan favored small states | |
| 73228376 | Compromise | A way of settling problems in which both sides give in a little | |
| 73228377 | Great Compromise | Plan created by Roger Sherman that solved the conflict between the two plans that were presented. There would be 2 houses in the legislature, the House of Representatives, with representatives being determined by state population, and a Senate, with each state having an equal number of representatives (2). | |
| 73228378 | Three-fifths Compromise | Southern states wanted slave to be counted in population, northern states did not, the compromise reached would count each slave as 3/5ths of a person. | |
| 73228379 | Federalism | The sharing of power between a central (federal) government and its political subdivisions, or states | |
| 73228380 | Antifederalists | People who opposed the Constitution because they thought the federal government had too much power over states and that people had a loss of individual freedoms. | |
| 73228381 | Separation of Powers | The government is divided into 3 separate branches in order to keep any one branch from becoming too powerful | |
| 73228382 | Check and Balances | Each branch of government has certain powers over the others to keep balance among the branches. An example is that the President (executive branch) can veto a law proposed by Congress (legislative branch) | |
| 73228383 | Bill of Rights | The first 10 amendments, or additions, to the Constitution. These describe the rights Americans have under their government. | |
| 73258322 | Founding Fathers/Framers | Delegates to the Constitutional Convention who were among America's most educated people at the time | |
| 73258323 | Electoral College | The body of electors who formally elect the United States president and vice-president | |
| 73258324 | Census | Official count of the people, done every 10 years in the US | |
| 73258325 | Requirements to become President | Must be born in the US, age 35 or older, must have lived in the US for at least 14 years | |
| 73258326 | Amendment | a change in, or addition to, a constitution or law | |
| 181118030 | Ratification of Constitution | After the Constitution was signed, it had to be approved by at least 9 states in order to go into effect. | |
| 181118199 | Bill of Rights | The first ten amendments to the Constitution |
