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| 1587528654 | Chattel (Definition) | Slave; personal property. | 0 | |
| 1587528655 | Chattel (Significance) | 1775; Penn. Quakers found world's 1st antislavery society. 1774; Cont. Congress called for complete abolition of slave trade, north states agreed, but southern states didn't. Most slave masters freed their human chattels. However, Congress didn't force the abolition of slavery b/c they feared that a fight over slavery would lead to a breakup of national unity. | 1 | |
| 1587528656 | Ratification (Definition) | To confirm by expressing consent, approval, or formal sanction. | 2 | |
| 1587528657 | Ratification (Significance) | Massachusetts comes up w/ idea of constitutional convention to draft constitution and submit it directly to the people for ratification. Federalists, former Loyalists, helped to ratify the new Constitution; only 9 states were needed to ratify the new Constitution. Basically, the Constitution could be ratified when 2/3 of the states expressed their consent. | 3 | |
| 1587528658 | Quorum (Definition) | The # of members of a group/organization required to be present to transact business legally, usually a majority. | 4 | |
| 1587528659 | Quorum (Significance) | May 25-Sept 17 1787; The quorum of 55 chosen delegates from 12 states met at Pennsylvania to write the new Constitution. Demigods were George Washington, Ben Franklin, James Madison, and Alex Hamilton. Most were of the conservative and wealthy class. | 5 | |
| 1587528660 | Daniel Shays (Definition) | American Rev. War soldier: leader of a Shay's Rebellion in MA (1786-87). | 6 | |
| 1587528661 | Daniel Shays (Significance) | Veteran of the American Revolution who led poor backcountry farmers in Shay's Rebellion that were upset about farm foreclosures and taxes. The rebels demanded cheap paper money, lighter taxes, and suspension of property takeovers. Shays was convicted but pardoned. His rebellion sparked conservative fears of uprising, and it motivated the desire for a stronger federal government. | 7 | |
| 1587528662 | Alexander Hamilton (Definition) | American statesman and writer on government: 1st Secretary of the Treasury 1789-97, killed by Aaron Burr in a duel. | 8 | |
| 1587528663 | Alexander Hamilton (Significance) | 1786; Met at Annapolis, MA convention with 5 state representatives. Hamilton was NY-er who saved the convention from failure by calling Congress to meet in PA in 1787 to deal w/ commerce issues and revise the Articles of Confederation. He was an advocate of strong, central gov. He later joined John Jay and James Madison to write the Federalist Papers for NY newspapers. | 9 | |
| 1587528664 | Checks and Balances (Definition) | Limits imposed on all branches of a gov. by vesting in each branch the right to amend/void those acts of another that fall within its purview. | 10 | |
| 1587528665 | Checks and Balances (Significance) | Federalists believed every branch of gov. (executive, legislative, judicial) represented the people. It embedded the doctrine of self-rule in self-limiting system to checks and balances. | 11 | |
| 1587528666 | Republicanism (Definition) | Gov. in which people have power over government. Offices of state aren't hereditary or monarchical (elections). | 12 | |
| 1587528667 | Republicanism (Significance) | Authority rested w/ people. Republicanism was a good gov. but there was a need for a stronger central gov. after Shay's Rebellion. | 13 | |
| 1587528668 | Popular Sovereignty (Definition) | The doctrine that sovereign power is vested in the people and that those chosen to govern, as trustees of such power, must exercise it in conformity with the general will. | 14 | |
| 1587528669 | Popular Sovereignty (Significance) | 1776; Power rests w/ people; Cont. Congress calls on colonies to draft their own constitutions. The states coined money, raised armies/navies, and erected tariffs. The Articles of Confederation couldn't act directly upon citizens of state; w/ the new Constitution, antifederalists claimed the sovereignty of the states was being jeopardized. Constitution redefined popular sovereignty: every branch represented people w/ checks and balances. | 15 | |
| 1587528670 | Great Compromise (Definition) | 1787; Agreement between large and small states during the Constitutional Convention that had bicameral Congress with representation by population in the House of Representatives for larger states, and equal representation (2 senators) in the Senate for smaller states. Taxation originated in the House (population based). | 16 | |
| 1587528671 | Great Compromise (Significance) | There was a debate between VA's large-state plan and NJ's small-state plan. The G.C. was worked out so that Congress would have 2 houses, the House of Representatives, where representation was based on population, and the Senate, where each state got 2 representatives. All tax bills would start in the house (tax based on population). | 17 | |
| 1587528672 | Articles of Confederation (Definition) | 1781; Agreement among the 13 original colonies that provided loose federal gov. There was no chief executive/judiciary, and it didn't have the authority to collect taxes; replaced by Constitution of U.S. in 1788. | 18 | |
| 1587528673 | Articles of Confederation (Significance) | 1777; Adopted by Congress but wasn't put into effect until 1781 b/c of western lands dilemma that was later resolved by the Northwest Ordinance 1787. There was a loose central gov. and Congress; no ex./jud. branch; no power to regulate commerce/tax. The weak gov. allowed pirates/foreigners to attack the U.S.; Shay's Rebellion led conservatives to want a stronger central gov.; U.S. Constitution replaced A. of C. in 1788. | 19 | |
| 1587528674 | Land Ordinance of 1758 (Definition) | Law passed by Congress that allowed for sales of land in the Northwest Territory and set up standards for land sale that became precedents. Among them was the idea of selling mile-square sections of land. | 20 | |
| 1587528675 | Land Ordinance of 1758 (Significance) | Acreage of Old Northwest should be sold/proceeds used to help pay off national debt. Area divided into townships 6 miles square, each split into 36 sections of 1 square mile each; 16th section sold to schools. | 21 | |
| 1587528676 | "three-fifths compromise" (Definition) | Delegates agreed to count slaves as 3/5 of a person when apportioning representation/taxation. | 22 | |
| 1587528677 | "three-fifths compromise" (Significance) | Compromise in the Constitution in which slaves would count as 3/5 of a person in census counts for representation. | 23 | |
| 1587528678 | Northwest Ordinance (Definition) | July 13, 1787; 2nd Cont. Congress chartered gov. for Northwest Territory (northeast of Ohio River, east of Mississippi River, south of Great Lakes); provided method for admitting new states to Union from territory; listed bill of rights guaranteed in territory; accelerated westward expansion of U.S. | 24 | |
| 1587528679 | Northwest Ordinance (Significance) | Pledged in 1781 to resolve issue of western lands, in effect in 1787. Governing of Old Northwest: temporary tutelage, then permanent equality; 2 evolutionary territory stages (area subordinate to gov.; admitted as state when population was 60,000); forbade slavery. | 25 | |
| 1587528680 | Shay's Rebellion (Definition) | 1786-87; Uprising in western Massachusetts by American Rev. War veteran Daniel Shays. Started over financial difficulties. MA private army defeated attack at Springfield. Called for reevaluation of Articles of Confederation and raised fears that democracy had gotten out of hand. | 26 | |
| 1587528681 | Shay's Rebellion (Significance) | 1786 Western Massachusetts; Daniel Shays disgruntled over getting farmland mortgages and foreclosures. The rebels demanded cheap paper money, lighter taxes, and suspension of property takeovers. Shays was convicted, but later pardoned. The importance of Shay's Rebellion was that the fear of uprising motivated a desire for a stronger federal gov.constitution | 27 | |
| 1587528682 | Federalists (Definition) | Members/supporters of stronger federal gov./U.S. Constitution in 1788 (Federalist party). | 28 | |
| 1587528683 | Federalists (Significance) | Favored stronger gov. (for Constitution). Were usually more respectable, cultured, propertied groups, former Loyalists (lived nearer coast in older areas), believed every branch of gov. represented people. | 29 | |
| 1587528684 | Federalist Papers (Definition) | A series of 85 essays (1787-88) by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, written in support of the Constitution. | 30 | |
| 1587528685 | Federalist Papers (Significance) | Articles written by John Jay, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton for NY newspapers. Designed as propaganda, commentaries on the Constitution, stating that it was possible to extend a republican gov. over a large territory. NY was swayed by these papers (esp. No. 10,15, 51) and finally yielded. | 31 | |
| 1587528686 | Anti-Federalists (Definition) | Opponent of stronger federal gov./U.S. Constitution in 1788 (Antifederalist party). | 32 | |
| 1587528687 | Anti-Federalists (Significance) | Opposed to Constitution, cried that it was drawn up by aristocratic elements and was anti-democratic. Were mostly poor, illiterate farmers, states' rights devotees (lived westward toward frontier), against the dropping of annual elections of gov. representatives and erecting of Washington D.C., and creation of standing army. Believed only legislative branch represented people. Forced the promise of a bill of rights. | 33 | |
| 1587528688 | Large State Plan (Definition) | Also known as Virginia/Randolph Plan. Proposed by Virginia delegates for bicameral Congress in which representation would be based on population; gave larger states an advantage. | 34 | |
| 1587528689 | Large State Plan (Significance) | Proposed by Virginia during Constitutional Convention in Philly (1787). Representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress should be based on population, gave larger states an advantage. | 35 | |
| 1587528690 | Bundle of Compromises (Definition) | Another name for the U.S. Constitution because delegates at the Constitutional Convention 1787 had to compromise on numerous key points in order to make a new Constitution that was acceptable to each of the states: Great Compromise, three-fifths compromise, commerce compromise, slave trade compromise, election of the president. | 36 | |
| 1587528691 | Bundle of Compromises (Significance) | Constitution was a bundle of compromises which included : the Great Compromise; strong, independent executive branch w/ president who was military commander-in-chief and could veto legislation; election of president through the Electoral College; three-fifths compromise. | 37 | |
| 1587528692 | James Madison (Definition) | 4th president of the U.S. 1809-17. | 38 | |
| 1587528693 | James Madison (Significance) | Attended 1787 Constitutional Convention in which he was viewed as a demigod and dubbed "Father of the Constitution." He wrote the famous No. 10 in Federalist Papers with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton. He developed the ideal of extensive republic. | 39 |
