7th Grade SS Chap 7
Terms
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- Amendments
- changes or additions to the Constitution
- Antifederalists
- those opposed to the Constitution
- The Articles of Confederation
-
established the first federal
government for the United States - The Bill of Rights
- the name given to the first 10 amendments to the Constitution
- checks and balances
- system that ensures that no one branch of the federal government has too much power
- Constitution:
-
a set of laws and principles that determine a form of
government - The Constitutional Convention:
- a meeting of state delegates to draft a new form of government
- executive branch
- the office of the president and his executive departments
- federalism
-
a system of government in which power is shared by a central authority and
its member states - Federalist Papers
- texts that argued in support of the newly written Constitution
- Federalists
- supporters of the Constitution
- The Great Compromise
- act that resolved the conflict over representation between large and small states
- judicial branch
-
judicial branch: the national
court system headed by the
Supreme Court - Land Ordinance of 1785:
-
Land Ordinance of 1785:
legislation enabling the sale of federal lands - legislative branch:
-
legislative branch: Congress,
which proposes and passes laws - Northwest Ordinance of 1787:
-
Northwest Ordinance of 1787:
established the rules for
organizing governments in the
Northwest Territory - Northwest Territory:
-
Northwest Territory: territory
including modern-day Illinois,
Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Ohio. - ratification:
- ratification: official approval
- republic:
-
republic: a form of government
where the head of state is elected by the people, who are the source of power - suffrage:
- suffrage: the right to vote
- tariffs:
-
tariffs: duties on imports or
exports - The Three-Fifths Compromise:
-
The Three-Fifths Compromise:
ruling that resolved the issue of counting slaves as members of the population of states when
determining House epresentation -
Americans drew on the many sources for their ideas
about government, including: -
1. English Common law
2. the philosophers of the Enlightenment
3. American experience as self-governing colonies -
Individual state governments were based on their own
constitutions -
1. Each constitution guaranteed the rights of citizens
and gave them the power to elect
representatives.
2. Many states had weak governors with no veto
power and no control over the courts.
3. Voting rights were generally expanded, though
not everyone could vote.
4. Some states initially gave voting rights to African
Americans, though those rights were mostly lost
in the 19th century -
The Articles of Confederation provided the basis for a
union -
1. The document created a weak federal government with no president.
2. Each state would have one representative in the
Confederation Congress.
3. Congress could make money, sign treaties, and resolve disputes between states, but not much else. -
Congress made decisions regarding the western
lands -
1. Much of the land was sold to the public.
2. It established the Northwest Territory, which
allowed for some self-government and laid down
the procedure for statehood.
3. Slavery was banned in the Northwest Territory. -
The Constitutional Convention met in February 1787 and
hammered out the basis for a federal government.
A. Delegates had widely different views on what their
goal should be. -
1. Some wanted a new document, others simply
wanted to edit the Articles of Confederation.
2. Larger states wanted each state’s representation
in the legislature to be based on population.
3. Smaller states felt each state should have the
same representation.
4. Southern states wanted slaves to be counted
when calculating population so that they would
have more representatives.
5. Other delegates wanted to put an end to the
slave trade - Many compromises were forged to create the Constitution
-
1. The Great Compromise allowed for one house of
Congress to have its representatives based on
population, and the other to give each state the
same power.
2. The Three-Fifths Compromise let 60 percent of
each state’s slave population be included when
calculating representation.
3. Delegates agreed not to stop the slave trade for
20 years - One of the hallmarks of the Constitution was its reliance on checks and balances
-
1. The legislative branch could write laws
2. The executive branch could approve or reject laws.
3. The judicial branch could decide if a law was allowable under the Constitution.
While the federal government would have the power to enforce laws within the states, states would also
have control of some functions -
Federalists and Antifederalists sparred publicly over what the government should be, with the Federalists finally
winning -
A. Federalists supported the new constitution and urged
the states to ratify it.
B. Antifederalists feared that the federal government
would have too much power, and wanted a federal bill
of rights.
C. The Federalist Papers were published nationwide,
giving the rationale for supporting the Constitution.
D. Franklin and Washington’s support had a large impact
on the public.
E. States debated ratification at special conventions attended by the public.
F. The Constitution went into effect in July 1788, after
New Hampshire ratified it.
G. After ratification, the Bill of Rights was added to
address the concerns of the Antifederalists.