Article of Confederation & Constitution Flashcards
Daniel Shays
Daniel Shays was an American soldier, revolutionary, and farmer famous for being one of the leaders of Shays’ Rebellion, a populist uprising against controversial debt collection and tax policies in Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787.
Federalists
a political group in early U.S. history that favored the adoption by the states of the Constitution, as well as advocating for a strong central government.
Anti-Federalists
opposed the ratification of the Constitution in 1789 and thereafter allied with Thomas Jefferson’s Antifederal Party, which opposed extension of the powers of the federal Government.
Republican Motherhood
Women’s role in society was altered by the American Revolution. Women who ran households in the absence of men became more assertive. ABIGAIL ADAMS, wife of John, became an early advocate of women’s rights when she prompted her husband to “REMEMBER THE LADIES” when drawing up a new government.
George Washington
First president of the United States, he also fought (for the British) in the French and Indian War and was the commanding officer of the victorious American forces in the Revolutionary War. He was named president of the Constitutional Convention. He served two terms as president, during which he invented the Cabinet, his advisers, and tried to calm the bickering between the two new political parties, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. After his second term, Washington retired to his home at Mount Vernon, to live a quiet life with his wife, Martha.
Articles of Confederation
Document detailing form of government taken after the Revolutionary War. The focus was on state governments, which had tremendous power. This form of government proved unequal to the task of governing the 13 Colonies, mainly because 9 of the 13 states had to agree to get anything done. The result was the Constitutional Convention.
Northwest Ordinance
Land agreement of 1787 that created the Northwest Territory, enabling the United States to expand into the Great Lakes area. States created from the Northwest Territory included Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
James Madison
Fourth president, signer of the Constitution, writer of The Federalist Papers, leader of the Democratic-Republican Party. He is probably most famous, however, for his draft of the Virginia Plan (the basis for our republican government), his insistence on a Bill of Rights, and his notes of the Constitutional Convention. As president, he presided over the War of 1812, which the United States won.
Alexander Hamilton
First Secretary of Treasury, under George Washington. His ideas about government were at the heart of the republican form of government we now have, and his economic theories form the basis of our economy still. Along with James Madison and John Jay, he wrote The Federalist Papers, letters to New York newspapers designed to convince the people in that state to ratify the Constitution. He was a leader of the new Federalist Party, along with John Adams. His politics brought him into conflict with Thomas Jefferson, who was a leader of the new Democratic-Republican Party. Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr.
Roger Sherman
Roger Sherman was a colonial and U.S. politician and judge who played a critical role at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, devising a plan for legislative representation that was accepted by large and small states.
John Adams
Second president of the United States, serving one term. He was also vice-president for two terms under George Washington. Adams was a leader of the American Revolution (along with his cousin Samuel) and of the new Federalist Party, along with Alexander Hamilton. His politics brought him into conflict with his vice-president, Thomas Jefferson, who was a leader of the new Democratic-Republican Party. Adams’s presidency was filled with foreign difficulties, including the XYZ Affair, which almost led to war with France. His son, John Quincy Adams, also served as president.
Constitutional Convention
Convention called in 1787 to discuss problems with the current government document, the Articles of Confederation. The result was a new form of government, the Constitution. Delegates from all over the colonies attended, and they struggled with competing concerns of large-population states and small-population states. George Washington presided over the Convention, and James Madison took detailed notes. Once the Constitution was approved at the Convention, it still had to be ratified by a certain number of state.
Bill of Rights
First 10 Amendments to the Constitution. James Madison was a strong supporter of the Bill of Rights. They were part of the compromise that ultimately resulted in the passage of the Constitution. These amendments protect individual rights against government intrusion.
Great Compromise
The Connecticut Compromise (also known as the Great Compromise of 1787 or Sherman’s Compromise) was an agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States.
New Jersey Plan
The New Jersey Plan (also widely known as the Small State Plan or the Paterson Plan) was a proposal for the structure of the United States Government presented by William Paterson at the Constitutional Convention on June 15, 1787. The plan was created in response to the Virginia Plan, which called for two houses of Congress, both elected with apportionment according to population. Under the New Jersey Plan, the unicameral legislature with one vote per state was inherited from the Articles of Confederation.
