Chapter 5 (Shaping a New Nation)

Question 1

Republic

Answer 1

a government in which the citizens rule through elected representatives.

Question 2

Republicanism

Answer 2

the belief that government should be based on the consent of the people.

Question 3

Constitution

Answer 3

the system of beliefs and laws by which a country, state, or organization is governed.

Question 4

Articles of Confederation

Answer 4

a document, adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 and finally approved by the states in 1781, that outlined the form of government of the new United States.

Question 5

Confederation

Answer 5

an alliance permitting states or nations to act together on matters of mutual concern.

Question 6

Land Ordinance of 1785

Answer 6

a law that established a plan for surveying and selling the federally owned lands west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Question 7

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Answer 7

a law that established a procedure for the admission of new states to the Union.

Question 8

What was most serious problem under the Articles of Confederation?

Answer 8

lack of national unity

Question 9

What was most serious economic problem under the Articles of Confederation?

Answer 9

the huge war debt of $190 million that Congress had amassed during the Revolutionary War.

Question 10

How many people did a territory have to have before it could apply to become a state?

Answer 10

60,000 free inhabitants

Question 11

Shays’s Rebellion

Answer 11

an uprising of debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers protesting increased state taxes in 1787.

Question 12

James Madison

Answer 12

a leader in the call for a convention to amend the Articles of Confederation, proposed the Virginia Plan, also a leader of the Federalists who supported the new Constitution.

Question 13

Virginia Plan

Answer 13

a proposal by James Madison at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 that called for a bicameral legislature where each state would be represented in each house based on their population.

Question 14

New Jersey Plan

Answer 14

a proposal by William Paterson at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 that called for a unicameral legislature where each state would be represented equally.

Question 15

Great Compromise

Answer 15

the Constitutional Convention’s agreement to establish a two-house national legislature, with all states having equal representation in one house and each state having representation based on its population in the other house.

Question 16

Three-Fifths Compromise

Answer 16

the Constitutional Convention’s agreement to count three-fifths of a state’s slave population for purposes of representation and taxation.

Question 17

Federalism

Answer 17

a political system in which a national government and constituent units, such as state governments, share power.

Question 18

Isaiah 33:22

Answer 18

the Bible verse where James Madison got the idea for three branches of government. “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.”

Question 19

Legislative Branch

Answer 19

the branch of government that makes laws.

Question 20

Executive Branch

Answer 20

the branch of government that administers and enforces the laws.

Question 21

Judicial Branch

Answer 21

the branch of government that interprets the laws and the Constitution.

Question 22

Checks and Balances

Answer 22

the provisions in the U.S. Constitution that prevent any branch of the U.S. Government from dominating the other two branches.

Question 23

Electoral College

Answer 23

a group selected by the states to elect the president and the vice-president, in which each state’s number of electors is equal to the number of its senators and representatives in Congress.

Question 24

Ratification

Answer 24

the official approval of the Constitution, or of an amendment, by the states. (required at least 9 states)

Question 25

Federalists

Answer 25

supporters of the Constitution and of a strong national government. (George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton)

Question 26

Antifederalists

Answer 26

an opponent of a strong central government. (Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee)

Question 27

The Federalist

Answer 27

a series of 85 essays defending and explaining the Constitution, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.

Question 28

What was first state to ratify the Constitution?

Answer 28

Delaware in December 1787

Question 29

Bill of Rights

Answer 29

the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, added in 1791 and consisting of a formal list of citizens’ rights and freedoms.

Question 30

First Amendment

Answer 30

An amendment added to the U.S. Constitution which guarantees the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.