Chapter 6 Flashcards
Pennsylvania constitution (1776)
A constitution that granted all taxpaying men the right to vote and hold office and created a unicameral (one-house) legislature with complete power; there was no governor to exercise a veto. Other provisions mandated a system of elementary education and protected citizens from imprisonment for debt.
In other words it gave a lot of power to the legislature, although it got rid of property owning as a requirement to vote. Still only gave white male who payed tax to vote.
Sig.: it was the base of the new colonial government, which still applies today as any one rich or poor can play a part in the government.
It will have the glossary meaning and an overall meaning with the significance.
I hope it helps
Mixed government
John Adams’s theory, which called for three branches of government, each representing one function: executive, legislative, and judicial. This system of dispersed authority was devised to maintain a balance of power and ensure the legitimacy of governmental procedures.
Significant: because it made the idea of checks and balance, making the houses balance power, and check each other. And still today we use that in our government.
Article of Confederation (1777)
The written document defining the structure of the government from 1781-1788, under which the Union was a confederation of equal states, with no executive and limited powers, existing mainly to foster a common defense.
In other words it was a document with defined that all states had equal power (one vote for each state regardless of population/size, pass laws trough voting 9/13), each had their freedom and independence.
Significant: it gave each state their power and it was the first constitution
Northwest Ordinance (1787)
land act that provided for orderly settlement and established a process by which settled territories would become the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It also banned slavery in the Northwest Territory.
In other words was an act that gave more land to USA (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.) and there were no slavery in the Northwest part of USA.
Significant : it expanded the USA territory and now there was black free man.
Shay’s rebellion
A 1786–1787 uprising led by dissident farmers in western Massachusetts, many of them Revolutionary War veterans, protesting the taxation policies of the eastern elites who controlled the state’s government.
In other words a rebellion against tax policies of the white rich males in power.
Significant: it proved the article of confederation wasn’t working as expect. That they needed a stronger confederation.
Philadelphia Convention
An convention in May 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation and develop a more effective and unified constitution. There were a total of 55 delegates from 12 states were present.
Significant: they came with two plans. Virginia’s and New Jersey plan. With focused on powerful national government.
Virginia Plan
A plan drafted by James Madison that was presented at the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention. It designed a powerful three-branch government, with representation in both houses of the congress tied to population; this plan would have eclipsed the voice of small states in the national government.
In other words gave power it took the power of the states to a more central government; they wanted to make that central government made by the people (not states) , and have an election where ordinary people would vote for representatives in the lower house.
Significant: because it gave the idea of a powerful central government and it was base of the our stablished government now.
New Jersey Plan
Alternative to the Virginia Plan drafted by delegates from small states, retaining the confederation’s single-house congress with one vote per state. It shared with the Virginia Plan enhanced congressional powers to raise revenue, control commerce, and make binding requisitions on the states.
In other words: it gave the central government the power to raise revenue, control commerce, and make binding requisitions on the states. But it preserved the states’ control of their own laws and guaranteed their equality.(each state would have one vote in a unicameral legislature.) It basically revenue the Article of confederation giving more power to the central government but still making sure states had some power.
Significance: it favor small states and gave them the same rights as a bigger states.
Federalist
Supporters of the Constitution of 1787, which created a strong central government.
Significant: it later became the Republican Party.
Antifederalists
The other point of view that did not support the Constitution of 1787. They feared a strong central government would corrupt the nation’s newly won liberty.
Significant: it later became the democrat party who fights for state power.
Federalist no. 10
An essay by James Madison in The Federalist (1787–1788) that challenged the view that republican governments only worked in small polities; it argued that a geographically expansive national government would better protect republican liberty.
Significant: it influenced political leaders throughout the country and subsequently won acclaim as an important treatise of practical republicanism.
Judith Sargent Murray
She wrote that women deserved access to education. She believed women and men are equal in intellect and potential to have the same opportunities to earn a living as man do.
Significant: She became an inspiration for women to start fighting for their rights.
James Madison
He produced the federalist Papers (1788) and made the constitution. He is known as the father of the constitution.
Significant: he later became the fourth President of the US, and he later was the author of the Bill of Rights that we still use today. So he influence a lot of our known government today.
