Nostalgia Chapter 8 Flashcards
First American constitution that established the United States as a loose confederation of states under a weak national Congress, which was not granted the power to regulate commerce or collect taxes. The Articles were replaced by a more efficient Constitution in 1789.
Articles of Confederation
Territories acquired by the federal government from the states, encompassing land northwest of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi River, and south of the Great Lakes. The well-organized management and sale of the land in the territories under the land ordinances of 1785 and 1787 established a precedent for handling future land acquisitions.
Old Northwest
Provided for the sale of land in the Old Northwest and earmarked the proceeds toward repaying the national debt.
Land Ordinance of 1785
Created a policy for administering the Northwest Territories. It included a path to statehood and forbade the expansion of slavery into the territories.
Northwest Ordinance
Armed uprising of western Massachusetts debtors seeking lower taxes and an end to property foreclosures. Though quickly put down, the insurrection inspired fears of “mob rule” among leading Revolutionaries.
Shays’s Rebellion
“Large state” proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress. The plan favored larger states and thus prompted smaller states to come back with their own plan for apportioning representation.
Virginia Plan’s
“Small-state plan” put forth at the Philadelphia convention, proposing equal representation by state, regardless of population, in a unicameral legislature. Small states feared that the more populous states would dominate the agenda under a proportional system.
New Jersey Plan
Popular term for the measure that reconciled the New Jersey and Virginia Plans at the Constitutional Convention, giving states proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate. The compromise broke the stalemate at the convention and paved the way for subsequent compromises over slavery and the Electoral College.
Great Compromise
Laws that originate from court rulings and customs, as opposed to legislative statutes. The United States Constitution grew out of the Anglo-American common law tradition and thus provided only a general organizational framework for the new federal government.
common law
Body of written law enacted through legislative statutes or constitutional provisions. In countries where civil law prevails, judges must apply the statutes precisely as written.
civil law
Determined that each slave would be counted as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of apportioning taxes and representation. The compromise granted disproportionate political power to southern slave states.
three-fifths compromise
Mechanism for electing presidents of the United States. Each state has a number of electors equal to its total number of senators and representatives. These electors are chosen by the voters, and they in turn select the president—creating “indirect” presidential elections.
Electoral College
Opponents of the 1787 Constitution, they cast the document as antidemocratic, objected to the subordination of the states to the central government, and feared encroachment on individuals’ liberties in the absence of a bill of rights.
antifederalists
Proponents of the 1787 Constitution, they favored a strong national government, arguing that the checks and balances in the new Constitution would safeguard the people’s liberties.
federalists
Collection of essays written by John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton and published during the ratification debate in New York to lay out the federalists’ arguments in favor of the new Constitution. Since their publication, these influential essays have served as an important source for constitutional interpretation.
The Federalist
