Chapter 5

Daniel Shays

Poor farmer and veteran from Massachusetts who led hundreds of men in a forced shutdown of the Supreme Court in Springfield

George Washington

President of Const. Convention

John Adams

Ambassador to England who was absent from the Constitutional Convention

James Madison

father of the Constitution; Kept notes at the Const. Convention in 1787

Roger Sherman

Proposed the Great Compromise

William Patterson

Proposed the New Jersey Plan

Edmund Randolph

Proposed the Virginia Plan

Articles of Confederation

Under this, Congress would become the single branch of the national government, but it would have limited powers in order to protect the liberties of the people

Ratification

Official approval

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

This ordinance established the Northwest Territory, which included areas that are now Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin

Tariffs

Taxes on imports or exports

Interstate Commerce

Trade between two or more states

Inflantion

Occurs when there are increased prices for goods and services combined with the reduced value in money

Depression

A period of low economic activity combined with a rise in unemployment

Shays’s Rebellion

The uprising of farmers to protest high taxes and heavy debt

Constitutional Convention

Held in May 1787 in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall to improve the Articles of Confederation, however, the delegates would leave with an entirely new US constitution

Virginia Plan

Proposed by Edmund Randolph, this plan proposed a new federal constitution that would give sovereignty, or supreme power, to the central government. It would include a bicameral legislature and the number of representatives and votes of a state would be based on population. Favored by the big states

New Jersey Plan

Proposed by William Paterson, this plan called for a unicameral legislature, gave each state an equal number of votes/equal voice in the federal government. Favored by the small states

Great Compromise

Proposed by Roger Sherman as a compromise between the two plans. The legislative branch would have two houses. Each state would have an equal number of representatives in the Senate (2) (upper house). Each state would have a number of representatives based on population in the House of Representatives (lower house)

Three-Fifths Compromise

Under this agreement, only three-fifths of a state’s slave population would count when determinging representation

Commerce Compromise

Allowed Congress to levy taxes on imports from foreign countries but not on exports from the US; Stated that interstate commerce would be regulated by the Federal Government; Significance = Encouraged people to buy American (domestically)

Slave Trade Compromise

Stated that importing slaves could not be restricted or abolished until 1808

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that political authority belongs to the people

Federalism

The sharing of power between a central government and the states that make up a country

Checks and Balances

Keeps any one branch of government from becoming too powerful

Anti-Federalists

People who opposed the Constitution and wanted a Bill of Rights

Federalists

Supporters of the Constitution that liked strong central government

Federalist Papers

Essays supporting the Constitution that were written by James Madison (29), Alexander Hamilton (51) (Primary Author), and John Jay (5). They were published between 1787 - 1789 in New York → big Federalist area

Bill of Rights

10 of the proposed amendments intended to protect citizens’ rights; drafted by James Madison; wanted by the Anti-Federalists