Chapter 7 - Study Guide
Key Terms to understand
Constitution- written plan of government
Bicameral- 2 houses of legislature
Republic- government in which people elect representatives
Petition- formal written request
Depreciate- go down in value
Depression- period of economic decline
Manumission- policy of freeing enslaved people
Proportional- corresponding in size to population
Compromise- agreement where each party gives up something
Convention- meeting (to discuss a topic)
Federalism- system of sharing power between state and federal governments
Electoral College- group of people who elect the president and vice president – equal in number to total reps in congress
Amendment- change in something (improvement)
Preamble- introductory (section of a formal document)
Articles- Sections of constitution related to a topic (Ex: Article 1 deals with setting up legislative (lawmaking) branch
Bill of Rights- first 10 amendments to constitution that guarantee all citizens certain rights
Checks and Balances- powers given to each branch of government to limit the power of another
Legislative Branch- makes and passes laws
Judicial Branch- federal court system who interpret the laws
Executive Branch- office of the president and related people who carry out laws
Federalists- people who supported the new constitution- liked strong central government; John Jay, Alexander Hamilton,
and James Madison
Antifederalists- disliked the new constitution- thought it would take rights away from states and individuals; Thomas
Jefferson, George Mason, Patrick Henry
Northwest Ordinance- set up system for dividing Ohio Territory and for transitioning to statehood; did
Shay’s Rebellion- Indebted farmers in Massachusetts led by Daniel Shay rebelled against the government by attacking
courts and the state government
Articles of Confederation- created a loose alliance between the states and a weak central government
Virginia Plan- 2 houses where representation was determined by population; big states liked this plan
New Jersey Plan- 1 house with equal representation from all states; small states liked
Great Compromise- 2 houses—one with population based representation, one with equal representation
3/5 Compromise- slaves would be counted as 3/5 of a person for the purpose of state representation , population, and
taxation.
Popular Sovereignty- People have the power
Key PeopleDaniel Shays- Massachusetts farmer who led a rebellion against the state government
Thomas Jefferson- antifederalist- wrote responses to the federalist papers; “a little rebellion now and again is a good
thing”
George Mason- antifederalist- would not sign the constitution without a bill of rights
John Jay- federalist- wrote essays in defense of constitution called the federalist papers
James Madison- federalist- father of constitution- also wrote essays- later reminded congress of their promise to add the
Bill of Rights
Alexander Hamilton- federalist- also wrote essays- elitist who felt that the wealthy and educated should rule
Be able to explain:
-separation of powers – state/federal
-3 branches-checks and balances
-federalists arguments for the constitution
-antifederalists arguments against the constitution
-significance of Shay’s Rebellion
-details of Northwest Ordinance
-weaknesses of Articles of Confederation