Early government Flashcards
(20 cards)
federal
national
Articles of Confederation
1st government of the United States
Why were the Articles of Confederation created to be a weak government?
The writers were worried that the government would abuse power like the king had.
Northwest Ordinance
A law which created the steps for a territory (land) to become a full state.
constitution
a written plan of government
commerce
trade
currency
money
Shays’ Rebellion
a rebellion of farmers in Massachusetts which almost overthrew the government.
What was the western border of the United States?
Mississippi River
amendment
a change
The name for an elected group of people who make laws. Examples are: Parliament, House of Burgesses and Congress
legislature
The meeting at which key members of the country ended up rewriting our government
Constitutional Convention
what does ratify mean?
to approve
What was the purpose of the Constitutional Convention? What happened there?
To fix the Articles of Confederation BUT they ended up writing a whole new consitution….our current government.
What is federalism?
When some power(jobs) is given to the national government and some are given to the state government and some power (jobs) can be done by both.
What was the Great Compromise?
This created a 2 group legislature. All states would get and = number of votes in one group. The other group would assign votes based on how many people lived in a state.
What was the 3/5 compromise?
This decided how to count enslaved people for representation. 3 out of 5 enslaved people would count.
People who did not like the new constitution because they believed it would hurt their rights were called…
Anti- Federalists
People who believed we needed a strong central government to keep our rights safe were called…
Federalists
What was added to the constitution to protect peoples’ and states’ rights?
1st ten amendments- BILL OF RIGHTS
