United States History: Chapter 4 Forming a Government Flashcards

Magna Carta

A document that stated that the King had to obey the laws

Three Main Problems with the Articles of Confederation

1. No Money
2. No President
3. No Court System

Suffrage

The right to vote

John Locke

social contract, government is a contract between the people and
their government

Federalists

supported the constitution

Antifederalists

against the constitution

bicameral

two houses

First United States government

Articles of Confederation

Land Ordinance of 1785

townships of 36 square miles
1 for schools
4 for veterans
the rest for sale

What state opposed the Articles of Confederation at first because of
land claims?

Maryland

3/5ths Compromise dealt with what issue?

Slavery

The Constitution Convention began in what month and year and ended when?

May 1787-September 1787

popular sovereignty

the idea that people rule and can make the laws to govern themselves

How many states needed to ratify the Constitution for it to go into
effect? How many did they want?

9, 13

What rebellion showed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation?

Shay's

What was the initial goal of the Constitutional Convention?

To revise the Articles of Confederation

Who was the president of the Constitutional Convention?

George Washington

Who proposed the Virginia Plan?

Edmund Randolph

Who proposed the New Jersey Plan?

William Patterson

Who proposed the Great Compromise?

Roger Sherman

What states favored the New Jersey Plan?

Small states

Congress is made of what two houses?

Senate and the House of Representatives

What was a series of articles written in support of the Constitution?

Federalist Papers

How is representation determined in the Senate?

Equal representation; two per state

How is representation determined in the House of Representatives?

Determined by the population of the state

Why did Antifederalists oppose the constitution?

They worried it didn't protect individual rights and gave too much
power to the government.

What were the two reasons why they added a Bill of Rights to the Constitution?

To please the Antifederalists and protect individual rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution are known as?

The Bill of Rights

Amendment

a change to the Constitution

ratification

to approve

Checks and balances

prevents any one branch of government from gaining too much power

What state did not not send a delegate to the Constitutional Convention?

Rhode Island