Articles of Confederation
The compact among the thirteen original states that was the basis of their government. Written in 1776, the Articles were not ratified by all the states until 1781.
Committee of Correspondence
Organizations in each of the American colonies created to keep colonists abreast of developments with the British; served as powerful molders of public opinion against the British.
Confederation
Type of government where the national government derives its powers from the states; a league of independent states.
Constitution
A document establishing the structure, functions, and limitations of a government.
Deceleration of Independence
Document drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 that proclaimed the right of American colonies to separate from Great Britain.
First Continental Congress
Meeting held in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, in which fifty-six delegates (from every colony except Georgia) adopted a resolution in opposition to the Coercive Acts.
Mercantilism
An economic theory designed to increase a nation's wealth through the development of commercial industry and favorable balance of trade.
Second Continental Congress
Meeting that convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, at which it was decided that an army should be raised and George Washington of Virginia was named Commander in chief.
Shay's Rebellion
A 1786 rebellion in which an army of 1,500 disgruntled and angry farmers led by Daniel Shays marched to Springfield, Massachusetts, and forcibly restrained the state court from foreclosing mortgages on their farms.
Stamp Act Congress
Meeting of representatives of nine of the thirteen colonies held in New York City in 1765, during which representatives drafted a document to send to the king listing how their rights had been violated.
Anti-Federalists
Those who favored strong state governments and a weak national government; opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which largely guarantee specific rights and liberties.
Checks and Balances
A governmental structure that gives each of the three branches of government some degree of oversight and control over the actions of the others.
Enumerated Powers
Seventeen specific powers granted to Congress under Article I, section 8, of the U.S. Constitution; these powers include taxation, coinage of money, regulation of commerce, and the authority to provide for a national defense.
Federal System
System of government where the national government and state governments share some powers, derive all authority from the people, and the powers of the national government are specified in a constitution.
Federalists
Those who favored a stronger national government and supported the proposed U.S. Constitution; later became the first U.S. Political party.
Great Compromise
A decision made during the Constitutional Convention to give each state the same number of representatives in the Senate regardless of size; representation in the House was determined by population.
Implied Powers
Powers derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause. These powers are not stated specifically but are considered to be reasonably implied through the exercise of delegated powers.
Necessary and Proper Clause
The final paragraph of Article I, section 8, of the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress the authority to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the enumerated powers specified in the Constitution; also called the elastic clause.
New Jersey Plan
A framework for the Constitution proposed by a group of small states; its key points were a one-house legislature with on vote for each state, the establishment of the acts of Congress as the "supreme law" of the land, and a supreme judiciary with limited
Separation of Powers
A way of dividing power among three branches of government in which members of the House of Representatives, members of the Senate, the president, and the federal courts are selected by and responsible to different constituencies.
Supremacy Clause
Portion of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution mandating that national law is supreme to (that is, supercedes) all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government.
The Federalist Papers
A series of eighty-five political papers written by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison in support of ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
Three-Fifths Compromise
Agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention stipulating that each slave was to be counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of determination population for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Virginia Plan
The first general plan for the Constitution, proposed by James Madison and Edmund Randolph. Its key points were a bicameral legislature, an executive chosen by the legislature, and a judiciary also named by the legislature.