Republic
A group ruled by representatives of the people
Articles of Confederation
A government document that created a union of 13 sovereign states in which the states, not the national government, were supreme
Shay’s Rebellion
A popular uprising against the government of Massachusetts
Constitution Convention
A meeting attended by state delegates in 1787 to fix the Articles of Confederation
Writ of Habeas Corpus
The right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them
Bills of Attainder
When the legislature declares someone guilty without trial
EX Post Facto Laws
Laws punishing people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committed
Virginia Plan
A plan of government calling for a 3 branch government with a bicameral legislature, where more populous states would have more representation in congress
New Jersey Plan
A plan of government that provided for a unicameral legislature with equal votes for each state
Great Compromise
An agreement for a plan of government that drew upon both the Virginia and New Jersey plan; it settled issues of state representation by calling for a bicameral legislature with a house of representatives and a senate apportioned equally
⅗ th Compromise
An agreement reached by delegates at the Constitution Convention that a slave would count as ⅗ of a person in calculating a state’s representation
Compromise on Importation
Congress could not restrict the slave trade until 1808
Separation of Powers
A design of government that distributes powers across institutions in order to avoid making one branch too powerful on its own
Checks and Balances
a design of government in which each branch has powers that can prevent the other branches from making policies
Federalism
The sharing of power between national government and states
Federalist
Supporters of the proposed constitution who called for a strong national government
Anti-Federalist
those opposed to the proposed constitution, who favored strong state government
Federalist Papers
a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madision, and John Bay and published between 1787 and 1788 that lay out the theory behind the constitution
Faction
A group of self-interested people who use the government to get what they want, trampling the rights of others in the process
Federalist 10
An essay in which Madison argues that the dangers of faction can be mitigated by a large republican government
Brutus I
An anti-federalist paper arguing that the country was too large to be governed as a republic and that the constitution gave too much power to the national government
Federalist 51
An essay in which Madison argues that separation of powers and federalism will prevent tyranny
Bill of Rights
A formal declaration of the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals that a government promises to protect, such as freedom of speech and religion
Charles Beard
An American historian who argued against the constitution