Chapter 7 Main Ideas

U. S. History

Vocabulary

Articles of Confederation – created a loose alliance of independent states.

Bill of Rights – protected basic liberties of citizens.

Northwest Ordinance – set up a system for governing new territories.

Constitution – defined principles and organization of government.

Magna Carta – defined the rights of British monarchs and citizens.

Cede – give up any claim to territories.

Compromise- agreement in which each side gives up some demands.

Amend -make changes to a document.

Execute – carry out; to do what is required.

Separation of powers– division of the responsibilities of government.

Noah Webster, New England school teacher:

“So long as any individual state has power to defeat the measures of the other twelve, our pretended union is but a name. . .”

  • The BEST interpretation of Webster’s remark is that the nation needs a strong central government to be effective.
  • When Webster calls the U. S. a “pretended union” he means no real power rests with the federal government.
  • The statement that BEST reflects Noah Webster’s position in the above quotation is Individual states have too much power to form a true union.
  • Alexander Hamilton would be the person MOST likely to agree with Webster’s remark.

The Great Compromise

  • Part of the Great Compromise was every state would have two seats in the Senate.
  • Part of the Great Compromise was seats in the House of Representatives would be awarded according to population.
  • Conflict between the large states and the small states and the plans they supported at the Constitutional Convention was settled by the Great Compromise.

The Northwest Ordinance

  • The Northwest Ordinance a territory had to have a population of 60,000 free settlers to become a state.
  • The Northwest Ordinance, a territory could ask Congress to admit it as a new state.

The Enlightenment

  • Baron de Montesquieu, a writer of the Enlightenment, stressed that government powers should be clearly defined and divided.
  • John Locke, a writer during the Enlightenment, expressed the idea that the relationship between government and the people it governed was a social contract.

Articles of Confederation

  • There was no executive to carry out laws.
  • Changes in the Articles of Confederation were because the people believed the government failed to solve the nation’s economic problems.
  • The violence of Shay’s Rebellion was because people wanted the Articles of Confederation revised.
  • A weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that there was no executive to carry out laws.

Constitutional Convention

  • Two of the leading delegates to the Constitutional Convention were Geroge Washington and Alexander Hamilton.
  • Benjamin Franklin and James Madison were delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
  • The conflict between the large states and the small states and the plans they supported at the Constitutional Convention was settled by the Great Compromise.
  • A provision for three branches of government was included in both the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan at the Constitutional Convention.
  • A provision for three branches of government was included in both the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan at the Constitutional Convention.

Constitution

  • 9 to 13 states had to vote to ratify the constitution before it could become law.
  • In key states, the tide slowly turned to ratify the Constitution.
  • In the Constitution, three fifths of the state’s slave population was included when determining a state’s number of representatives in Congress.
  • The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution through the amendment process.
  • The Antifederalists argued that the Constitution must spell out way to protect people’s basic rights.

States Constitution

  • One of the reasons individual states wrote constitutions was to set limits on government powers.
  • On reason states wrote Constitutions was to spell out the rights of citizens.

RomanRepublic

  • The Founding Fathers learned the value of public service from the example of the RomanRepublic.

Federalist

  • Federalistsare a group that argued that a strong national government could be effective and protect states’ rights.

Magna Carta

  • The basic idea of the Magna Carta was that people had certain guaranteed tights.

New Jersey Plan

  • A provision for three branches of government was included in both the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan at the Constitutional Convention.
  • The small states favored the New Jersey Plan because all states would have equal representation in the legislature.
  • Under the New Jersey Plan each state would have one vote.