Amendment
America's first written constitution; served as the basis for America's national government until 1789.
What are the Articles of Confederation?
Group that favored a powerful central government and weaker state governments. Believed that the best government was one that was run by people who were rich and educated.
What are the Federalists?
The constitutional principle that composes the assembly with two houses.
What is Bicameral ?
The New Jersey Plan was in response to this plan?
What is the Virginia Plan
James Madison
Who is the author of Federalist 51?
The first 10 amendments in the Constitution are called
What are the Bill of Rights?
Group that favored a weaker central government and stronger state governments
What are the Anti-Federalists?
A system of government in which power is divided, by a constitution, between a central government and regional government.
What is federalism?
The Great Compromise was a result of these two plans
What are the New Jersey and Virginia Plans
Legislative Power
What branch of government does Madison believe is the most powerful?
A change made in a motion, bill, constitution or law is called a what?
What is an Amendment
The leaders of this group include Thomas Jefferson and George Mason
Who are the Anti-Federalists
The constitutional principle that divides the government into three branches.
What is the Separation of Powers?
This was supported by smaller states and favored equal representation not representation based on population
What was the New Jersey Plan
Separation of Powers/foundation of Constitution
What is the theme of Federalist #51?
The Great Compromise
What was the outcome of the Constitutional Convention?
Leaders included James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay
Who are the Federalists
The system that maintains the separation of powers among the branches of the federal government. This system ensures one branch of government does not become too powerful
Examples include the presidential veto power over congressional legislation and the power of the Senate to approve presidential appointments.
What are the checks and balances?
Favored by bigger states who believed that representation should be based on population because they believed that those states that contributed more to the national government should have more representation
What is the Virginia Plan
Each department must have a will of its own, and each branch of government should not be involved in the appointment of the members of the other branches
What is necessary, according to Madison, for the branches to be genuinely separate in #51?
This Compromise gave each state an equal number of senators regardless of its population but linked representation in the House of Representatives to a population.
What did the Great Compromise consist of?
Leaders worried that the first Constitution did not allow US to conduct its foreign affairs.
They worried that there was no power to enforce existing treaties.
They did not have a national military.
What were the main arguments opposing the Articles of Confederation?
Daniel Shay leads a mob of farmers in a rebellion against the government of Massachusetts.
This event also pushed leaders to hold a conference to improve the Constitution.
What was Shays Rebellion?
An agreement reached in which the seats of the House of Representatives would be apportioned according to a population in which only three-fifths of slaves would be counted.
"If men were angels, no government would be necessary. Human nature is problematic.
What does James Madison say about human nature in # 51?