Row 1
In August 1786, farmers in three western counties revolted. Bands of outraged citizens shut down courts in Western Massachusetts. Their logic was straightforward: with the courts closed, no one's property could be seized. In September, a poor farmer and Revolutionary War veteran led hundreds of men in a forced shutdown of the Supreme Court in Springfield, Massachusetts. What was the name of the man who spearheaded the revolt?
Daniel Shays
Who asserted that the only way to gain liberty was through the separation of powers?
Baron de Montesquieu
Congress decided to divide the Northwest Territory into smaller regions, each with a governor appointed by Congress. When a territory's population reaches a certain threshold, its citizens may draft their own constitution and apply to join the Union. What was the threshold?
60,000
The right to vote is known as what?
Suffrage
What is the name given to a time of low economic activity and rising unemployment?
Depression
The Massachusetts state government threatened the farmers with capture and death if they persisted in their revolt. These threats just fuelled followers' determination. What was the name of the farmers' uprising against high taxes and debt?
Shays’s Rebellion
In February 1787 what invited each state to send delegates to a convention in Philadelphia?
Confederation Congress
Who presented the Connecticut plan, which was a compromise of the Virginia and New Jersey Plans?
Roger Sherman
Which branch of the government includes the president and the departments that help run the government and makes sure that laws are carried out?
Executive Branch
What were people who opposed the Constitution called? They thought that the Constitutional Convention should not have created a new government, their main concern was the main problem was that the Constitution did not have a section that guaranteed individual rights. Most were small farmers and debtors.
Antifederalists
The Federalist Papers were written anonymously under what name?
Publius
What is the name of an area presently encompassing Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin?
Northwest Territory
In 1785, the tariff and trade situation prompted a British publication to name the new nation what?
Dis-United States
Which document said that no one could be forced to join a specific church or to pay for one with tax dollars?
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
Because of the low turnout in Maryland in 1786, the participants, notably James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, persuaded all 13 states to send representatives to the Constitutional Convention held in which location in May 1787?
Philadelphia
What legislation did Congress approve in order to establish a regional political system? The Northwest Territory was formed by this ordinance.
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
What legislation passed in 1689 that established Parliament's supremacy? It also prevented the king or queen from amending legislation without Parliament's approval.
The English Bill of rights
Who presented the Virginia Plan?
Edmund Randolph
This plan said the legislative branch would have two houses. Each state, regardless of its size, would have two representatives in the Senate, or upper house. In the House of Representatives, or lower house, the number of representatives for each state would be determined by the state’s population.
Great Compromise
Which branch of the government is made up of all of the national courts and is responsible for interpreting laws, punishing criminals, and settling disputes between states?
Judicial Branch
Which antifederalist thought the Constitution gave too much power to the central government and said in a speech to a Virginia ratifying convention, “This power is calculated to annihilate totally the state governments.”?
George Mason
When were the Federalist Papers collected and published in book form?
1788
Congress would become the country's sole arm of government, with limited powers to preserve the people's liberties. Which document does this fall under?
Articles of Confederation
Taxes on imports or exports is known as what?
Tariffs
What happens when prices for products and services rise and the value of money falls?
Inflation
Prior to the Revolutionary War, colonial ships traded heavily with the British West Indies, stopping there on their way to other destinations. What year did this travel and trading end?
1783
Who could resolve state issues, issue coinage, borrow money, and negotiate treaties with foreign countries and Native Americans?
Congress
“The Revolution has robbed us of our trade with the West Indies . . . without opening any other channels to compensate it. In every point of view, indeed, the trade of this country is in a deplorable condition.”
Who stated this
James Madison
What plan gave sovereignty, or supreme power, to the central government, made the legislature would bicameral (made up of two houses, or groups of representatives), and chosen on the basis of state populations?
Virginia Plan
What agreement decided how were slaves represented in taxation and representation?
Three-Fifths Compromise
What did the framers of the Constitution create that keeps any single branch of government from becoming too powerful?
Checks and Balances
What were people who were supporters of the Constitution called? Most believed that the Constitution offered a good balance of power between various political views. Many were wealthy planters, farmers, and lawyers. However, others were workers and craftspeople.
Federalists
What was the first state to ratify the Constitution?
Delaware
Which state legislature issued a large quantity of paper money worth relatively little? This made debtors (those who owe money) quite happy. They may settle their commitments using paper money worth less than the borrowed coins. However, creditors (those who lend money) were upset. Hundreds of creditors fled the state to avoid being repaid in worthless funds.
Rhode Island
What is the name given to a set of fundamental principles and laws that define the government's powers and duties?
Constitution
Following the Revolutionary War, most states struggled to meet military obligations and collect unpaid taxes. To help lessen the burden, some states began printing massive quantities of paper money. The outcome was inflation. This money had little to no real value because the states lacked the necessary reserves to back it up. What did they lack in reserves?
Gold or Silver
In 1215, King John signed a document that subjected him to the rule of law. What was the name of this document?
Magna Carta
What did Spanish officials close in 1784 to restrict US shipping, enraging Western farmers and merchants?
Mississippi River
Official approval is known as what?
Ratification
Who presented the New Jersey Plan?
William Paterson
What idea supported the right of individual citizens to maintain the unalienable rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”?
Popular Sovereignty
In order to balance the power between these state and federal governments, what did the constitution delegates create that is the sharing of power between a central government and the states that make up a nation?
Federalism
Who was an ardent Patriot during the war and wrote a pamphlet entitled Observations on the New Constitution, in which she criticized the lack of individual rights it provided?
Mercy Otis Warren
Every state except this one held special state conventions that gave citizens the chance to discuss and vote on the Constitution. The were also the last state to ratify the Constitution.
Rhode Island
Which philosopher felt that there was a social compact between political rulers and the people they governed?
John Locke
Early in 1786, the Virginia legislature convened a national convention. It sought to investigate economic concerns and make ideas to amend the Articles of Confederation. Which location hosted the gathering in September 1786?
Annapolis
What did Congress enact to establish a system for surveying and dividing western lands? The land was divided into 36 townships, each covering 36 square miles and consisting of 640 acres. One lot was designated for a public school, while four properties were allocated to veterans. The remainder of the lots were sold to the public.
Land Ordinance of 1785
Trade between two or more states is known as what?
Interstate Commerce
What is the name of a philosophical movement that emphasized the application of reason to old concepts and traditions?
Enlightenment
Which state refused to manufacture worthless paper money and attempted to repay its war debts by collecting land taxes?
Massachusetts
What plan was the small-state plan, which called for a unicameral (or one-house, legislature) and gave each state an equal number of votes, and thus an equal voice, in the federal government? It also gave the federal government the power to tax citizens in all states, and it allowed the government to regulate commerce.
New Jersey Plan
What branch of the government is responsible for proposing and passing laws? It is made up of two houses, as created in the Great Compromise, the House of Representatives and the Senate. This is sometimes called Congress.
Legislative Branch
What are changes to the Constitution called? The purposes of these have usually focused on protecting civil and voting rights, and procedures for administering the government.
Amendments
What was the name given to a series of essays that became one of the most important defenses of the Constitution?
Federalist Papers
In September 1789 Congress proposed 12 amendments and sent them to the states for ratification. By December 1791 the states had ratified the what document that included 10 amendments intended to protect citizens’ rights.
Bill of Rights