Bill of Rights 1
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
1st Amendment
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
2nd Amendment
The three branches of government outlined in the Virginia Plan
Executive, Legislative, and Judicial
The number of states needed to ratify the new constitution following the convention
NINE
The fundamental principles according to which a state is acknowledged to be governed.
A constitution
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
4th Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
8th Amendment
A former American ally who called up their debt in the 1780s, leading to great tension between the two countries
France
The group of people arguing in support of the new Constitution; it included such visionaries as Washington, Madison, and John Jay
Federalists
The river that formed the border between the United States and Spain; controlled entirely by Spain and closed to American trade
The Mississippi River
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
3rd Amendment
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
9th Amendment
A rebellion in Massachusetts, carried out by war veterans and put down by the army; it's origin can be found in the taxes that Massachusetts was imposing on farms.
Shays' Rebellion
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution; added to placate anti-Federalists concerned about the strength of the central government
The Bill of Rights
Established a method for surveying land, in particular the land to the west of the Appalachian Mountains up to the Mississippi River
Land Ordinance of 1785
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
10th Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
5th Amendment
The New Jersey Plan
The name of a set of 85 documents distributed to newspapers in New York advocating for the Constitution
The Federalist Papers
A law that formalized the process for turning land into a Territory, and a Territory into a State
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
7th Amendment
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
6th Amendment
The state that threatened to secede from the union during the Constitutional Convention if any threat to the institution of slavery emerged from the convention as a possibility
South Carolina (losers)
(Podcast) The Chief Justice of the United States who in the 1820s said that the Federalist Papers are a "complete commentary on our Constitution"
Chief Justice Marshall
This state was the only one to vote against a tariff to pay for American war debts, thus sinking the entire initiative and (ironically) paving the way for the Articles of Confederation to be re-written
Rhode Island