Ideas Behind the Constitution
Republic
“A government in which citizens rule themselves through elected representatives.”
What branch passes laws?
The Legislative Branch.
Federalists
People who supported the Constitution.
What is the/a Bill of Rights?
The Bill of Rights is a list of freedom that the government promises to protect.
Constitution
A document that sets out the laws, principles, organization, and processes of a government.
Founding Fathers
These people laid out the groundwork for the US, and they were prominent leaders in the founding of the US. A few examples of these “Founding Fathers” would be James Madison and Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
With the help of Edmund Randolph, Madison created the VA plan. He was a talented politician, and kept a close record of Constitutional Convention debates; right in his seat in front of the President.
Amend
What kind of government did the state constitutions create?
The state constitutions created a republican government.
Anti federalists
People who opposed and did not like the Constitution.
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta stated two main ideas that helped frame not only British government, but American too. It made clear that English monarchs had to obey the law too. Plus, English nobles also had specific rights.
New Jersey Plan
The NJ Plan called for 3 branches just like the Virginia Plan. Contrasting, the legislature would include only 1 house, and not 2 like the VA plan.
George Mason
One of the strongest advocates towards the Bill of Rights, he wrote the Constitution for Virginia in 1776. However, after the Constitutional Convention disapproved adding a Bill of Rights, he became an Antifederalist
What is Shays Rebellion?
Daniel Shays was one particular angry farmer at all the raised taxes, and farmers not being able to pay off loans during the depression. So, he caused an uprising in 1786 which more than 1,000 farmers took place in. The farmers attacked courthouses and put a stop to courts seizing, however Massachusetts ordered militia to scare them off.
Cede
To give up/ giving up.
Which idea stated: “No person could be held in prison without first being charged with a specific crime.”
Habeas Corpus
Why did small states oppose the Virginia Plan, and how was this resolved?
Small states opposed the VA plan because they were afraid that larger states could simply outvote them in Congress. For a pretty long time, no one would budge and a compromise could not be reached. But then, Roger Sherman came up with the Great Compromise that finally solved the issues, it was passed July 16.
Why did Federalists support the Constitution, while Anti-federalists did not?
Anti-federalists were pretty angry over the fact that the Constitution did not include a Bill of Rights. Federalists countered that it was unworkable to name all the natural rights of people. Federalists also said that the Constitution protected American’s rights fine and there wasn’t a problem with it. But Anti-federalists claimed that if these rights were not called out on the Constitution, they would be forgotten
Land Ordinance of 1785
The Land Ordinance of 1785 set “up a system for settling the Northwest territory.” The law instructed each territory to be looked over and divided into townships, then from that, the townships would be split up into 36 sections of 1 mile each. From then on the sections would be sold for $640 each.
Domestic Tranquility
Peace and order at home.
Baron de Montesquieu
Montesquieu was a French Enlightenment thinker and influenced American government structures. He was the man who organized the separations of power idea, which today affects our country greatly.
When did the Constitutional Convention open? (Pretty tricky, include month and year at the least)!
It opened May 25, 1787. If you said May 1787 it counts too.
Why did the new government quickly take steps to amend the Constitution?
A few states had concurred to help the Constitution depending on the prerequisite that a bill of rights would be added.
This was set up for simple rights of settlers and it also outlawed slavery. "“ It also provided for the vast region to be divided into separate territories in the future. The answer provided a way to admit new states to the nation. Once a territory had a population of 60,000 free settlers, it could ask Congress to be admitted as a new state”
The Northwestern Ordinance
Popular sovereignty
The theme that government gets its authority from people.