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 was the Connecticut guy that proposed a compromise plan on how states should be represented?
Roger Sherman
What branch includes the president and the departments that help run the government and make sure that laws are carried out?
Executive Branch
What are people who opposed the Constitution?
Antifederalists
What was the pen name that was used by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay to anonymously publish the Federalist Papers?
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
After the delegates had met for four days, who was the man from Virginia that presented the Virginia Plan? He proposed a new federal constitution that would give sovereignty, or supreme power, to the central government.
Edmund Randolph
What was the plan where the legislative branch would have two houses? Each state, regardless of its size, would have two representatives in the Senate, or upper house. This would give each state an equal voice, pleasing the smaller states. 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
What branch is made up of all of the national courts and is responsible for interpreting laws, punishing criminals, and settling disputes between states?
Judicial Branch
Who was the convention delegate that became an Antifederalist because he believed the Constitution gave too much power to the central government?
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 was the plan to institute a new federal constitution that would give sovereignty, or supreme power, to the central government called? Under this plan the legislature would be bicameral—made up of two houses, or groups of representatives—and chosen on the basis of state populations. Larger states would thus have more representatives than would smaller states. Delegates from the smaller states believed that it would give too much power to the larger states.
Virginia Plan
Under what agreement did only three-fifths of a state’s slave population count when determining representation? Southern delegates wanted enslaved Africans to be counted as part of their state populations. This way they would have more representatives, and more power, in Congress. Northerners disagreed. They wanted the number of slaves to determine taxes but not representation.
Three-Fifths Compromise
What keeps any single branch of government from becoming too powerful? For example, Congress has the power to pass bills into law. The president has the power to veto, or reject, laws that Congress passes. However, Congress can override the president’s veto with a two-thirds majority vote. The Supreme Court has the power to review laws passed by Congress and strike down any law that violates the Constitution.
Checks and Balances
What were supporters of the Constitution?
Federalists
Which state became the first to ratify the Constitution on December 17, 1787?
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 was the New Jersey delegate that presented the small-state or New Jersey Plan, which called for a unicameral, or one-house, legislature?
William Paterson
What is the idea that political authority is in the hands of the people?
Popular Sovereignty
What is the sharing of power between a central government and the states that make up a nation called?
Federalism
Who was the ardent Patriot during the war that wrote a pamphlet entitled Observations on the New Constitution in which she criticized the lack of individual rights it provided?
Mercy Otis Warren
Which state was the last to ratify the Constitution in May 1790?
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 was the idea suggested by William Patterson that called for a unicameral, or one-house, legislature? This idea gave each state an equal number of votes, and thus an equal voice, in the federal government. This plan 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 Congress is responsible for proposing and passing laws, and is also made up of two houses which are the Senate and the House of Representatives?
Legislative Branch
What are changes to the Constitution?
Amendments
What was the series of essays that became one of the most important defenses of the Constitution? These essays supporting the Constitution were written anonymously under the name Publius. They were actually written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay.
Federalist Papers
What was the document of 10 of the proposed amendments intended to protect citizens’ rights?
Bill of Rights