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| Opponents of the 1787 Constitution, they cast the document as antidemocratic, objected to the subordination of the states to the central government, and feared encroachment on individuals’ liberties in the absence of a bill of rights. |
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| Articles of Confederation (1781) |
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| First American constitution that established the United States as a loose confederation of states under a weak national Congress, which was not granted the power to regulate commerce or collect taxes. The Articles were replaced by a more efficient Constitution in 1789. |
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| Willingness on the part of citizens to sacrifice personal self-interest for the public good. Deemed a necessary component of a successful republic. |
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| Body of written law enacted through legislative statutes or constitutional provisions. In countries where civil law prevails, judges must apply the statutes precisely as written |
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| Laws that originate from court rulings and customs, as opposed to legislative statutes. The United States Constitution grew out of the Anglo-American common law tradition and thus provided only a general organizational framework for the new federal government. |
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| To separate an official state church from its connection with the government. Following the Revolution, all states disestablished the Anglican Church, though some New England states maintained established Congregational Churches well into the nineteenth century |
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| Proponents of the 1787 Constitution, they favored a strong national government, arguing that the checks and balances in the new Constitution would safeguard the people’s liberties. |
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| Popular term for the measure which reconciled the New Jersey and Virginia plans at the constitutional convention, giving states proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate. The compromise broke the stalemate at the convention and paved the way for subsequent compromises over slavery and the Electoral College. |
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| Provided for the sale of land in the Old Northwest and earmarked the proceeds toward repaying the national debt. |
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| “Small-state plan” put forth at the Philadelphia convention, proposing equal representation by state, regardless of population, in a unicameral legislature. Small states feared that the more populous states would dominate the agenda under a proportional system. |
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| Northwest Ordinance (1787) |
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| Created a policy for administering the Northwest Territories. It included a path to statehood and forbade the expansion of slavery into the territories. |
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| Territories acquired by the federal government from the states, encompassing land northwest of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes. The well-organized management and sale of the land in the territories under the land ordinances of 1785 and 1787 established a precedent for handling future land acquisitions. |
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| Armed uprising of western Massachusetts debtors seeking lower taxes and an end to property foreclosures. Though quickly put down, the insurrection inspired fears of “mob rule” among leading Revolutionaries. |
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| Society of the Cincinnati (established 1783) |
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| Exclusive, hereditary organization of former officers in the Continental Army. Many resented the pretentiousness of the order, viewing it as a vestige of pre-Revolutionary traditions. |
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| Collection of essays written by John Jay, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton and published during the ratification debate in New York to lay out the Federalists’ arguments in favor of the new Constitution. Since their publication, these influential essays have served as an important source for constitutional interpretation. |
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| three-fifths compromise (1787) |
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| Determined that each slave would be counted as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of apportioning taxes and representation. The compromise granted disproportionate political power to Southern slave states. |
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| “Large state” proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress. The plan favored larger states and thus prompted smaller states to come back with their own plan for apportioning representation. |
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| Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1786) |
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| Measure enacted by the Virginia legislature prohibiting state support for religious institutions and recognizing freedom of worship. Served as a model for the religion clause of the first amendment to the Constitution. |
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| Society of the Cincinnati |
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| An exclusive order of military officers that aroused strong democratic opposition |
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| Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom |
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| Legislation passed by an alliance of Jefferson and the Baptists that disestablished the Anglican church |
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| Articles of Confederation |
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| Original American governmental charter of 1781 that was put out of business by the Constitution |
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| Northwest Ordinance of 1787 |
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| Legislation that provided for the orderly transformation of western territories into states |
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| Revered elder statesman whose prestige in the Constitutional Convention helped facilitate the Great Compromise |
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| Revolutionary War veteran who led poor farmers in a revolt that failed but had far-reaching consequences |
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| Unanimously elected chairman of the secret convention of demi-gods |
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| Father of the Constitution and author of Federalist No. 10 |
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| Wealthy conservatives devoted to republicanism who engineered a nonviolent political transformation |
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| Group that failed to block the central government they feared but did force the promise of a bill of rights |
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| Virginia antifederalist leader who thought the Constitution spelled the end of liberty and equality |
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| Young New Yorker who argued eloquently for the Constitution even though he favored an even stronger central government |
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| Young New Yorker who argued eloquently for the Constitution even though he favored an even stronger central government |
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| Frustrated foreign affairs secretary under the Articles; one of the three authors of The Federalist |
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| Leading Massachusetts radical during the American Revolution who led the opposition to the Constitution in his state in 1787 |
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| Brilliant book of essays by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay that helped sway critical support for the Constitution in New York |
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