An individual who opposed the ratification of the new Constitution in 1787

America's 1st constitution from 1781-1789. it provided a weak central government that included a unicameral assembly. It settled claims to western lands but were unable to demand revenues from the states or protect the people from armed rebellion.

The first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. They provide for protections from government interference. They were ratified in 1791 at the urgency of Anti-federalists as a final compromise.

A major principle of the American system of government whereby each branch of the government can check the actions of the other

A political system in which states or regional government retain ultimate authority except for those powers they expressly delegate to a central government

A unanimous proclamation of the Second Continental Congress ( July, 4 1776) asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain

a group of persons called electors selected by the voters in each state and the District of Columbia; this group officially elects the president and vice president of the US. The number of electors in each state is equal to the number of each state's representatives in both chamber of Congress. The Twenty-third Amendment to the Constitution grants DC as many electors as the state with the smallest population

Enforces and executes laws

The name given to one who was in favor of the adoption of the US Constitution and the creation of a federal union with a strong central government

A system of government in which power is divided between a central government and regional, or subdivisional, governments

The compromise between the New Jersey and Virginia plans that created one chamber of the Congress based on population and one chambers representing each state equally; also called the Connecticut Compromise

Interprets the laws

Makes Laws

A structure of government in which the powers of the government are separated into 3 branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.

Rights held to be inherent in natural law, not dependent on governments; life, liberty and property/pursuit of happiness

Called for a one-house Congress in which each state had equal representation

Formal approval by the states when amending the Constitution.

The principle of dividing governmental powers among different branches of government

A rebellion in 1787 when armed farmers seized county courthouses and showed that the government was unable to protect the citizenry from armed rebellion or provide adequately for the public welfare

A voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and abiding by its rules

A doctrine that asserts the priority of national law over states laws

A compromise that settled the issue of how to deal with slaves in the representational scheme. For purposes of representation in the House, only three-fifths of a state's total slave population were counted.

A legislature with only one legislative chamber, as opposed to a bicameral legislature

A proposed framework with a bicameral legislature, in which the house's members would be elected in proportion to state populations. The smaller states opposed the proposal, fearing they would lose influence to the larger states.