A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments

A term used to describe supporters of the Constitution during ratification debates in state legislatures.

Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government, generally.

A formal statement of the fundamental rights of the people of the United States, incorporated in the Constitution as Amendments 1-10, and in all state constitutions.

Series of newspaper articles written by John Hay, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton which enumerated arguments in favor of the Constitution and refuted the arguments of the Antifederalists.

Prove to be false.

"Father of the Constitution," Federalist leader, and fourth President of the United States.

Agreement that each slave counted as three-fifths of a person in determining representation in the House for representation and taxation purposes.

Proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of Congress. The plan favored larger states.

A constitutional proposal that would have given each state one vote in a new Congress.

Agreement providing a dual system of congressional representation.

Across the ocean or sea.

A basic set of ideas used to develop a larger plan.

Group of delegates who drafted the United States Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787.

A government in which power is in the hands of a hereditary ruling class or nobility.

To change in a formal way; to change for the better.