first american constitution that established the US a loose confederation of states under a weak national congress, which was not grated the power to regulate commerce or collect taxes willingness on the part of citizens to sacrifice personal self-interest for the public good

1. articles of confederation

first american constitution that established the US a loose confederation of states under a weak national congress, which was not grated the power to regulate commerce or collect taxes

2. civic virtue

willingness on the part of citizens to sacrifice personal self-interest for the public good. deemed a necessary component of a successful republic

3. federalists

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

4. great compromise

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

5. land ordinance of 1785

provided for the sale of land in the old northwest and earmarked the proceeds toward repaying the national debt

6. new jersey plan

"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 agent under a proportional system

7. northwest ordinance

created a policy for administering the northwest territories. it included a path to statehood and forbade the expansion of slavery into the territories

8. old northwest

territories acquired by the federal overmen from the states, encompassing land northwest of the ohio river

9. shays's rebellion

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

10. the federalist

collection of essay written by john jay, james madison, alexander hamilton and published during the ratification debate in N.Y. to lay out the federalists' arguments in favor of the new constitution