Antifederalists opponents of the Constitution; they believed a strong central government was a threat to American liberties and rights

Articles of Confederation first constitution of the US; it created government with limited powers; replaced by the Constitution in 1788






Barbary pirates pirates along the Barbary coast of North Africa who attacked European and American vessels engaged in Mediterranean trade

Battle of Fallen Timbers 1794 battle in which Kentucky riflemen defeated Indians of several tribes, helping to end the Indian resistance in the Northwest

bicameral two-house legislature

bill of rights formal statement of essential rights and liberties under law

Bill of Rights 1st 10 amendments to the Constitution, added in 1791 to protect certain basic rights of American citizens

broad constructionist person who believes the government can exercise any implied powers that are in keeping with the spirit of Constitution






cabinet body of officials appointed by the president to run the executive departments of the government and to act as the president’s advisers

capital money needed to start or sustain a commercial enterprise

civil liberties fundamental individual rights such as freedom of speech and religion, protected by law against interference from the government






Daniel Shays Revolutionary war veteran considered the leader of the farmers’ uprising in western Massachusetts called Shays’s Rebellion

Democratic-Republican societies political organizations formed in 1793-1794 to demand greater responsiveness by the state and federal governments to the needs of the citizens

despotism rule by a tyrant

discretion power or right to act according to one’s own judgment






Edmund Genêt diplomat sent by the French government to bring the US into France’s war with Britain and Spain

Electoral College body of electors chosen by the states to elect the president and vice president; each state may select a number equal to the number of its senators and representatives in Congress

envoy government representative charged with a special diplomatic mission

executive powers powers given to the president by the Constitution






faction political group with shared opinions or interests

fait acompli accomplished deed or fact that cannot be reversed or undone

farthing British coin worth one-fourth of a penny and thus a term used to indicate something of very little value

Federalist faction political group formed during Washington’s first administration; led by Alexander Hamilton, they favored an active role for government tin encouraging commercial and manufacturing growth

Federalist Papers essays written by Hamilton, Jay, and Madison in support of the Constitution

Federalists supporters of the Constitution; they desired a strong central government

fiscal relating to finances

free trade trade between nations without any protective tariffs

French Revolution political rebellion against the French monarchy (1789-1799)






Great Compromise proposal calling for a bicameral legislature with equal representation for the states in one house and proportional representation in the other






Hopewell Treaties 1785 treaties in which the Chocktaws, Chickasaws, and Cherokees granted American settlement rights in the Southwest






implied power power that is not specifically granted to the government by the Constitution but can be viewed as necessary to carry out the governing duties listed in the Constitution

inequities unfair circumstances or proceedings






James Madison Virginia planter and political theorist known as the “father of the Constitution”; he became the fourth president of the US

Jay’s Treaty controversial 1794 treaty negotiated between the US and Great Britain to ensure American neutrality in the French and English war

John Dickinson Philadelphia lawyer and revolutionary pamphleteer who drafted the Articles of Confederation

John Jay New York lawyer and diplomat who negotiated with Great Britain and Spain on behalf of the confederation; he later became the first chief justice of the Supreme Court and negotiated the Jay Treaty with England

Judiciary Act of 1789 law establishing the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts; it gave the Supreme Court the right to review state laws and state court decisions to determine their constitutionality






Louis XVI king of France (r. 1774-1792) when the French Revolution began; he and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed in 1793






market economy economy in which production of goods is geared to sale or profit

Mercy Otis Warren writer and historian known for her influential anti-British plays and essays during the pre-revolutionary era; an active opponent of the constitution






nationalists American who preferred a strong central government rather than the limited government prescribed in the Articles of Confederation

neutrality policy of treating both sides in a conflict the same way and thus favoring neither

New Jersey Plan proposal submitted by the New Jersey delegation at the Constitutional Convention for creating a government in which the states would have equal representation in a unicameral legislature

Northwest Ordinances 3 laws (1784, 1785, 1787) that dealt with the sale of public lands in the Northwest Territory and established a plan for the admission of new states to the Union






partisan taking a strong position on an issue out of loyalty to a political group or leader

proportional representation representation in the state legislature based on the population of each state

protégé individual whose welfare or career is promoted by an influential person

Prussia a northern European state that became the basis for the German Empire in the late 19th century






ratification act of approving or confirming a proposal

ratifying conventions meeting of delegates in each state to determine whether that state would ratify the Constitution

redeem to pay a specified sum in return for something; in this case, to make good on paper money issued by the government by exchanging it for hard currency, silver or gold

Reign of Terror 1793-1794; thousands of people were executed as enemies of the state during the French Revolution

Republicans political group formed during Washington’s first administration; led by Jefferson and Madison, favored limited government involvement in encouraging manufacturing and the continued dominance of agriculture in the nation’s economy

repudiation rejecting the validity or authority of something

Robert Morris Pennsylvania merchant and financial expert who advised the Continental Congress during the Revolution and served as a fundraiser for the Confederation government






sectionalism primarily concerned with local or regional interests

speculator person who buys and sells land or some other commodity in the hope of making a profit

squatter person who settles on unoccupied land to which he or she has no legal claim

stay laws laws suspending the right of creditors to foreclose on debtors; they were designed to protect indebted farmers from losing their land

strict constructionist person who believes the government has only the powers specifically named in the Constitution

subsidy financial assistance that a government grants to an enterprise considered to be in the public interest

suffrage right to vote






tariff tax on imported or exported goods

Three-Fifths Compromise agreement to count 3/5 of a state’s slave population for purposes of determining a state’s representation in the House of Representatives

Treaty of Fort Stanwix 1784 treaty that opened all Iroquois lands to white settlement

Treaty of Greenville 1795 treaty in which the US agreed to pay northwestern Indians about $10,000 for the land that later became Ohio

Treaty of San Lorenzo 1795 treaty between the US and Spain giving the US the right to navigate the Mississippi and use the port of New Orleans as an outlet to the sea






unicameral one-house legislature






veto power or right of one branch of government to reject the decisions of another branch

Virginia Plan 14 proposals by the Virginia delegation to the Constitutional Convention for creating a more powerful central government and giving states proportional representation in a bicameral legislation






Whiskey Rebellion protest by grain farmers against the 1794 federal tax on whiskey; militia forces led by President Washington put down this Pennsylvania uprising