Chapter 9: The Confederation and the Constitution, 1776-1790
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Abolitionist
| an advocate of the end of slavery.
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Annex
| to make a smaller territory or political unit part of a larger one.
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Bill of Rights
| a list of fundamental freedoms assumed to be central to society.
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Chattel
| an article of personal or movable property; hence a term applied to slaves, since they were considered the personal property of their owners.
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civil liberties
| fundamental individual rights such as freedom of speech and religion, protected by law against interference from the government.
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Disestablish
| to separate an official state church from its connection with the government.
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Emancipation
| setting free from servitude or slavery.
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Foreclosure
| depriving someone of the right to redeem mortgaged property because the legal payments on the loan have not been kept up.
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proportional representation
| representation in a national legislature based on the population of each state.
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Quorum
| the minimum number of persons who must be present in a group before it can conduct valid business.
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Ratification
| the confirmation or validation of an act (such as a constitution) by authoritative approval.
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Requisition
| a demand for something issued on the basis of public authority.
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Territory
| in American government, an organized political entity not yet enjoying the full and equal status of a state.
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Township
| in America, a surveyed territory six miles square; the term also refers to a unit of local government, smaller than a county, that is often based on these survey units. |
