Paul Jones

American Pageant Chapter 9

1. Daniel Shays
Daniel Shays (c.1741 - September 29, 1825) is mostly known for leading an army of
farmers in Shays' Rebellion, which was a tax revolt against the state government of
Massachusetts from 1786-1787, and a key event in the early history of the United States.
The rebellion underscored the weakness of the Articles of Confederation and
played a significant part in the formation of the United States Constitution.
2. Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757 – July 12, 1804) was the first United
States Secretary of the Treasury, a Founding Father, economist, and political philosopher.
He led calls for the Philadelphia Convention, was one of America's first Constitutional
lawyers, and cowrote the Federalist Papers, a primary source for Constitutional
interpretation.
3. James Madison
James Madison (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836) was an American politician and
political philosopher who served as the fourth President of the United States (1809–
1817), and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Considered to be the
"Father of the Constitution," he was the principal author of the document. In 1788, he
wrote over a third of the Federalist Papers, still the most influential commentary on the
Constitution. The first President to have served in the United States Congress, he was a
leader in the 1st United States Congress, drafted many basic laws and was responsible for
the first ten amendments to the Constitution (said to be based on the Virginia Declaration
of Rights), and thus is also known as the "Father of the Bill of Rights". As a political
theorist, Madison's most distinctive belief was that the new republic needed checks and
balances to protect individual rights from the tyranny of the majority.
4. Federation
A federation, also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized
by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central (federal)
government. In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states is typically
constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of the central
government.
5. Checks and Balances
Counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated,
typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of
individuals or groups.
6. Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a territory. It
can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no
purely legal explanation can be provided. The concept has been discussed, debated and
questioned throughout history, from the time of the Romans through to the present day,
although it has changed in its definition, concept, and application throughout, especially
during the Age of Enlightenment. The current notion of state sovereignty were laid down
in the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), which, in relation to states, codified the basic
principles of territorial integrity, border inviolability, and supremacy of the state (rather
than the Church). A sovereign is a supreme lawmaking authority.
7. Consent of the Governed
"Consent of the governed" is a political theory stating that a government's legitimacy
and moral right to use state power is, or ought to be, derived from the people or society
over which that power is exercised. This theory of "consent" is historically contrasted to
the divine right of kings and has often been invoked against the legitimacy of
colonialism. A key question is whether the unanimous consent of the governed is
required; if so, this would imply the right of secession for those who do not want to be
governed by a particular collective.
8. States’ Rights
States' rights in U.S. politics and constitutional law refers to the rights and political
powers that U.S. states possess in relation to the federal government, as guaranteed by the
Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
9. Popular Sovereignty
The American Revolution marked a departure in the concept of popular
sovereignty as it had been discussed and employed in the European historical context.
With their Revolution, Americans substituted the sovereignty in the person of the English
king, George III, with a collective sovereign—composed of the people. Henceforth,
American revolutionaries by and large agreed and were committed to the principle that
governments were legitimate only if they rested on popular sovereignty – that is, the
sovereignty of the people. In 18th century American political thought, “the people”
excluded most of the population, such as women, African Americans, those lacking
sufficient property, Native Americans, and children.
10. Ratification
Ratification is the act of approving and paying for supplies or services provided to
and accepted by the government as a result of an unauthorized commitment.[1] It gives
official sanction or approval to a formal document such as a treaty or constitution. It
includes the process of adopting an international treaty by the legislature, a constitution,
or another nationally binding document (such as an amendment to a constitution) by the
agreement of multiple sub-national entities. The process of ratifying a constitution is
most commonly observed in federations such as the United States, confederations or
international organisations sui generis such as the European Union.
11. Constitutional Convention
The Philadelphia Convention (now also known as the Constitutional Convention,
the Constitutional Congress , the Federal Convention, or the "Grand Convention at
Philadelphia") took place from May 25 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had
been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Great
Britain. Although the Convention was purportedly intended only to revise the Articles of
Confederation, the intention of many of its proponents, chief among them James Madison
and Alexander Hamilton, was from the outset to create a new government rather than
"fix" the existing one. The delegates elected George Washington to preside over the
convention. The result of the Convention was the United States Constitution. The
Convention is one of the central events in the history of the United States.
12. Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly referred to as the
Articles of Confederation, was the first constitution of the thirteen United States of
America and legally established the union of the states. The Second Continental Congress
appointed a committee to draft the Articles in June 1776 and sent the draft to the states
for ratification in November 1777. The ratification process was completed in March
1781, legally federating the sovereign and independent states, already cooperating
through the Continental Congress, into a new federation styled the "United States of
America". Under the Articles the states retained sovereignty over all governmental
functions not specifically relinquished to the central government.
13. “Great Compromise”
The Connecticut Compromise, also known as the Great Compromise of 1787 or
Sherman's Compromise , was an agreement between large and small states reached
during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure
and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution. It
proposed a bicameral legislature, resulting in the current United States Senate and House
of Representatives.
14. Electoral College
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a
particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each
organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes
weighted in a particular way. Many times, though, the electors are simply important
people whose wisdom, ideally, would provide a better choice than a larger body. The
system can ignore the wishes of a general membership, whose thinking need not be
considered.
15. “Three-Fifths Compromise”
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a compromise between Southern and Northern
states reached during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in which three-fifths of the
population of slaves would be counted for enumeration purposes regarding both the
distribution of taxes and the apportionment of the members of the United States House of
Representatives. It was proposed by delegates James Wilson and Roger Sherman.
16. Anti-Federalists
Anti-Federalism is a political philosophy, which opposes the concept of Federalism.
In short, Anti-Federalists dictate that the central governing authority of a nation should be
equal or inferior to, but not having more power than, its sub-national states (state
government). A book titled "The Anti-Federalist Papers" is a detailed explanation of
American Anti-Federalist thought.
17. Federalists
The term "'federalist'" describes several political beliefs around the world. It also
has reference to the concept of federalism or the type of government called a federation.
18. “Bundle of Compromises”
The U.S. Constitution.