AP®︎ US History: Topic 3.7 Flashcards

Government based on popular sovereignty and representative institutions rather than hereditary monarchy

The principle that legitimate government derives its authority from the people

Postindependence governing documents that affirmed popular sovereignty, often protected rights, and generally concentrated power in frequently elected legislatures while weakening governors

Requirements that voters or citizens own property, with some states also requiring property ownership or taxpaying for officeholding

A democratic, legislature-centered constitution with a unicameral legislature, plural executive council, frequent elections, and a relatively broad franchise

A constitution ratified by voters after a special convention that created a stronger elected governor and clearer separation of powers

The first written U.S. constitution, effective in 1781, which created a loose confederation in which sovereign states granted limited powers to a national government

The unicameral national legislature under the Articles, with one vote per state and limited powers over war, diplomacy, borrowing, western lands, and other common affairs

Congress could not tax or regulate commerce, lacked executive and judicial branches and reliable enforcement, needed nine states for major laws, and required unanimity for amendments

Surrenders of state western claims to the national government that secured Maryland's ratification of the Articles and created nationally administered territory

Farmers and artisans often favored paper money, easier credit, and debt relief, while merchants and creditors favored hard money and full repayment

Law that surveyed western land into six-mile-square townships of 36 sections, reserved section 16 for schools, and organized land sales to raise revenue

A 1786–1787 Massachusetts farmers' uprising against taxes, debts, and foreclosures that exposed national military and financial weakness and accelerated demands for reform

Revolutionary War veteran and best-known leader of the Massachusetts resistance that became Shays' Rebellion

Poorly attended meeting on interstate commerce whose delegates called for a broader convention to strengthen the national government

Law that governed the Northwest Territory, created a path to equal statehood, protected rights and property, promoted education, and prohibited slavery except as punishment for crime

Leaders such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison who argued that the United States needed a stronger central government