Constitutional Convention

meeting of delegates in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation, which produced the new U.S. Constitution

people at the Constitutional Convention who helped create the Constitution. They were also known as the delegates or founding fathers.

One of the founders who called the Constitutional Convention and wrote the Virginia plan

Virginia delegate James Madison's plan of government, in which states got a number of representatives in Congress based on their population

Opposite of the Virginia Plan, it proposed a single-chamber congress in which each state had one vote. This created a conflict with representation between bigger states, who wanted control befitting their population, and smaller states, who didn't want to be bullied by larger states.

Compromise made by Constitutional Convention in which states would have equal representation in one house of the legislature and representation based on population in the other house

the agreement by which the number of each state's representatives in Congress would be based on a count of all the free people plus three-fifths of the slaves

Carries out and enforces the laws

The branch of government that interprets laws

the branch of government that makes the laws.

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

opponents of a strong central government who campaigned against the ratification of the Constitution in favor of a confederation of independent states

Supporters of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government

a system in which power is divided between the national and state governments

This collection of essays by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, explained the importance of a strong central government. It was published to convince New York to ratify the Constitution.

The first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution, containing a list of individual rights and liberties, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press.

a system in which the ideas and decisions supported by the most people are followed

an addition to a formal document such as the constitution