SS.7.C.1.5

Articles of Confederation: the first constitution of the United States

confederation: a system of government where power is located with the independent states and there is little power in the central government; a confederation is also known as a confederal system

Constitutional Convention: a meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 where delegates decided to throw out the Articles of Confederation and draft the Constitution

debt: something owed; such as money

Shays’s Rebellion: an event when 2,000 Massachusetts farmers rebelled against land foreclosures and debt from the Revolutionary War

SS.7.C.1.8

Anti-Federalist Papers: a series of essays written to oppose and defeat the proposed U.S. Constitution

Anti-Federalists: a group of people in the early United States who opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution because they feared a strong national government and a lack of protection for individual rights

Bill of Rights: the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution

Federalist Papers: a series of essays written to explain and defend the proposed U.S. Constitution

Federalists: a group of people in the early United States who favored the establishment of a strong national government and who worked for ratification of the U.S. Constitution

ratification: the process of formally approving something; ratification of the U.S. Constitution

SS.7.C.1.6

defense: method of protecting oneself

domestic: referring to something at home, not foreign

insure: ensure, to make sure

justice: a system of establishing what is legal and illegal by fair rules

ordain: to establish something by law

posterity: future generations

Preamble: the introduction to the U.S. Constitution

tranquility: peace

union: something formed by combining parts, such as states into one country

welfare: well-being