New England and Chesapeak Colonies

America: A Narrative History - Seventh Ed. - Chapter 7

Title | Description |
Robert Morris | Superintendent of finance in the final years of the Revolutionary War. Morris became the most influential figure in the government. |
coup d’état | A sudden, often violent overthrow of the government. |
Newburgh Conspiracy | A plot hatched in 1783 by officers in the Continental Army to oust Congress in a coup and set up a military dictatorship. |
Land Ordinance of 1785 | Directed surveying of the Northwest Territory into townships of thirty-six sections (square miles) each, the sale of the sixteenth section of which was to use to finance public education. |
Northwest Ordinance of 1787 | Created the Northwest Territory (area north of the Ohio River and west of Pennsylvania), established conditions for self-government and statehood, included a Bill of Rights, and permanently prohibited slavery. |
Writ of habeas corpus | An essential component of English common law and of the U.S. Constitution that guarantees that citizens may not be imprisoned without due process of law; literally means, "you must have the body." |
tariff | Taxes on imported goods. |
Shays's Rebellion | Massachusetts farmer Daniel Shays and 1,200 compatriots, seeking debt relief through issuance of paper currency and lower taxes, stormed the federal arsenal at Springfield in the winter of 1787 but were quickly repulsed. |
Federalists | One of the two first national political parties, it favored a strong central government. |
Annapolis Convention | Meeting to discuss commercial issues organized by James Madison and attended by delegates from five states. |
Constitutional Convention | Meeting in Philadelphia, May 25-September 17, 1787, of representatives from twelve colonies-excepting Rhode Island-to revise the existing Articles of Confederation; convention soon resolved to produce an entirely new constitution. |
Patrick Henry | Foe of centralized government,... [continues]

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