Key Terms

Anti-Federalists

those who opposed the 1787 Constitution and favored stronger individual states

bicameral

having two legislative houses, an upper and a lower house

checks and balances

the system that ensures a balance of power among the branches of government

Connecticut Compromise

also known as the Great Compromise, Roger Sherman’s proposal at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature, with the upper house having equal representation for all states and the lower house having proportional representation

conservative Whigs

the politically and economically elite revolutionary class that wanted to limit political participation to a few powerful families

coverture

the legal status of married women in the United States, which included complete legal and economic dependence on husbands

democracy

a system of government in which the majority rules

Electoral College

the mechanism by which electors, based on the number of representatives from each state, choose the president

Federalists

those who supported the 1787 Constitution and a strong central government; these advocates of the new national government formed the ruling political party in the 1790s

majority rule

a fundamental principle of democracy, providing that the majority should have the power to make decisions binding upon the whole

manumission

the releasing of an enslaved person by his or her owner

monarchy

a form of government with a monarch at its head

proportional representation

representation that gives more populous states greater political power by allowing them more representatives

radical Whigs

revolutionaries who favored broadening participation in the political process

three-fifths compromise

the agreement at the Constitutional Convention that three out of every five enslaved persons would be counted when determining a state's population for purposes of representation

unicameral

having a single house (of legislative government)