A History of the United States: Chapter 7: A More Perfect Union

Most states set up two-house, or bicameral, legislatures to divide the work of government even further.

People agreed the new country should be a republic, a government in which citizens rule through elected representatives.

Maryland refused to approve the Articles until New York, Virginia, and other states abandoned their land claims west of the Appalachian Mountains.

In 1785 the Confederation Congress passed an ordinance, or law, that set up a process to survey and sell the lands north of the Ohio River.

This clause, or condition added to a document, marked the first attempt to stop the spread of slavery in the United States.

By 1781, the currency had depreciated, or fallen in value, so far that it was worth almost nothing.

After the Revolutionary War, the United States went through a depression, a period when economic activity slows and unemployment increases.

The number of free African Americans increased in Virginia after that state passed a law that encouraged manumission, the freeing of individual enslaved persons.

In September 1786, Hamilton called for a convention, or meeting, in Philadelphia to discuss trade issues.

Trust was important, because the Convention did not just amend, or revise, the Articles of Confederation.

In both houses the number of representatives would be proportional, or corresponding in size, to the population of each state.

A compromise is a settlement of a dispute by each party giving up some demands.

If there are errors, it should be remembered, that the seeds of reformation are sown in the work itself, and the concurrence of two-thirds of the Congress may at any time introduce alterations and amendments....

If there are errors, it should be remembered, that the seeds of reformation are sown in the work itself, and the concurrence of two-thirds of the Congress may at any time introduce alterations and amendments....

Although the Americans broke away from British rule, they respected many British traditions, or cultural beliefs and practices.

Federalism, or sharing power between the federal and state governments, is one of the key features of the United States government.

Article I of the Constitution declares Congress to be the legislative branch, or lawmaking branch, of the government.

Article II of the Constitution sets up the executive branch, to carry out the nation's laws and policies.

A special group called the Electoral College elects the president and vice president.

Article III deals with the judicial branch, or court system.

The nation's judicial power resides in "one supreme Court" and any lower federal courts Congress creates.

Still, Virginia did ratify the document after promises that there would be a bill of rights amendment—something added to a document.