Glossary Term – Event
French Revolution
In Paris, a crowd of 20,000 stormed the Bastille, a hated royal fortress. The crowd freed seven prisoners. The Bastille fell and the French Revolution began.
Advanced Search
Current Criteria
- ›› Eras and Sub-Eras : Creating a New Government
Refine your search
Refine your search by adding another term. Type 'all' to view all options for the category.
Did not find what you were looking for?
return to the basic search,
search for multimedia, or
search the collection
Showing results 61 – 70 of 176
Glossary Term – Organization
Federalists
During the creation of the new United States government in 1787, Federalists supported the adoption of the new Constitution. Federalists included Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison—the writers of the Federalist Papers. In 1791, Hamilton and other Federalists established the Federalist Party, which supported strong central government and a loose interpretation of the Constitution.
Glossary Term – Organization
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was the body of colonial delegates that first met in May 1775, by arrangement of the First Continental Congress. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, who had not taken part in the First Continental Congress, were among its members. During the American Revolution, the Second Continental Congress served as the provisional government of the colonies, issued the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and adopted the Articles of Confederation in 1777.
Glossary Term – Organization
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was the unified body of colonial delegates that met in September 1774 to determine the colonial response to Parliament’s passage of the Intolerable Acts (or Coercive Acts). All the colonies except Georgia were represented in the First Continental Congress. Fifty-six delegates met in Philadelphia. The meeting adopted the Suffolk Resolves, sent its “Declaration of Rights and Grievances” to King George III, and agreed to meet again in a Second Continental Congress in May 1775.
Glossary Term – Organization
Anti-Federalists
Anti-Federalists, including Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and George Mason, opposed the Constitution of 1787 primarily based on the fear that it would create an overly powerful central government and elite ruling class. Though Anti-Federalists failed to prevent the adoption of the Constitution, their objections did lead to the inclusion of the Bill of Rights. In 1791, with the ascendancy of the Federalist Party, which favored strong government and a loose interpretation of the Constitution, Anti-Federalists and others who favored small...
Glossary Term – Organization
republicanism
When asked what kind of government the Constitutional Convention had created, Benjamin Franklin replied: “A republic, if you can keep it.” Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution contains an unamendable provision that begins: “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a republican form of government.” This refers to the principles and practices appropriate to a government in which ultimate authority resides in the people and in which elected officials and representatives are responsible to the people and must govern...
Glossary Term – Organization
United States presidency
The Constitution provided only a broad outline of the office and powers of the president. It was up to George Washington, as the first president, to define the office. It was unclear, for example, whether the president was to personally run the executive branch or, instead, serve as a constitutional monarch and delegate responsibility to the vice president and executive officers (the cabinet). Washington favored a strong and active role for the president. Modeling the executive branch along the lines of a general’s staff, Washington...
Glossary Term – Person
Gouverneur Morris
Gouverneur Morris (1752–1816) was a member of the Continental Congress, a signer of the Articles of the Confederation, and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. As a framer of the Constitution, Morris advocated the creation of an executive branch and an electoral college. After the founding, Morris served as a minister to France and, later, in the Senate.
Glossary Term – Person
George Mason
George Mason (1725–1792) was an American political leader from Virginia who opposed strong central government and supported protections for individual liberties. During the 1760s and 1770s, Mason vocally opposed British policies and called on colonists to oppose the Stamp Act in 1765. He drafted the Fairfax Resolves in 1774 and Virginia’s Declaration of Rights in 1776. His Declaration of Rights became a model for the Declaration of Independence. It also became a foundation for the Constitutional Bill of Rights adopted in 1791. At the...
Glossary Term – Person
John Dickinson
John Dickinson (1732–1808) was the “penman of the revolution” who in 1768 published Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies, a pamphlet that opposed the Townshend Duties of 1767. Dickinson served as a member of the First and Second Continental Congresses. While he opposed oppressive acts of the British government, for a time he also advocated peaceful reconciliation with the Crown. He later served as president of the Annapolis Convention and as a delegate to to the Constitutional Convention...