The American Revolution and Early Republic (1754-1800) Glossary

The first governing document of the United States (ratified 1781), which created a deliberately weak central government with no power to tax, regulate commerce, or enforce laws -- ultimately replaced by the Constitution in 1789.

The first ten amendments to the Constitution, guaranteeing individual liberties such as freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and due process. Added to secure Anti-Federalist support for ratification.

A gathering of delegates in Philadelphia that produced the U.S. Constitution through a series of compromises (Great Compromise, Three-Fifths Compromise) balancing the interests of large and small states, slaveholding and free states, and federal and state power.

A document drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson declaring the colonies' separation from Britain, grounded in Enlightenment principles of natural rights, consent of the governed, and the right of revolution against tyrannical government.

A system of governance in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a national government and state governments, each with independent authority in designated domains.

The constitutional interpretation that the necessary and proper clause grants Congress implied powers beyond those explicitly listed, championed by Alexander Hamilton to justify the creation of a national bank.

Britain's unofficial policy of relaxed enforcement of colonial trade regulations before 1763, which allowed the colonies to develop a high degree of self-governance and economic independence.

An armed uprising of debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers protesting foreclosures and high taxes. The national government's inability to respond exposed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and strengthened calls for a Constitutional Convention.

A British law imposing a direct tax on all printed materials in the colonies, triggering widespread resistance and the formation of the Stamp Act Congress -- the first organized intercolonial protest against parliamentary taxation.

The constitutional interpretation that the federal government possesses only those powers explicitly enumerated in the Constitution, championed by Thomas Jefferson in his opposition to the national bank.