CHAPTER 3, LESSON 3 KEY VOCABULARY
Fill in the Blanks
Read the paragraphs below and fill in the blanks using the Key Vocabulary terms listed in the word bank.
anarchy
commerce
confederation
constitution
credit
democracy
federalism
proportional representation
ratify
At the end of the Revolutionary War, the new Americans struggled with financial
worries such as debt. Some angry debtors even threatened
Each state government had to deal with widespread economic problems and other
troubles. For example, the government of South Carolina strengthened the state's
economy by offering
_, mostly loans to wealthy
lowcountry planters.
The states had formed a loose , but the
new national government turned out to be too weak. Representatives from each
state attended the Constitutional Convention. There they worked to make a better
plan for governing the nation, a___
_. Convention
participants argued about issues such as representation in Congress. Large states
wanted, or representation based on population,
but they eventually compromised with the smaller states that were calling for equal
representation. Another issue was trade, or
А
compromise between northern states and southern states gave Congress power to pass
trade laws, but not to tax southern exports. The delegates crafted a careful balance
between the power of the nation's government and the power of the states' government
in a system called.
Of course, the overall goal of the
delegates was to create a
so that the country would
be governed by the people.
It took a lot of debate in all 13 states to decide to
the Constitution. The Federalists and Antifederalists fought a war of words. Finally the
Federalists agreed to add a Bill of Rights to the new document and the states voted in
favor of the plan. Then the work of the new government began.