1. Constitution Fundamental laws and principles that describes the nature, functions, and limits of a government or another institution. The fundamental law of the United States, framed in 1787.

2. Continental Congress  A group of delegates from each of the states who met during and after the American Revolution; they issued the Declaration of Independence and framed Articles of Confederation Met from 1774-1789 Delegates from the thirteen colonies gathered to govern the United States during the American Revolution Two different Continental Congresses Second Continental Congress created the Articles of Confederation

3. Delegate A person who is authorized to speak or act for one or more person at a convention or a political convention

4. Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation provided a loose framework of a national government for the new nation. Each state had one vote and maintained its sovereignty. First constitution of the United States Created to ensure the freedom and the independence of the United States— something they lacked when ruled by Great Britain

5. Henry Laurens South Carolina planter who In 1777 became a member of the Continental Congress, serving as president in 1777 and 1778. Helped to write the Articles of the Confederation. In 1779 Congress appointed him envoy to negotiate a treaty with the Dutch, but he was captured at sea by the British and imprisoned in the Tower of London. In 1782 Laurens was a signer of the preliminary peace treaty ending the American Revolution.

6. Philadelphia Convention  Delegates met in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention to revise the Articles because the Articles of Confederation failed to give the government the power to collect money or conduct foreign affairs. Instead they drafted an entirely new Constitution.

7. James Madison Delegate from Virginia who wrote the Virginia Plan. He is known as the Father of the Constitution.

8. Virginia Plan Edmund Randolph, the governor of Virginia, presented the Virginia Plan, which called for three branches of government and a system of checks and balances. Favored by the larger states. It proposed two houses of Congress, both elected based on a state’s population.

9. William Paterson  Author of the New Jersey Plan

10. New Jersey Plan The less populous states were adamantly opposed to giving most of the control of the national government to the more populous states, and so proposed an alternative plan that would have kept the one- vote-per-state representation under one legislative body from the Articles of the Confederation.

11. Roger Sherman Delegate from Connecticut Came up with a compromise plan on representation of the small and large states. Sherman also proposed a compromise that solved the challenge of electing officials to Congress.

12. Connecticut Compromise Retained the bicameral legislature as proposed by James Madion, along with proportional representation in the lower house, but required the upper house to be weighted equally between the states. Bicameral legislature- a legislature with two houses (the House of Representatives and the Senate).

13. Question of Slave Representation Delegates opposed to slavery generally wished to count only the free citizens of each state. Delegates supportive of slavery wanted to count slaves in their actual numbers.

14. 3/5 Compromise Three-fifths of the enumerated population of slaves would be counted for representation purposes regarding both the distribution of taxes and the apportionment of the members of the United States of Representatives. It was proposed by delegates James Wilson and Roger Sherman.

15. Charles Pinckney South Carolina representative to the Philadelphia Convention who contributed greatly to the writing of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. His most significant contributions was in Article VI which states that there will be no religious test required to hold office And in the first amendment which states that the government cannot require you to belong to a certain religion. He was a signer of the Constitution.

16. Pierce Butler Representative from South Carolina. He proposed the Fugitive Slave Clause to the Constitution. He was for the rights of the common man. They used his idea of an Electoral College f or choosing the President. He was a signer of the Constitution

17. John Rutledge Representative from South Carolina. A governor of South Carolina, he chaired a committee that wrote much of what was included in the final version of the United States Constitution. He also signed the Constitution. He served as an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court, and was the second Chief Justice of the Court from July to December 1795.

18. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Representative from South Carolina. He was a first cousin to Charles Pinckney. He was a signer of the Constitution. He wanted a strong national government with checks and balances. He ran unsuccessfully for President twice.