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John Adams
A leader of the American Revolution and served a term as the second president of the US. Adams began his long political career as a lawyer. He became a big critic of the British king and parliament and their unfair taxes and tariffs used to oppress the US. -
John Jay
Served as the nations first Supreme Court chief of justice and was chosen as the president of the constitutional congress. Jay became the US minister to Spain where he helped broker the 1783 Treaty of Paris which officially ended the Revolutionary War. He served as NY governor for 6 years and avoided war with Britain by creating the Jay Treaty of 1794. -
James Madison
Named "father of the constitution" due to his notable contributions to the making of the constitution. He is considered the most significant drafter of the constitution. Madison served as the 4th president of the US and wrote some of the Federalist papers. -
Alexander Hamilton
A well-spoken, influential man from New York who saved the first constitutional constitution. He recommended that the convention meet the next year in order to strengthen the Articles of Confederation. Hamilton led the convention in 1787 that led to the creation of the Constitution. -
Land Ordinance of 1785
A law that divided much of the US into a system of townships to facilitate the sale of land to settlers. This ordinance laid the foundations of land policy until the Homestead Act was passed in 1862. Changes occurred over the years but the basic system would remain intact except for the minimum average requirement was lowered. -
Shay's Rebellion 1786-1787
A rebellion by former soldiers of the Revolutionary War who did not receive enough compensation to sustain a life after the war. Small armies arose prepared to fight considering the tax collectors sympathy. The rebellion was soon halted by Thomas Jefferson who feared it may get out of hand. -
Annapolis Convention 1786
Delegates from 5 states met at Annapolis in September of 1786 in hopes to discuss the promotion of interstate commerce. The meeting ended up discussing a possible convention to amend the Articles of Confederation. The recommendation was adopted by congress and the convention was scheduled to be eight months later. -
Publication of the Federalist 1787
Essays reviewing and documenting the Constitution written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. 85 were written to newspaper to push for the ratification of the constitution. These essays were originally designed to serve as propaganda, they were considered the best commentaries of the constitution today. -
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
An updated version of the land ordinance in 1785 that set guidelines for new colonies regarding the plans for westward expansion. The law stated that there was an initial period where there would be settling before a population of 60,000 arose declaring an official colony.The point was significant to new western colonies and allowed nation as a whole to expand further west. -
Constitutional Convention 1787
A meeting of delegates in an effort to modify the Articles of Confederation so that Congress would have a share of power that was given to all of the states. One of the many properties of the convention was to elect George Washington as the first president. By September of 1787, the delegates voted in favor of the new constitution proposed in the meeting and following months of thought. -
1788 Ratification of the Constitution
New Hampshire was the 9th and final recessing state to vote for ratification of the constitution, making it the law of the land. The constitution was proposed at the Constitutional convention in 1787 and voted on for ratification. In September of 1789, twelve amendments (Bill of Rights) was adopted to the constitution and sent to the states for ratification.