A written plan that provides the basic framework of a government.

A meeting held in Philadelphia in 1787 at which delegates from the states wrote the U.S. Constitution.

The group established by the Constitution to elect the president and vice president. Voters in each state choose their electors.

The "Age of Reason" in 17th and 18th-century Europe. Enlightenment thinkers emphasized using rational thought to discover truths about nature and society.

A series of essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay in support of the ratification of the Constitution by the states.

The plan of government adopted at the Constitutional Convention that established a two-house Congress. In the House of Representatives, representation from each state is based on state population. In the Senate, each state is represented by two senators.

A law passed by Congress in 1787 that specified how western lands would be governed.

A region of the United States bounded by the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and the Great Lakes. The region was given to the United States by the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

To formally approve a plan or an agreement. The process of approval is called ratification.

A country governed by elected representatives.

An agreement made at the Constitutional Convention stating that enslaved persons would be counted as three-fifths a person when determining a state's population for representation in the House of Representatives.