Lesson 7: How Did the United States Become a Democracy?
British army and navy During wars, armies fight on the land and navies fight on the seas. During the Revolutionary War, the army and navy of Great Britain were more powerful than those of any other country in the world. However, the army and navy of the United States won the war, and we became a new nation. We were free from being ruled by Great Britain.
Constitution of the United States The highest law of the United States. It is a plan for how our government is organized and run. It creates three branches at the national level. They are the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch. It also provides for the same branches at state and local levels. The Constitution also says what the government must do, such as protecting people's lives, freedom, and property. It also says what the government cannot do, such as taking away basic rights of the people. The Constitution was created in 1787 during the Constitutional Convention. The government created by the Constitution began in 1789.
Constitutional Convention The meeting held in Philadelphia in 1787 at which the U.S. Constitution was written.
republic A government run by elected representatives of a part or all of the people in a country.
Revolutionary War (1775-1783) The war fought by the American colonists to gain their freedom from Great Britain.
right to vote The power of the president to stop a bill passed by Congress from becoming a law.
