Social Studies 8 - Creating The Constitution

Front 1

(2) What was one key weakness of the Articles of Confederation?

Back 1

Congress' disability to end disagreements over boundaries

Front 2

(2) How was this key weakness resolved?

Back 2

"The Law of Ordinance" was created; western land was divided into six-mile squares called 'townships'

Front 3

(2) What did the Northwest Ordinance allow townships to do?

Back 3

Once a territory had 5,000 free adult males, it could elect its own legislature/lawmaking body.

As soon as the population got to 60,000, a territory could apply to congress to become a state

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(3) To who was the money shortage most difficult to, and why?

Back 4

Farmers who could not pay off debt and taxes

Front 5

(3) Was Daniel Shays with or against the rebelling farmers?

Back 5

With; he led the Massachusetts farmers to rebel

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(3) Why was Congress unable to stop these protests?

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Shays' followers had disarmed and disbanded the Continental army and closed down courthouses to keep judges from taking their farms away

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(3) How did Congress finally fight back, and what did this lead people to believe?

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Milita troops fought– people thought that what they worked so hard to gain had been naught.

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(3) Shays' rebellion shocked Congress. What did they do after this?

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Called a convention to discuss the situation of the US; invited delegates from each state to revise the Articles of Confederation

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(3) Where did the delegates of each state meet?

Back 9

Philadelphia, in May 1787

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(4) How was the weather when the delegates arrived in Philadelphia?

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Hot and humid. They wore thick, woolly clothing as well as wigs, causing meetings to be insufferable

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(4) Who was elected the president of the convention?

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George Washington

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(4) Why did Rhode Island, Sam Adams, John Hancock, and Patrick Henry boycott the meeting?

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They feared a strong national government, thinking it would endanger the rights of states.

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(4) What did Thomas Jefferson call the delegates after he had seen and was impressed by their experience?

Back 13

"Assembly of demigods"

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(4) What was James Madison called, and what did he do in the meetings?

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Father of the Constitution; he wrote down word for word what everyone said

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(4) What was one thing that every delegate in there was sworn to?

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Secrecy

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(4) What did they believe the basic purpose of the government was?

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To protect the rights of one's life, liberty, and their pursuit of happiness, and that the just power came from the consent of the governed

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(4) Why did some of them fear a strong national government?

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They thought it would threaten individual liberty

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(5) According to the Articles of Confederation, where should power from from? The states or the people?

Back 18

The States

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(5) What did James Madison think?

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The people

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(5) What were the three branches and what did they do?

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Legislative branch: Make laws

Executive branch: Carry out/execute the laws

Judicial branch (System of Courts): Applies and interprets laws.

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(5) How many branches did the Virginia plan have vs the New Jersey plan?

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They both had 3 branches

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(5) How many houses did the Virginia plan have vs the New Jersey plan?

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The Virginia Plan had two, house of representatives and the senate, and the New Jersey plan had one

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(5) Why did small states not favor the Virginia plan?

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It was based off of population, which bigger states had more of. It would give big states more political power. The New Jersey plan, which they agreed with, gave them equal chance regardless of a state's size

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(6) What did the compromise proposed by Roger Sherman suggest?

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It kept the two house congress; the first, the House of Representatives, would speak for the people. The senate would represent the states. This came to be known as the Great Compromise

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(7) What did Southerners think of slaves being able to represent their state?

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They wanted as many representatives as possible; thus, they want to allow slaves to represent the state, since there are so many in the South

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(7) What did Northerners think of slaves being able to represent their state?

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They felt it was unfair, as the Southerners found more use to slave than the Northerners, therefore having more people to represent their state and meaning that they'd have more political power

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(7) Who was first to begin abolishing slavery– Northerners or Southerners?

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Northerners. Southern people were uneasy about slavery, but it still had a great economic use to them, making them reluctant to abolish it

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(8) Slaves were worth __/__ of a person in their votes

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3/5. This became known as the Three Fifths Compromise

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(8) To help business in the North, people favored giving the Congress broad power to control trade between the states and other countries. Why did this make Southerners nervous?

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They were worried that they'd use this to tax southern exports (rice, tobacco) and outlaw slave trade. Their economy would take a hit without this

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(8) Congress got the ability to control trade on two limitations. What were they?

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–Congress could not place any tax on exports to other countries

–Congress could not interfere with the slave trade for 20 years, or until 1808

Delegates also agreed to the "fugitive slave" clause; escaped slaves had to be returned to their owners, even if caught in a free state

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(9) What was the argument of people who wanted a single state executive?

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A good government depends on clear, timely, and responsible leadership, most likely to be found in a single person

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(9) Why did some people dislike the idea of three state executives?

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It might lead to different ambitions and crossing paths. One might be good, the other could be too fond of war, causing clashes

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(9) What three proposals were given for choosing the chief executive, and which was chosen?

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•For Congress to choose it

•For the people to choose it

•For a specific group of "electors" from each state to choose it

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(10) What was chosen?

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A group called the Electoral College was created

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(10) Why were farmers concerned about how people would vote?

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People could be misinformed back due to the lack of communication between the states and therefore not go for the wisest decision

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(11) What is ratification, and

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Formally approving a plan or an agreement

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(11) By how many states should ratification require approval from?

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9

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(11) What did Benjamin Franklin think of the constitution?

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That it was very well made and a near-perfect plan

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(11) What did other delegates, who did not agree with it, think?

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That it gave too much power to the government, or they believed it didn't protect the rights of the people

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(12) What did the Federalists, supporters of the constitution, think of the single national government?

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It would help unite the people, unlike the Articles of Confederation. They also addressed the fear of the government being too powerful, bringing back up the Three Branches.

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(12) What did Anti-Federalists think?

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They mostly feared change, but they also claimed the president had enough power to rule as a king and that the judicial branch would overpower state courts. They also complained about how the constitution spoke of the government's power and limits, but not the rights of the people.