Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention was held in this historic city in Pennsylvania
What is Philadelphia?
This was the name of the very FIRST plan for the government of the United States.
What is the Articles of Confederation?
This branch of government is responsible for making laws.
What is the Legislative Branch (Congress)?
What are the THREE levels of government in the United States?
What are Federal (National), State, and Local?
This leader is known as the "Father of the Constitution."
Who is James Madison?
The Constitutional Convention took place in this year
What is 1787?
Under the Articles of Confederation, the national government was kept intentionally this way because Americans feared tyranny.
What is weak?
This branch of government is responsible for enforcing or carrying out laws.
What is the Executive Branch (President)?
Printing national money and declaring war are responsibilities of this level of government.
What is the Federal (National) level?
Give ONE reason why James Madison earned the title "Father of the Constitution."
What is: he took detailed daily notes, he wrote the Virginia Plan, or he researched historical governments before the convention?
The famous document created at the Constitutional Convention starts with these three famous words.
What is "We the People..."?
Name TWO major weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
What are: weak national government, no common currency (money), no power to tax, or no national court system?
This branch of government is responsible for interpreting or explaining laws to ensure they follow the Constitution.
What is the Judicial Branch (Supreme Court)?
Issuing driver's licenses and setting up public schools are responsibilities of this level of government.
What is the State level?
This respected Revolutionary War general served as the official President of the Constitutional Convention.
Who is George Washington?
The delegates met in Philadelphia in 1787 to write a new plan of government to replace this weak document.
What was the Articles of Confederation?
Under the Articles of Confederation, states printed their own money, which caused a big problem called a lack of a common ____.
What is currency?
This constitutional principle divides government power into three separate parts so that no single group gets too powerful.
What is Separation of Powers?
Managing city parks, trash collection, and local police/fire service are responsibilities of this level of government.
What is the Local level?
This was the oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention who used his wisdom and humor to urge delegates to make compromises. He was an inventor.
Who is Benjamin Franklin?
This major agreement at the convention solved the argument between large and small states over how states would be represented in Congress
What is the Great Compromise?
Because the national government under the Articles had no leader like a President and no power to enforce laws, delegates realized they needed to create these three parts of government.
What are the three branches of government?
This system allows each branch of government to limit or "check" the power of the other two branches (e.g., the President vetoing a bill passed by Congress).
What are Checks and Balances?
The division of power between the central national government and the state governments is known by this 10-letter word.
What is Federalism?
James Madison proposed this famous plan at the convention, which called for a strong government with three separate branches.
What is the Virginia Plan?