Terms
Once the constitution was written and signed 9 out of 13 states had to "approve" of it or _______ (What's the Term used in the Constitution?)
Ratify
The Constitution is divided into 3 what?
Branches of Government
Under the Articles of Confederation I was the only branch that was set up at first.
Legislative Branch
What was the Constitutional Convention?
55 delegates met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation.
The Executive Branch is headed by the _____________.
President
I am a form of government in which the people elect representatives to make laws and run the government.
Republic
The Preamble was written for what reason?
To set out the goals of the Constitution (establish justice, ensure peace, to defend the nation, and to protect the people's liberty).
Which group of people wanted a stronger national government?
Nationalists or Federalists
What was the outcome of the Constitutional Convention?
The Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation
The Constitution was signed in ____________.
1787
At the Constitutional Convention James Madison was a delegate from Virginia. After debating the Virginia and New Jersey plans all summer the Convention agreed on a ______________. (What does this word mean?)
Compromise: To reach an agreement to a dispute by each side giving ground and offering ideas.
The Constitution provides a separation of powers for our government. What does that mean?
Each branch has different and separate powers, no one branch is stronger then the other two.
The Judicial Branch is headed by the what (1) and the Judicial Branch decides if laws follow the what (2)?
(1) Supreme Court and (2) Constitution
What did the New Jersey Plan propose?
It stated that each state (large or small) would have the same number of representatives in Congress.
The Bill of Rights amendments would guarantee freedoms by placing specific limits on _______________.
The government.
Use these hints to describe the 4 parts of the US Constitution
(1) I am the introduction to the Constitution. (2) The Constitution could not get ratified until some changes were made. (3) Those changes are the first 10 and we call them the what?. (4) I establish the rules and regulations of the national government.
Preamble, Amendments, Bill of Rights, and Articles
Why was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution and tell me 1 of the Bill of Rights?
It was added to guarantee freedoms by placing certain limits on government.
(1) The Legislative Branch is broken up into what 2 parts and (2) How many representatives are represented in Congress?
(1) Senate and House of Representatives (2) Senate-2 members per state and House of Representatives depends on the population of each state.
List 2 different things that the Virginia Plan proposed to the Constitutional Convention?
(1) Congress should have more power over the states, (2) the national government should have a judicial branch and an executive branch, and (3) larger states should have more representatives in Congress than smaller states.
The Legislative Branch is also called _________ and it makes the _________.
(1) Congress and (2) laws
Use these hints to describe the branches of government. (1) I am the part of the government that makes the laws and (2) I decide if the laws are considered constitutional. (3) I am referred to as the national government.
(1) Legislative Branch, (2) Judicial Branch, (3) federal
The Antifederalists were not happy with the Constitution. Give 2 reasons why they did not want the Constitution to be ratified.
(1) the Constitution would reduce the powers of the state, (2) the central government may pass laws that may not be good for all states, and (3) the Constitution did not protect American rights.
(1) Explain why the constitution has a system of checks and balances and (2) give a way the Executive Branch can limit the power of the Legislative Branch or Judicial Branch?
(1) To guard against any one branch becoming too powerful and (2) the Executive can veto laws made by the Legislative Branch and appoint the judges of the Supreme Court (Judicial Branch)
Please tell me 3 of the reasons that the Articles of Confederation caused problems for the 13 colonies.
(1) Congress only had 1 branch of government, (2) The Articles could not give Congress the power to tax, (3) there was no common currency, (4) the Articles could not pass laws about foreign trade, (5) Shay's rebellion
The writers of the Articles of Confederation purposely created a weak central government because they wanted the power to rest with the ________, not with the ________.
(1) states (2) government