Constitutional Convention

Slavery & The Constitution

100

What compromise counted enslaved people as part of a state's population for representation and taxation purposes?

1. Three-Fifths Compromise (Article I, Section 2)

200

Which Article and Section placed a temporary restriction on Congress banning the international slave trade until 1808?

1. Article I, Section 9 (Slave Trade Clause)

300

What clause required that freedom seekers be returned to enslavers and appears in Article 4?

1. Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2)

400

Explain one effect of the Three-Fifths Compromise on national politics in the early republic.

t increased Southern representation in Congress and the Electoral College, helping Southern candidates win many early presidential elections.

500

Describe how the Slave Trade Clause (Article 1, Section 9) and the Fugitive Slave Clause together affected enslaved people and free Black Americans.

1. The Slave Trade Clause allowed continued importation until 1808, increasing the enslaved population; the Fugitive Slave Clause forced captured freedom seekers (and sometimes free Black people) into slavery or return.

Executive Branch & Term Limits

100

At the Constitutional Convention, what length of term did delegates decide a president would serve?

Four years

200

Who set the informal two-term precedent by retiring after two terms, which later influenced the 22nd Amendment?

George Washington

300

Name the method the delegates originally created for choosing the president (the system involving electors).

1. The Electoral College — electors in each state would vote for president (each elector casting two votes under the original rules).

400

What was Alexander Hamilton’s preference for the length of the president’s service during the Convention?

1. Hamilton favored lifetime appointment (serve until death).

500

Explain one reason delegates decided against having Congress choose the president.

1. Delegates worried Congress choosing the president would give the legislative branch too much power and undermine separation of powers.

Representation in Congress

100

What compromise created a two part legislature with representation by population in one house and equal representation in the other?

The Great Compromise -The Connecticut

200

Under the Connecticut (Great) Compromise, which house represents states equally and which represents the people by population?

Senate = equal representation (two per state); House of Representatives = representation by population.

300

Who proposed the Virginia Plan, which argued for representation based on population?

James Madison, the Virginia Plan

400

Name one argument delegates from small states used against representation based on population.

Smaller states argued it would be unfair and give too much power to large states; they preferred equal state votes.

500

Explain how the structure agreed on at the Convention attempts to balance the interests of large and small states.

The bicameral system places population-based representation in the House to represent the people and equal state representation in the Senate to protect states' interests.

Framers & Convention

100

How many delegates attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787?

1. Fifty-five delegates attended (fifty-five gathered; thirty-nine signed).

200

Who was chosen as president of the Constitutional Convention and later became the first U.S. president?

1. George Washington

300

Which Framer is known as the "Father of the Constitution" for his role in drafting and later coauthoring the Federalist Papers?

James Madison

400

Name two Framers who wrote or contributed to the Federalist Papers.

Alexander Hamilton and James Madison (and John Jay were coauthors overall of Federalist Papers)

500

Give two reasons some delegates refused to sign the Constitution.

Some refused because there was no Bill of Rights and because they thought the federal government was given too much power.

Federalists vs. Antifederalists

100

Which side favored a stronger national government and supported ratification of the Constitution?

Federalists

200

Which side argued that the Constitution needed a Bill of Rights to protect individual liberties?

Anti-Federalists

300

Did a Federalist or Anti-Federalist say this:

"I had rather be a free citizen of the small republic of Massachusetts, than an oppressed subject of the great American empire."

Anti-Federalist

400

Federalist or Anti-Federalist:

The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.

Federalist

500

Who would argue this idea: 

A national government can work if it has separations of powers and checks and balances.

A Federalist.