Articles of Confederation
What was the name of the group that created the Articles of Confederation?
Second Continental Congress
What was wrong with the Articles of Confederation?
The Articles of Confederation did not give congress enough power
Who is the leader of the executive branch?
The President
What is the Bill of Rights?
A list of rights of each individual person in the United States
Why did the Framers of the Constitution add the Bill of Rights?
To protect the natural rights of the people.
Who had more power in the Articles of the Confederation?
The states had more power than the national government
What was the difference between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan?
The Virginia Plan wanted Congress made up of a percentage of representative based on the states population.
The New Jersey Plan wanted Congress made up of one representative from each state.
What is another name for the legislative branch?
Congress
Who is considered the father of the Constitution and wrote the Bill of Rights?
James Madison
The United States has a federal government. What does that mean?
That power is divided between the national and state governments
What rebellion really showed how weak the national government was?
Shay's Rebellion
What was the result of the Great Compromise?
Congress would be divided into two parts/houses:
The Senate - each state would have equal representatives (2 per state)
The House of Representatives - the number of representatives would depend on the state's population
Who makes up the Judicial Branch?
Judges and the courts
What does the word amendments mean?
Changes to the Constitution
What is the correct levels of government from smallest to largest?
Local -> State -> Federal
What could congress NOT do? (name all three)
Regulate Trade
Raise Money with Taxes
Force states to obey its laws
Explain the Three-Fifths Rule...
Every 5 slaves would count as 3 free people in a state's population
What are the "checks" on each branch meant to do?
The "checks" from other branches are meant to keep one branch from becoming too powerful
How did the amendments affect the power of the federal government, and why?
This limited the power of the federal government because they are rights that the government can never take away.
How did Benjamin Franklin help the Constitution gain support at the Constitutional Convention?
He got the large states and the small states to agree to the Great Compromise
What was the name of the meeting that took place in order to discuss the Articles of Confederation?
Constitutional Convention
Why did the Anti-Federalist oppose the new Constitution?
They felt a strong central government was a threat to their liberty
Explain how the powers of government are "balanced"...
Each branch has different powers,
congress makes laws, sets the budget, and declares war
the president, appoints judges, is the commander in Chief of the military, and can grant pardons
the supreme court, interprets the law and can declare a law unconstitutional
List the five freedoms listed in the first amendment
Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Religion
Freedom of the Press
Freedom to Assembly
Freedom of Petition
Why does the Constitution begin with the phrase, "we the people..."
To show that the government gets its power from the people