Articles of Confederation
Question: What was the first national plan of government used by the United States after declaring independence?
What are the Articles of Confederation?
Question: What is the introduction to the Constitution that explains its purposes?
Answer: What is the Preamble?
Question: What is the supreme law of the United States that sets up the national government?
Answer: What is the Constitution?
Question: What principle divides government responsibilities among separate branches?
Answer: What is separation of powers?
Question: Which group supported ratifying the Constitution and creating a stronger national government?
Answer: Who are the Federalists?
Question: What important power could the national government not use under the Articles to raise money from the states?
Answer: What is the power to tax?
Question: Which goal in the Preamble means creating a stronger, more united country?
Answer: What is “form a more perfect Union”?
Question: How many branches of the federal government does the Constitution establish?
Answer: What are three branches?
Question: What system allows each branch to limit the power of the other branches?
Answer: What are checks and balances?
Question: Which group worried that the proposed Constitution gave too much power to the national government?
Answer: Who are the Anti-Federalists?
Question: What national military force could Congress not reliably create under the Articles?
Answer: What is a national army?
Question: Which goal means keeping peace and order within the country?
Answer: What is “ensure domestic Tranquility”?
Question: Which branch makes federal laws?
Answer: What is the legislative branch, or Congress?
Question: Which branch can veto a bill passed by Congress?
Answer: What is the executive branch, led by the president?
Question: What did Anti-Federalists say was missing from the original Constitution?
Answer: What is a clear list of protections for individual rights?(BILL OF RIGHTS)
Question: What made it difficult for Congress to pass laws and make changes to the Articles?
Answer: What are the requirements for a large majority of states to approve laws and unanimous state approval to amend the Articles?
Question: Which goal means protecting the country from threats?
Answer: What is “provide for the common defence”?
Question: Which branch enforces laws, and which branch interprets them?
Answer: What are the executive branch, which enforces laws, and the judicial branch, which interprets laws?
Question: What can Congress do if the president vetoes a bill, provided enough members support it?
Answer: What is override the veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate?
Question: What promise helped persuade some Anti-Federalists to support ratification?
Answer: What was the promise to add a Bill of Rights?
Question: How did the national government’s lack of power to tax and regulate trade contribute to the Articles’ weaknesses?
Answer: It made it difficult to pay national debts and provide for the country’s needs, while states could pursue conflicting trade policies.
Question: Name the six goals stated in the Preamble.
Answer: What are forming a more perfect Union, establishing Justice, ensuring domestic Tranquility, providing for the common defence, promoting the general Welfare, and securing the Blessings of Liberty?
Question: Besides creating three branches, what system does the Constitution establish to divide authority between the national government and the states?
Answer: What is federalism?
Question: How do separation of powers and checks and balances work together to limit government power?
Answer: Separation of powers assigns different responsibilities to different branches, while checks and balances let branches limit one another so no branch holds all the power.
Question: How did the Bill of Rights address the concerns raised during the ratification debate?
Answer: It added amendments that protected individual freedoms and placed limits on government power.