Constitutional Compromises
What compromise created a two-house (bicameral) Congress?
Great Compromise
What was the first form of government of the United States?
Articles of Confederation
What principle divides government into three branches?
Separation of powers
Which group supported the ratification of the Constitution?
Federalists
What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution called?
Bill of Rights
What is a legislature with two houses (chambers) called?
Bicameral legislature
Why did Americans create a weak central government under the Articles of Confederation?
They feared a powerful central government.
What principle divides power between state and federal governments?
Federalism
Which group feared that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government?
Anti-Federalists
Which amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures?
Fourth Amendment
Why was the Great Compromise necessary?
To settle disagreements between large and small states about representation in Congress.
Name two powers Congress had under the Articles of Confederation.
Declare war, make treaties with other countries, operate post offices.
What principle means that government gets its power from the people?
Popular sovereignty
Why did Federalists want a stronger national government?
To create a more stable national government, to give the national government the power to perform essential functions, to fix the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
Which amendment protects people from cruel and unusual punishment?
Eighth Amendment
What compromise determined how enslaved people would be counted for representation?
Three-Fifths Compromise
Name two weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
Congress could not collect taxes, Congress could not regulate trade, there was no national executive branch (president), there was no national judicial branch (federal courts), all 13 states had to agree to amend the Articles, states could coin their own money, there was no common national currency.
What principle allows each branch of government to limit the power of the others?
Checks and balances
Why did Anti-Federalists demand a Bill of Rights?
To protect individual freedoms from the federal government.
Which two First Amendment rights allow people to gather peacefully and request changes from the government?
Freedom of assembly (right to assemble peaceably), right to petition the government.
Why did Southern states support the Three-Fifths Compromise?
It increased their political influence in Congress.
How did the Northwest Ordinance help resolve western land disputes and support U.S. expansion?
Established rules for organizing western territories, created a process for admitting new states into the Union, helped organize the expansion of the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains, established a system for governing western territories rather than leaving them under competing state claims.
How do citizens exercise popular sovereignty in the U.S. government?
By voting and electing representatives to make decisions on their behalf.
What was one major concern Patrick Henry had about the Constitution?
The national government could become too powerful, the president could become like a king, individual rights and freedoms could be threatened, the government could abuse its power.
Which First Amendment freedoms protect people who criticize the government through speeches or newspapers?
Freedom of speech, freedom of the press.