Articles
What occurred that convinced the leaders of the 13 colonies/states that the government created by the Articles of Confederation was too weak to govern them?
Shay's Rebellion
When and where did the Constitutional Convention begin?
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May of 1787
Who introduced the Great Compromise at the Constitutional Convention?
Roger Sherman
What problem did the the Three Fifths (3/5s) Compromise address?
The issue of how the southern states with smaller populations could compete with the more populated northern states.
What type of government was favored by the Federalists?
A strong central government later called a national or Federal government.
What was the result of the Annapolis Convention in the Fall of 1786.
Plans were made for convention of the states to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May of 1787. Each state was to send delegates to represent them.
Who was elected as the Constitutional Convention chairman?
George Washington
What were the provisions of the Virginia Plan for government?
The Virginia plan called for a unicameral Congress with representation in that Congress based upon each state's population.
What did the New Jersey Plan for government provide for?
The New Jersey Plan called for a unicameral Congress with each state receiving the same or equal representatives.
What type of government was favored by the Anti-Federalists.
Anti-Federalists favored a government in which states would have more power than the Federal/National Government.
Which plan for government introduced at the Constitutional Convention favored the states with larger populations?
The Virginia Plan favored the states with larger populations because it called for a Congress based upon population. The states with larger populations would have more representatives than those with less population.
What differences between the thirteen states made compromise necessary?
The differences that existed among the thirteen states that made compromises necessary were in the amount of people who lived in the each state as well as in the north and in the southern states.
What did the Great Compromise propose that was able to settle the differences between the less populated and more populated states?
The Great Compromise proposed a bicameral Congress with one house having an equal amount of representative from each state and the second house would base it's membership on each states population.
If there were 500 enslaved adults in Virginia in 1798, how many would be counted towards it's population under the Three Fifths Compromise?
300 enslaved people would be counted toward their population under the Three Fifths Compromise?
What was the original purpose of the Federalists Papers?
The Federalists Papers were originally written to convince the state of New York to ratify the new proposed Constitution.
List three problems in government of the Articles of Confederation.
1. Congress had no power to tax.
2. Each state had one vote regardless of their size.
3. No executive branch
4. No national court system
5. States printed their own currency
Why did our founding fathers as well as the Anti-Federalist fear a strong central government?
They were afraid of the government that had abused them as colonies of Britain. It was the reason they had fought the Revolution.
Who wrote the Federalist Papers?
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote the 85 essays to convince the state of New York to ratify the Constitution. Later they were gathered into a book known as the Federalists Papers.
Who is known as the Father of the Constitution?
James Madison introduced the Virginia Plan, contributed greatly to all the debates as well as took meticulous notes of the Constitution's proceedings. We consider him to be the Father of the Constitution for his contributions.
What did the supporters of the new government created by the Constitution refer to themselves as?
They called themselves Federalists because they favored a government with a strong central government/Federal government.
To take effect the new Constitution would need to be ratified. How many states would it take to ratify it?
It would take 9 of the 13 states to ratify the Constitution.
What decision was made by the Convention that met in Philadelphia regarding the Articles of Confederation?
The Convention made the decision to scrap the Articles and to write a new Constitution.
What might have happened at the Convention if the Great Compromise hadn't been accepted?
It is likely that the new Constitution would not have been written and the convention would have failed.
What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution known as?
The first ten amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights.
Who was elected as our first President under the government created by the new Constitution?
George Washington was elected as our nation's first president.