Important People or Events
Who is known as the father of the constitution?
James Madison
This was the first national constitution of the United States passed by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 but not ratified until 1781
What is the Articles of Confederation
What does the executive branch do?
Enforce/Carry out the laws
Where did the Constitutional Convention take place?
Philadelphia
What does the word ratify mean?
Approve
This person was chosen to be the President of the Constitutional Convention
Who is George Washington
How many states were needed to approve a new law being passed under the articles of confederation?
13/13
How many states were needed to initially ratify the constitution?
9/13
Which compromise created the bicameral legislature and the 3 branch system of government?
The great compromise
Under the new constitution, how many senators would each state have?
2
This person was the oldest representative, at 81 years old
Who is Benjamin Franklin
What were some issues with the Articles of Confederation?
100 points for each issue you can name
Inability to tax
Inability to regulate trade
Political Instability
Difficulty Passing Laws
No Foreign Head of State
No independent Judiciary
What are checks and balances?
A system to "check and balance" each branch, to ensure one branch does not have any more power than another
Which Compromise banned/heavily taxed the slave trade?
Slave trade compromise
What did federalists support?
The federal government/new constitution
This series of essays, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay was widely published to help garner support for the new Constitution.
What is the Federalist Papers?
Why did prominent delegates from the 13 states initially gather in Philadelphia in 1787?
to amend and improve the Articles of Confederation
Which branch of government established by the new Constitution was responsible for interpreting new laws?
What is the Judicial Branch
Which compromise dealt with representation and taxing of enslaved African Americans?
3/5 compromise
What is a Bicameral Legislature?
A system of government with 2 houses
This event, sparked by the debt crisis in Massachusetts among middle-to-lower class farmers & workers was utilized by George Washington as representing instability and weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation
What is Shay's rebellion
What was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787?
Bonus points to name the states included in the territory
Established the Northwest Territory, and set up a procedure for applying for statehood; when the population of a territory reached 60,000, it could apply for statehood
Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio
The first 10 amendments to the constitution, proposed by George Mason of Virginia to limit government’s authority and to help protect citizens’ rights was also known as:
What is the Bill of Rights
What was Robert Morris's proposed tax?
A 5% tax on all imported items
This law established a procedure for surveying and selling the western lands north of the Ohio Rive dividing lands into 36 sections of 640 acres to be sold at public auction
What is the Land Ordinance of 1785