Origins of American Government Study Guide
1. Which European country sent the most settlers to North America?
2. What ideas about government did the English bring with them to the Americas?
3. What was significant about the Magna Carta?
4. What did the Petition of Rights challenge for the first time?
5. What rights were included in the English Bill of Rights?
6. Why were the colonies known as “schools of government”?
7. What did England provide to the colonies?
8. What was the major complaint of the colonists after the French & Indian War?
9. Describe the Albany plan.
10. What did the 1st Continental Congress accomplish?
11. This body passed the Declaration of Independence and became our 1st national government:
12. The Declaration of Independence was mostly authored by which Founding Father?
13. Describe The Articles of Confederation.
14. What were some weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
15. Which Founding Father is considered the “Father of the Constitution”?
16. Describe the Virginia Plan.
17. Describe the New Jersey Plan.
18. Describe the Connecticut Compromise.
19. What was Montesquieu’s book about the separation of powers that served as one of the
sources for our Constitution?
20. Which group opposed the ratification of the Constitution?
21. What was the collection of essays written to sway delegates to ratify the Constitution?
22. Who were the authors?
23. Compare and contrast the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. Describe both proposals and
who favored each one. Describe the Connecticut and 3/5 Compromise and how they led to the
ratification of the Constitution.