What were the basic weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation?
Name 5.
What document was written during the
Revolutionary War to establish a
government for the country after it
declared its independence?
1. Could not tax/ raise money
2. Could not regulate trade
3. No common currency
4. No executive branch/ couldn’t
enforce laws
5. No judicial branch/couldn’t settle
disputes
The Articles of Confederation
What term describes a system of
government that divides power between
the national government and state
governments?
federalism
Who wrote the Virginia Plan?
James Madison
Which branch of government makes
laws?
legislative branch
What document provides a written
guarantee of individual rights?
What two groups make up Congress?
The Bill of Rights
The House of Representatives
&
The Senate
100
How many members are in the Senate?
How long is their term?
There are 2 Senators from each state
They serve for 6 years.
How many members are in the House of
Representatives?
How long is their term of office?
435
The number of representatives is
based on a state’s population.
They serve a 2 year term.
Name the three branches of government
under the Constitution.
The legislative branch
The executive branch
The judicial branch
Who is the head of the judicial branch?
The Supreme Court
What branch interprets laws and
determines if laws or actions are
unconstitutional?
The judicial branch
Who is the head of the executive branch?
The President
Which branch carries out or enforces the
laws?
The executive branch
Explain the system of checks and
balances. Why does our government use
this system?
The system of checks and balances
allows each branch to check or limit
the power of the other two branches.
This system keeps any one branch
or individual from becoming too
powerful.
Who was the author of the Bill of Rights?
James Madison
What do we call the first ten amendments
to the Constitution?
The Bill of Rights
Jefferson
Hamilton
Describe the differences between
Hamilton and Jefferson?
1. Federalist
2. Favored strong
national government
3. Favored industry
4. Favored national bank
5. Limited state powers
1. Democratic
Republican
2. Favored weak national
Government
3. Favored farmers
4. Opposed the national
Bank
5. Supported state power
Which of the first five Presidents was not
from Virginia?
John Adams
Under what President was the Bill of
Rights added to the Constitution?
George Washington
What African American astronomer and
surveyor helped design Washington,
D.C.?
Benjamin Banneker
What brought about the development of
political parties?
Disagreements between Hamilton
and Jefferson over the proper role of
the national government
What President purchased the Louisiana
Territory? From whom did he buy it?
Jefferson purchased the Louisiana
Territory from France.
Under what President did the two-party
system emerge?
John Adams
Who explored the land west of the
Mississippi River?
Lewis and Clark
Who was President during the War of
1812?
James Madison
What was the major result of the War of
1812?
European nations gain respect for the
United States.
What was the Monroe Doctrine?
A warning to European nations not to
interfere in the Western Hemisphere
What new territories were added to the
United States between 1801 and 1861?
How did the United States gain these
territories?
What territory did the United States gain
that doubled the size of the country?
1. Louisiana Purchase – bought from
France
2. Florida – gained from Spain
through a treaty
3. Texas – added after it became an
independent republic
4. Oregon – divided between U.S. and
England
5. California – gained from Mexico along
with southwest territory as a result of war
The Louisiana Territory
What geographic and economic factors
influenced western migration?
1. Population growth in eastern cities
2. Cheap, fertile land in the west
3. Cheaper and faster means of
Transportation to the west
4. Knowledge of overland trails
5. Belief in Manifest Destiny
6. Opportunity to make money (gold,
logging, farming)
What major canal was built to connect
the Great Lakes region to the East Coast
for travel and trade?
The Erie Canal
Name two famous overland trails heading
west that pioneers took in wagon trains?
The Oregon Trail and
The Santa Fe Trail
What is Manifest Destiny?
The belief that the United States was
destined to stretch across the
continent. It was our right and our fate
to expand.
Who invented the cotton gin?
Eli Whitney
Why did the invention of the cotton gin
increase the need for slave labor in the
South?
The gin allowed the seeds to be
separated easily. More cotton could be
grown and sold so more slave labor
was needed to plant, weed, and pick
cotton
What two men, one a slave, invented the
reaper which increased the productivity
of American farmers?
Jo Anderson (a slave)
&
Cyrus McCormick
Who improved the steamboat, providing
faster river transportation and connecting
southern plantations to northern
industries?
Robert Fulton
His steamboat was the Clermont.
What invention led to faster land travel
and allowed western expansion as well as
connecting Midwest farmers with East
coast port cities?
The steam locomotive
(the railroad)
What is an abolitionist?
Someone who worked to end slavery
Name three famous abolitionists.
Harriet Tubman
William Lloyd Garrison
Frederick Douglass
Why did abolitionists believe slavery was
wrong?
1. Morally wrong
2. Cruel and inhumane
3. A violation of the principles of
democracy
What was the suffrage movement?
This political movement helped
women gain the right to vote.
Name three leaders of the suffrage
movement.
Sojourner Truth
Susan B. Anthony
Elizabeth Cady Stanton