The New Nation Study Guide
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1. Why were the Articles of Confederation replaced by the U.S. Constitution?
The government was too weak to rule effectively.
2. Even though the Articles of Confederation were written in 1777, they did not go
into effect until 1781. What was the reason that it took several years for the
Articles to go into effect?
They did not go into effect until they had been approved by all of the states.
3. How did the writers of the U.S. Constitution address the issue of how slaves
would be counted in a state's population?
Every five slaves would be counted as three people.
4. politician from Virginia who was at the Constitutional Convention
• came up with the Virginia Plan and the three-branch federal system
• wrote some of the Federalist Papers to convince people to ratify the
Constitution
Which delegate to the Constitutional Convention is described in the box above?
James Madison
5. When were the Articles of Confederation written?
The Revolutionary War
6. Where did the Constitutional Convention take place?
Philadelphia, PA
Virginia
Plan
New Jersey
Plan
?
Representation in the legislature would be based on population or the
amount of money sent to the national government
Each state would have equal representation in the legislature
Each state would have equal representation in the Senate, but
representation in the House of Representatives would be based on
population
7. Which of the following belongs in the box with the question mark?
The Great Compromise
8. Articles of Confederation > Shays’s Rebellion> ?
What happened next?
Constitutional Convention
9. What best describes the people who took part in Shays' Rebellion of 1786–1787?
Farmers who were angry about Taxes
10. Why was it important for the Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution?
Several states would not have voted to ratify the Constitution with out it.
11. What is the Bill of Rights?
The first ten amendments to the constitution.
12. The ability of each branch of government to make sure that no one branch of
government is more powerful than another?
Checks and Balances
13. Why did the Founding Fathers divide the Congress into two chambers?
They wanted to be sure that the large and small states would receive equal
representation.
14. What are the three branches of government?
Executive, Legislative, and Judicial
15. Why did the Constitutional Congress decide to create three branches of our
government?
The U.S. government was so big that it had to be divided for organizational purposes.