Name __________________________________________________
Constitution and New Nation Remediation
Focus
American political leaders, fearful of a powerful central government like Britain’s, created the Articles of
Confederation, adopted at the end of the war.
The Articles of Confederation
 Provided for a weak national government
 Gave Congress no power to tax or regulate commerce among the states
 Provided for no common currency
 Gave each state one vote regardless of size
 Provided for no executive or judicial branch
Key issues and their resolutions
 Made federal law the supreme law of the land when constitutional, but otherwise gave the states considerable
leeway to govern themselves
 Balanced power between large and small states by creating a Senate, where each state has two senators, and a
House of Representatives, where membership is based on population
 Placated the Southern states by counting slaves as three-fifths of the population when determining representation
in the United States House of Representatives
 Avoided a too-powerful central government by establishing three co-equal branches—legislative, executive, and
judicial—with numerous checks and balances among them
 Limited the powers of the federal government to those identified in the Constitution
Key leaders
 George Washington, president of the Convention
– Washington presided at the Convention and, although seldom participating in the debates, lent his enormous
prestige to the proceedings.
 James Madison, “Father of the Constitution”
– Madison, a Virginian and a brilliant political philosopher, often led the debate and kept copious notes of the
proceedings—the best record historians have of what transpired at the Constitutional Convention.
– At the Convention, he authored the “Virginia Plan,” which proposed a federal government of three separate
branches (legislative, executive, judicial) and became the foundation for the structure of the new
government.
– He later authored much of the Bill of Rights.
Virginia Declaration of Rights (George Mason)
 Reiterated the notion that basic human rights should not be violated by governments
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (Thomas Jefferson)
 Outlawed the established church—that is, the practice of government support for one favored church
Bill of Rights
– James Madison consulted the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
when drafting the amendments that eventually became the United States Bill of Rights.
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
– Federalists advocated the importance of a strong central government, especially to promote economic
development and public improvements. Today, those who see a primary role for the federal government in
solving national problems are heirs to this tradition.
–
Anti-Federalists feared an overly powerful central government destructive of the rights of individuals and the
prerogatives of the states. Today, the more conservative thinkers echo these concerns and champion liberty,
individual initiative, and free markets.
–
The leading Virginia opponents of ratification were Patrick Henry and George Mason; the leading Virginia
proponents of ratification were George Washington and James Madison.
Questions
1. How did America’s pre-Revolutionary relationship with Britain influence the structure of the first national
government?
2.
What weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation led to the effort to draft a new constitution?
3.
How did the delegates to the Constitutional Convention balance competing interests?
4.
What compromises were reached at the Constitutional Convention?
5.
How was the Bill of Rights influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Statute for
Religious Freedom?
6.
What were the major arguments for and against the Constitution of 1787 in the leading Federalist and AntiFederalist writings and in the ratification debates?
7.
Who were the leading Federalists and Anti-Federalists in the pivotal ratification debate in Virginia?
Write the letter of the choice that best defines the italicized term.
____ 1. A confederation is
A. an alliance.
B. a democracy.
C. a division of power between a central government and local governments.
____ 2. A tariff is a tax on
A. income.
B. exported goods.
C. imported goods.
____ 3. The Land Ordinance of 1785 was
A. a law establishing a plan for surveying western lands.
B. an agreement to divide the western lands among the states
C. an agreement in which the states gave up claims to western lands.
____ 4. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787
A. claimed all lands west of the Appalachian Mountains for the United States.
B. established procedures for western lands to become territories and, eventually, states.
C. established procedures by which the original states could legalize claims to western lands.
If the statement is true, write "true" on the line. If it is false, change the underlined word or words
to make it true.
__________ 6. The Three-Fifths Compromise called for three-fifths of a state's landless citizens to be
counted as population.
__________ 7. The Constitution assigns responsibility for carrying out laws to the judicial branch.
__________ 8. Delegates from small states objected to George Washington's Virginia Plan, which
proposed a bicameral legislature with membership in both houses based on population.
__________ 9. Roger Sherman's proposal for a two-house Congress, known as the Great Compromise,
finally satisfied the large and small states.
__________ 10. The new system of government, a form of federalism, divided power between the states
and the national government.
Choose the letter of the best answer.
____ 11. Which of the following people was an Antifederalist?
A. John Jay
B. Patrick Henry
C. James Madison
D. Alexander Hamilton
____ 12. Which of the following did the Federalists promise to add to the Constitution if it was ratified?
A. a bill of rights
B. a system of checks and balances
C. provisions for the division of powers
D. provisions for the separation of powers
____ 13. The main purpose of The Federalist was to
A. persuade delegates to sign the Constitution.
B. convince the public of the need for a bill of rights.
C. illustrate the need for a strong national government.
D. encourage support for ratification of the Constitution.
____ 14. How many of the 13 states needed to ratify the Constitution for it to become law?
A. 7 (a simple majority)
B. 8 (three-fifths)
C. 9 (two-thirds)
D. 13 (all)
____ 15. All of the following are guaranteed by the First Amendment EXCEPT
A. freedom of speech.
B. freedom of religion.
C. freedom of the press.
D. freedom from illegal search.