SOL REVIEW—CONFEDERATION TO CONSTITUTION
America made two attempts at government: The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution
Weaknesses of Articles
Articles of Confederation
Provided for a weak national government.
Fearful of a
powerful central
government like
England’s,
America’s political
leaders created
the Articles of
Confederation.
The main power of government was
in the hands of the state government.
1. When the colonists formed their first government, what were they afraid of about the
central government?
2. So under the Articles of Confederation, where did the most power lie—with the national
government or
the states?
(Circle one)
Other Weaknesses of Articles
• Gave Congress no
power to tax or regulated
commerce among the
states
• Provided for no common
currency
• Gave each state one
vote regardless of size
• Provided for no
executive or judicial
branch
The Constitution
Under the Constitution, the
power is shared between the
national government and the
states. (= federalism)
There is a system for orderly
change to the Constitution
through amendments.
3. List the weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation.
 No power to _______ or regulate
_____________ between the states


No common ______________
Each state had _______ vote, no
matter if it was large with many
people or small with few people

There was no ____________
(president) or _____________
branch (courts at national level)
RI & PA each 1 vote ??
4. How is the relationship between the national and
state government set up under the Constitution?
5. What is the term for this sharing of power
between two levels of government at the same
time?
6. What if changes to the Constitution as written
become necessary, how can this be done?
The creation of the Constitution involved many debates over certain key issues. The issues were
settled through compromises.
Key Issues  Resolution
Federal laws are supreme
when constitutional but
the states have
considerable power to
govern themselves.
Enumerated Powers
Shared Powers
Reserved Powers
Key Issues  Resolution
The power of
Congress was limited
to those identified in
the Constitution =
Enumerated
Powers
7. What are the three types of
power?
 Those listed for just the
federal government =
___________________ powers
 Those that belong only to the
states = ________________
powers
 Those that both levels have =
are _____________ powers
Key Issues  Resolution
•
•
•
•
•
Lay and collect taxes
Borrow money
Regulate commerce
Coin money
Establish naturalization
procedure
• Declare war
• Establish and maintain an
army and navy
• And do whatever is necessary
and proper to carry out these
duties
Each state
has 2 Senators
Power was balanced
between large and small
states by creating a
Senate with equal
representation and a
House of Representatives
with members based on
population
There can be
several
Representatives
from large state
8. Which level of government has the enumerated powers? List some.
9. Under the Articles, each state, large or small, had ________ vote. How does the Constitution
balance the power of large and small states in Congress?
 Large states have greater power in the ________________________ because the number of
representatives is based on __________________
 Small states have equal power in the _________________ because each state has _____
Senators
 Remember to pass a law it needs to pass in both the House of Representatives and the
Senate
10. How many Senators does Virginia have?
Key Issues  Resolution
Key Issues  Resolution
To avoid a too-powerful
central government three
co-equal branches were
established:
legislative, executive,
and judicial.
To please Southern
slave-holding states, 3/5
of slaves were able to be
counted when
determining the
number of
Representatives.
= The Three-fifths Compromise
There are many checks &
balances among the three
branches.
11. How did the Constitutional Convention solve the issue of counting slaves when determining the
number of Representatives for Congress?
12. What is the name of this compromise?
13. What problem does the “checks and balances” system solve?
14. What are the three branches of government?
Key Leaders at Constitutional
Convention
George Washington was the
President of the Convention but
seldom participated in debate.
James Madison led the debate
and kept a record of the meetings. He
wrote the “Virginia Plan” which became
the foundation for the structure of the new
government. Later, he wrote
much of the Bill of Rights. He’s
the “Father of the Constitution.”
Bill of Rights—Virginia’s
Contributions
George Mason wrote the
Virginia Declaration of Rights. It
held the basic idea that human
rights should not be violated by
government.
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Virginia
Statute for Religious Freedom. It outlawed
the “established church” or the support of
government for one favored church.
15. What role did George Washington
have at the Constitutional
Convention?
16. Why is James Madison known as
“the Father of the Constitution”?
 He kept a ___________ of meetings
 He wrote the ____________ Plan for the
____________ of the new government
 He wrote the ______ ___________(the
first 10 amendments to the Constitution)
17. Two other Virginians were major contributors.
Explain what each did.
 George Mason wrote
the________________________ which
was a model for the Bill of Rights

Thomas Jefferson who wrote the
__________________________ that
outlawed the “___________” church—
government support for a church
Bill of Rights—Virginia’s
Contributions
James Madison
consulted both
Virginia’s Statute of
Religious Freedom
and the Declaration
of Rights
when drafting the first ten amendments
that became the Bill of Rights.
18. Match the Virginians to their contributions.
____ Father of the Constitution
A. George Mason
____ Wrote the Virginia Declaration B. Thomas Jefferson
of Rights
____ President of the Constitutional C. James Madison
Convention
____ Wrote the Bill of Rights
D. George Washington
____ Wrote the Virginia Statue of
Religious Freedom
Ratification
There were major
arguments FOR and
AGAINST the Constitution
between the Federalists and AntiFederalists.
Elements of both viewpoints are reflected
in present-day issues like the size and role
of government, federalism and individual
rights.
Ratification Debate Today
Today, more
conservative
thinkers echo
the AntiFederalist
concerns. They
speak out for liberty, individual
initiative and free markets
19. Which group was for ratification? The ___________________; which group was against
ratification? The ___________________.
20. What are this issues, like those of today, that divided Federalists and Anti-Federalists?



21. Which group of today’s politicians resemble the Anti-Federalists? The __________________
because they believe in _______________, individual ________________ and _________
markets.
KEY CHANGES MADE BY SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court under Chief Justice, Virginian John Marshall made three significant rulings.
These rulings still impact our law today.
A Co-Equal Supreme Court
It was the rulings of Chief
Justice John Marshall of
Virginia (served 1801-1835)
that strengthened the role of the Supreme
Court as an equal branch of the national
government.
•Marbury v. Madison—judicial review
•McCulloch v. Maryland—use of implied power
22. What was Chief Justice John
Marshall’s lasting impact on the
role of the Supreme Court in the
system of checks and balances?
 He strengthened the role of the
_______________ _________ as a
_______________ branch of the
________________ government

•Gibbons v. Ogden—national view of economic
affairs
Case Foundations Today
Marbury v. Madison
Gibbons v.
Ogden
McCulloch v. Maryland
The above three cases laid the
foundation for the Court’s authority to
mediate disagreements between
--branches of government,
--levels of government and
--competing business interests.
Laid the __________________ for
the Court’s authority to
_______________ disagreements
23. State the result of each case.
 Marbury v.Madison =
____________________ (the
Court can declare laws of
Congress unconstitutional)

McCulloch v. Maryland =
____________________ (the list
of enumerated powers of the
Congress can be “stretched” if
necessary to carry out the duties
of Congress)

Gibbons v. Ogden =
National view of ______________
activity (the national
government will regulate
interstate commerce
24. Put the case name on the blank with the type of mediation disagreements: between
 Branches of government = __________________ v. __________________

Levels of government = ______________________ v. ____________________

Competing business interests = ________________ v. _________________
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND CONSTITUTION
Cause and Effect
Weak national gov’t, no power to tax or regulate trade, no common currency, no executive or
judicial branch Constitutional Convention
Successful adoption of U.S. Constitutionmodel for the rest of the world
Terms
Articles of Confederation—First constitutional gov’t of U.S., weak nat’l gov’t, other faults
George Washington—Presided at Constitutional Convention; lent prestige, 1st President
James Madison—“Father of the Constitution,” proposed Virginia plan, wrote Bill of Rights
3/5 Compromise—to please South, counting 3/5 of slaves when determining population for
representation
Separation of Powers/ Virginia Plan—three co-equal branches to avoid too powerful central gov’t
Checks and balances—each branch has checks on others to balance power among branches
Federalism—federal law supreme with states having considerable leeway to govern themselves
Enumerated/delegated powers—powers listed to federal gov’t specifically in Constitution
Great Compromise (large state/small state)—2-house legislature; Senate equal representation,
House based on population
Federalists—pro Ratification of Constitution, Bill of Rights redundant
Anti-federalists—against ratification of Constitution because it did not include Bill of Rights, too
much power at national level
Virginia Declaration of Rights—model for Bill of Rights, written by George Mason; basic human
rights should not be violated by the government
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom—written by Thomas Jefferson, outlawed established (gov’tsupported) church
Bill of Rights—first ten amendments of Constitution guaranteeing basic rights
Matching
__Northwest Ordinance
A.1786—separates church and state; establishes freedom of
worship
__Annapolis Convention
B. Agreement that slaves would count less than a full person
__James Madison
C. Agreement—House by population, Senate 2 per state
__George Mason
D. 1776—says basic human rights cannot be violated by
government
__Great compromise
E. Key phrase of “elastic clause,” stretches meaning of
Constitution
__3/5 Compromise
F. Created 1787, followed Art. of C., supreme law of the land
__”…necessary & proper…”
G. Meeting pointed out defects in Articles of Confederation
__U.S. Constitution
H. Virginian known as “Father of Constitution,” also wrote Bill of
Rights
__Virginia Declaration of Rights I. Virginian wrote VA Declaration of Rights used as model for
U.S. Bill of Rights
__Virginia Statute of Religious
J. 1787—one success of Articles; organized territories near Great
Freedom
Lakes