American Government
Ch 2 Study Guide
Sect 1
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Terms
o Limited Government
o Representative Government
o Magna Carta
o Bicameral
o Unicameral
The shape of American government is based on which English political ideas?
What limitations on the English King’s power were included in the Petition of
Right of 1628?
Describe who had control of a royal colony?
What were several characteristics of the royal colonies?
What were several reasons why the colonies were settled?
Sect 2
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What made self-government in the colonies possible?
Why did the colonists resent paying taxes?
Did the colonies ever experiment with plans of union before the Revolutionary
War occurred?
In 1776 was the British king surprised at the unhappiness of the colonists’
feelings on taxation without representation?
Were the first state constitutions similar of very different from one another?
How did many colonial legislatures persuade governors to bend to their will?
What were several examples of early colonial attempts at unity?
What are the self-evident truths listed by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of
Independence?
What defines the principle of popular sovereignty?
What were several common features of the first State constitutions?
Sect 3
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How many states had to ratify the Articles of Confederation before it became
effective?
Did the Articles give the most important political powers to the National
Government or the State Governments?
Describe the 10 year period after the Revolutionary War in the United States?
What issues first motivated Americans to get together to discuss the effectiveness
of the Articles of Confederation?
As far as Congress was concerned, what was the main purpose of a 1787
convention in Philadelphia?
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What were several features of the Articles of Confederation?
What was the main reason that no amendments were ever added to the Articles of
Confederation?
What were several reasons for changing the Articles in the mid 1780’s?
Why did delegates meet at Mount Vernon and Annapolis?
What was the main concern of the rebels who carried out Shay’s Rebellion?
Sect 4
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Terms
o Virginia Plan
o New Jersey Plan
o Connecticut Compromise
o Three-Fifths Compromise
o Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise
Why were Thomas Jefferson and John Adams not at the Constitutional
Convention?
According to Edmund Randolph’s proposal, what should be the two
characteristics of any new constitution?
To whom did the Three-Fifths Compromise refer to?
What were several major sources of ideas for the Constitution?
What summarizes Benjamin Franklin’s judgment of the outcome of the
Constitutional Convention?
Sect 5
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How many states were needed to ratify the Constitution?
The absence of what was the cause for many people to oppose ratification of the
Constitution?
Most opponents of ratification of the Constitution believed it gave too little power
to whom?
What were the people called who favored the new Constitution?
Why were the Virginia and New York votes toward ratification so important?
What were several specific objections to the new Constitution?
Why was ratification of the Constitution crucial in Virginia and New York?
What was the significance of The Federalist?
What were some rights that the Constitution did NOT explicitly guarantee during
the ratification process?
Why were Anti-Federalists so powerful during the ratification process?