Creating a New Government
Chapter 7 & 8 Worksheet
Name: _______________________
1. The Enlightenment was a movement in Europe that emphasized a faith in human
goodness and reason. The influence of many ideas from the Enlightenment
thinkers can be seen in the American documents “The Declaration of
Independence” and “The Constitution.” Name at least two Enlightenment
thinkers who influenced those early American documents, and explain the
ideas that we incorporate into our government today. (4 Points) Page 208
2. Following the Declaration of Independence, states met to discuss how they would
govern themselves at state constitutional conventions. These meetings resulted in
the writing of state constitutions. All the states organized as a republic. What is
a republic? (P. 193) 1 point
3. What is suffrage, and give two examples of suffrage requirements and two
examples of states that expanded suffrage in their state constitutions. (P. 193 and
lecture notes) 5 points
4. The Articles of Confederation became our first national constitution in 1777.
Like any constitution, it had strengths and weaknesses. List 4 strengths and 4
weaknesses of the Articles. 8 points (P. 194-195 and notes)
Strengths
Weaknesses
A.
A.
B.
B.
C.
C.
D.
D.
5. The Articles of Confederation ultimately failed as our national government. There
were several reasons that led to the abandonment of the Articles and the adoption of a
new, stronger national constitution. Among the reasons the Articles failed was the failure
to maintain national security, failure to create a stable economic system, failure to
deal with war debts, an inadequate system of raising revenue, and a lack of authority for
the central government. Describe two problems the new United States had in our
relationship with Great Britain. (P. 197-198) 2 points
6. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established how a territory becomes a state.
Describe the three steps a territory must take to officially become a state.
(Info from lecture notes will be needed to answer this question) 3 points
A.
B.
C.
7. Which five states were formed from the Northwest Territory? (Notes) 5 points
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
8. In addition to setting precedents like how a territory becomes a state and free
public education, the Northwest ordinance took a firm stance on the controversial
issue of slavery. What is the official position of the Northwest Ordinance
regarding slavery? 1 point (P. 196)
9. What is a tariff, and explain how they lead to a balance of trade between the US
and Great Britain that was unfavorable to the United States. (P. 197) 2 points
10. Since the Articles of Confederation did not allow the federal government to
regulate trade between states, many states adopted trade policies that were
favorable to their own interests. Each state was also able to make its own money.
Give an example of how that would make it difficult for merchants who did
business across state lines. (P. 194-199 and notes) 1 point
11. In 1786, Daniel Shays led a rebellion in Massachusetts. What was the reason
Shays was angry with the government of Massachusetts? (P. 200) 1 point
12. What was the main impact of Shays Rebellion on the United States? (P. 200 and
notes) 1 point
Drafting the Constitution
13. In addition to some notable absences to the Constitutional Convention like John
Adams and Thomas Jefferson who were serving the country in other capacities, as
well as Sam Adams and Patrick Henry who were opposed to the Convention
completely, there were entire groups of people who were denied representation.
Those groups were women, African Americans and American Indians. Why
were these groups excluded from the Convention? (P. 202) 1 point
14. One of the great debates of the Constitutional Convention was over representation
in Congress. It was very important since representation had a direct effect on how
much power a state would wield in Congress. The more representatives a state
has in Congress, the more likely that state will pass legislation favorable to it.
There were two plans originally proposed in the Convention in Philadelphia- The
Virginia Plan (Large State Plan) and the New Jersey Plan (Small State Plan). In
this case “large” and “small” refer to population not size. List three major
components of the Virginia Plan and explain why representation in the
arrangement benefits “large” states. (P.203) 4 points
15. List two major components of the New Jersey Plan and explain how
representation in this plan benefits “small” states. (P. 203) 3 points
16. Explain how the Connecticut Plan or “Great Compromise” satisfied both the
“small” and “large” states with regards to representation. (P. 203-204) 2 points
17.The Great Compromise solved one conflict over representation, but the representation
argument did not end there. Southern states had large land area, but small voting
populations. They wanted to make sure northern states that had a population advantage,
were generally opposed to slavery, and had different economic interests would not take
advantage of them. Therefore, southern states wanted to count slaves toward their
population for purposes of representation in Congress. The northern states opposed this
idea because they felt it would give the south a representation advantage in Congress.
The northern states used an old southern argument against the southern states that slaves
were not people but were property. Therefore, northern states wanted to count slaves as
property for purposes of taxation to raise more money for the new national government.
How did the Three-fifths Compromise solve the conflict between North and South
over slaves, representation, and taxation? (P. 204) 2 points
18.There was another compromise during the Convention involving the foreign slave
trade. Some representatives wanted to make it illegal to import slaves, but to allow
slavery to remain legal. Southern delegates argued that banning the slave trade would
hurt the economy of the south that depended on slave labor. What compromise did
delegates at the Convention reach to deal with the issue of the foreign slave trade?
(P. 205) 2 points
19. When the Convention was finished, 39 of the 42 delegates signed the Constitution.
The document was then sent to the states to be ratified by each state’s legislature. Unlike
the Articles of Confederation, which required unanimous consent to make new laws or
changes to old ones, the Constitution only needed the approval of 9 of the 13 states to
become the law of the land. Two factions were formed, one opposing and one supporting
the Constitution. Explain the Antifederalists view of the Constitution and name two
outspoken Antifederalists. Do the same for the Federalists. (P.211-212) 6 points
20. The Colonists had just finished a war with England because they felt the king was
abusing their personal liberties. The Declaration of Independence borrowed ideas from
John Locke about natural rights, rights that cannot be taken away by the government. In
many ways, personal freedom was what the War for Independence and the Constitutional
Convention were all about. However, in the original Constitution, there were no
guarantees or protections against the new government abusing the natural rights of its
citizens. Many states would not ratify the Constitution until a promise of a Bill of Rights
was given. How has the Constitution benefited from the addition of a Bill of Rights?
(P. 212-213) 1 point