NAME:
CLASS BLOCK:
CHAPTER TWO ASSIGNMENT
AP U.S. Government and Politics: Chapter 2: The Constitution
Directions:
 Answer the following questions in short-answer essay format – complete sentences,
concise but articulate answers, check your spelling before you finish, and as always, DO
YOUR OWN WORK IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
 Your answers must be indented, typed in bold, blue-color, Times New Roman, 12point font, single-spaced. Leave one blank line between your answer and the next
question. Please use this format in this assignment and all similar assignments in
this course.
 Be sure to be specific, using terms and vocabulary from Chapter Two in the Government
in America textbook. Through your answers, prove to your instructor and yourself that
you’ve done the reading and that you understand the concepts.
 When it is appropriate, use specific examples that are relevant to the question (using
examples from contemporary news reports is most helpful, here).
1. List the major components (parts) of John Locke’s political philosophy. Next to each
component, show their influence in Thomas Jefferson’s writings in the Declaration of
Independence. Type in your answer using these two bulleted lists; remember to use bold, bluecolor font, as the directions above ask for.
Components of Locke’s Political
Philosophy

Examples from Declaration of Independence
Where Locke’s Influence Shows Up

2. What was the single branch of government in the Articles of Confederation? Which two
branches of government were missing? Why did the authors of the Articles create this kind of
government?
The only branch of government under the Articles of Confederation was
3. List the major reasons why the government under the Articles of Confederation was a failure.
Please use a bulleted list when typing your answer.

4. Briefly describe the general philosophical views of the Founding Fathers on the following
issues:
 Human Nature:

Political Conflict:

Objects (purposes) of Government:

The Nature of Government:
There were numerous important principles and issues debated at the Constitutional Convention
in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787. Identify and describe each of the following.
5. What were the three major “equality issues” debated at the Convention, and how was each
one resolved? Please use this numbered list for your answers.
1.
2.
3.
6. What were the major economic problems debated at the Convention, and how were they
resolved? Please use this numbered list for your answers.
1.
2.
3.
7. Why did many of the Founding Fathers believe it was not necessary to address individual
rights – civil liberties – issues specifically in the original Constitution, itself?
Many of the Founding Fathers believed it was necessary to address civil liberties in
the original Constitution because
8. Explain how the Madisonian model of limiting the power of a national government made its
way into the Constitution, using these three bulleted points:
 It limits majority control by
 It separated the powers of government by
 It created checks and balances in the government by
9. Define the term “constitutional republic.”
A constitutional republic is
10. Complete the following table summarizing the major differences between the Federalists and
the Anti-Federalists on the issue of civil liberties, power of the states, and the economy. Please
use the bulleted list to enter your answers.
Issues
Civil Liberties
Power of the States
Economy
Federalists



Anti-Federalists



There are both formal and informal processes by which the Constitution is changed in response
to new items on the policy agenda. Keep that in mind when you approach the answers to the
next three questions.
11. What is meant by the “unwritten Constitution”?
The term “unwritten Constitution” refers to
12. The Government in America textbook describes four ways the Constitution is changed
informally. Complete the following table, listing these ways, defining them, and giving an
example for each.
Informal Change
1.
2.
3.
4.
Definition
Example
13. List and explain in your own words the five constitutional amendments that expanded the
right to vote.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.