_________________________
GRADE BY
__________
___________________________________
NAME/DATE
CREATING THE CONSTITUTION
DRAFTING THE CONSTITUTION & RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION
(PAGES 142-156)
MATCHING DIRECTIONS: Place the letter of the correct term from the word bank with the description that
best matches. For any terms that are NOT used, write an original, brief definition on the back sheet of
this packet.
a. Virginia Plan
b. Three-Fifths Compromise
c. Great Compromise
d. James Madison
e. New Jersey Plan
f. Alexander Hamilton
g. ratification
h. The Federalist
i. John Jay
j. Bill of Rights
k. popular sovereignty
l. limited government
m. checks and balances
n. electoral college
o. Antifederalists
p. separation of powers
_____1. conservative who supported a government modeled after the British constitution
_____2. argued in favor of a republican form of government with a system of checks and balances and proposed
the Virginia Plan
_____3. divided power among three branches of government and provided for a bicameral legislature and a
strong President
_____4. proposed a government with a unicameral legislature and an executive committee; favored strong state
governments
_____5. provided for a bicameral legislature in which the number of representatives in the House would be based
on a state’s population and the number of representatives in the Senate would be equal for all states
_____6. each enslaved person was counted as only a fraction of a person for the purposes of representation and
taxation.
_____7. the first ten amendments to the Constitution
_____8. official approval
_____9. a system in which different branches of government limit one another’s power
_____10. a system in which government power comes from the people
_____11. the rule of law
_____12. a series of essays defending the new Constitution
MULTIPLE CHOICE DIRECTIONS: Write the letter of the best answer or ending in each blank.
_____13. What was accomplished at the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
a. The U.S. Constitution was written.
b. The U.S. Constitution was amended.
c. The Articles of Confederation were written.
d. The Articles of Confederation were amended.
_____14. Critics of the Virginia Plan worried that
a. a federal court system was needed to review laws.
b. a bicameral legislature would give small states too much influence.
c. a strong President would gain kinglike power.
d. a unicameral legislature would give too much power to the common people.
_____15. Which of the following describes federalism?
a. State governments dominate a weak national legislature.
b. State and national governments share power.
c. A strong executive directs national policy for dependent states.
d. A strong national legislature gives equal voice to all citizens.
_____16. The Three-Fifths Compromise
a. abolished slavery in the North.
b. outlawed the slave trade while allowing slavery to continue in the South.
c. guaranteed the freedom of any enslaved person who moved to the North.
d. required all states to return fugitive slaves to their owners.
_____17. What did the Federalists want the Constitution to provide?
a. a bill of rights protecting basic liberties
b. a strong central government
c. unlimited power for state governments
d. citizens’ conventions
_____18. Antifederalists criticized the Constitution as
a. concentrating too much power in the hands of a few.
b. granting too much power to the states.
c. weakening the national government by guaranteeing civil liberties.
d. containing too many checks and balances.
_____19. Which of the following was a prominent Federalist?
a. Samuel Adams
c. Richard Henry Lee
b. Patrick Henry
d. James Madison
_____20. To win support for the Constitution, Federalists promised to add
a. the abolition of slavery.
b. the popular election of the President.
c. a strong federal judiciary.
d. a bill of rights.
Terms not used (from matching section)
1.
2.
3.
4.