The Constitution ILEARN Review

Civics & Government Review

Aftermath of the American Revolution...

Articles, Constitution, Bill of Rights...OH MY!

Poll

To ensure a safe and productive society, we need ________

• Cooperation and understanding

• rules and laws

• Education and communication

• Respect and trust

Rules and Laws keep us safe and keep society moving, working, etc.

Poll

What establishes our rules and laws in the United States of America?

• The Supreme Court

• The President

• The Constitution

• The Bill of Rights

The Constitution is a document that sets up our rules, laws, and functions of our government!

BUT we did not always have it. Let's take a look to see where our country started....

We started with the Articles of Confederation

• This gave the states the majority of the power because we wanted to AVOID a strong national government....like a king?

• Each state was independent

  • Printed their own money and passed own trade laws

• The national government could NOT collect taxes

• Money changed value between states

• Merchants did not know what laws to follow

• The national gov. could not collect taxes

• In order to make ANY changes, ALL 13 states had to agree

Weaknesses:

The Articles of Confederation did not work

Multiple Choice

In order to change (amend) the Articles of Confederation,  __________ out of 13 states had to agree. 

• 10

• 13

• 11

• 12

Multiple Choice

The Articles of Confederation created a _________________ type of government.

• powerful

• democratic

• authoritarian

• weak

Multiple Choice

In the Articles of Confederation, where was most of the government power placed?

• The States

• The Federal Government

• The Judicial System

• The People

Poll

Why was this first U.S. government so weak?

• The Articles of Confederation were too limited.

• Americans were afraid to give their new government too much power.

• The states had too much power.

• The government lacked a strong executive branch.

Multiple Choice

One major problem with the Articles of Confederation is that Congress could not ______ the citizens to raise money.

• tax

• Impose

• Levy

• Assess

So we needed a solution...

Constitutional Convention

• Delegates met in Philadelphia in the Summer of 1787

• Some well known delegates included Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and James Madison

• The delegates of the Constitutional Convention were known as FRAMERS.

• Some framers wanted strong state govs. and some framers wanted strong national gov.

• Led by William Paterson

• Every state would have the same amount of representation- regardless of population

• Small states would have the same say as big states

New Jersey Plan

Virginia Plan

Two Plans:

• ​Led by James Madison

• Based on state population

• More people = more say in the government

After months of debate, Roger Sherman (Connecticut) introduced a compromise

The Great Compromise

• There would be two "sides" to our lawmakers-

  • The House of Representatives and the Senate

• House of Representatives- the number of Representatives is based on state population

• Senate- Every state would have 2 senators, regardless of population

• Also split our national government into 3 "branches"

After four months of intense debate, the Constitution was signed on Sep. 17, 1787

Multiple Choice

What is the United States Constitution?

• a document outlining the laws of a country

• a set of principles that guide a government

• a system of beliefs that define a nation

• a written plan for the government of the United States

Multiple Choice

Why did they create the Constitutional Convention?

• To establish a new government

• To create the constitution and rewrite the Articles of Confederation

• To form a union of states

• To create a system of checks and balances

Multiple Choice

Where did the Constitutional Convention take place?

• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Boston, Massachusetts

• Washington, D.C.

• Richmond, Virginia

Multiple Choice

The _______________ was the solution to the disagreement about how many representatives each state would have. 

• Treaty of Paris

• Declaration of Independence

• Articles of Confederation

• Great Compromise

Multiple Choice

How many branches did the Constitution split the national government into?

• 4

• 3

• 5

• 6

So now that it was signed...what does the Constitution say?

Organization of the Constitution:

• Preamble (Like the Introduction- sets up the goals of the country)

• Articles

  • Article 1- Establishes the Legislative Branch (Congress)

  • Article 2- Establishes the Executive Branch (President)

  • Article 3- Establishes the Judicial Branch (Supreme Court)

• Bill of Rights

• The goals of the Constitution are:

  • to unite the states more fully

  • to keep peace in the United States

  • to protect Americans' freedoms

​

The Preamble

Multiple Select

Some goals of the Constitution include... (check all that apply)

• to protect Americans' freedoms

• to keep peace in the United States

• to unite the states more fully

• to make all Americans worse off

The Constitution split our government into 3 branches...let's look at those

Legislative Branch

• Congress (Elected)

  • House of Representatives and Senate

• Passes laws

• Approves government spending and taxes

• Can override vetoes

Executive Branch

• President (Elected)

• Enforces laws

• Commander-in-Chief of the Military

• Signs or vetoes laws

Judicial Branch

• Supreme Court and federal courts (Appointed- not elected)

• Decides Constitutional questions about laws

Multiple Choice

The Legislative Branch's main job is to _______________.

• Enforce laws

• Interpret laws

• make new laws

• Amend laws

Multiple Choice

Who is in charge of the Executive Branch?

• The President

• The Prime Minister

• The Speaker of the House

• The Chief Justice

Multiple Choice

This branch has the Supreme Court and the 9 justices.

• Legislative

• Executive

• Financial

• Judicial

Match

Match the following

• Legislative

• Executive

• Judicial

Make laws

Carries Out (Enforces) the laws

Evaluates the laws

• Make laws

• Carries Out (Enforces) the laws

• Evaluates the laws

Bill of Rights

• Some Framers were worried that the Constitution would not protect the rights of the citizens against the national government.

• James Madison submitted a Bill of Rights to Congress for approval

• The Bill of Rights included 10 amendments (changes) to the Constitution

• 2/3 of states have to agree to ratify (change) the Constitution

• We currently have 27 amendments to the Constitution

​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlt6R1KD4E0

Multiple Choice

Why was the Bill of Rights included in the Constitution?

• Some framers thought the Constitution did not include rights to the citizens

• To ensure the government had enough power to protect the nation

• To provide a system of checks and balances between the three branches of government

• To create a unified system of laws for all states

Multiple Choice

What does it mean to amend?

• keep the same

• fix something

• make a change

• ignore something

Multiple Choice

The First Amendment guarantees the freedom of....

• social media

• speech, religion, assembly, and press

• a jury

• the states

Multiple Choice

How many states have to agree to ratify, or approve, a change to the Constitution?

• 3/4 of states

• 4/5 of states

• 5/6 of states

• 2/3 of states

Multiple Choice

How many amendments are in the Bill of Rights?

• 8

• 12

• 10

• 15