USC1 4.3: Drafting the Constitution

Multiple Select

Which of the following individuals were present at the signing of the Constitution?

• George Washington

• James Madison

• Alexander Hamilton

• Thomas Jefferson

Multiple Choice

Which of these was a major problem facing the United States under the Articles of Confederation leading to calls for major reform?

• Lack of a national system to enforce laws

• Too much power to collect taxes

• Uniform currency among states

• Strong central government

Open Ended

Why did only five states send delegates to the Annapolis Convention, and what did this reveal about the challenges facing the United States at the time?

Multiple Choice

Why did George Washington believe a stronger government was necessary for the new nation?

• He wanted more personal power

• He feared the nation would disintegrate under the Articles of Confederation

• He wanted to avoid foreign alliances

• He believed the states should remain independent

Multiple Choice

What was the original stated purpose of the meeting that became known as the Constitutional Convention?

• To draft the Declaration of Independence

• To elect a president

• To revise the Articles of Confederation

• To create a Bill of Rights

Multiple Choice

Why was George Washington selected to preside over the Constitutional Convention?

• He was selected to ensure the delegates did not replace the Articles of Confederation with a strong central government, a position he strongly opposed.

• He was the only delegate willing to take the job, as all other senior leaders wanted to focus solely on debating and writing the new laws in a way that would favor their home states.

• His prestige and integrity were unmatched, lending immediate legitimacy and trust to the Convention's proceedings and final document.

• He had the most experience in drafting constitutions and was considered the best legal scholar among all the delegates in attendance.

Multiple Choice

Explain the historical significance of Independence Hall in the context of the Constitutional Convention.

• Independence Hall was the first capital of the United States after the Revolution.
• Independence Hall is where the U.S. Constitution was drafted in 1787.

• Independence Hall served as a military headquarters during the Revlutionary War.

• Independence Hall was first built as a royal palace for British governors.

Open Ended

What is the difference between Framers and Founders?

Multiple Choice

Why did the delegates at the Philadelphia convention choose to keep their debates secret, and what measures did they take to maintain this secrecy?

• To avoid public scrutiny and ensure honest debate, they worked behind closed doors, kept windows shut, and posted armed guards.

• To avoid foreign spies, they used coded messages and met in different locations, coming together only at the end to sign the final document.

• To save money, they met in small rooms and limited attendance to one representative from each state at any one time.

• To avoid spreading disease in the hot and muggy conditions, they kept windows closed and wore masks.

Open Ended

Why did the delegates at the Constitutional Convention enact a rule of secrecy during their meetings?

Multiple Choice

How did the climate and dress of the 1780s affect the mood and comfort of the delegates during the convention?

• The hot and humid climate combined with heavy formal dress likely caused discomfort and made the delegates short-tempered.

• The climate was mild, allowing delegates to feel relaxed and at ease, more willing to engage in debates knowing that others were unlikely to lose their temper.

• The delegates wore casual attire that suited the warm weather perfectly and allowed more free and open debate on controversial topics.

• The delegates enjoyed a cool breeze and light clothing, enhancing their comfort.

Open Ended

Why were Revolutionary leaders Sam Adams and Patrick Henry not present at the Constitutional Convention? (Hint: these two men had different reasons for not attending)

Multiple Choice

Why is James Madison known as the "Father of the Constitution"?

• He was the oldest delegate at the Convention, presided over the meetings, and personally convinced George Washington to attend the proceedings.

• He drafted the first complete plan for the new government (the Virginia Plan), kept detailed records of the debates, and later wrote the Bill of Rights.

• He was the main author of the Declaration of Independence and secured the Treaty of Paris in 1783 to end the Revolutionary War.

• He was the leading Anti-Federalist who strongly opposed the Constitution until he was promised a Bill of Rights would be added.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best explains why the delegates at the Philadelphia Convention did not represent the full range of American society?

• Most delegates were illiterate farmers who could not read the Constitution and relied only on the opinions of the few wealthy planters present.

• The delegates were exclusively white, wealthy, landowning men (mostly lawyers and merchants) who excluded women, enslaved people, poor farmers, and Native Americans.

• The Convention deliberately excluded all previously elected officials, only inviting common workers and local craftsmen to ensure the document was truly democratic.

• All delegates had to be Revolutionary War veterans, which essentially excluded anyone under the age of 50 - limiting representation to older men.

Multiple Choice

How did the delegates at the Philadelphia Convention decide to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?

• By giving more power to the states

• By creating an energetic national government

• By abolishing the national government

• By maintaining the status quo

Open Ended

Explain the main sources of conflict among the delegates at the Philadelphia Convention regarding representation in the new government.

Multiple Choice

Which of these was a key feature of the Virginia Plan proposed by Edmund Randolph and James Madison?

• It proposed a government with one branch: a unicameral legislature where every state, regardless of its size, received an equal number of votes.

• It proposed a strong national government with three branches, including a bicameral legislature.

• It proposed a weak central government that was subordinate to the states and maintained the inability to collect taxes.

• It established a president elected directly by the people and granted the federal government the power to abolish slavery nationwide.

Multiple Choice

Which of these best describes the legislative branch under the Virginia Plan?

• It was a bicameral legislature (two houses) where representation in both houses was based on the population of each state.

• It was a unicameral legislature (one house) where each state was given a single, equal vote, regardless of its population.

• It was a bicameral legislature where the lower house was based on population, but the upper house gave each state an equal vote.

• It created a single, powerful house that was superior to the executive and judicial branches and had the authority to veto all state laws.

Multiple Choice

Which of these best describes the legislative branch under the Connecticut Compromise?

• It created a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives based on population and a Senate where each state has equal representation.

• It established a unicameral legislature where all states, regardless of population, received an equal number of votes.

• It established a bicameral legislature where representation in both houses was based entirely on the population of each state.

• It created a three-house legislature to ensure the federal government could not become too powerful by having a separate body for taxation.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best explains the purpose and effect of the Three-Fifths Compromise?

• It determined that for purposes of both representation and taxation, every five enslaved persons would be counted as three free persons.

• It resolved the dispute over the slave trade by agreeing that new slaves could not be imported after the year 1808.

• It was an agreement that ensured the Southern states would be exempt from all federal taxes for the first 20 years of the new government.

• It established that only three-fifths of all free citizens would be counted to determine a state's total representation in the U.S. Senate.

Multiple Choice

Which of these correctly defines the three types of powers outlined in the U.S. Constitution's federal system?

• Delegated powers are for the national government; Reserved powers are for the state governments; Concurrent powers are shared by both.

• Delegated powers are shared by both; Reserved powers are for the national government; Concurrent powers are for the state governments.

• Enumerated powers are implied powers; Reserved powers are veto powers; Concurrent powers are those specifically listed in the text.

• Concurrent powers are only for local municipalities; Delegated powers are given by the President; Reserved powers are those the people grant to themselves.

Multiple Choice

The system of checks and balances was included in the U.S. Constitution primarily to achieve which of the following goals?

• To prevent any one branch of the federal government from becoming too powerful by giving each branch partial control over the others.

• To ensure that the state governments maintained more power than the newly created national government.

• To give the judicial branch final authority over all laws passed by Congress and vetoed by the President.

• To ensure financial responsibility on the part of the new government by prohibiting it from spending more than it brings in.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best explains why the Electoral College system was created by the delegates at the Constitutional Convention?

• To balance the power between the largest and smallest states, and to ensure the president was elected by both the people and the states' representatives.

• To ensure that the President would always be the candidate who won the nationwide popular vote by a large majority.

• To give the judicial branch the final authority to determine the winner of any disputed presidential election.

• To allow the House of Representatives to choose the President, as the delegates firmly opposed giving this power to the Senate.

Multiple Choice

What was the main outcome of the Philadelphia convention in 1787?

• creation of the Bill of Rights as the first ten amendments to the Constitution

• rejection of the Articles of Confederation and creation of a new Constitution

• adoption of the Declaration of Independence

• formation of the first Supreme Court to preside over legal disputes

Open Ended

Why was the creation of a new constitution significant for the United States in 1787?

Open Ended

Explain how the disagreements among delegates at the Constitutional Convention were resolved and why compromise was important in forming the U.S. Constitution.