"What Is the Constitution" Mid-book Review Part 2

Who wrote the plan for the new government that would become the Virginia Plan?

• James Madison

• George Washington

• Edmund Randolph

• Benjamin Franklin

Answer explanation

James Madison was a small and quiet man who was once described as "no bigger than a half piece of soap."

What 2 rules did the delegates set at the beginning of the convention (select both that are correct)

• They decided to keep their meetings secret so that they could speak their minds freely without worrying about any of their conversations landing in the newspapers.

• They decided that each state would get 1 vote only.

• They decided that they could change their minds on issues after a first vote.

• They decided that the small states had to do whatever the big states said.

Answer explanation

They wanted to be able to exchange ideas, talk about things, debate and compromise and then once all that was done take a final vote.

Who presented the plan James Madison created? What did it end up being called?

• Edmund Randolph and it was called the Virginia Plan

• George Washington and it was called the Bill of Rights

• James Madison, and of course the Madison Plan

• Thomas Jefferson and it was called the Virginia Plan

Answer explanation

Governor Randolph thought it was best to say they were just revising and expanding the Articles of Confederation but the other delegates did not let him get away with that since that is not what the plan was designed to do.

What did the Virginia Plan propose to do with the Articles of Confederation?

• It would revise and expand them.

• It would do away with them and start from scratch.

• It would change a few things but mostly keep them the same.

• It would make them apply to each state independently.

Answer explanation

Edmund Randolph choose to state this in a sneaky way in hopes that the other delegates would be more willing to discuss the plan but it did not help his case.

How many branches of government did the Virginia Plan call for?

• 1 branch

• 3 branches

• 2 branches

• 7 branches

Select the branches of the government outlined in the plan:

• legislative branch

• financial branch

• executive branch

• judicial branch

• corporate branch

Answer explanation

Today, all 5 of these are branches of our government, but the financial branch and corporate branch were added much later.

What compromise did the delegates decide on to resolve the issue between the big and small states in concerns to how many votes/representatives they would have?

• Each state would be based on population for both the House and the Senate.

• Each state would have 1 vote in the Senate and the House would be based on population.

• Each state would have 1 vote in the Senate and 2 votes in the House.

• Each state would have 2 votes in the Senate and the House would be based on population.

Answer explanation

In addition to setting the number of representatives who would each get a vote, the committee also decided that both the House and Senate would need 2/3's of the votes in order to pass a law.

Slavery was a big issue and the line was drawn between which two groups?

• The small and big states.

• The northern and southern states.

• The eastern and western states.

• The states and Britain.

Answer explanation

The northern states called slavery dishonorable and an acting of kidnapping and the southern states said that they would leave before they outlawed slavery.

Who were two of the leaders of the convention that owned slaves and also hoped and prayed that slavery would come to an end?

• George Washington

• Luther Martin

• Roger Sherman

• James Madison

Answer explanation

George Washington became a slave owner at the age of 11 when his father died and left his plantation and slaves to him. In his own will he wrote that his slaves were to be freed (emancipated) after the death of his wife.

What war was eventually fought due to slavery?

• The Civil War between the northern and southern states.

• The Revolutionary War between the states and Britain.

• The World War I between all the nations of the world.

• The War of 1812 between New York and Georgia.

Answer explanation

The North (the Union) won the Civil War and forever banned slavery in the United States. It would, however, still take many years and lots of fighting for all people to truly be freed from slavery.