Founding Principles

Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress approved the Northwest Ordinance in 1787 outlining conditions for the territories to become states. Which of the following was one of the conditions?

• Buying land on credit

• Surveying the land to divide into town

• Slavery was outlawed in the territories

• The citizens were unable to vote in elections

How was the question of counting enslaved people as part of the population to determine representation in the House of Representatives in each state resolved?

• in the Bill of Rights

• by the Virginia Plan

• with the Great Compromise

• with the Three-Fifths Compromise

What did the Anti-Federalists want to be added to the Constitution as a compromise to guarantee protections for individual liberties?

• Bill of Rights

• Tenth Amendment

• The Great Compromise

• Three-Fifths Compromise

What was the purpose of the Federalist Papers?

• to create a new monarchy

• to oppose a strong central government

• to spark a rebellion against the new government

• to explain the reasons to support the Constitution

Which was the primary purpose of the Constitutional Convention?

• To establish the Supreme Court and the power of judicial review

• To discuss the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation

• To write interstate trade laws and regulate conflict between the states

• To draft the New Jersey plan and outline a new plan for U.S. and state court systems

Based on the image and events surrounding Shays' Rebellion, which conclusion could be drawn about the government under the Articles of Confederation?

• The government could not maintain control of its citizens.

• The government was prepared to fight off future British attacks.

• Native American threats were becoming a major concern of the government.

• Bankers rebelled against the government over their demand for a common currency.

Using pillars to represent the states, how does the picture above represent the ratification process for the U.S. Constitution?

• Even if some states disagreed with the plan the others would be fine

• Without the support of the larger states, the new government would not succeed

• To illustrate how poorly some states were doing under the Articles of Confederation

• Without Montesquieu’s separation of powers, not all states would support ratification

“The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each

other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual

and general welfare. “

-Continental Congress about the ratification of the Articles of Confederation

How does this quote apply to the structure of government under the Articles of Confederation?

• Each state would have power over the decisions of other states.

• The central government would decide trade policies between the states.

• Each state would be able to retain its sovereignty, freedom and independence.

• The central government would make all decisions, so the states would get along.

The quote below Mr. Elbridge Gerry (Massachusets) at the 1787 Constitutional Convention as

recorded by James Madison.

The evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy. The people do not [lack]

virtue but are dupes [fools] of pretended patriots. In Massachusetts...they are daily

misled into the most baleful [harmful] measures and opinions by the false reports

[spread] by [evil] men...

-James Madison's Notes of the Constitutional Convention, May 31, 1787

According to the quote, why was the Electoral College established?

• To allow citizens the right to vote directly for all elected government officials

• To ensure proportional representatives were elected to state and local offices

• To pass laws that states could not ratify during the Constitutional Convention

• To elect the president because citizens were not trusted to make the decision

Which group's viewpoint is expressed in the cartoon above?

• Federalists

• Antifederalists

• Constitutionalists

• Anti-constitutionalists