United States Constitution SSUSH5

Congress under the Articles of Confederation passed the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. This act prohibited slavery in a specific territory that had been added to the United States of America after the Treaty of Paris 1783. What is the name of this territory?

• The Ohio River Valley

• The Mississippi River Basin

• The Louisiana Territory

• The Viceroyalty of New Spain

Answer explanation

The Ohio River Valley was territory that was added to the United States after the Treaty of Paris in 1783. However, it would take the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 to officially make it a part of the United States. Note, this territory was also prohibited from allowing slavery.

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 also allowed for the creation of townships. Based on the amount of families moving to the Ohio River Valley, what assumption must be true regarding an additional provision of the Northwest Ordinance?

• The creation of a state church.

• The development of a public school system.

• The establishment of a trading port on the Ohio River basin.

• The creation of a public health system.

Answer explanation

As families settled in the Ohio River Valley, the taxes that they paid on their land aided in the creation of the first public school system. This is still how the federal and state governments fund public school systems across the United States. NOTE: At this time only white boys were allowed to attend public school.

The Articles of Confederation established a weak central government. What is a specific example of a weakness within the Articles of Confederation?

• The federal government could not collect taxes.

• The legislative branch was unicameral rather than bicameral.

• There was no executive branch or national court system.

• All of the above

Answer explanation

Because there was no executive branch or federal court system established under the Articles of Confederation, there was no way for Congress to enforce federal laws or determine if laws violated the Articles of Confederation.

At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Anti-Federalists and Federalists developed the Great Compromise to address representation concerns. What did the Great Compromise accomplish?

• Each state would have 2 Senators and their amount of representatives would be determined by the state's population.

• Each state would only have to pay federal taxes on their free, white male populations.

• The president would only be able to appoint federal judges, not Supreme Court Justices.

• States populations would only be calculated via the amount of free white men and enslaved people who only counted as 3/5 of a person.

Answer explanation

The Great Compromise established a bicameral legislative branch. In the United States we have the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each states is allotted a specific number of representatives based on their population. Each state then has 2 Senators to represent them in the Senate.

What did the Three-Fifths Compromise attempt to resolve?

• Representation in Congress around states with a high population of enslaved people

• Negotiation of trade agreements
• Expansion of voting rights
• Abolition of slavery

What document did the Anti-Federalists demand be added to the US Constitution before they would pass it? This document specifically highlighted the rights of citizens under the US Constitution.

• The Declaration of the Rights of Man

• The Bill of Rights

• The Ten Commandments

• The Magna Carta

Answer explanation

The Bill of Rights was a necessary addition to the US Constitution in order for the Anti-Federalists to agree to pass it in Congress. The Bill of Rights specifically highlights rights that US Citizens have.

What does the Tenth Amendment of the US Constitution establish?

• Freedom of Speech

• Right to an attorney

• Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment

• Establishing that any powers not explicitly given to the federal government must be given to the state governments.

What rebellion specifically highlighted that the Articles of Confederation were too weak? Especially with the ability of states to collect taxes and the lack of an executive branch?

• Bacon's Rebellion

• Shay's Rebellion

• John Brown's Raid

• Nat Turner's Rebellion

Answer explanation

Shay's Rebellion specifically showed that the Articles of Confederation had weakened the central government too much. States could not collect taxes to pay off debts and the central government could not enforce laws.

When referring to the three branches of the US Government, what is a correct term to use?

• bicameral legistature

• feudalism

• natural rights

• separation of powers

Answer explanation

The US Constitution establishes a separation of powers for each branch of the government. This prevents any one branch of the government from becoming more powerful than the other. We also refer to this as a system of checks and balances.

How did Alexander Hamilton use the Federalist Papers to argue for the Constitution and against the weak central government of the Articles of Confederation?

• He argued that the Constitution was better than the Articles of Confederation, as the Constitution gave power to both the state and national government

• He used the Federalist Papers to argue for a weak central government
• He wrote essays praising the Articles of Confederation
• He did not use the Federalist Papers to argue for the Constitution