Articles of Confederation and U.S. Constitution

Who was elected to lead the Constitutional Convention?

• James Madison

• George Washington

• John Hancock

• John Adams

What was the main purpose of the U.S. Constitution?

• To get rid of all laws and rules.

• To allow only one person to make all the decisions.

• To make each state its own separate country.

• To create a strong government that protects people's rights.

• To give all power to the king.

Identify TWO weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

• Congress could easily pass new laws without state approval.

• The president had too much power over the states.

• The national government could not collect taxes.

• Each state had its own money, making trade difficult.

• The national government had a strong army to enforce laws.

In addition to weaknesses, the Articles of Confederation did serve a purpose.  Select the ideas below that were part of the Articles of Confederation. (Choose 4.)

• organized the settlement of the Northwest Territory

• gave states the authority to tax their citizens

• allowed federal government to tax citizens

• signed the peace treaty (Treat of Paris) with Great Britain

• created the post office

Who wrote most of the Constitution?

• John Hancock

• James Madison

• Alexander Hamilton

• George Washington

How did the Great Compromise satisfy both large and small states?

• It allowed each state to have the same number of votes in both houses.

• It created two houses in Congress, one based on population and one with equal representation.

• It got rid of Congress and let the president make all the decisions.

• It made all states pay the same amount in taxes, no matter their size.

• It gave all the power to the large states.

In addition to the Great Compromise, there was the three-fifths Compromise. This had to do with ___________ being counted as part of the population.

• slaves

• Congress

• immigrants

• the President

Delegates decided slaves would be counted but for less than free persons.  For every five enslaved people, _________ people would be added to the population count.

• two

• three

• one

• six

The Preamble to the Constitution reflects the following belief:

• A government is meant to serve its people.

• People are meant to serve their government.

• The President is the supreme ruler of the land.

• States should hold all of the power themselves.

The Constitution created a division of power between what two forms of government?

• City and State

• Republicans and Democrats

• Federal and State

• County and State