REVIEW FOR 3RD 6 WEEKS PROGRESS REPORT TEST
1. What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence and what were the major things
communicated in it?
Why they were breaking away / grievances against the King / what they were doing and why
2. What was the key outcome of these Revolutionary battles:
a. Lexington and Concord – The first battles of the revolution, British retreated back to
Boston
b. Trenton and Princeton – Washington crossed the Delaware and fought the Hessians and
won these two battles.
c. Saratoga – France and Spain began to openly help the Patriots, Benedict Arnold switched
sides after this battle, Burgoyne was defeated by Washington
d. Charleston – Worst loss for the Patriots
e. Yorktown – The French Navy prevented the British from sending reinforcements,
Cornwallis was defeated, considered to be the final battle of the Revolution
3. Define:
a. Unalienable Rights – Rights that cannot be denied by the government, everyone should
have these rights, basic or natural rights of all humans.
b. Northwest Territory – Land north and west of the colonies that includes Illinois,
Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin
c. Treaty of Paris – Signed in 1783, ended the Revolutionary War, gave the colonies all of
the western land (all British land east of the Mississippi)
d. Land Ordinance of 1785 – divided up the land west of the Appalachians into square plots
called townships, opened up Kentucky for settlement.
e. Northwest Ordinance (1787) – set a pattern for orderly growth for the United States,
defined how states could develop and join the United States.
1
f.
Wilderness Road – a pathway into the Northwest Territory that enabled setters to move
in large numbers into western areas.
g. Ratify – to vote to approve an amendment or bill
h. Delegate – a person authorized to act as the representative for others
i.
Republicanism – the system of government where people select representatives to
represent them in decisions, laws are passed by elected leaders. People exercise their
power by voting for political representatives.
j.
Checks and Balances – a key part of the constitution of the USA, it breaks power up into
several groups or branches that are then given responsibilities that insure each branch
doesn’t gain too much power. Limits the powers of a particular branch of government.
k. Separation of Powers – Our Constitution breaks power up between several groups so
that one group doesn’t become too powerful. Divides the government into three
different separate but equal branches.
l.
Taxation without representation – a problem colonists had with the British government.
m. Quartering Act – Colonists were required to provide housing and supplies for British
soldiers.
n. Baron von Steuben – Assisted George Washington at the horrible trying winter at Valley
Forge in training the Continental Army in strategies to defeat the British.
o. Marquis de Lafayette – A volunteer from France who served in the Continental Army and
was an advisor to General Washington.
p. The Great Compromise – the way the Constitutional Convention resolved the conflict
between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan.
q. The 3/5ths Compromise – Southern states wanted slaves counted in their representation
if it was based on population. Other northern delegates felt they should have rights if
they were counted in the population. This was the compromise, slaves would count as
3/5 of a person.
2
r.
John Adams – A Federalist who eventually became President
s. George Washington – President of the Constitutional Convention, a Federalist, a patriot
and symbol of American virtues.
t.
The Federalist Papers – Newspaper articles written by James Madison, Alexander
Hamilton, and John Jay to convince people to support ratifying the Constitution
u. James Madison – Father of the Constitution, A key Federalist who drafted the Virginia
plan, helped write the Constitution including the Bill of Rights, and contributed to The
Federalist papers.
v. Alexander Hamilton – A key Federalist who helped write the Federalist Papers
w. Patrick Henry – Key Anti-Federalist from Virginia.
x. George Mason – Key Anti-Federalist
y. Ben Franklin (his role in the Constitutional Convention) – He was the oldest delegate, he
was from Pennsylvania, he was a peacemaker who helped negotiate the necessary
compromises of the Constitutional Convention
z. Federalism – Power is shared between the central government and the states
4. What were the key provisions of the Articles of Confederation? Include a discussion of strengths
and weaknesses. States had significantly more power than the Federal government.
Strengths
Weaknesses
A blueprint for a new government.
More power to states than Federal
Kept the nation united during the revolution
Federal Government could not raise taxes
Federal government could print money
No national court system
Passed the Northwest Ordinance
All states had to approve changes to Articles
5. What was the key problem with the Articles of Confederation?
They were a failure and eventually replaced by the Constitution. They did not give the federal
government the power to tax which doomed the articles to failure. The federal government could
issue money but could not tax.
3
6. Why did the founding fathers feel it was necessary to call a Constitutional Convention in
Philadelphia, PA? The Articles of Confederation weren’t working, in fact they were a failure. So
they called the Constitutional Convention to strengthen the Articles of Confederation. Ultimately
the new constitution was written at the Philadelphia Convention.
7. What were some of the documents and events that contributed to the development of the
Constitution? Desire for a strong national government, Weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation, Shay’s Rebellion, other state rebellions, foreign interest in the USA
8. What were the key events of Shay’s Rebellion? Mid 1780’s in Massachusetts farmers were
falling into debt, losing their farms and ending up in jail. The state legislature refused to provide
debt relief. The farmers rebelled, led by a Revolutionary War veteran named Daniel Shays,
commanding a group of 1500 men. In January 1787 they attacked an arsenal and were defeated.
The rebellion was put down but the farmers won the sympathy of the people and proved the
shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation. This event eventually influenced the writing of the
Constitution. Thomas Jefferson was referring to this when he said that, “a little rebellion, now
and then, is a good thing.”
9. Key provisions of the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan (differences and similarities):
Virginia Plan
Created a strong central government
Two-house legislature
Completely scrapped the Articles of Confederation
Three branches of Government
New Jersey Plan
Revised the Articles of Confederation
Kept the one-house legislature
Small states like this plan better
Three Branches of Government
10. What are the Great Compromise and the Three Fifths Compromise (3/5):
Great Compromise – To satisfy the small states, each state would have an equal number of votes
in the Senate. To satisfy the larger states, the committee set representation in the House of
Representatives according to the state populations.
3/5ths Compromise – 3/5s of the slave population would be counted when setting direct taxes on
the states and they would be used to determine representation in the legislature.
11. What were the key beliefs, documents, states, and people associated with the Federalists and
the Anti-Federalists?
Federalists
Anti-Federalists
Nationalist but with Separation of Powers
Localists
Strong federal government
Strong and powerful state governments
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison
Patrick Henry, George Mason
Supported the Constitution
Opposed ratifying the Constitution
Federalist Papers
Believed a Bill of Rights was needed
4
12. What was the Bill of Rights and why was it included in the Constitution?
The Bill of Rights identifies key rights of individuals. It was approved with the Constitution because
Americans were afraid that individual rights would be trampled on by the government.
The constitution also protected individual rights via a system of checks and balances on the various
branches of government.
Anti-Federalists would not sign the constitution unless it included a Bill of Rights.
The Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments) protect the basic rights of the individual.
13. Key Dates:
a. Magna Carta - 1215
b. English Bill of Rights - 1689
c. French and Indian War – 1754 to 1763
d. Boston Tea Party - 1773
e. Declaration of Independence - 1776
f. Articles of Confederation passed by Continental Congress - 1777
g. Treaty of Paris - 1783
h. Northwest Ordinance - 1787
i. U.S. Constitution drafted - 1787
j. U.S. Constitution Ratified - 1788
k. Bill of Rights ratified - 1791
14. Requirements to vote in the USA? You must be an 18 year old citizen.
15. What is the “preamble” to the constitution and why was it included? The Preamble is the
introduction to the Constitution and gives an overview of the purpose of the Constitution.
16. What is the process for changing the Constitution? An amendment has to be passed by the
House and Senate then voted on by each state or there can be a state convention. See page 247
in the book.
5
17. What are the powers of the various branches of government:
Legislative Branch – Confirms Presidents nominations, can impeach judges and remove them
from office, controls the budget, approves presidential nominations, can pass laws over the
president’s veto and can impeach the president and remove him/her from office.
Executive Branch – Can veto congressional legislation, nominates judges, manages budget,
Commander in Chief.
Judicial Branch – Can declare presidential acts unconstitutional, can declare laws
unconstitutional.
18. Know the location of the various key states of the United States
19. How is the Electoral College structured? Each state sends delegates to the Electoral College. The
number of delegates is the sum of the number of Senators they have (2) and the number of
Representatives they have in the House of Representatives. If a state has 52 delegates to the
Electoral College then they have 2 Senators and 50 Representatives.
20. Why would a state support “one vote per state” and why would a state have supported “votes
based on population or size”?
Larger states would want votes based on population or size because it gave them more
representation. Smaller states would want one vote per state because it gave them more power and
representation.
6