America Past and Present (6th ed.)
Irish/BHS
*If you are absent on the day of a class discussion, you may still earn participation points by answering the discussion questions
in written form. All questions must be answered completely. They are due the day you return to class
Chapter 6: Discussion Questions____________________
1. How did the revolutionary American ideas of natural human rights, equality,
and freedom from governmental tyranny affect developments in the immediate
post-Revolutionary period (1783-1789)? How successful was the new Republic in
implementing the goals of the Revolution?
2. How were women and African-Americans affected by the ideas of the American
Revolution? Why was slavery abolished in the North but not in the entire nation?
3. What were the strengths of the Articles of Confederation? Which problems of
the post-Revolutionary period and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
lead to the adoption of a new Constitution?
4. What were the basic new features of the new Constitution, and how did they
differ from the government under the Articles of Confederation?
5. What were the major compromises at the Constitutional Convention that led to
the creation of the new Constitution? What role did the issue of slavery play at
the Convention? How was the issue dealt with in the final version of the
Constitution?
6. Who were the federalists and the anti-federalists, what were the issues that
divided them, and why did the federalists win?
7. How did the Bill of Rights specifically quell anti-federalists fears about the new
Constitution?