Name __________________________
Period _____
Directed Reading 2B
60 Points
Answer the following questions in complete sentences, except where you can fill in the
blanks, by reading pages 199-205 in The American Journey. (Convention & Compromise)
1. George Washington described the U.S. as “thirteen ____________________ pulling
against each other.” The U.S. was going through a depression, a period when
_________________________ slowed and ____________________ increased.
2. Resentment grew especially strong in Massachusetts, where the new government was
viewed as just another form of __________________. They wanted the government to
issue paper money and make new policies to relieve _______________.
3. In 1786 angry farmers led by _________________________, a former Continental
Army captain, forced courts in western Massachusetts to close so _______________
could not confiscate farmers’ land.
4. In January 1787, more than 1,000 farmers marched to the federal _______________ in
Springfield. What happened when the militia confronted them? How many were killed?
5. Americans were worried that the government could not control _______________.
6. George Washington wondered whether “Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for
their own ____________________.” Thomas Jefferson, minister to France at the time,
had a different view: “A little _______________, now and then, is a good thing.”
7. Although not a major source of labor, slavery was _______________ in all Northern
states. In 1774 _______________ in Pennsylvania organized the first American
antislavery society. Six years later Pennsylvania passed a law that provided for the
______________ freeing of enslaved people.
8. What four states passed similar laws gradually ending slavery between 1783 and 1804?
9. Still, free Africans faced _________________________. They were barred from public
places. Few states gave them the right to ___________.
10. Free African Americans established their own institutions—_______________, schools,
and mutual-aid societies—to seek ____________________.
11. The ____________________ system of the South clung to the institution of slavery, and
many Southerners feared that their _______________ could not survive without it.
12. Nonetheless, an increasing number of slaveholders began freeing their enslaved people
after the war. _______________ passed a law that encouraged manumission, the freeing
of _______________ enslaved persons.
13. Two Americans active in the movement for change were ____________________, a
Virginia planter, and _________________________, a New York lawyer.
14. At first _________________________ was not enthusiastic about calls to revise the
Articles of Confederation. News of ___________________________ changed his mind.
15. The Philadelphia meeting began in May 1787. The 55 delegates included planters,
_______________, lawyers, _______________, generals, governors, and a
_______________ president.
16. __________ (#) of the delegates were under 30 years of age, and one,
____________________, was over 80. At a time when only one white man in 1,000
went to college, __________ (#) of the delegates had college degrees.
17. The presence of Washington and Benjamin Franklin ensured that many people would
__________ the Convention’s work. Two Philadelphians also played key roles.
____________________ often read Franklin’s speeches. ________________________,
a powerful writer and speaker, wrote the final draft of the Constitution.
18. ____________________’s careful notes are the major source of information about the
Convention’s work. He is often called the “_______________ of the Constitution.”
19. The Convention began by unanimously choosing ____________________ to preside
over the meetings.
20. The delegates decided to close their doors to the _______________ and keep the
sessions secret because it made it possible for the delegates to talk _______________.
21. _________________________ proposed that the delegates create a strong national
government instead of revising the Articles of Confederation. He introduced the Virginia
Plan, largely the work of ____________________.
22. The Virginia Plan called for a _______________ legislature, a chief _______________
chosen by the legislature, and a court system. How would members of the legislature be
chosen under the Virginia Plan?
23. The number of representatives would be ____________________ to the population of
each state. This would give Virginia many more delegates than _______________, the
state with the smallest population. Delegates unhappy with the Virginia Plan rallied
around _________________________ of New Jersey.
24. The New Jersey Plan kept the Confederation’s one-house legislature, with
_______________ for each state. Congress, however, could ____________________
and regulate trade—powers it did not have under the Articles.
25. Congress would elect a weak _______________ branch consisting of more than one
person. The New Jersey Plan was designed to simply _______________ the Articles.
26. Under _______________’s leadership, the Convention appointed a committee to resolve
their disagreements. _________________________ of Connecticut suggested what
came to be known as the Great Compromise. He proposed a two-house legislature.
27. In the lower house—the House of ____________________—the number of seats for
each state would vary according to the state’s ____________________. In the upper
house—the _______________—each state would have __________ (#) member(s).
28. Another compromise dealt with enslaved people. The committee’s solution was to count
each enslaved person as ___________________ (fraction) of a free person for both
____________________ and representation. The Convention also agreed that the
Congress could not interfere with the slave trade until __________ (year).
29. _________________________ of Virginia proposed a bill of rights be added to the
Constitution. Why was his proposal defeated?
30. On _________________________ (date), the delegates assembled to sign the
Constitution. _______________ made a final plea for approval: “I consent to this
Constitution because I expect no better, and because I am not sure, that it is not the best.”
31. Three delegates refused to sign—____________________, Edmund Randolph, and
____________________. When __________ (#) of the thirteen states had approved,
the new government of the United States would come into existence.