Download - Constitution Online Assignments
Guided Reading Questions HA! Chapter 8 Creating the Constitution 8.1 Introduction
1. Why were members of the Second Continental Congress nervous about creating a strong central government?
2. What was the first plan of government for the United States of America?
3. What powers did the Articles of Confederation give Congress?
4. What was the biggest problem with the Articles of Confederation? 8.2 Early Quarrels and Accomplishments
5. What were two major issues that states were arguing about?
6. What law was designed to provide a plan for dividing and settling “western” lands?
7. What law was designed to establish a plan for governing these new “western” lands? 8.3 Shays’s Rebellion and the Need for Change
8. Why did the early US government suffer from financial problems?
9. How did state governments expect poor farmers to pay off their debts? What problem would this create for those farmers?
10. What actions did Daniel Shays and his follower take to defend the poor farmers of Massachusetts?
11. Why was Congress powerless to stop Shays’s Rebellion? What does this teach us about the early US government under the Articles of Confederation?
12. How did Congress respond to the weakness exposed by Shays’s Rebellion?
8.4 Opening the Constitutional Convention
13. Who was elected as President of the Constitutional Convention?
14. Why were some important founding fathers absent from the Constitutional Convention?
15. How have modern historians described the delegates to the Constitutional Convention?
16. What founding father was known as the “Father of the Constitution?” Why?
17. On what issues did the delegates largely agree?
18. What were some issues that the delegates had to resolve?
8.5 Issue: How should States be Represented in the New Government?
19. What was the Virginia Plan? Who favored it?
20. What was the New Jersey Plan? Who favored it? 8.6 Resolution: The Great Compromise
21. How did the delegates merge the Virginia and New Jersey Plans in the Great Compromise? 8.7 Issue: How Should Slaves be Counted?
22. How did Southern delegates want slaves counted for population/representation?
23. How did Northern delegates respond to those Southern delegates? 8.8 Resolution: The Three-‐Fifths Compromise
24. How was did the Constitutional Convention “settle” the argument on slave representation?
8.9 Issue: How Should the Chief Executive Be Elected?
25. Why were delegates nervous about the idea of a single chief executive?
26. What was Gouverneur Morris’s reasoning against having a president chosen by Congress? 8.10 Resolution: The Electoral College
27. How is the President elected under our Constitution?
28. How many electors does each State get?
29. How are electors chosen?
30. How was the Vice President chosen? Why was this problematic? 8.11 The Convention Ends
31. How many States were required to ratify the Constitution-‐ making it the law of the land?
32. What did Benjamin Franklin think about the Constitution?
33. Why were some founding fathers reluctant to approve the Constitution? 8.12 The Constitution Goes to the Nation
34. What does it mean to have a “federal” system of government?
35. What group of founding fathers supported the ratification of the Constitution?
36. Who were some important Federalists?
37. What were 3 major complaints from Anti-‐Federalists?
Guided Reading Questions HA! Chapter 9 The Constitution: A More Perfect Union 9.1 Introduction
1. What balance did the framers of the Constitution hope to strike with the new government?
2. What do we call the 7 parts of the Constitution?
3. Why do we refer to the Constitution as a “living document?” 9.2 The Preamble Tells the Goals of Government
4. What is popular sovereignty?
5. What are the 6 goals of the Constitution? 9.3 The Legislative Branch Makes Laws
6. Which part of the Constitution details the powers and responsibilities of the Legislative Branch?
7. What is the main power of the Legislative Branch?
8. What does “bicameral” mean?
9. How long are the elected terms of office for Senators and Representatives?
10. How many Senators does each State have?
11. How many total members of the House of Representative are there?
12. What are the citizenship and minimum age requirements to serve in the House of Representatives and the Senate?
13. How are Senators elected today?
14. Which of the two houses of Congress is more exclusive?
15. What percent of Congress is required to pass a law with the President’s approval?
16. What percent of Congress is required to pass a law over a President’s veto?
17. Besides writing laws, what are some other important powers of Congress?
18. What is the “elastic clause?” 9.4 The Executive Branch Carries out the Laws
19. What is the term we use to refer to the Chief Executive of the United States?
20. What are the citizenship and age requirements to be elected President?
21. How long is the elected term of office for the president?
22. What is the maximum number of terms the President can serve?
23. What is the primary job of the Executive Branch?
24. What are some additional powers of the President?
25. What do we call the President’s official group of advisors?
26. Identify three executive departments of the federal government.
27. How and for what reasons can the President be removed from office?
9.5 The Judicial Branch Interprets the Laws
28. What is the primary job of the Judicial Branch?
29. What is the highest court in the United States?
30. What are the other two federal court systems?
31. How long is the term of service for a Supreme Court Justice?
32. How many Supreme Court Justices do we currently have?
33. What is the power of “Judicial Review?”
9.6 Checks and Balances Between the Branches
34. Why do we have a system of Checks and Balances built in to our Constitution?
35. Identify at least one check and/or balance each branch has over the other two. 9.7 The Amendment Process Changes the Constitution
36. What fraction of Congress or States is required to propose a constitutional amendment?
37. What fraction of Congress or States is required to ratify a constitutional amendment?
38. How many Amendments have been made to the Constitution?
9.8 The Federal System Connects the Nation and the States
39. What delegated powers are given to the Federal Government?
40. What reserved powers are kept by the States?
41. What powers are shared by both the Federal Government and State governments? 9.9 Popular Participation in Government
42. What is the number one way the people participate in our government?
Guided Reading Questions HA! Chapter 10 The Bill of Rights 10.1 Introduction
1. How many states did ratification of the Constitution require?
2. Why was Massachusetts reluctant to ratify the Constitution?
3. What was the Federalists’ strategy in persuading the colonies to ratify the Constitution? 10.2 Creating the Bill of Rights
4. Who led the way in working on the Bill of Rights?
5. What were Thomas Jefferson’s thoughts on the importance of a Bill of Rights?
6. How many Amendments to the Constitution were approved for the Bill of Rights?
7. What fraction of States are needed to ratify an Amendment to the Constitution? 10.3 First Amendment Rights
8. Identify the 5 protections guaranteed by the First Amendment. R A P P S
10.4 Citizen Protections
9. What protection is guaranteed by the Second Amendment?
10. What protection is guaranteed by the Third Amendment?
11. What protection is guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment?
10.5 Legal Rights and Protections
12. Identify the 5 protections guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment. The right to a Grand _____________________________________________ Protection from Double__________________________________________ Protection from Self-‐_____________________________________________ Protection from Deprivation of life, liberty, or property without_____________________________ (Eminent Domain) The Government cannot take your property without __________________
13. In the Sixth Amendment, what kind of cases are guaranteed impartial, speedy, public jury trial?
14. What kind of cases are protected by the Seventh Amendment?
15. What type of disputes are settled in Civil Trials?
16. What protections are guaranteed by the Eighth Amendment? 10.6 Other Rights and Powers
17. According to the Ninth Amendment, judgments about liberties not covered in the Constitution should err on the side of whom?
18. According to the Tenth Amendment, any powers not explicitly given to the Federal Government should be reserved for whom?
Constitution Card Questions from History Alive! 1 What is the length of a term of office for members of the U.S. House of Representatives?
16 How many members of the Supreme Court are there?
2 How old must a person be to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives? To the Senate?
17 What can the legislative branch do if the president vetoes a bill?
3 Who has the power to propose a law to raise revenue (a tax law)?
18 Who has the power to review all laws and treaties of the United States?
4 What is the length of a term of office for members of the United States Senate?
19 Who must approve all judges, cabinet members, and ambassadors that the president appoints to government positions?
5 Who has the power to declare war? 20 Who must approve any treaties that are made with foreign countries?
6 How many members of the Senate and House are there? How many members of Congress?
21 Who has the power to veto laws?
7 What is the length of a term of office for the president of the United States?
22 What branch of government can check the power of the judiciary by exercising the power of impeachment?
8 How old must one be to hold the office of president of the United States?
23 Who has the power to propose amendments to the Constitution of the United States?
9 Who has the power to make treaties with foreign countries?
24 Who approves amendments to the Constitution?
10 Who has the power to nominate ambassadors, public ministers, or other officers of the United States, such as members of the cabinet?
25 How many amendments have been made to the Constitution?
11 Who is the commander in chief of the U.S. military forces?
26 Which amendment gave women the right to vote?
12 Who has the sole power to try (bring to trial) all impeachments?
27 Who has the power to print and coin money?
13 What is the length of the term of office for justices of the United States Supreme Court?
28 What is the “supreme law of the land” and how does it affect what states can do?
14 Who has the power to resolve issues involving national laws or laws of the United States?
29 Why do states need to be concerned about laws passed in other states?
15 Who has the power to settle disputes between different states?
30 Who decides when the Electoral College casts its vote for president?
Study Guide for the Constitutional Convention
1. Identify 3 problems with the Articles of Confederation.
2. How were disputes over dividing western lands settled?
3. What is the historical significance of Shays’ Rebellion?
4. Who was chosen as the president of the Constitutional Convention?
5. Who is considered the “Father of the Constitution?”
6. The Great Compromise attempted to resolve representation disputes between what two groups?
7. What did the NJ and VA Plans agree on?
8. What European philosopher believed power could be limited by splitting government?
9. How did Baron De Montesquieu recommend limiting government power?
10. How did the Constitutional Convention decide to count slaves toward the total population?
11. How many states were required to ratify the Constitution?
12. What second concession did free states make to satisfy slave states?
13. What do we call supporters of the Constitution?
14. What do we call people who did not support ratifying the Constitution?
15. What system is in place to keep one branch of government from getting too powerful?
16. What European philosopher identified the natural rights of man as life, liberty, and property?
17. Under the Articles of Confederation, what piece of legislation provided a plan of self-‐government
for territories west of the Appalachian Mountains?
18. What group is responsible for selecting the President of the United States?
Constitutional Dilemmas from History Alive! 1 Your client wants to become president of the United States in 2016. He is now 34, and his
birthday is on January 16. Can he serve?
2 The Senate and the House of Representatives have passed a bill requiring all teenagers, including females, to shave their heads. Who can stop this law from taking effect?
3 A certain congressman is tired of living in Washington, D.C. He wants to move back to his home state and run his ranch full-‐time. He proposes that Congress not meet at all this year. Is his proposal constitutional?
4 You have a neighbor who was born and raised in Austria. She moved to the United States five years ago. She loves politics and wants to hold any office—president, senator, member of the House of representatives— she doesn’t care which. Can she?
5 The Senate’s 100 members cannot agree on a law that forces all fast-‐food restaurants to sell veggie burgers only. They are split right down the middle: 50 are in favor, and 50 are against. Who can break the tie?
6 A blizzard strikes the nation’s capital. Only 200 of the 435 members of the House of Representatives show up for that day’s session. Can they pass bills?
7 A member of Congress is asked by the president to become secretary of defense. Her comment is “Cool. Now I can be both a congresswoman and cabinet member. I’ll have so much power and make a ton of money.” Can she hold both positions simultaneously?
8 The president gets mad at Illinois and decides to declare war on the state. Who can stop him from completing such a strange and unconstitutional act?
9 It has been revealed that the president has been stealing money from the treasury. He now owns Madagascar. That’s right. He purchased Madagascar with stolen money. Under the Constitution, what actions should be taken against him?
10 Your client is having trouble with his mail service. Who is the best person to call: his congresswoman, the president, or the chief justice of the Supreme Court?
11 In a Senate vote, 52 senators vote in favor of a treaty with Belarus, while 48 vote against. Is the treaty approved?
12 The people of the states of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana vote to become one gigantic, beautiful state. Whose approval do they need?