Constitutional Convention Vocabulary Articles of Confederation Compromises Pot Luck

Articles of Confederation $100 At the Constitutional Convention they were supposed to suggest ways to improve the Articles of Confederation. However, once the delegates met, what did they decide to do? At the Constitutional Convention they were supposed to suggest ways to improve the Articles of Confederation. However, once the delegates met, what did they decide to do?

The decided it had too many problems so they decided to write a new Constitution.

Articles of Confederation $200 Why did they make the national government so weak under the Articles of Confederation?

They had just fought a war with Britain because they felt their government was too powerful so they were afraid to give the national government too much power.

Articles of Confederation $300 Identify the two main problems our founders faced when creating our first government.

1. The people were fearful of a national government with too much power. 2. They were afraid that some states would have more power than others in the new government. 1. The people were fearful of a national government with too much power. 2. They were afraid that some states would have more power than others in the new government.

Articles of Confederation $400 Identify 2 weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

-The federal government did not have the power to collect taxes so they federal gov’t had no money -The federal gov’t had no courts so they could not settle disputes between the states -Each state had their own money so it made it difficult to trade between the states -Congress could not regulate trade between the states. -

Articles of Confederation $500 List 4 achievements under the Articles of Confederation

1.1.The US won the war for independence against Britain. 2. The government made a peace treaty with Great Britain to end the American Revolution. 3. Each state had to respect the laws of other states. 4. Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 which allowed people in the western territories to organize their own governments and when they were ready ask to become new states.

Vocabulary $100 Define national government.

Organization governing an entire country.

Vocabulary $200 Define legislature

The part of the government that makes the laws.

Vocabulary $300 Define Treaty

An agreement.

Vocabulary $400 Define delegate and ratification

Delegates are people chosen to represent others at a meeting. Ratification is approval.

Vocabulary $500 Define majority and compromise

Majority is more than half. A Compromise is a way of dealing with a a problem where each side gives up something in order to reach a solution which is acceptable to both sides.

Constitutional Convention $100 Who is called the “Father of the Constitution?”

James Madison

Constitutional Convention $200 When was the Constitutional Convention?

1787

Constitutional Convention $300 Who served as president of the Constitutional Convention?

George Washington

Constitutional Convention $400 Where did the Constitutional Convention take place?

Philadelphia

Constitutional Convention $500 Identify 2 reasons the Framers of the Constitution wanted to keep their discussions private and wait 30 years to release what they said.

-They believed they needed to speak freely to create the best possible constitution. If people could listen to them and tell others what they said, they would not feel as free to discuss their ideas. -They wanted the new constitution to be accepted by the people. They were afraid that the people might not accept it if they knew all the disagreements the Framers had.

Compromises $100 Explain the NJ Plan.

The NJ Plan said that each state regardless of size should have equal representation in Congress

Compromises $200 Explain the Virginia Plan.

The Virginia Plan said that representation in Congress should be based on population. The more people you had the more representatives you should have. The Virginia Plan said that representation in Congress should be based on population. The more people you had the more representatives you should have.

Compromises $300 Explain the solution to the following problem regarding representation in the Legislative Branch: The large states favored the Virginia Plan, which stated representation in Congress should be based on population. The more people you have the more representatives you should have. The small states, fearful of being outvoted because of their limited population, supported the NJ Plan. This plan said that each state should have equal representation.

They created a Legislative Branch with 2 houses. In the Senate, each state would be represented equally by 2 Senators. This satisfied the demands of the small states. In the House of Representatives, each state was to be represented on the basis of population. This satisfied the demands of the large states. No law could be passed unless a majority of both houses approved it.

Compromises $400 Explain the solution to the following problem. Southerners wanted to include slaves in the population count even though they would not let slaves vote. If slaves were counted, southern states would have more representatives in the House of Representatives. Northern states objected. They argued that, since slaves could not vote, they should not be counted when determining the number of representatives a state should get in the House of Representatives.

They agreed that three-fifths of the slaves in any state would be counted. In other words, if a state had 5,000 slaves, 3,000 of them would be included in the state’s population count. This became known as the Three-Fifths Compromise.

Compromises $500 What was the solution to the following problem regarding slave trade? Some northern states had banned the slave trade within their borders. Delegates from these states urged that the slave trade be banned in the entire nation. Southerners warned that such a ban would ruin their economy.

Northerners agreed that Congress could not outlaw slave trade for at least 20 years. After that, Congress could regulate the slave trade if it wished. Northerners also agreed that no state could stop a fugitive slave from being returned to an owner who claimed that slave.

Pot Luck $100 When the Declaration of Independence was written how many slaves were there in America?

500,000

Pot Luck $200 How many representatives does NJ have in the House of Representatives?

12

Pot Luck $300 Name our congressional representative.

Leonard Lance

Pot Luck $400 Name the two NJ Senators.

Corey Booker and Bob Menendez

Pot Luck $500 List the three branches of government and their basic jobs.

Legislative Branch: passes the laws Executive Branch: carries out the laws Judicial Branch: A system of courts to interpret the laws