Pre-Constitution Cards

1PC.

What era refers to the intellectual movement which advocated reason as the basis of authority and influenced political changes?

The Enlightenment

2PC.

Name the French philosopher whose belief that powers of government should be separated into branches influenced the Framers of the Constitution.

Montesquieu

3PC.

In designing the Legislative Branch, the Framers of the Constitution mainly based their ideas on _____________.

English Parliament

4PC.

Congress is to the U.S. as ________ is to England.

Parliament

5PC.

Three major English parliamentary traditions that influenced our government were:

Magna Carta, English Parliament, English Bill of Rights

6PC.

What were both the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights designed to do?

Limit the power of the monarch

7PC.

Often referred to as the foundation of the U.S. Constitution, this social contract was the 1^st document written by common people for self-government.

The Mayflower Compact

8PC.

What era was a precursor to the War of Independence and what amendment did it eventually influence?

The Great Awakening

1^st Amendment-freedom of religion

9PC.

What ideas of the English philosopher John Locke influenced the Framers of the Constitution that are expressed in the first section of the Declaration of Independence?

1. Government should protect people’s natural rights
2. People have the right to reject a government that fails to do so.

10PC.

What is considered to be the founding document of the U.S. and who is considered the primary author?

The Declaration of Independence/Thomas Jefferson

11PC.

The Declaration of Independence guaranteed all people what three unalienable rights?

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness 

12PC.

This compromise in the Constitutional Convention proposed two houses, one based on population and the other based on equal representation.

The Great Compromise

13PC.

What was the original intention of James Madison’s meeting, which later became known as the Constitutional Convention?

To revise the Articles of Confederation

14PC.

This compromise during the Constitutional Convention decided that Congress would count 3 of every 5 slaves for representation and taxation.

The 3/5’s Compromise

15PC.

Who presented the Great Compromise?

Roger Sherman

16PC.

Once the U.S. had declared its independence, what document was created to rule the new country?

The Articles of Confederation

17PC.

A weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that it gave too much governmental power to what group?

Individual state governments

18PC.

This farmers revolt caused Americans to evaluate the effectiveness of the Articles of Confederation.

Shay’s Rebellion

19PC.

What law called for all newly acquired land to be surveyed and divided?

The Land Ordinance of 1785

20PC. 

Under what 3 conditions stated in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 could a state enter the Union?

1. 60,000 free inhabitants w/a state constitution and Bill of Rights
2. public education for all citizens
3. slavery banned

21PC.

An increased price for goods and services combined with the reduced value of money is called ___________?

Inflation

22PC.

Direct Democracy, a system of government where ordinary citizens make decisions by voting, is also known as ______________________.

Popular Sovereignty

23PC.

The division of power between the federal and state governments is called_________.

Federalism

24PC.

Citizens choosing their representatives to make laws is known as a _____________.

Republic