AP Government and Politics Notes Guide Chapter 2: The Constitution
*For each question, write the page number in the text where you found the answer.*
True-False Questions *Make each false statement a TRUE statement.
1. The Constitution was ratified in 1776.
2. Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government had extensive power to tax.
3. The New Jersey Plan called for equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the state’s population.
4. Framer John Jay believed that “the people who own the country ought to govern it.”
5. The Three-Fifths Compromise specified that only three-fifths of slaves could vote.
6. Most of the Framers believed that the principal objective of government is an economic one: the preservation of individual rights to acquire and hold wealth.
7. James Madison was the primary author of The Declaration of Independence.
8. The Framers found inspiration for a strong executive from Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes.
9. The main weakness of the Articles of Confederation was the lack of a strong national government.
10. A constitution is a written document establishing the structure, functions, and limitations of a government. Throughout history, the United States has had two constitutions.
11. The New Jersey Plan proposed a powerful central government with three branches.
12. John Locke’s idea that certain things were beyond the realm of government contrasted sharply with the traditional notion that kings possessed divinely granted absolute rights over their subjects.
13. The colonists rebelled against the unilateral imposition of taxes by the British government.
14. While working on the Constitution, thwarting the tyranny of the majority was a major concern of James Madison. In order to do this he wanted to place as much of the government beyond the direct control of the majority, separate the powers of the different institutions, and construct a system of checks and balances.
15. The Anti-Federalists strongly supported the Constitution and were against a Bill of Rights.
16. Ten amendments have been added to the U.S. Constitution since its ratification in 1788.
17. The president, the Supreme Court, and the Senate are the three branches of government.
18. Burning the United States flag is not constitutional.
19. The Connecticut Compromise/Great Compromise combined the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan and created the bicameral legislative branch. 20. The Articles of Confederation required three-fourths of the states’ consent for ratification and the United States Constitution required a unanimous consent from the states for ratification.
Fill-in-the-Blank Questions
21. The ______Amendment protects five freedoms: religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech.
22. The United States had a ______legislature under the Articles of Confederation.
23. Article ______of the Constitution specifies the procedure for amending the Constitution.
24. Thomas Paine’s ______encouraged the colonists to declare independence from Britain.
25. The ______of powers is a key feature of the government established by the Constitution that requires the three branches of government to be relatively independent of the others so that one cannot control the others. James Madison thought this was the core structure of American government.
26. Because the Founders did not want the people to directly make all of the decisions, they created a ______form of democracy. This is the form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and make laws.
27. Most constitutional amendments have been proposed by a ______vote in each house of Congress and ratified by a vote of ______of the states.
28. ______Rebellion exposed the problems under the Articles of Confederation. This series of attacks fueled dissatisfaction with the weaknesses of the Articles and made us realize we needed a stronger central government.
29. The ______favored a weak national government and strong state governments.
30. In praise of the Constitution, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay were the authors of a series of articles/essays known as the ______. It reflects the thinking of the Framers.
31. The ______are the first ten amendments to the Constitution. They were ratified in 1791.
32. The ______Amendment gave some former slaves the right to vote.
33. The ______branch decides how to interpret the Constitution when disputes arise. In 1803, in the famous case of ______, the Supreme Court decided it would be the one to resolve differences of opinion. It claimed for itself the power of ______. This power gives courts the right to decide whether the actions of the legislative and executive branches of state and national governments are in accord with the Constitution. 34. James Madison from ______wrote: “The most common and durable source of factions has been the various and unequal distribution of property.” In other words, the ______is the source of political conflict. Arising from these sources of conflict are ______, which we might call parties or interest groups. If unchecked, Madison thought, one of the factions would eventually tyrannize the other.
35. The ______was the proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for representation in Congress to be based on state population.
Short Answer Questions
36. Explain the process for amending the Constitution.
37. Explain what inspired the Constitutional Convention in 1787. 38. Who were the Federalists and what did they want? Who were the Anti-Federalists and what did they want?
39. How was Madison’s desire to set power against power within the federal government realized?
40. Describe the Virginia Plan in terms of equality of representation between the states. What were the competing plans?