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Chapter 2 – Review Questions Origins of American Government
Explain the concepts of ordered government, limited government, and representative government. Ordered Government – the need for an orderly regulation of their relationships with one another – that is, for government. Limited Government – government is not all-powerful. That is, government is restricted in what it may do, and each individual has certain rights that government cannot take away. Representative Government – the idea that government should serve the will of the people. People should have a voice in what government should and should not do. “Government of, by, and for the people”.
2. Explain the difference between a bicameral and a unicameral legislative body. A bicameral legislative body has two houses, while a unicameral legislative body has just one.
3. Why did some colonists support a boycott of English goods? Many colonists supported a boycott of English goods as an act of protest against Britain’s taxes. A boycott is a refusal to buy or sell certain products or services.
4. Explain the concept of popular sovereignty. Popular sovereignty is the idea that a government can only exist if it has the consent of those it governs.
5. In what ways did the Second Continental Government serve as the first national government? The Second Continental Congress directed the war effort, borrowed money to finance the war, coined money, bought supplies, and made treaties with other governments.
6. What were the Articles of Confederation and what powers did they grant to Congress? The Articles of Confederation were plans for government developed by the delegates to the Second Continental Congress. They gave Congress the power to: make war and peace; send and receive ambassadors; make treaties; borrow money; set up a money system; establish post offices; build a navy and raise armies; fix standards of weights and measures; and settle disputes among the States.
7. Identify at least three weaknesses under the Articles of Confederation. Congress could not tax or regulate trade; had no power to make the States cooperate; near-unanimous consent was required to pass laws; unanimous consent was required to amend Articles.
8. What momentous decision did the Framers make at the beginning of the Philadelphia Convention? The delegates agreed that they were, in fact, meeting to create a new government for the United States. The decision was made to create an entirely new constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.
9. Why did the delegates of the smaller States object to the Virginia Plan? The Virginia Plan called for representation to be based on a State’s population or the amount of money it gave to support the central government. Smaller States would not be given as much representation as larger States in this plan and thus opposed it.
10. What was agreed to under the Connecticut Compromise? That Congress would be composed of two houses – including a Senate with equal representation and a House with representation based on population.
11. What sources influenced the Framers in writing the Constitution? Writings by European thinkers such as William Blackstone, Baron de Montesquieu, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and John Locke, the Framers’ own experiences, ideas from the Articles, and State constitutions.
12. What was the Federalist position on the adoption of the Constitution? Why did they feel that way? The Federalists believed that the Constitution should be ratified, because the many problems facing the new Republic could not be solved within the framework of the weak Articles.
13. Who were the Anti-Federalists? The Anti-Federalists were well-known Revolutionary War figures who opposed the Constitution. They were particularly opposed to the increased power of the central government and the lack of the bill of rights.
14. Why did the Federalists want to replace the Articles? They felt the Articles were too weak to govern the new nation.
15. What were the main arguments used by the Anti-Federalists? That the proposed Constitution, with its calls for a strong central government and no bill of rights, did not provide people with basic liberties.