Understanding the Constitution Part 1

The name of the United States' first national government was called...

• Constitution
• Bill of Rights
• Articles of Confederation
• Declaration of Independence

What event in history brought attention to the fact that the Articles of Confederation were just too weak?

• The Constitutional Convention
• The signing of the Declaration of Independence
• Shays' Rebellion
• The Boston Tea Party

When and where did the Constitutional Convention take place?

• March 15 to June 30, 1790, in Washington, D.C.
• April 10 to July 4, 1789, in Boston, Massachusetts.
• June 1 to August 15, 1776, in New York City, New York.
• May 25 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

How many delegates attended the Constitutional Convention?

• 45
• 60
• 50
• 55

What is a "Constitution"?

• A constitution is a historical record of a nation's leaders.
• A constitution is a type of government official.
• A constitution is a fundamental legal document that outlines the principles and framework of a government.
• A constitution is a document that lists all the laws in a country.

In order to be able to freely express their concerns, the delegates at the Constitutional Convention agreed to...

• keep their discussions secret

• limit participation to a select few delegates

• vote on every decision made

• disclose their discussions to the public

In the early part of the Constitutional Convention, many delegates were surprised because instead of making changes to the Articles of Confederation,

• they chose to draft a new Constitution instead of amending the Articles of Confederation.
• they decided to keep the Articles of Confederation as is.
• they formed a committee to review the Articles of Confederation.
• they voted to keep the the Articles of Confederation for 20 more years.

How did the Virginia Plan propose to structure the legislative branch?

• As a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state

• As a bicameral legislature with representation based on state population

• As a tricameral legislature with one house elected by the people

• As a unicameral legislature with representation based on state wealth

What was the primary feature of the New Jersey Plan regarding state representation?

• Representation based on land area

• Representation based on state wealth

• Equal representation for each state

• Representation based on state population

What was the main purpose of the Great Compromise during the Constitutional Convention?

• To abolish the Articles of Confederation

• To create a new executive branch

• To resolve the issue of state representation in Congress

• To establish a unicameral legislature