The Bill of Rights and an Enduring Constitution
US History/Napp Name: ______
The first ten amendments of the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights.
Questions:
1-What is the Bill of Rights? ______
2-How does the Bill of Rights protect individuals? ______
1. Antifederalists opposed ratification of the UnitedStates Constitution until they were assured that(1) a bill of rights would be added to the originaldocument
(2) their supporters would receive a fair share offederal government jobs
(3) the president would be given increased powers
(4) senators would be elected directly by the
People
2. Many Antifederalists opposed ratification of theConstitution until they were guaranteed
(1) better protection of individual liberties
(2) increased presidential authority to wage war
(3) stricter control over state spending
(4) expanded police powers
3. What is the first step in adding an amendment tothe United States Constitution?
(1) approval by the president
(2) review by the Supreme Court
(3) vote by the people in a national referendum
(4) passage by a two-thirds majority in both
houses of Congress
4. The flexibility of the original United States Constitution is due mainly to
(1) its provision for the amending process and judicial interpretation
(2) its guarantees of freedom and justice for all people
(3) the ability to create new branches of government as needed
(4) the willingness of the states to accept Federal control / 5. The major reason the Bill of Rights was added to the United States Constitution was to
(1) limit the power of state governments
(2) protect individual liberties against abuse by the Federal Government
(3) provide for equal treatment of all people
(4) separate powers between the three branches of government
6. The amendment process was included in the United States Constitution in order to
(1) remove government officials from political office
(2) check the power of the Supreme Court
(3) allow government to meet the changing needs of society
(4) preserve the federal system of government
7. The Bill of Rights was added to the United States Constitution to
(1) provide the president with the power to enforce the laws
(2) protect individuals’ civil liberties
(3) establish a presidential cabinet
(4) guarantee voting privileges to all citizens
8. “Illegally obtained evidence cannot be used in a court of law.” This statement is based on a person’s constitutional right to
(1) face an accuser in open court
(2) protection against double jeopardy
(3) a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury
(4) protection against unreasonable searches and seizures
There are 27 Amendments. The Bill of Rights provided the first ten at the same time in 1791. In addition to the Bill of Rights, here are some of important amendments that may be tested on the New York State Regents Examination:
Questions:
1-Identify several significant changes that occurred after the Civil War. ______
2-Identify several significant changes that occurred during the Progressive Era. ______
Remembering Federalists and Anti-Federalists:
“After the Congress’s adjournment, it was up to the states to ratify (approve) or reject the proposed Constitution as the new law of the land. Following a bold strategy that favored its ratification, the framers of the Constitution stated that 9 of the 13 state conventions had to approve the constitution before it could go into effect. Ratification by the necessary states took less than one year. In the nine long months of discussion and debate, two camps were quickly formed. The Federalists supported the Constitution, and the Anti-Federalists opposed ratification of the Constitution. The name Anti-Federalist is somewhat misleading, because the term federalism describes a relationship of independent states that share power with a central government. What the Anti-Federalists were really opposed to was a central government that might dominate the state governments. The Constitution, they charged, gave too much power to the central government at the expense of the power of the states. The Anti-Federalists did not want another level of government with the power to tax the people. Finally, the Anti-Federalists believed that without a bill of rights, the Constitution did not adequately protect individual liberties.
The new government was different from other republics. It was no longer a confederation of sovereign states, nor was it simply the merging of states into a national government. It was somewhere in between. Patrick Henry, the persuasive orator who was violently opposed to the new Constitution, called it ‘horribly defective, horribly frightful, [because it squints toward monarchy.’ He went on to say: ‘This government is so new, it wants a name.’
Along with Alexander Hamilton, the brilliant and popular John Jay led the fight for ratification. With help from James Madison, together they bombarded New York newspapers with essays that presented well-thought-out arguments in favor of ratification. Eventually collected and published in booklet form, these essays were published in 1788 as The Federalist and are often referred to as The Federalist Papers. Today they stand out as early statements of American political theory. In The Federalist Number 9, Hamilton explained how the state and national governments work together:
The proposed Constitution, so far from implying an abolition of State Governments, makes them constituent parts of the national sovereignty by allowing them a direct representation in the Senate, and leaves in their possession certain exclusive and very important portions of sovereign power. This fully corresponds…with the idea of Federal Government.
The Federalist Number 10, written by James Madison, is generally considered the most important document for describing how a large republic has advantages over a small one:
The smaller the society, the fewer probably will be the distinct parties and interests composing it…the more easily they will concert and execute their plans of oppression. Extend the sphere and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens.
~ The American Century
Questions:
1-Define ratify. ______
2-How many state conventions had to approve the Constitution before it could go into effect? ______
3-How long did ratification of the Constitution take? ______
4-What two political parties developed during the Constitutional debate? ______
5-What did the Federalists support? ______
6-What did the Anti-Federalists oppose? ______
7-Why is the name Anti-Federalist somewhat misleading? ______
8-What does Federalism mean? ______
9-What did Anti-Federalists really oppose? ______
10-What did Anti-Federalists want added to the Constitution? ______
11-How was the new American republic different from other republics? ______
12-How did Patrick Henry describe the new government? ______
13-Who wrote the essays known as The Federalist Papers? ______
14-What did Alexander Hamilton explain in The Federalist Number 9? ______
15-What did James Madison write in The Federalist Number 10? ______
16-How does the Constitution prevent abuse of power? [Think Montesquieu!] ______
17-What is the Bill of Rights and why is it important? ______
- What is the most democratic feature of the original Constitution of the United States?
(2) appointment of ambassadors by the president
(3) direct election of the members of the House of Representatives
(4) lifetime appointments for Supreme Court justices
- The years between the end of the American Revolution and the ratification of the Constitution are sometimes called the “critical period” because
(2) the United States fought a war with France
(3) Spain refused to sell Florida to the UnitedStates
(4) the central government failed to solve manyeconomic problems
- According to the United States Constitution, the federal census is used to determine the
(2) maximum number of cabinet members
(3) apportionment of members in the House of Representatives
(4) number of senators allotted to each state
4. Which protection guaranteed by the first amendment to the United States Constitution was influenced by the trial of John Peter Zenger (1735)?
(1) freedom of press (3) right to assemble
(2) freedom of religion (4) right to petition / Base your answers to questions 5 and 6 on the speakers’ statements below and on your knowledge of social studies.
Speaker A: Our national government should be strong. State governments should have only limited powers.
Speaker B: A bicameral legislature would protect the power of both the large states and the small states.
Speaker C: The expansion of the national government will lead to tyranny.
Speaker D: The executive branch should have significant power.
5. Which speaker is expressing an idea that was included in the Great Compromise during the drafting of the Constitution in 1787?
(1) A (3) C
(2) B (4) D
6. During the debate over ratification of the
Constitution, people who agreed with the
statements of Speakers A and D became known as
(1) Loyalists
(2) Federalists
(3) Antifederalists
(4) Democratic Republicans
7. Which constitutional principle best protects the public from abuse by one branch of government?
(1) equality
(2) federalism
(3) executive privilege
(4) checks and balances