Deck 8: Crisis and Constitution

Question 1

The chapter introduction discusses the dilemma of citizens identifying with state and nation after the Revolution to make the point that

A) immediately after the Revolution, no one had a sense of identity or loyalty toward the nation, so it was predictable that the new United States would be politically decentralized.
B) because of the Revolution, most felt a sense of identity and loyalty with the united cause, but political jealousies prevented a strong governmental structure until the crises of the 1780s forced the politicians to act.
C) Americans created one kind of united government with the Declaration of Independence; needing a
better union, they overwhelmingly supported the new Constitution.
D) Americans had to experiment to find a way to create a united republic that confronted the realities of separate identities and inequalities.

Answer 1

Americans had to experiment to find a way to create a united republic that confronted the realities of separate identities and inequalities.

Question 2

When peace was restored in the 1780s, Americans were forced to face some unanswered questions raised by their revolution. Which of the following was NOT among their questions?

A) Could the individual states establish treaties and agreements with foreign countries, excluding the other states?
B) Would the lands in the West eventually become part of the United States, and how would this take place?
C) Would factions and self-interest groups pull the states apart and make union impossible? What . forces and issues could unite the very different types of people who populated the new states?
D) None is a correct answer, because all these questions were among those raised by the revolution.

Answer 2

None is a correct answer, because all these questions were among those raised by the revolution.

Question 3

Which of the following was NOT a weakness of Congress under the Articles of Confederation?

A) It could not levy taxes or regulate trade.
B) It could not declare war or regulate Indian affairs.
C) It could not enforce its own resolutions.
D) Its structure meant that national leadership was marked by weakness and discontinuity.

Answer 3

It could not declare war or regulate Indian affairs.

Question 4

Why did the expansion of backcountry districts create a more democratic membership in state legislatures?

A) Citizens of backcountry districts voted in greater numbers.
B) They were less developed economically, and their leading men were less rich.
C) The property ownership requirements were lower in the newly opened lands.
D) Pioneers often had greater civic virtue and concern for the general welfare of all.

Question 5

The delegates to the Constitutional Convention, though from twelve different states, had two important things in common. These were that they were

A) men with a great deal of political experience, who all favored weakening the central government.
B) all relatively inexperienced politically, and they favored establishing a constitutional monarchy.
C) all former loyalists, who also favored establishing strong ties with Great Britain.
D) all men of considerable political experience, who recognized the need for a stronger national union.

Question 6

How did James Madison imagine that a federal republic with a strong central government might work, especially one that governed such a vast land area as that of the United States?

A) He simply believed that a strong central government would lead to tyranny, and was therefore against it.
B) He believed that a strong central government would have to be opposed by a well-organized opposition party.
C)He believed that various interests and factions would cancel each other out in a large republic, and that . virtuous national leaders would govern on behalf of all the people.
D) He believed that he would be forced to run for president in order to save the union.

Question 7

The currency known as the "Continental" was backed by

A) gold bullion.
B) a promise.
C) silver certificates.
D) bonds of indenture.

Question 8

The state of New Jersey created legislation in 1807 to close what loophole?

A) "aristocracy of merit"
B) the three-fifths compromise
C) landowning women's suffrage
D) "democratic excess"

Question 9

"Seduction literature" sent the unmistakable message that young women must preserve their

A) wholesome nature.
B) self-control.
C) independence from the passions and impulsiveness of men.
D) sexual purity.

Question 10

After independence was declared, all the revolutionaries agreed both that the people should rule and that
________ governments were best suited to small territories.

Question 11

In the new republic, the new image of women as the upholders of private virtue was known as "________"
and inspired many educational reformers in the revolutionary generation.

Question 12

Because the framers thought it would be unreasonable for a citizen to know anything about a presidential candidate that lived in a different section of the country, the ________ was created to elect the federal executive.

Question 13

In A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Mary Wollstonecraft charged that men deliberately conspire to keep women in "a state of perpetual ________"
by giving them inferior educations.

Question 14

Discuss the ways in which the frontier influenced national politics during the Confederation period.

Question 15

Describe the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, and discuss the reasons why Americans created a weak national government.

Question 16

In what ways was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 a failure? In what ways was it a success?

Question 17

Describe the impact of the Revolution on the lives of African Americans.

Question 18

Why did the more democratic West clash with the East in political battles in state legislatures?

Question 19

How did the Jay-Gardoqui Treaty and Shays's Rebellion contribute to the convening of the Constitutional Convention?

Question 20

Compare the New Jersey and the Virginia plans at the Constitutional Convention. What caused each state to favor the plan it proposed?

Question 21

Describe the new state constitutions, and discuss the ways in which they reflected the fears and concerns among Americans that had been fostered by the controversy with Britain.

Question 22

The historian Frederick Jackson Turner argued that the American frontier was a "safety valve"
that, by siphoning off surplus population from settled areas and providing families with land and employment, reduced social and political conflict. Does the history of the West during the Confederation period confirm or disconfirm Turner's "frontier thesis"?

Question 23

To what extent did the American Revolution effect a fundamental change in American society? How far had Americans gone by 1790 in fulfilling the ideal of equality? What limited the pursuit of full equality in the new nation?

Question 24

What concepts of equality directed the actions of revolutionary leaders? Why did they stop short of extending equality to a full range of all Americans? What goals of equality did they pursue?

Question 25

"The Revolution gave rise to a new sense of social identity and a new set of ambitions among several groups of men who had once accepted a humbler status."
Explain how that happened, and relate your discussion to the following groups: westerners, urban artisans, and women.

Question 26

Did the Constitution advance or set back the principles of the Revolution? Defend your answer by showing clearly the changes in political philosophy that the Constitution demonstrated.
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