Chapter 7: Founding a Nation, 1783—1791

Fill in the blanks to complete the passage describing the process of breaking a tie in the electoral college.

Within the electoral college, it is possible for none of the candidates to win a majority of electoral votes. Though rare, if this occurs, the responsibility of electing a president falls to the House of Representatives where they choose from among the top three candidates, with each state casting one vote. The Senate would then select the vice president.

Which of the following best describe the American identity in the early federal period?

correct: - Embracing the ideals of equality and democracy. - Inherently associated with skin color. incorrect: -civic nationalism was secondary to ethnic nationalism -ethnic nationalism was secondary to civic nationalism

Read the following passage titled The History of the American Revolution (1789) by David Ramsay, a member of the Continental Congress from South Carolina. Select the sections of the passage in which Ramsay argues that the American experiment in government is based upon Enlightenment values of reason, liberty, and "experience."

- In America alone, reason and liberty concurred in the formation of constitutions - In this happy peculiarity they placed the science of politics on a footing with the other sciences, by opening it to improvements from experience, and the discoveries of future ages.

What were the effects of the Constitution? Move the correct answers to the image of the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

- Reduced the powers of the states. - Created national political institutions. - Made possible a national economic market by giving congress the power over tariffs, interstate commerce, and coining money, among others.

Read the primary source excerpt below from J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur's Letters from an American Farmer (1782). Then, select the statements where Crèvecoeur argues that foreigners have come together in the United States to form a new nationality.

-From this promiscuous breed, that race now called Americans have arisen -He is an American, who leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds. . . . Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men.

Fill in the blanks to complete the passage describing the debates over the power of the federal government.

Proponents of a stronger federal government by the 1780s believed that property rights were foundational to the American system. They believed that too much public liberty could harm the nation by endangering private liberty.

Fill in the blanks to complete the passage describing members of the founding generation.

The men that attended the Constitutional Convention were mostly lawyers, merchants, and planters. Most of them had spent time at college, and generally believed that for the United States to succeed, the influence of direct democracy must be somewhat restrained by the government.

Building upon the framework of the Ordinance of 1784, in what way did the Ordinance of 1785 aim to further regulate western settlement?

correct: - Empowering the federal government to survey and subdivide western lands into square-mile sections. - reserving land and funds for public education. incorrect: -prohibiting slavery in the western territories -immediately putting a majority of land into the hands of Americans

Which statements describe the laws mandated by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787?

correct: - It prohibited slavery in the Old Northwest. -It created at least three sates out of the Northwest Territory. -It pledged 'the utmost good faith' would be observed toward local Indians ad that their land would not be taken without consent. incorrect: -The ordinance put the United States on the path to become an imperial power in North America.

Identify the groups of people who were denied the opportunity to become fully naturalized American citizens in America's first century as a sovereign country.

correct: - Nobility who wished to retain the titles - Persons of colors. incorrect: -prostitutes and the poor -convicted felons

The ratification of the Constitution had a tremendous effect on late eighteenth-century America. Identify the statements that describe the long-term consequences.

correct: - Slavery remained deeply entrenched in American life and politics. - It made a domestic economy possible. incorrect: -It promoted direct democracy. -It increased the powers of the states.

Identify the statements that describe why the Federalists were successful.

correct: - They controlled the local media. - They were successful because their opposition, the Anti-Federalists, were ineffectively organized. - They convincingly argued that a strong government would grow the economy, garnering support from both bosses, local leaders, and, as a result, their employees. incorrect: -They were uninterested in a Bill of Rights, which was unpopular with the masses.

Identify the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

correct: -Each state, regardless of size, possessed only one vote in the single legislative body. -Congress had the power to coin money but was unable to levy taxes. -Amendment of the Articles was achieved only with the unanimous consent of all of the states. incorrect: -Under the Articles, states were limited in their powers and stymied by the power of the federal government. -The Articles of Confederation took so much power from the states that governors could not keep control of their populations.

Review the following video with author Eric Foner titled "Racial Division Between Slaves and Free Men." Afterward, choose the statement that best summarize the author's argument.

correct: -Following the Revolution, racial difference became the primary argument for the continuation of the practice of slavery. incorrect: -Slavery was the primary reason behind the development of racial science in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. -Prior to the Revolution, inequality existed in a number of ways: gender, race, class status, legal status, and so on. After the Revolution, all of these distinctions were eliminated. -The practice of indentured servitude increased after the Revolution.

Despite his own personal and intimate relationship with Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson articulated a variety of claims about race in his book Notes on the State of Virginia. Identify Jefferson's beliefs below.

correct: -He believed the best solution to issues of race in America was to remove blacks from the country. -While he believed Indians and Americans would eventually merge into a single people, he did not believe in a similar merger of blacks and whites. -African-Americans were inferior to whites in intellect in a way that no democratic society could change. -He believed the bitter experience of slavery made blacks incapable of being loyal to the nation.

Identify the aims and accomplishments of the Virginia Plan proposed by the Constitutional Convention.

correct: -It stressed establishment of a two-house legislature. - It's governing concepts bolstered the power of the larger states. incorrect: -It called for life terms for members of the national legislature. -It attempted to prohibit states from interfering with private property rights.

Settlers of the frontiers were challenged by the Native Americans already living in those lands. What options did the government see for the future of native tribes in the West?

correct: -They would be killed. -They would be forced onto lands farther to the West. -Their assimilation into American society was a long-term possibility. incorrect: -They were unfit to ever become American citizens.

The Articles of Confederation granted the national government limited powers. Identify the statements that describe the conflicts sparked by governance under this first written constitution.

correct: -Wealthy property owners saw their rights constrained by poorer local majorities. -Indebted farmers, threatened with the loss of land because of failure to meet tax or mortgage payments, pressed state governments for relief. incorrect: -States were unable to print paper money in order to cover their debts. -Debt collection accelerated, driving many into financial ruin.

The Constitution was a product of its time in that it aimed to deal with many of the questions facing early Americans. Which groups of people are specifically mentioned in the Constitution?

correct: -slaves -native americans -"other persons" incorrect: -immigrants -Loyalists

As ratification debates went on, those for and against ratification of the Constitution (Federalists and Anti-Federalists, respectively) coalesced into distinct groups. Match each of the following characteristics to the group it best describes.

federalist: -argued that the country's large size and diversity of interests would be its strength -found support from cosmopolitan areas -represented the interests of merchants and the commercial class anti-federalist: -argued for a federal government only strong enough to do its tasks without interfering with state and local initiatives -represented the interests of the rural farmer and the "common citizen"