AP US History

Chapter

Study
Guide

Name______________________________________

Period_________

The Confederation & the Constitution

1776-1790

Terms and Names: Define each term with complete sentences, using your own words
A. Virginia Statute for Religious
Freedom
B. Civic virtue
C. Republican motherhood
D. Land Ordinance of 1785
E. Northwest Ordinance of 1787
F. Shays Rebellion

G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.

Virginia Plan (large states)

New Jersey Plan (small states)
Great Compromise
Federalists
Antifederalists
The Federalist

Short Answer: Carefully answer each question in paragraph form using

information from the text.

1. Describe the generally held beliefs in America regarding who should vote
and who should hold political office. Explain the differences in the
qualifications for the two.
2. Understand the Revolution's impact on slavery and the issue of
emancipation. Explain the weakening of the institution in the South and its
abolition in the North. Describe the nature of emancipation policies
implemented by northern states after the Revolution.
3. Describe the status of women in America after the Revolution. Comment
on their political, legal, economic and social status and the extent to which
that status was changed by the Revolution.
4. Describe the characteristics of the state constitutions that emerged after
1776. Explain what features distinguished them from the British
constitutional tradition that preceded them. Comment on the relative
empowerment of the executive and legislative branches of state
governments and how the nature of the empowerment was a reflection of
the Revolutionary era during which these documents were written.
5. Describe the economic situation after the Revolutionary War.
6. Explain how the post-war economic depression led to divisions between
individual states as well as to conflicts between debtors and creditors over
state financial policies. Understand how these tensions contributed to
increased interest among some Americans in increasing the power of the
federal government.
7. Describe the provisions of the Articles of Confederation. Explain the
meaning of the term confederation and comment on why Americans chose
this form of government during the Revolution.
8. Identify the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation as a tool of
government and connect the weaknesses of the document to its eventual
failure.
9. List the unresolved issues that prolonged tensions between the United
States and Britain after the Revolution.
10. Discuss the issues surrounding American access to the Mississippi River.
Explain how the issues created tension between the United States and
Spain. (Well address the following in class) Explain the sectional

implications of the issue as reflected in the national debate over the JayGardoqui negotiations.
11. Explain the historical significance of the Annapolis Convention as a
prelude to the Constitutional Convention.
12. Comment on the socio-economic backgrounds of the framers of the
United States Constitution. Recognize a connection between this status
and the eventual content of the document.
13. Describe the constitutional provisions for a national executive.
14. Discuss the impact of sectionalism and slavery on the proceedings of the
Constitutional Convention. Point out the clauses in the Constitution that
reflect the sectional debate between the North and the South. Explain the
extent to which the convention made concessions to the South regarding
slavery and why those concessions were made.
15. What are the two principles of republicanism?
16. Compare and contrast the fundamental provisions of the Articles of
Confederation and the United States Constitution.
17. Who generally and specifically was a Federalist? An Antifederalist? What
were their chief arguments? Why were the Federalists successful? Explain
why the Antifederalists failed in their efforts to prevent ratification.