STEP 3: PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

CHAPTER 8 STUDY GUIDE

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER Now, take a step back and try to explain the big picture. Remember to use specific examples from the chapter in your answers.
THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

  • How did the confederation government deal with the problem of western lands?

  • What do the state constitutions drawn up during the confederation period tell us about the range of political opinion during the Revolutionary War and the years immediately following?

 THE FIGHT FOR RATIFICATION

  • Where was support for the Constitution strongest? Where was it weakest? Why?

  • Why did the Federalists ultimately prevail over the Antifederalists? What were the Federalists’ most important weapons in the debate over the Constitution?
THE CREATION OF A NEW CONSTITUTION

  • What forces and events combined to produce momentum for the creation of a new constitution?

  • What political compromises were embodied in the Constitution?

 LOOKING BACKWARD, LOOKING AHEAD

  • How did pre-revolutionary experiences with colonial legislatures and the British government shape the Articles of Confederation? The U.S. Constitution?

  • What issues were left unresolved by the framers of the Constitution? Why?

Understanding the American Promise 3ePrinted Page 225