Term
| 1. What did Congress ask the delegates to do during the Philadelphia Convention? Did the delegates accomplish what Congress asked them to do? Explain. |
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Definition
| Congress asked the delegates to improve the ARticles of Confederation. They were to submit a plan to Congress for approval. Congress intended that the delegates would serve in an advisory capacity only, but the Framers agreed that they would scrap the Articles of Confederation and write a new constitution. |
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Term
| 2. In what ways were the delegates at the Philadelphia Convention representative of the American people? In what ways were they not representative? |
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Definition
| The delegates were mostly young men who had participated in the American Revolution. Most had served in Congress. Most were not rich, but none of the delegates were not poor. The delegates shared the basic ideas about government that were held by most Americans. Many Americans were not represented, including women, African Americans, poor farmers, and American Indians. |
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Term
| 3. What rules did the Framers establish for the convention? What was the purpose of these rules? |
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Definition
After deciding that George Washington would preside over the meetings, the Framers agreed to keep the record of what was said at the convention secret for thirty years and to give each state one vote in the convention proceedings.
The Framers made these rules because they believed that the problems with the Articles were too serious to be corrected. They believed that secrecy was necessary to ensure that the delegates expressed their opinions freely. The Framers also believed that the Constitution would be more readily accepted if people were unaware of the many arguments that went on during the convention. The decision to give each state one vote, regardless of the state’s population, ensured the cooperation of the small states. |
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Term
| 4. What basic ideas about the government did the Framers agree should be included in a new constitution? |
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Definition
| The Framers agreed that the national government should be a constitutional government; that the purpose of government should be to protect basic rights and promote the common good; that a strong national government was needed to protect the fundamental rights of the people; that the country needed a republican government composed of elected representatives; and that the government should include a system of separation of powers and checks and balances to prevent the abuse of power. |
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