SAQs for APUSH Topic 3.9 — The Constitution

Ten questions designed to help students review for the annual exam and that relate to a founding document that contains “a bundle of compromises.”

Delegates from the states participated in a Constitutional Convention and through negotiation, collaboration, and compromise proposed a constitution that created a limited but dynamic central government embodying federalism and providing for a separation of powers between its three branches.

1. The constitution created a federal government that consists of a system of checks and balances. Describe one way in which the judicial branch can check the legislative branch and the legislative branch can check the judicial branch. Also, describe one way in which the judicial branch can check the executive branch and the executive branch can check the judicial branch? Also, describe one way in which the legislative branch can check the executive branch and the executive branch can check the legislative branch.
2. The constitution contains language that reveals a compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention and relating to the question of how should slaves be counted when determining a state’s total population. Name and briefly describe one piece of evidence in support of this claim.
3. The constitution contains language that reveals a compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention and relating to the question of how should the president be chosen. Name and briefly describe one piece of evidence in support of this claim.
4. The constitution contains language that reveals a compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention and relating to the question of how many representatives in Congress should each state have. Name and briefly describe one piece of evidence in support of this claim.
5. The constitution contains language that reveals a compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention and relating to the question of to what extent should the federal government have a role in regulating the slave trade. Name and briefly describe one piece of evidence in support of this claim.
6. The constitution contains a Bill of Rights that enumerated individual rights and explicitly restricted the powers of the federal government. Give one example of an enumerated right found in the Bill of Rights. Also, name and briefly describe how one amendment seeks to restrict the powers of the federal government. Lastly, explain how the creation of the Bill of Rights was the result of a compromise.
7. The constitution created a federal form of government. What is a federal form of government? How does a federal form of government differ from a confederate form of government? How does a federal form of government differ from a unitary form of government? What form of government did the colonists declare their independence from? What form of government was created in the United States in 1776?
8. The constitution created a federal government that consists of three branches of government. Name and briefly describe what each branch of government is expected to do (as it relates to the word laws).
9. Briefly explain one specific way in which the Constitution represents a compromise between those who prefer a unitary form of government and those who prefer a confederate form of government.

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