Seminal U.S. Documents Worksheets - 15 Worksheets Library - Free Printable

Let me work through each question carefully based on what I know about the U.S. Constitution and the Constitutional Convention.

Question 1: Based on the information in the article, what immediate problem did the colonists need to solve?

The colonists had just won independence from Britain, but they were operating under the Articles of Confederation, which created a very weak central government. The main problem was that there was no strong central government or unified laws for all the states. The answer is b. America needed a central government and laws.

Question 2: What kind of government did the colonists want to form and why?

The colonists wanted to form a federal government (a republic) with separated powers. They wanted this because:
- They didn't want a king or monarchy like Britain had
- They wanted to protect individual rights and freedoms
- They wanted a system where power was shared between national and state governments
- They wanted checks and balances so no one branch would become too powerful

Question 3: What concern did the smaller colonies have about their representation in the new federal government?

The smaller colonies worried that if representation was based only on population, the larger colonies would dominate and control all decisions. They wanted equal protection and voice in government regardless of size. The answer is a. They did not want the larger colonies to have more votes on important issues.

Question 4: Identify the two houses of Congress.

The two houses are:
- House of Representatives and Senate

Question 5: How do the two houses of Congress represent a compromise between the larger and smaller colonies?

This is called the "Great Compromise" or "Connecticut Compromise." It worked like this:
- The House of Representatives has members based on population - this pleased the larger colonies because they get more representatives
- The Senate has equal representation (2 senators per state) - this pleased the smaller colonies because every state gets the same number of senators regardless of size
- This way, both large and small states got something they wanted, and both houses must agree to pass laws

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Final Answer:

1. b. America needed a central government and laws.

2. The colonists wanted to form a federal republic with separated powers. They wanted this because they didn't want a king like Britain had, they wanted to protect individual freedoms, and they wanted a system with checks and balances so no one group could become too powerful.

3. a. They did not want the larger colonies to have more votes on important issues.

4. House of Representatives and Senate

5. The two houses represent a compromise because the House of Representatives is based on population (which favors larger colonies), while the Senate gives equal representation to each state with 2 senators each (which protects smaller colonies). Both houses must agree to pass laws, so neither large nor small states can dominate completely.