Social Studies Founding Fathers quiz

Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776)

• Purpose: Declared the 13 colonies independent from Britain.

• Key Ideas: "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" as unalienable rights.

• Author: Thomas Jefferson, primary author.

• Historical Context: Approved by the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War.

• Key Quote: Governments derive their power from the "consent of the governed."

Articles of Confederation (1777, ratified 1781)

• Purpose: First constitution of the U.S., establishing a loose confederation of states.

• Adopted before the U.S. Constitution, served during the Revolutionary War.

• Weaknesses: No power to levy taxes, no executive branch, no judiciary, and a unicameral legislature.

• Key Event: Shays’ Rebellion showed the need for change.

U.S. Constitution (1787)

• Purpose: Replaced the Articles, creating a stronger federal government.

• Key Features: Three branches of government (legislative, executive, judicial) with checks and balances.

• Federalism: Division of power between state and national governments.

• Compromises:

  • The Great Compromise: Established a bicameral legislature with the Senate providing equal representation for all states and the House of Representatives based on population.

  • The Three-Fifths Compromise: Determined that enslaved individuals would count as three-fifths of a person for purposes of taxation and representation.

• Ratification: States debated its adoption, leading to Federalist and Anti-Federalist debates.

Bill of Rights (1791)

• Purpose: First ten amendments to the Constitution, protecting individual freedoms.

• Added to address Anti-Federalist concerns over individual rights.

• Key Amendments:

• 1st: Freedom of speech, religion, and the press.

• 2nd: Right to bear arms.

• 10th: Powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved for the states.

• Impact: Ensured liberties and helped secure the Constitution's ratification

Put major historical events in the correct chronological order.

• 1775: George Washington takes command of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

• 1776: The Continental Congress approves the Declaration of Independence.

• 1781: The Articles of Confederation are adopted.

• 1783: Treaty of Paris signed, Revolutionary War ends.

• 1786-1787: Shays’ Rebellion.

• 1787: Federalists and Anti-Federalists debate during the Constitutional Convention.

• 1788: States ratify the U.S. Constitution.

• 1791: The Bill of Rights, including the amendment protecting freedom of speech, is ratified.