This activity is part of Module 3: Road to the Convention from the Constitution 101 Curriculum.
In this activity, you will learn more about the ideas and events that led to the Constitutional Convention. With the Constitutional Convention, the Founding generation set out to build a new national government that combined strength, restraint, and deliberation.
Watch the video about the events leading up to the Constitutional Convention.
After you have watched the video, answer the questions below:
- What were some of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation? Were there any that you did not think of before? If so, circle them.
- What did the Founding generation learn from the revolutionary-era state constitutions?
- What were the key causes of Shays’ Rebellion?
- What did the Founding generation learn from Shays’ Rebellion?
- What did James Madison frame as the central evil the Constitution should counteract? How did he think that the new Constitution might address it?
