Constitution 101 Resources

4.7 Printable Knowledge Check: Constitutional Convention and Ratification

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This activity is part of Module 4: Constitutional Convention and Ratification from the Constitution 101 Curriculum. 

Complete the questions in the following quiz to test your knowledge of basic ideas and concepts covered in this module.

  1. Where did the Constitutional Convention take place, and where was the Constitution signed?
    • The Capitol building, Washington D.C. 
    • Federal Hall, New York City 
    • Independence Hall, Philadelphia 
    • Faneuil Hall, Boston 
  2. The Constitution of the United States begins with which famous words?
    • When in the course of human events
    • Four score and seven years ago
    • We the People of the United States
    • I have a Dream 
  3. Which of these was not one of the crucial compromises reached during the Constitutional Convention?
    • The balance between large and small states
    • Whether to declare independence from England
    • How to elect the president
    • The future of slavery
  4. Which state declined to send representatives to the Convention?
    • Massachusetts
    • Rhode Island
    • Delaware
    • Georgia 
  5. What was true about the backgrounds of the delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention?
    • Most had participated in the Revolutionary War
    • About half of the them were slaveholders 
    • More than half of them were lawyers
    • All of the above
  6. In the debates over representation in Congress, the large states favored the proportional representation of the _____________ while the smaller states favored equal representation proposed by the ______________.
    • Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan
    • New Jersey Plan, Virginia Plan
    • British government, French government 
    • Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence 
  7. Under the terms of the Connecticut Compromise, ______________.
    • Both the House of Representatives and the Senate would be based on equal state representation 
    • Every state would receive the same number of members in the House of Representatives
    • The House of Representatives would be based on proportional representation while the Senate would have equal state representation
    • Connecticut would have the most representatives 
  8. After much debate about how to elect the president of the United States, what system did the delegates agree on?
    • Direct popular vote
    • The president would be chosen by members of Congress
    • People could only vote for a candidate from their state
    • The Electoral College
  9. During the debates about the presidency, some delegates, like Alexander Hamilton, wanted a ____________ while others, like Roger Sherman, wanted a __________.
    • weak executive, strong executive
    • weak executive, king
    • strong executive, king
    • strong executive, weak executive
  10. When it came to drawing up congressional districts based on each state’s population, it was decided that enslaved persons ______________.
    • would be counted as whole persons
    • would be counted as three-fifths of a person 
    • would only be counted in the northern states 
    • would not be counted at all
  11. What did the Slave Trade Clause in the Constitution do?
    • Mentioned slavery by name
    • Banned the slave trade immediately but allowed for the continuation of slavery
    • Banned Congress from interferring with the slave trade until 1808
    • Abolished slavery in the northern states 
  12. As the Convention drew to a close, Benjamin Franklin remarked that, although there were several parts of the Constitution that he did not approve of, ______________.
    • He encouraged his fellow delegates to sign the Constitution anyway
    • He would refuse to sign until those parts were removed 
    • He wasn’t sure that he would never approve of them 
    • Both A and C
  13. What was needed for the Constitution to become the law of the land? 
    • The people of at least nine states had to ratify it.
    • All of the delegates had to sign it on September 17, 1787.
    • The president had to agree to serve only two terms. 
    • Countries in Europe, especially Britain and France, had to recognize it.
  14. Which of these famous founders refused to sign the Constitution?
    • George Mason
    • Alexander Hamilton
    • James Madison 
    • George Washington 
  15. Why did three of the delegates refuse to sign the Constitution on September 17, 1787?
    • They had already left Philadelphia for their home states. 
    • They thought it was too long. 
    • It didn’t include a Bill of Rights. 
    • They had wanted an American king.
  16. What was true about the Constitutional Convention?
    • It was a very open forum where everyone could listen. 
    • Newspapers filed weekly reports that kept people aware of the debates.
    • The delegates would discuss each day’s proceedings with citizens at dinner.
    • The deliberations were kept secret from the public.
  17. What was Franklin’s reply when asked what type of government the delegates had created?
    • A monarchy
    • A democracy 
    • A republic, if you can keep it
    • This will never work 
  18. Those who were opposed to the ratification of the Constitution were known as ______________.
    • Loyalists 
    • Federalists
    • Anti-Federalists
    • Whigs
  19. Which of these famous founders was not present at the Constitutional Convention?
    • George Washington
    • John Adams 
    • Thomas Jefferson
    • Both B and C
  20. The first state to ratify the Constitution—by unanimous vote—on December 7, 1787, was __________.
    • Pennsylvania 
    • Delaware
    • Virginia
    • North Carolina

Answer Key: C, C, B, B, D, A, C, D, D, B, C, D, A, A, C, D, C, C, D, B

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