[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-344234-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":73,"doc-detail-344234-en":123},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":66,"head_meta":68,"extra_data":70,"updated_unix":72},105,"en","chapter-2-the-constitution-review-and-study-guide","CHAPTER 2 - The Constitution - Review and Study Guide","","Chapter 2 examines the historical setting in which the U.S. Constitution was written and focuses on the colonists’ pursuit of liberties they believed were denied under British rule. It outlines key learning goals, including comparisons between the American and French Revolutions, the concept of higher law and natural rights, and the Declaration of Independence as an argument. The chapter also reviews weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention, competing plans and the Great Compromise, and constitutional principles such as separation of powers and federalism.",{"@graph":14,"@context":65},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/","Exam",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/chapter-2-the-constitution-review-and-study-guide/344234/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/chapter-2-the-constitution-review-and-study-guide/344234.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Seraphina","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-09-22",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"How did the Virginia and New Jersey plans lead to the Great Compromise?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The Virginia Plan proposed a true national government with representation linked to structure, while the New Jersey Plan aimed to amend rather than replace the Articles and protect smaller states. 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After reading and reviewing the material in this chapter, you should be able todo each of the following:  \n1. Compare the American and French Revolutions ofthe same era with respect to the ideals that motivated them.  \n2. Explain the notion of higher law by which the colonists felt they were entitled to certain natural rights. List these rights.  \n3. Discuss the Declaration of Independence as a lawyer’s brief prepared for court argument of a case.  \n4. Compare what the colonists believed was a legitimate basis for government with what monarchies—such as that in Great Britain at the time—believed was a legitimate basis for government.  \n5. List and discuss the shortcomings of government under the Articles of Confederation.  \n6. Discuss the backgrounds ofthe writers of the Constitution, and explain why these men tended tobe rather mistrustful of the notion of democracy.  \n7. Compare and contrast the Virginia and New Jersey plans, and show how they led to the Great Compromise.  \n8. Explain why the separation of powers and federalism became key parts of the Constitution. Hint: the Framers’ intention was not to make the system more democratic, nor was it to make it more efficient.  \n9. Show how James Madison’s notions of human nature played an important role in the framing of the Constitution.  \n10. Explain why the Constitution did not include a bill of rights. Then explain why one was added.  \n11. Explain why the Founders failed to address the question of slavery in a definitive way.  \n12. Discuss whether “women were left out of the Constitution.”  \n13. Summarize Charles Beard’s analysis of the economic motivations ofthe Framers and the counteranalyses of those who disagree with Beard.  \n14. List and explain the two major types of constitutional reform advocated today, along with specific reform measures.  \nSTUDY OUTLINE  \nI. Introduction  \nII. The problem of liberty  \nA. The colonial mind  \n1. Belief that because British politicians were corrupt, the English constitution was inadequate  \n2. Belief in higher law of natural rights  \na) Life  \nb) Liberty  \nc) Property (Jefferson notwithstanding)  \n3. A war of ideology, not economics  \n4. Specific complaints against George III for violating inalienable rights  \nB. The “real” revolution  \n1. The “real” revolution was the radical change in belief about what made authority legitimate and liberties secure  \n2. Government by consent, not by prerogative  \n3. Direct grant of power: written constitution  \n4. Human liberty before government  \n5. Legislature superior to executive branch  \nC. Weaknesses of the Confederation  \n1. Could not levy taxes or regulate commerce  \n2. Sovereignty, independence retained by states  \n3. One vote in Congress for each state  \n4. Nine of thirteen votes in Congress required for any measure  \n5. Delegates picked, paid for by legislatures  \n6. Little money coined by Congress  \n7. Army small; dependent on state militias  \n8. Territorial disputes between states  \n9. No national judicial system  \n10. All thirteen states’ consent necessary for any amendments  \nIII. The Constitutional Convention  \nA. The lessons of experience  \n1. State constitutions  \na) Pennsylvania: too strong, too democratic  \nb) Massachusetts: too weak, less democratic  \n2. Shays’s Rebellion led to the fear the states were about to collapse  \nB. The Framers  \n1. Who came: men of practical affairs  \n2. Who did not come  \n3. Intent to write an entirely new constitution  \n4. Lockean influence  \n5. Doubts that popular consent could guarantee liberty  \n6. Results: “a delicate problem”; need strong government for order but one that would not threaten liberty  \na) Democracy of that day not the solution  \nb) Ar","cbCaijI3HhlONSbi","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijI3HhlONSbi","pdf",146465,25,"English","# Reviewing the Chapter\n## Chapter Focus\n# Study Outline\n## Introduction\n## The problem of liberty\n### The colonial mind\n### The “real” revolution\n### Weaknesses of the Confederation\n## The Constitutional Convention\n### The lessons of experience\n### The Framers\n## The challenge\n### The Virginia Plan\n### The New Jersey Plan\n### The compromise\n## The Constitution and democracy\n### Founders did not intend to create pure democracy\n### Popular rule only one element of the new government\n### Key principles\n### Government and human nature\n### The Constitution and liberty","[{\"question\":\"How did the Virginia and New Jersey plans lead to the Great Compromise?\",\"answer\":\"The Virginia Plan proposed a true national government with representation linked to structure, while the New Jersey Plan aimed to amend rather than replace the Articles and protect smaller states. The compromise reconciled large and small states through the House based on population and a Senate with equal state representation.\"}]","CHAPTER 2 - The Constitution - Review and Study Guide | PDF",1790053271,63]