8th Grade Social Studies Checkpoint Assessment Mid-year Study Guide

Chapter 8: Creating the Constitution 1. Articles of Confederation: p. 103 It was the first plan of _____________________________ for the US. It created a ____________________ union between the states and was run by _____________________ Congress could make ___________________ and __________________, raise an __________________ and a ___________________, print __________________ and establish a ________________________ Congress could not impose ___________________________. 2. The Northwest Ordinance: p. 104 It was passed in ______________________ and divided the territory into ________________________. It included a list of ____________________ for settlers and described how the territory could become a ________________________. It banned __________________________. 3. Shay’s Rebellion: p. 105 Shay was a _______________ who was upset about the money shortage. He and a group of farmers closed down ________________________ and seized _____________________________ stored in Springfield. Many people felt this was a sign that the new nation was ______________________________________. The rebellion shocked Congress into calling for a _______________ to revise the Articles of Confederation. 4. The Constitutional Convention: p. 106-114 The delegates to the Constitutional Convention are known as the _________________________________ Representation: The Virginia Plan called for a ________________ national government with ________________ branches.

Congress would be made up of _____________ houses, and the number of representatives from each state depended on its ________________________. Delegates from ___________________________ states liked this plan. The New Jersey plan called for a government with ___________________ branches, but Congress would be made up of only ______________ house. Each state would have an ________________ vote regardless of its size. _______________________________ states liked this plan. Finally, a ____________________ was reached. The framers agreed to a ___________________ House Congress with representation in the H___________________ of R__________________________ being based on ______________________ and representation in the S_____________________ being equal with each state having ______________ Senators. This agreement is now called the ____________________ Compromise. Slavery: The framers also had to decide if slaves were going to be counted as people or _______________________. Delegates from the south wanted slaves counted as _________________________ so they would get more representation in Congress. Delegates from the north wanted the slaves counted as ________________ so they could be taxed. In the ___________-_______________ Compromise, the delegates agreed to count slaves as ______________ of a person for both representation and taxes. Electing a Chief Executive: The framers agreed to a single executive, to be called the _________________________. This person’s power was limited to _____________ years, and a ___________________________ would be elected to fill in if the president __________________ while in office. Some delegates wanted __________________

to appoint the president. Others thought that the _____________ should elect the president. Some wanted the president chosen by a special group of ______________. A compromise was reached by agreeing that a special body called the ___________________ ___________________ would elect the president and vice president. Representatives for this group would be chosen from each state. Chapter 9: The Constitution: A More Perfect Union 1. The Legislative Branch: p. 121-122 Congress is made up of __________ houses---the ________________ of ____________________ and the ___________________. The framers of the Constitution designed Congress to balance the rights of __________________ and __________________ states. Congress’s main job is to make _____________. The president can _________________ any proposed law, but Congress can override it with a __________ majority vote in both houses. The _________________ clause allows Congress to make any laws necessary to carry out it’s other ____________________. 2. The Executive Branch: p. 123-124 The main job of the executive branch is to ____________________________ the laws passed by Congress. The head of the executive branch is the ____________________________. The executive branch gets help carrying out its duties from a variety of departments. The heads of these departments are members of a formal group of advisors called the president’s __________________________. 3. The Judicial Branch: p. 124-125 The Judicial branch consists of the system of _______________________________________ and judges. Its principal responsibility is to protect the _________________________________________________.

Judicial review is the power to decide whether laws and actions by Congress and the president are _____________________________________. 4. Checks and Balances: p. 126 The framers of the Constitution divided the federal government into 3 branches because they wanted to _______________________ the government’s _____________________. This system is called Checks and Balances. The president can ______________ a bill from Congress, but they can override this by a _____________ vote in both houses. The Supreme Court can declare laws, treaties or executive actions to be ______________________________. The president can appoint _______________, ambassadors and cabinet members, but ______________________ must approve them. Even though the Supreme Court can declare laws unconstitutional, the __________________ chooses the judges and _____________________ must approve the appointments. Chapter 10: The Bill of Rights p. 482 Know the 1st 10 Amendments and the rights they protect. 1. 6. 2. 7. 3. 8. 4. 9. 5. 10. Chapter 11: Political Developments in the Early Republic 1. The Whiskey Rebellion: p. 147 After the Revolutionary War the new government faced a shortage of ____________________________.

Congress finally agreed to place a tax on _____________________ and other luxury items, but settlers living in the __________________ protested. Farmers refused to pay the tax. Congress lowered the tax, but a group of rebels in western ___________________________ began to ____________________ and _______________________ the tax collectors who tried to enforce the law. President Washington thought this rebellion was a __________________________ to the ____________________________ of the new government so Washington sent the ________________________ to stop the revolt. 2. Washington’s Farewell Address: p. 148 Two political parties that arose during Washington’s term in office: the ____________________________ and the ______________________________. Before leaving office at the end of his 2nd term, Washington prepared a ___________________________ ___________________________ (message). He reminded Americans they were all bound together as one _______________ and he warned of two _______________ to the country’s future. One was getting involved in ________________________ with other countries and the other was the danger of being too loyal to any particular political _____________________________. 3. Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Party: p. 149-151 Alexander Hamilton was the leader of the ____________________________ party. They believed that people were basically __________________________ and the nation should be ruled by those who were _____________________, ____________________ and __________________-spirited. They wanted a ____________________ national government and felt that the rights of the states were less important than _______________________ power and unity. Hamilton wanted to expand the __________________

and increase the nation’s ______________________ by promoting _________________. Hamilton asked Congress to establish a national ______________________ to help the government collect ____________, and give the nation a stable _________________________. This institution would also make _________________________ to ______________________________. 4. Thomas Jefferson and the Republican Party: p. 152-154 Jefferson was a leader within the __________________________ party. They felt that informed citizens could make ________________ decisions and they had great faith in the wisdom of __________________. Republicans believed the best government was small and had ___________________ power. They insisted on a _______________________ interpretation of the Constitution. They believed in ________________ state governments and an economy based on _____________________________. 5. The Alien and Sedition Acts: p. 155 The _______________________________ in Congress passed four laws called the Alien and Sedition Acts. They said the laws were necessary to protect the nation from ________________________, but they were really intended to make life difficult for ___________________________. The Alien Acts lengthened the time it took for an _______________________ to become a ____________________ with the right to _______________________. Since most ________________________ voted Republican, Jefferson felt this law was an ______________________ on his party. The Alien Acts also allowed the president to _______________________ or _______________________ any aliens who were suspected of causing _____________________________. The Sedition Act made it a crime to encourage _____________________________ against the government.

Hamilton felt this law would punish only those who ________________________________ lies intended to _____________________ the government but instead it was used to punish Republican _______________ ___________________ who insulted President Adams. 6. States’ Rights: p. 156 Republicans thought the Sedition Act was an _________________________________ on the rights of free ______________________ and free ______________________. Jefferson drew up a statement opposing these laws and sent them to state _______________________ for approval. He thought that Congress had gone beyond the Constitution in passing these acts and the states had a duty to __________________ them (declare them to be without _______________________ force). This argument is based on the ______________________ right theory. This idea proposes that states created the _________________ and gave up certain ______________________ but the rights not specifically given to the ________________________ government remains with the ____________________. Of these, one of the most important is the right to __________________ whether the _____________________ government is using its powers ___________________. Chapter 12: Foreign Affairs in the Young Nation 1. President Washington’s Foreign Policy: p. 163 After the Revolutionary War, the army Washington had commanded had gone _________________ and not been replaced because having an army would cost ___________________ and people had learned that an army could be used to _______________________ away their ________________________. The new nation faced threats because it was surrounded by _______________________ powers. President

Washington faced a difficult decision because ______________________ was having a revolution against their king. The US had signed a ____________________ with France and promised to aid them in time of _______________ but Washington knew the US was not prepared for more fighting. Instead he announced a policy of ______________________ _which said the US would do __________________ to help either ________________________ or _____________________ in their war against each other. In his Farewell Address, Washington said the US could gain ____________________ by getting involved in other nations’ ______________________. This policy of avoiding ___________________became known as _______________________________. 2. Impressments and Barbary pirates: p. 166-167 By 1803, ______________________ and _____________________ were again at war. Both nations began seizing American ______________________ that were _______________________ with their ________________________. Britain began ______________________ American sailors to serve in their ______________________. They claimed the men were ________________________________. American ships faced another threat from the __________________________________ States of North ______________________. The pirates seized ______________________________ ships entering the ___________________________ Sea and held the crews for _________________________. Presidents Washington and Adams had both paid ____________________ to the Barbary State _______________ in exchange for the _________________________ of American ships. President Jefferson hated paying _______________________. In 1802 he sent a small fleet of _____________________________ to the __________________________ to protect American shipping. Jefferson also tried to convince _______________________ and _______________________ to leave US Ships along. His efforts _______________________ so he proposed an _______________________ to halt ________________

with these nations in the hopes that it would prove so _____________________ to them that they would leave US ships alone. Instead, many __________________ lost their jobs and ships ________________ at their docks. 3. President Madison and the War of 1812: p. 168-169 President Madison decided to abandon the policy of ______________________. He asked Congress to declare war on __________________ in 1812. A group called the War ______________________ was overjoyed at this decision. They wanted to conquer ______________________________. In 1814, the ________________________ army invaded _____________________________________, burning the _____________________________ and the __________________ ___________________. They also attacked Baltimore and an American lawyer named _______________________________________ wrote about the battle in a poem that later became “The ______________________________________” 4. The Battle of New Orleans: p. 170 New Orleans was being defended by General __________________________ with an army of free _______________________ Americans, __________________________ and pirates. Many more _____________________ soldiers were killed than Americans. The Battle of New Orleans was the _______________________ American victory of the war but it was also ______________________ because diplomats had signed a peace treaty _________weeks before the battle took place. 5. The Monroe Doctrine: p. 171-172 President Monroe made a ______________________ to Congress in 1823 announcing a policy that became known as the _________________________ __________________________. He stated that the nations of _____________________ and _____________________ American were “Not to be considered as subjects for future ________________________ by any __________________ powers.” Europeans thought Monroe’s message was _________________________________ but Americans felt __________________ to see the US stand up for the people of Latin America.

Chapter 13: A Growing Sense of Nationhood 1. American Differences: p. 176-177 A surge of ___________________________ followed the War of 1812 and helped create a new national __________________________. Most Americans looked at their country with ___________________. Two out of every three Americans still lived near the ________________________ coast. Less than 10% of the population lived west of the ______________________________________. Travel was ______________________and ______________________. Regional lifestyles developed which led to _____________________________ of different groups. The ________________________ from the Northeast were seen as ________________________________, thrifty and interested in money. In the ___________________________, the _____________________________ owners were thought to be ____________________________, cultured and ______________________________. _____________________________, who had gone west were considered _________________, hardy and ______________________. Congress wanted to create a sense of _____________________ in the government so they rebuilt the ________________________ and the ____________________ in grand, Stately styles. 2. The Era of Good Feelings: p. 178-179 The new __________________ spirit was reflected in suggestions that the government take a more active role in building the _______________________. Many believed the country’s future lay in _________________________, an economic system in which individuals and ____________________ produce and distribute goods for _________________________. John Marshall was a Supreme Court _____________________ Justice who wrote several important court ___________________________, including Marbury vs Madison that established the policy of Judicial Review. His decisions strengthened the _________________ of the court and ______________________________ power over _____________________. They encouraged the growth of _______________________ by confirming

Congress’s power to create a national ________________ and ruled that business __________________ could not be broken, even by state ____________________. He further limited the ________________ ability to regulate transportation.