Key People

Question 1

John Adams

Answer 1

Founding Father and proponent of bicaremal legislature, Adams defended the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre and later served as the 2nd president of the United States, where he made his midnight appointments that were the basis of the Marbury v Madison

Question 2

James Madison

Answer 2

Fourth President of the United States and Founding Father, Madison is often called the “Father of the Constitution” He co-authored The Federalist with Hamilton and Jay, and helped Jefferson create the Democratic-Republican party

Question 3

James Wilson

Answer 3

A primary framer of the Constitution, Wilson proposed the three-fifths compromise for slave representation and election of the President by the people. He was also key in Pennsylvania’s ratification

Question 4

Roger Sherman

Answer 4

Connecticut delegate to the CC, Sherman proposed the great compromise of one of the legislative house having proportional representation while the other had equal representation

Question 5

Gouverneur Morris

Answer 5

Pennsylvania representative at the Constitutional Convention, Morris is credited with authoring large sections of the constitution, including the Preamble

Question 6

Charles Pinckney

Answer 6

A south Carolina representative to the Constitutional Convention, Pinckney was a strong promoter of federalism and helped persuade ratification of the Constitution in South Carolina

Question 7

William Paterson

Answer 7

New Jersey representative at the CC who presented the New Jersey Plan, which gave equal representation to states regardless of states size or population

Question 8

George Mason

Answer 8

Virginia delegate to the Constitutional Convention, Mason refused to sign the Constitution because it did not contain a declaration of rights

Question 9

George Washington

Answer 9

Known as the “Father of his country,” He led the Continental Army to victory during the Revolutionary War, presided over the Constitutional Convention, and was elected as the first President

Question 10

Benjamin Franklin

Answer 10

A Founding Father, who was also a leading printer, scientist, inventor, and diplomat. He helped secure France as an ally for Revolutionarm

Question 11

Edmund Randolph

Answer 11

Governor of Virginia and delegate to the CC, he refused to sign the Constitution in Philadelphia, but later was instrumental to persuading Virginia leadership to ratify it.

Question 12

Samuel Adams

Answer 12

Second cousin to John Adams, he was a Massachusetts statesman and organizer of the Boston tea party. Adams served in the CC and signed the Deceleration of Independence, but was opposed to a strong federal government.

Question 13

Patrick Henry

Answer 13

Best know for his speech “Give me liberty, or give me death” in the Virginia house of Burgesses, Henry was an Anti- federalist who pushed for a bill of rights to be added to the constitution.

Question 14

Alexander Hamilton

Answer 14

Served as the first Secretary of the Treasury under Washington and started the Federalist party. Also co authored The Federalist and wanted a strong Federal

Question 15

John Jay

Answer 15

A Founding Father, served as President of the Continental Congress, co-wrote The Federalist and served as the first chief justice of the supreme court

Question 16

William Marbury

Answer 16

A “Midnight Appointment” by John Adams, Marbury sued secretary of state James Madison for delivery of his commission, which was being withheld by order of President Jefferson

Question 17

Thomas Jefferson

Answer 17

Third President of the United States, Jefferson was the principal author of the Deceleration of Independence and an influential Founding Father. He founded the Democratic-Republican Party and promoted the idea of a small federal government.

Question 18

John Marshall

Answer 18

Fourth Chief Justice of the US, he ruled that writs of mandamus were unconstitutional in the case of Marbury v Madison, thereby establishing a precedent of judicial review

Question 19

Andrew Jackson

Answer 19

The seventh President of the United States, Jackson championed the US as a democracy, pushing for more political involvement by the common man. He also vetoed the US Banks charter and made other reforms to keep the federal government small.

Question 20

Robert E. Lee

Answer 20

Confederate general and commander of the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War. After surrendering at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, lee urged reconciliation with the North.

Question 21

George B. McClellan

Answer 21

Union general during the Civil War. Although he helped raise and train the Union Army as general-in-chief, McClellan failed to press his advantage at the Battle of Antietam, and was later relieved of his command by President Lincoln

Question 22

Abraham Lincoln

Answer 22

16th president, he sought to end slavery and preserve the Union. He signed the Emancipation Proclamation and delivered his famous “Gettysburg Address.”

Question 23

Stephen A. Douglas

Answer 23

An Illinois statesman who ran against Lincoln, Bell, and Breckinridge in the 1860 presidential election on a popular sovereignty platform for slavery, Douglas also authored the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri compromise and heightened the slavery debate.

Question 24

Chief Justice Roger B. Taney

Answer 24

Fifth Chief Justice, he ruled in the Dred Scott V Sanford that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.

Question 25

Dred Scott

Answer 25

Slave who sued unsuccessfully for his freedom in 1857 because he had lived with his owner in several states where slavery was illegal. The ruling of Dred Scott V Sanford determined that slaves were property and could not be freed by state laws. The ruling essentially nullified the Missouri Compromise and was a major factor contributing to the Civil War.

Question 26

John Breckinridge

Answer 26

A Senator from Kentucky and the 14th vice president, ran against Lincoln, Bell, and Douglas, in 1860 on an extreme pro slavery platform

Question 27

John Bell

Answer 27

A wealthy slave owner from Tennessee who served in both the house and the senate, and ran for president against Lincoln, Douglas, and Brekinridge in 1860 with the Constitutional Union Party on a moderate pro slavery platform