overview + origins

Question 1

when did the constitution come about?

Answer 1

1787, effective from 1789

Question 2

what type of constitution does the US have?

Answer 2

codified - all written in one place

Question 3

does the US have separation of powers or fusion of powers?

Answer 3

separation

Question 4

when did the original states declare independence from GB?

Answer 4

1776

Question 5

what event caused the US constitution to be created?

Answer 5

after war of independence with Britain

Question 6

how many states were there originally?

Answer 6

13 on the east

Question 7

what were the articles of federation?

Answer 7

a confederacy (loose association of states in which all almost all political power resides with the individual states)

Question 8

why didn’t the articles of federation work?

Answer 8

because of weak central government, congress had no power

Question 9

what was the Philadelphia convention?

Answer 9

-all 13 states apart from rhode island attended
-aim was to revise the articles of confederation, which they then decided to scrap and so created a new constitution

Question 10

who were the key founding fathers?

Answer 10

-benjamin franklin
-george washington
-john adams
-thomas jefferson
-john jay
-james maddison
-alexander hamilton

Question 11

what does the constitution emphasise?

Answer 11

representative government, not democracy