Download Objective 4 Handout

8th Grade American History
TAKS Success Camp
Objective 4: Political Influences
Objective 4 Handout
1. A _________________________ ________________________ is a
government where the people choose/elect individuals to make and enforce
laws on their behalf.
2. Growth of Representative Government in the American Colonies
 The Magna Carta, 1215 and the English Bill of Rights, 1689, limited the power of
the British King and granted some rights to the English people
 Many colonists came in search of religious freedom
 The Enlightenment encouraged the use of reason to improve society and
government
 Colonists were use to British government, where an elected legislature made laws
 Because of the distance between Britain and the colonies, a system of selfgovernment was established
3. Colonial Government
 Most colonies established their own ______________________
____________________________ ________________________
 Most colonies had a Royal Governor who _________________
____________________ with the colonial assemblies
 ________________________________________________, 1619:
First elected legislature in the colonies
 ________________________________________________, 1620:
Agreement signed by the Pilgrims that created a government based on
majority rule
4. What did John Locke consider to be natural rights?
What is a synonym for natural rights?
5. The Declaration of Independence
Announced independence from _________________
________________
Established the United States as a ___________________
Equality
Unalienable Rights
Consent of the Governed
8th Grade American History
TAKS Success Camp
Objective 4: Political Influences
Objective 4 Handout
6. Articles of Confederation: America’s First Plan of Government
The colonist’s feared a
The Articles of Confederation created a
strong national
government because of
_________________________________
the abuses of the British
King and Parliament
with ____________________________




No power to tax or raise money
No power to regulate trade
No power to raise an army
Difficult to amend
_______________________________
7. Constitutional Convention, 1787
Also known as ________________________________________________________
Purpose: ____________________________________________________________
Created a new plan of government: U.S. Constitution
Established a government divided into three branches:
Legislative Branch 
Executive Branch 
Judicial Branch 
8. Compare Articles of Confederation and U.S. Constitution
Articles of Confederation
U.S. Constitution
One house Congress
No Executive Branch
Executive Branch headed by President
No Judicial Branch
Judicial Branch headed by Supreme Court
Each state issues its own money
Only states can pass taxes
Congress and states can pass taxes
Objective 4 Handout
8th Grade American History
TAKS Success Camp
Objective 4: Political Influences
9. Principles of U.S. Constitution (list the principle in the first column)
A government receives its authority to rule from the people
Powers of the government are limited to those given to it by the
people
A form of government where the people rule through elected
representatives
Division of power between state governments and the national or
federal government
The division of the national government into three branches –
legislative, executive, and judicial
Rights that the government must protect
Ability to check, or control, the
power of the other branches
Purpose: keep any one branch from
becoming too powerful
EXAMPLE:
-Congress passes laws
-The President can veto a law
-Supreme Court can rule that a
law is unconstitutional
10. The Ratification Debate (Ratify means to approve)
Federalists
Anti-Federalists
_____________________ the Constitution
____________________ the Constitution
They thought a STRONG national government would
protect the people and improve the economy
They wanted state governments to have more
power because they feared a strong central
government would lead to abuse of power
Leaders: Alexander Hamilton and James Madison
Wrote The Federalist Papers to explain the benefits of
the new Constitution
Leaders: Patrick Henry and George Mason
The Bill of Rights
An agreement was made to add a Bill of Rights to the Constitution that would
_____________________________________________________________
Objective 4 Handout
8th Grade American History
TAKS Success Camp
Objective 4: Political Influences
11. The Bill of Rights (complete the phrase)
First
Freedom of
Second
Right to
Third
No quartering of
Fourth
Protection against unreasonable
Fifth
Rights of the accused; right not to testify against
Sixth
Right to speedy
Seventh
Right to jury trial in
Eighth
Protection against cruel and unusual
Ninth
Rights reserved for the
Tenth
Rights reserved for the
12. How the Bill of Rights Addressed Grievances from the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence
Bill of Rights
Illegal quartering of troops (Quartering Act)
Depriving colonists of the right to a jury trial
13. Amending the Constitution
Portion required to
Portion required to
PROPOSE an amendment:
RATIFY an amendment:
14. Landmark Supreme Court Cases
Marbury v. Madison
Established Judicial Review
EFFECT 
Why do you think so many states have
to vote yes before an amendment is
passed and added to the Constitution?
Dred Scot v. Sandford
Ruled that African Americans were not citizens
EFFECT 
15. Political Controversy: Slavery
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In 1860, Abraham Lincoln ran for president as a Republican
He did not want slavery to exist in any new territory
Southerners feared that he would abolish slavery
After he won the election, southern states seceded from the Union and created the Confederacy
RESULT 
16. Reconstruction Amendments
13th Amendment
14th Amendment
15th Amendment