Passage 1:
The United States has had two constitutions. The first constitution was called the Articles of
Confederation. It was replaced by a new constitution. The Articles of Confederation lasted between 1776
and 1789. It had many problems. When the Articles of Confederation were being created, everyone was
concerned about a federal government that was too powerful. They did not want to create another
situation where Americans were under a strict government like when Britain ruled the colonies. The
creators of the Articles of Confederation purposefully restricted the power of the federal government and
made it weak. Some major restrictions wouldn’t allow the nation to have a strong federal government.
The articles did give the federal government some power, but it was limited. It could declare war, coin
money, operate post offices, and send ambassadors to other counties. The federal government could not
charge taxes or regulate the trade between the states. It had no control over what the states did between
each other. Each of the states acted as if they were independent countries. This created economic
problems. Many of the states had different money and would place taxes on other states. There was not
an executive or judicial branch.
The Founding Fathers were concerned about how weak the federal government was. They were
nervous about the possibility of American Indian attacks or attacks from European countries. The states
had disagreements on how they should act and where should the state borders be. The federal
government could not maintain any real type of military or roads.
In 1787, the Founding Fathers met to discuss these issues and how to solve the limitations of the
federal government. Many of the states wanted to revise the articles. Others wanted a new constitution.
Many debates and compromises were discussed before the new constitution was ratified. There were
debates about voting rights and population counts. Under the Three-Fifths Compromise, they agreed
that an enslaved person would count as three-fifths of a person in the population count. The Great
Compromise allowed the number of senators in each state to be equal. The representatives would be
based on the state's population.
Georgia had two important roles in the drafting of the new constitution. The Georgia delegates would
not compromise on slavery. The delegates demanded that enslaved people count towards their state's
population. This led to the Three-fifths Compromise, which created a significant division between the
northern and southern states. The second role came from Abraham Baldwin. He stood with the small
states who wanted to have equal representation as large states. His vote was critical in the Great
Compromise.
Abraham Baldwin and William Few Jr. were from Georgia. They were crucial for the development of
the new constitution. Baldwin signed the U.S. Constitution, as well as served in congress as a senator. As
a key person in founding the University of Georgia, he has had a lasting impact on Georgia. William Few
also signed the constitution. He served as a senator, representative, and judge. He later moved to New
York. His remains were returned to Georgia in 1976 for the 200th anniversary of the United States
declaring independence from Britain
Questions:
1. What does the underlined word most likely mean?
a. Central
b. Important
c. Not urgent
d. Indecisive
1. What sentence supports the main idea?
a. The new constitution was created from the weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation.
b. Abraham Baldwin attended Yale.
c. William Few Jr.’s remains were returned to Georgia.
d. There was no executive or judicial branch.
2. Why did the author include the paragraph about Abraham Baldwin and William Few Jr.?
a. To explain the federal government
b. To add more information about the Articles of Confederation
c. To show the reader who the Founding Fathers were
d. To explain how Georgia was involved in the new constitution
3. What is the role of the first sentence of each paragraph?
a. It provides details of the topic.
b. It takes up space on the page.
c. It is an example.
d. It is the topic sentence for a paragraph.
4. Why did the author start the text with this sentence?
a. To show the reader the main idea.
b. To describe the constitution.
c. To explain what the reader will be reading about.
d. There is no reason to start with the sentence.
Abraham Baldwin and William Few Jr. were from Georgia and were crucial for the development of the
new constitution
The United States has had two constitutions.
© Sarah Miller Tech 4
Name:___________________________
Reading Skills Date: _________
First Constitution
Directions: Match the vocabulary term to its definition.
1. _____ Decision that every state would have two senators
and representative based on population
2. _____ Document that discusses the operation and power of
the government
3. _____ Decision that enslaved people could count towards the
population of the states
a. Constitution
b. Three-Fifths Compromise
c. Great Compromise
Directions: Circle the best answer choice based on the passage.
1. What were the two major roles Georgia had in the new constitution?
a. Tariffs and coining money
b. Three-Fifths Compromise and the Articles of Confederation
c. Great Compromise and the Articles of Confederation
d. Three-Fifths Compromise and the Great Compromise
2. What was the first constitution of the United States called?
a. Articles of Confederation
b. Three-Fifths Compromise
c. Great Compromise
d. Founding Fathers
3. When did the Founding Fathers meet to discuss changing the Articles of Confederation?
a. 1891
b. 1879
c. 1787
d. 1776
4. How long were the Articles of Confederation in effect?
a. 1777 - 1976
b. 1879 - 1880
c. 1787 - 1789
d. 1777 - 1789
5. What was the main problem with the Articles of Confederation?
a. The southern states were counting enslaved people for state representation.
b. The federal government was too weak.
c. The federal government was too powerful.
d. The states had too many rights.
6. What two branches of government did the Articles of Confederation not have?
a. Executive and legislative
b. Judicial and executive
c. Education and Judicial
d. Laws and executive
7. How were the states operating under the Articles of Confederation?
a. One large group
b. In two large groups of states
c. In groups of states
d. Like individual countries
8. Why was the Articles of Confederation designed to be so weak?
a. The Founding Fathers were afraid of a strict and unfair federal government.
b. The Founding Fathers were afraid of states having more power than the federal
government.
c. The states were afraid of a strict government.
d. The states wanted to have more freedom.
9. In 2-3 sentences, discuss the weakness of the Articles of Confederation.
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10. In a paragraph, discuss how Georgia contributed to the new constitution.
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__________________________________________________________________________________© Sarah Miller Tech 5
Name:___________________________
Reading Skills Date: _________
First Constitution
Did not want Americans
under strict government
Cause (why) Effect (what happened)
Cause
States operated as an
individual country
Effect
Cause
Revised and created a new
constitution
Effect
Debates about voting
rights and population
counts
Cause Effect
1. a. Central
2. a. The new constitution was created from the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
3. d. To explain how Georgia was involved in the new constitution
4. d. It is the topic sentence for a paragraph.
5. c. To explain what the reader will be reading about.
6. d. Three-Fifths Compromise
7. a. Articles of Confederation
8. c. 1787
9. d. 1777 - 1789
10. b. The federal government was too weak.
11. b. Judicial and executive
12. d. Like individual countries
13. a. The Founding Fathers were afraid of a strict and unfair federal government.
14. The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation included a weak federal government with limited power, inability to charge taxes or regulate trade between states, lack of an executive or judicial branch, and operating independently as individual countries causing economic problems.
15. Georgia contributed to the new constitution by demanding enslaved people to count towards the state's population, leading to the Three-Fifths Compromise, and Abraham Baldwin's vote in the Great Compromise, which allowed for equal representation for small states.