Constitutional Underpinnings

1. How did the Enlightenment and American Revolution change the way people viewed their relationship to their rulers?

2. What were the two main compromises of the Constitutional Convention and how did they affect the government?

3. What is the purpose of the Preamble?

4. What is a federal system of government and why did the Framers choose to design a federal system of government for the United States?

1. The Enlightenment brought new political concepts such as citizenship, natural rights, nation and consent to the political life of the eighteenth century. These ideas were very influential in the development of the United States. The Revolutionary War and the beginning of the nation reexamined ideas of democratic rule, and questioned the concept of rulers as being mandated by God. Instead, it stated that government ruled as a result of a contract with the people, with whom sovereignty resides.

2. The Connecticut Compromise and the Three-Fifths Compromise. The Connecticut Compromise was a way to bring together the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. Its main contribution was to outline how the Senate was to be constituted. The Three-Fifths Compromise, on the other hand, dealt with the issue of whether slaves were to be counted as population for the purposes of representation of the states in Congress. It stated that three out of every five slaves were to be counted as a person for this purpose.

3. The preamble of the U. S. Constitution states the purposes and principles that guide the document. It also serves as an opening statement and introduction.

4. A federal system is one that divides the power of the nation between the national (federal) government and the local government (states). It was adopted by the U. S. because of the country's origin, as it was seen as a way to maintain some independence between the thirteen colonies. It was also chosen because of the system's ability to cater to specific regional needs in large and diverse countries.