The early

Question 1

What did the Treaty of Paris (1783) establish, and why was it significant?

Answer 1

• Ended the Revolutionary War
• Britain recognized US independence
• US gained land to the Mississippi.
• Marked the start of the Early Republic but left unresolved tensions (e.g., loyalists, British forts).

Question 2

What major challenges faced the USA after 1783?

Answer 2

• No central government
• heavy war debt to France with no taxation
• divisions between loyalists and patriots

Question 3

Why were the Articles of Confederation ultimately seen as inadequate?

Answer 3

• No power to tax
• no executive or judiciary
• state dominance prevented unity
• Congress couldn’t enforce laws

Question 4

What was the Land Ordinance, and why was it important?

Answer 4

• 1785
• Systematically divided western land into townships for settlement and sale
• creating revenue and encouraging orderly expansion.

Question 5

What caused Shays’ Rebellion and why was it significant?

Answer 5

• Massachusetts farmers in debt rebelled against tax hikes and property seizures.
• Exposed the Confederation’s weakness in handling internal disorder and led to calls for constitutional reform.

Question 6

What was the Northwest Ordinance and when was it?

Answer 6

• 1787
• Framework for admitting new states from western territories
• banned slavery north of the Ohio River
• helped structure national expansion legally and peacefully.

Question 7

What was the purpose of the Philadelphia Convention, and when was it?

Answer 7

• 1787
• To revise the Articles
• but resulted in writing the new US Constitution, creating a stronger federal government with checks and balances.

Question 8

What compromises were made in the 1787 Constitution?

Answer 8

• Great Compromise
• Three-Fifths Compromise
• Electoral College
• continuation of the slave trade until 1808.

Question 9

How was the Constitution ratified despite Anti-Federalist opposition?

Answer 9

• Federalists used persuasive arguments in The Federalist Papers and promised a Bill of Rights to protect individual liberties.

Question 10

Why was George Washington’s presidency (1789) symbolically important?

Answer 10

• He set key precedents for the presidency and helped legitimize the Constitution and federal authority.

Question 11

What was the purpose of the Bill of Rights (ratified in 1791)?

Answer 11

• To safeguard individual liberties and limit federal power, addressing Anti-Federalist concerns.

Question 12

What divisions emerged in the early 1790s under Washington?

Answer 12

• Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans over central government power, economic policy, and foreign alliances.

Question 13

Why was the First Bank of the United States controversial (1791)?

Answer 13

• Hamilton supported it for economic stability
• Jefferson opposed it as unconstitutional and overly centralizing.

Question 14

What was the Whiskey Rebellion and why was it significant?

Answer 14

• Rebellion over excise tax
• Washington suppressed it with troops, showing federal power to enforce law.

Question 15

What was Jay’s Treaty (1795), and why did it cause controversy?

Answer 15

• Resolved some British-American tensions but ignored impressment
• criticized for favouring Britain and deepening party divisions.

Question 16

What did Washington warn about in his 1796 Farewell Address?

Answer 16

Warned against permanent alliances, political parties, and sectionalism to preserve national unity.

Question 17

What defined the Early Republic era (1783–1796)?

Answer 17

• Transition from independence to stable governance
• resolving postwar challenges
• constitutional creation
• establishing federal authority.