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Grade 6Founding Fathers

Founding Fathers: Independence and the Constitution

Grade 6 worksheet analyzing what Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Madison, and Hamilton each contributed to American independence and the Constitution.

18 questions · Matching · Multiple choice · Fill in the blank · Short answer · Analysis

The six men examined in this worksheet — Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Madison, and Hamilton — did not share a single vision for the republic they helped create. Their agreements and disagreements produced some of the most consequential documents in American history: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers. Grade 6 students working through this sheet will move from matching each figure to his primary contribution to analyzing the ideological divisions that shaped the early republic. The worksheet pairs well with primary-source excerpts from the Federalist Papers or the Declaration and is designed to generate discussion about sovereignty, federal power, and the enduring tension between executive authority and individual liberty.

Founding Fathers: Independence and the Constitution — Grade 6

This worksheet asks you to match, analyze, and explain the contributions of six key Founding Fathers to American independence and the Constitution.

Remember

  • The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in 1787, where delegates drafted a new framework for government.
  • The Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776, drew on Enlightenment ideas about natural rights and sovereignty.
  • The Federalist Papers, written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay under the pen name Publius, argued for ratifying the Constitution.

Part A — Match each Founding Father to their primary contribution

Draw a line or write the letter of the matching contribution next to each Founding Father's name.

Choose from

  • A. Primary drafter of the Constitution, known as the Father of the Constitution
  • B. Negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris and served as U.S. Minister to France
  • C. First Secretary of the Treasury, who proposed a national banking system for the new republic
  • D. Commanding general of the Continental Army and first President of the United States
  • E. Principal author of the Declaration of Independence, adopted in 1776
  1. 1.

    George Washington

  2. 2.

    Thomas Jefferson

  3. 3.

    Benjamin Franklin

  4. 4.

    James Madison

  5. 5.

    Alexander Hamilton

Part B — Choose the best answer to each question

Circle the letter of the best answer to each question.

  1. 6.

    The Federalist Papers were written primarily to persuade the voters of which state to ratify the Constitution?

    1. A.New York
    2. B.Virginia
    3. C.Pennsylvania
    4. D.Massachusetts
  2. 7.

    Which Founding Father presided over the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787?

    1. A.George Washington
    2. B.Benjamin Franklin
    3. C.James Madison
    4. D.John Adams
  3. 8.

    Hamilton's plan as Secretary of the Treasury included assuming state war debts. What was the primary goal of this policy?

    1. A.Establish the creditworthiness and financial stability of the new federal government
    2. B.Punish states that had not contributed enough soldiers to the Continental Army
    3. C.Fund a permanent standing army to defend the western frontier
    4. D.Pay reparations to Loyalists who had fled to Canada during the Revolution
  4. 9.

    How did Madison's Virginia Plan differ from the Articles of Confederation in its approach to national government?

    1. A.A stronger national government with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches
    2. B.A loose confederation of independent states with no central executive authority
    3. C.A monarchy with a president elected to serve for life by state legislatures
    4. D.Equal representation in Congress for all states regardless of population
  5. 10.

    Benjamin Franklin's diplomatic work in France was significant primarily because it achieved what outcome?

    1. A.France provided military and financial support that proved essential to American victory
    2. B.France agreed to cede its Canadian territories to the new United States
    3. C.France supplied diplomatic recognition but refused to send military forces
    4. D.France negotiated directly with Britain on behalf of the American colonies

Part C — Fill in the blank to complete each statement

Write the word or phrase that correctly completes each statement.

  1. 11.

    Jefferson argued that governments derive their just powers from the ____ of the governed.

  2. 12.

    Franklin's diplomacy in Paris helped the United States secure a military ____ with France in 1778.

  3. 13.

    Hamilton, as the first Secretary of the ____, proposed a national bank to stabilize American finances.

  4. 14.

    Madison proposed the Virginia Plan, which called for a strong ____ government with three branches.

  5. 15.

    Washington's decision to leave office after two terms established a precedent limiting executive ____.

Part D — Answer each question in two to three sentences

Answer each question in two to three complete sentences, using evidence and reasoning to support your answer.

  1. 16.

    Why did the Framers build a system of checks and balances into the Constitution, and which debates at the Convention shaped that decision?

  2. 17.

    Compare Hamilton's and Jefferson's views on federal power. How did this disagreement shape early American political parties?

  3. 18.

    Explain how Washington's service as commanding general and then as first President each helped establish the new republic's stability.

Answer key

Part A — Match each Founding Father to their primary contribution

  1. 1.Commanding general of the Continental Army and first President of the United States
  2. 2.Principal author of the Declaration of Independence, adopted in 1776
  3. 3.Negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris and served as U.S. Minister to France
  4. 4.Primary drafter of the Constitution, known as the Father of the Constitution
  5. 5.First Secretary of the Treasury, who proposed a national banking system for the new republic

Part B — Choose the best answer to each question

  1. 6.New York
  2. 7.George Washington
  3. 8.Establish the creditworthiness and financial stability of the new federal government
  4. 9.A stronger national government with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches
  5. 10.France provided military and financial support that proved essential to American victory

Part C — Fill in the blank to complete each statement

  1. 11.consent
  2. 12.alliance
  3. 13.Treasury
  4. 14.federal
  5. 15.power

Part D — Answer each question in two to three sentences

  1. 16.Example: The Framers designed checks and balances because they feared that concentrating power in one branch would lead to tyranny, as their experience under British rule had shown. Madison argued that dividing authority among legislative, executive, and judicial branches would force each branch to limit the others. Debates at the Convention over the relative power of Congress and the President directly shaped this three-branch structure.
  2. 17.Example: Hamilton believed the federal government should have broad powers, including the authority to create a national bank and regulate commerce, in order to build a stable national economy. Jefferson argued that the Constitution gave the federal government only the powers specifically listed, and that all remaining authority should belong to the states. Their disagreement led to the formation of the Federalists, who followed Hamilton, and the Democratic-Republicans, who followed Jefferson.
  3. 18.Example: As commanding general, Washington held the Continental Army together through years of hardship, building the discipline needed to defeat the British at Yorktown in 1781. As President, he established important precedents, including forming a Cabinet of advisers, maintaining neutrality in European conflicts, and stepping down voluntarily after two terms. Both roles demonstrated that a republican leader could exercise great authority while still respecting constitutional limits.

What this sheet teaches

  • Identify each Founding Father's specific contribution to independence or the Constitution.
  • Compare the political philosophies of Hamilton and Jefferson regarding federal power.
  • Explain how the structure of the Constitution reflects Enlightenment ideas about governance.

Notes for the adult

  • Students often credit Jefferson with founding the Constitution; clarify that Madison drafted most of it at the Convention.
  • Show students the Virginia Plan alongside the final Constitution to illustrate Madison's specific structural contributions.
  • A student is ready to move on when they can explain, without prompting, why Hamilton and Jefferson founded opposing parties.

What is on the page

Printed on one side, Founding Fathers: Independence and the Constitution runs to four parts and 18 exercises. Matching, multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank and short-answer work, in that order, so a student who has understood the material has to show it in more than one form before the page is finished.

Part A Match each Founding Father to their primary contribution sets five items against five lettered options, one lettered option per item, which means the last pair can be reached by elimination. Part B Choose the best answer to each question asks five multiple-choice questions with four printed options each. Part C Fill in the blank to complete each statement gives five sentences with a blank each and no word bank, so the wording has to come from the student. Part D Answer each question in two to three sentences is three short-answer questions with nine ruled lines between them, which is the part of the sheet that takes the longest.

Nine ruled lines are printed for written answers on Founding Fathers: Independence and the Constitution, which decides how long it takes more than the question count does. The answer key prints on its own page at the end, so the sheet can be handed out without it.

What it asks of the student

Founding Fathers: Independence and the Constitution puts about 542 words of reading in front of the student — the fact box, the directions, every question, and every printed option. That is the number worth checking against a class before it goes out, because a sheet that is pitched right on the history and wrong on the reading fails for the same child either way. The longest single prompt on it runs to 23 words.

Writing runs the other way on Founding Fathers: Independence and the Constitution: nine ruled lines for three of the 18 exercises, and the full answer key comes to 308 words. Everything else is answered in a blank, in a box, or on the map itself, which is why the sheet takes a lesson rather than a homework slot.

Where this one sits

Founding Fathers: Independence and the Constitution is one of ten US History: Key Figures sheets on this site and one of 16 written for grade 6. two of them share its topic, founding fathers, which is worth knowing before printing two that overlap.

The closest things to it are Early US Presidents Worksheet (grade 4) and Civil Rights Leaders and Their Impact (grade 5). If Founding Fathers: Independence and the Constitution lands well, those are the ones to reach for next; if it lands badly, the analysis sheets a grade either side are usually the adjustment rather than a different topic altogether.

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Founding Fathers at other grades

This sheet: Grade 6, 18 questions — matching, multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer. The same topic is also written for:

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