Exam 2: Constructing a Government: The Founding and the Constitution

It is possible that the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia would never have taken place at all if not for a single event that occurred soon after the Annapolis Convention. This event was

Were the Founders motivated primarily by economic interests or moral principles?

Colonial society was made up of conflicting economic and political interests that made British rule possible. The Stamp Act and the Tea Act altered the interests of certain key sectors of colonial society, creating incentives to

Daniel Shays, a former army captain, led a mob in a rebellion against the Massachusetts government in order to

The Antifederalists perceived the danger of tyranny to be posed most severely by

Under the unamended Constitution of 1787, how were U.S. senators selected?

Prior to the Revolutionary War, the British government suffered from high debt and a variety of financial problems. How does its solution to raise revenue through increasing taxes on the colonies illustrate the policy principle?

Delegates from large states, such as Pennsylvania, were able to manipulate the procedures at the Constitutional Convention in order to achieve final adoption of the Virginia Plan with negligible amendment.

No principle was more widely shared among the framers of the American Constitution than the principle espoused by Baron de Montesquieu that

Prior to the Revolutionary War, British policies harmed the economic interests of which two large sectors of colonial society that previously supported British rule?

Among the sectors of society that were important in colonial politics prior to the American Revolution, the more radical forces were represented by

Institutions shape politics. Why did the institutions designed by the Articles of Confederation lead to pressures to draft a new Constitution?

Which branch of government has the power to create inferior (lower) courts, change the jurisdiction of federal courts, add or subtract federal judges, and even change the size of the Supreme Court?

Each branch of the government of the United States is responsible to a different constituency.

Why did the framers decide against a plural executive (two or more presidents) or executive council (presidency-by-committee)?

The Boston Tea Party set into motion a cycle of provocation and retaliation that, in 1774, resulted in the convening of an assembly of delegates from all parts of the colonies called the

Why did the British government impose taxes such as the Stamp Act specifically on the American colonies instead of in England only?

In hindsight, the decision of New England merchants and southern planters to ally with small farmers, shopkeepers, and other pro-independence radicals to defeat the British seems puzzling as the balance of power in post-Revolutionary America shifted in favor of the radicals and threatened the interests of the pre-Revolutionary elite. However, the decision of the merchants and planters to join forces with the radicals may be considered __________ if each group considered the costs and benefits of the decision and speculated about future effects.

During the winter of 1786-1787, John Adams of Massachusetts was sent to negotiate a new treaty with the British to cover disputes left over from the war. The British government responded that it would

In order for Congress to send a small amendment to the Constitution to state legislatures or ratifying conventions for approval, it must pass