Deck 2: The American Constitution

Question 1

Louis Marshal described the ________ as the "guiding principle of the freest Government on earth"

A) Constitution
B) Bill of Rights
C) Magna Carta
D) None of these

Answer 1

Constitution

Question 2

A constitution

A) Can be a document or an unwritten set of rules
B) Establishes a legal relationship between leaders and the led
C) Guides the exercise of political authority
D) All of the above

Answer 2

All of the above

Question 3

A constitution consists of ______ essential elements

A) Four
B) Three
C) Five
D) Two

Answer 3

Three

Question 4

The two major historical antecedents to the U.S. Constitution are

A) The Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation
B) The Declaration of Independence and the Magna Carta
C) The Articles of Confederation and the Bill of Rights
D) The Bill of Rights and the Magna Carta

Question 5

The primary author of the Declaration of Independence was

A) Benjamin Franklin
B) John Adams
C) John Hancock
D) Thomas Jefferson

Question 6

The ____________ lays out the foundation of American constitutional theory

A) Magna Carta
B) Declaration of Independence
C) Articles of Confederation
D) Federalist Papers

Question 7

The Articles of Confederation laid out a government with a _______ legislature.

A) Unicameral
B) Bicameral
C) Nonexistent
D) Divided

Question 8

The following were principal features of the national government under the Articles of Confederation EXCEPT:

A) A dominant legislature
B) A weak executive
C) A weak judiciary
D) A dominant judiciary

Question 9

Early state governments and the national governments focused on

A) Strong centralized government
B) Limited centralized government
C) Increased tax revenue
D) Strong political systems based on popular sovereignty

Question 10

Following the Revolutionary War, the United States was

A) Economically and politically vulnerable
B) Economically but not politically vulnerable
C) Politically but not economically vulnerable
D) Not economically or politically vulnerable

Question 11

The group of people who supported the adoption of the Constitution and favored a stronger national government were

A) The Federalists
B) The Anti-Federalists
C) The Constitutionalists
D) The Anti-Constitutionalists

Question 12

The group of people who opposed the ratification of the Constitution and opposed stronger government were

A) The Federalists
B) The Anti-Federalists
C) The Constitutionalists
D) The Anti-Constitutionalists

Question 13

One rational choice argument explaining the adoption of the Constitution is

A) Equality was important to the Founders
B) Patriotism was the key motivating factor for the Founders
C) The Founders were motivated by economic gains
D) The Founders were motivated by contemporary political theory and thought

Question 14

As a group, the __________ were wealthier and better educated.

A) The Federalists
B) The Anti-Federalists
C) The Constitutionalists
D) The Anti-Constitutionalists

Question 15

One event in 1786 that enabled the Federalists to act on their desires for a stronger national government were

A) A meeting in Annapolis, MD that was meant to discuss problems of interstate trade
B) Shays' Rebellion
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 16

The original purpose of the Constitutional Convention was

A) To create a new constitution
B) To revise the Articles of Confederation
C) To make the Declaration of Independence legally binding
D) None of these

Question 17

The Founders

A) Were mostly Anti-Federalists
B) Were not representative of most Americans
C) Were mostly farmers
D) None of these

Question 18

James Madison wrote the __________ as a new proposal for the U.S. government

A) Madisonian Plan
B) Virginia Plan
C) Massachusetts Plan
D) New Jersey Plan

Question 19

The ___________ called for a bicameral legislature with a popularly elected house and an upper house nominated by state legislatures.

A) Connecticut Compromise
B) Virginia Plan
C) New Jersey Plan
D) Massachusetts Plan

Question 20

The Virginia Plan called for a __________ legislature

A) Unicameral
B) Bicameral
C) Unitary
D) Bilateral

Question 21

The ____________ was presented at the Constitutional Convention that called for a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state.

A) The Madisonian Dilemma
B) The Virginia Plan
C) The New Jersey Plan
D) The Connecticut Plan

Question 22

The New Jersey Plan was similar to the ________________.

A) Magna Carta
B) The Bill of Rights
C) Articles of Confederation
D) None of these

Question 23

The _____________ resolved the conflict between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan.

A) Massachusetts Agreement
B) Connecticut Compromise
C) Georgia Compromise
D) New York Plan

Question 24

The ___________ were written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay to support the ratification of the new constitution.

A) Federalist Papers
B) Publius Manifestos
C) Anti-Federalist Papers
D) Political Issues

Question 25

A _________ is a number of citizens who are united by some common passion or interest that is averse to the rights of other citizens or to the permanent interests of the community.

A) Interest group
B) Faction
C) Political party
D) None of these

Question 26

The ______________ is the problem of limiting self-interested individuals who administer stronger governmental powers from using those powers to destroy the freedoms that government is supposed to protect.

A) Jeffersonian Dilemma
B) Hamiltonian Dilemma
C) Madisonian Dilemma
D) Washingtonian Dilemma

Question 27

The Madisonian Dilemma, argued Madison, is best checked by

A) Morality
B) Religion
C) Oligarchy
D) A republican form of government

Question 28

According to Madison, _________ would be achieved through representative form of government with limits on those who hold power.

A) Popular sovereignty
B) Democracy
C) Majority rule
D) Political freedom

Question 29

The U.S. Constitution fragments power through

A) The separation of powers
B) Checks and balances
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 30

______________ is the idea that each branch of the federal government should protect its own rights, but also cooperate with the other branches.

A) Popular sovereignty
B) Division of labor
C) Check and balance
D) Separation

Question 31

A ___________ is the group of people served by an elected official or branch of government.

A) Constituency
B) Voting block
C) Interest group
D) Political party

Question 32

The constitutional division of powers between the national government and the states is known as

A) Confederalism
B) Republicanism
C) Democracy
D) Federalism

Question 33

Mixed government means government should represent

A) Both property and number of people
B) Rural and urban voters
C) State and national interests
D) All people equally

Question 34

Formal amendments to the Constitution require _____ distinct stage(s).

A) Three
B) Four
C) Two
D) One

Question 35

Amendments to the Constitution can be proposed by

A) A two-thirds vote in both Congressional houses
B) At the request of two-thirds of states
C) At the request of 34 of the 50 states
D) All of the above

Question 36

____________ are the freedoms and protections against arbitrary governmental actions given to the people in a democratic society.

A) Civil rights
B) Civil liberties
C) Civil freedoms
D) None of these

Question 37

The Constitution is changed mostly through

A) State-proposed amendments
B) Custom and usage
C) Legislated amendments
D) Presidential power

Question 38

The Constitution contains _________ types of powers.

A) Two
B) Four
C) Five
D) Three

Question 39

The types of powers contained within the Constitution include all of the following EXCEPT

A) Enumerated powers
B) Inherent powers
C) Implied powers
D) Supplemental powers

Question 40

One example of an inherent power is

A) Executive privilege
B) Printing money
C) Raising an army
D) All of these

Question 41

The case establishing the precedent of judicial review is

A) Marbury v Madison
B) Tinker v Des Moines
C) Baker v Carr
D) Chisolm v Georgia

Question 42

There has only been one constitution for the government of the United States.

Question 43

The Declaration of Independence is not legally binding.

Question 44

Religion played a large role in influencing the delegates to the constitutional convention.

Question 45

The Federalist Papers were published under the pseudonym Publius.

Question 46

The U.S. Constitution as a written document was quite innovative at the time.

Question 47

The U.S. Constitution fragments power in three ways.

Question 48

The President has the authority to propose amendments to the Constitution.

Question 49

All proposed Constitutional Amendments have to be ratified within a certain period of time.

Question 50

If scientific theories are neutral, objective explanations of some real-world phenomenon, why is popular reaction to them often normative?

Question 51

Are normative reactions to scientific research the result of the values we associate with the phenomenon being studied, or do you think scientific theories have inherent biases?

Question 52

What are the deficiencies of the current constitution (with amendments)? Why do you view them as deficiencies? How would you correct them? Could they be corrected with a few amendments, or would we need to write a whole new constitution?