Deck 1: Constitutional Origins

Question 1

The __________ served as the first US constitution.

A) Declaration of Independence
B) Rights of Man
C) Articles of Confederation
D) Declaration of Sentiments

Answer 1

Articles of Confederation

Question 2

The first constitution of the United States created a __________ of independent states.

A) confederation
B) federation
C) junto
D) consortium

Answer 2

confederation

Question 3

The Articles of Confederation functioned from __________.

A) 1770?1778
B) 1781?1789
C) 1789?1795
D) 1795?1807

Answer 3

1781?1789

Question 4

Which of the following, when ratified, led to British recognition of US independence?

A) Declaration of Independence
B) Treaty of Paris
C) Masstricht Treaty
D) Federalist Papers

Question 5

How many men served one-year terms under the Articles of Confederation?

A) three
B) five
C) eight
D) eleven

Question 6

Which institution had the most power under the Articles of Confederation?

A) Continental Congress
B) presidency
C) Supreme Court
D) executive cabinet

Question 7

In the early days, under the Articles of Confederation, Congress attempted to formalize executive decision making by delegating power to the __________.

A) cabinet
B) federal bureaucracy
C) state legislatures
D) committees

Question 8

Of the following, what did the Articles of Confederation emphasize the most?

A) national military power
B) state sovereignty
C) judicial review
D) direct democracy

Question 9

The four executive departments authorized by the Confederation Congress in 1781 were __________.

A) subordinate to the state governors
B) completely independent of Congress
C) dominated by the early presidents
D) entirely subsidiary divisions of Congress

Question 10

The fear of __________ accounts for the decision to limit executive authority under the Articles of Confederation.

A) monarchical power
B) domestic insurrection
C) majority tyranny
D) bureaucratic discretion

Question 11

Shays' Rebellion illustrated what weakness of the Articles of Confederation?

A) The national governing institutions were incapable of creating virtuous laws and citizens.
B) The Confederation Congress had no incentive to care about the pressing concerns of the states.
C) Government institutions at the state level needed a strong national infrastructure to make them effective.
D) The broad powers given to the national government sparked rebellion against national tyranny.

Question 12

Which characteristic of the federal government led to its failures under the Articles of Confederation?

A) weak and purely legislative functions of Congress
B) incompetence of the elected leaders
C) lack of experience in governing on the part of elected leaders
D) decentralized structure of the executive branch

Question 13

Given Shays' Rebellion, what set of reforms seemed most necessary to prevent a collapse of the national government?

A) a grant of executive authority to the committees formed by the Confederation Congress
B) a merging of legislative and executive authority in the Confederation Congress
C) a complete rewriting of state constitutions to expand the power of the states to compel congressional action
D) a separation of the executive, legislative, and judicial functions at the national level of government

Question 14

You are a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. A core question for debate that will demand your attention is how to __________.

A) create a vigorous executive within in republican government
B) constrain the powers of the Confederation Congress
C) strengthen the role of the states in the federal framework
D) combine legislative and executive functions within a single branch of government

Question 15

What factors combined to lead to a rapid change in position on revising the Articles of Confederation?

A) statements made by state governors and populist sentiments evidenced by Shays' Rebellion
B) the belief that local fates could be separated from national interests and secessionist movements in the southern states
C) the failure of the Confederation Congress to adopt moderate proposals for amending the Articles and statements by national political figures
D) pressure from the Confederation Congress for a national constitutional convention and statements made by American military leaders

Question 16

__________ is the number of members of an assembly that is needed for a binding vote to occur.

A) Quorum
B) Per curium
C) Pro tempore
D) Consortium

Question 17

Of the thirteen states, how many sent delegates to the 1787 Philadelphia convention?

A) ten
B) eleven
C) twelve
D) thirteen

Question 18

What was the one issue on which all the delegates in attendance at the 1787 Philadelphia convention agreed?

A) It was not necessary to create new powers for the national government.
B) Major changes to the national government were necessary to save the United States from collapse.
C) The Articles of Confederation needed minor revisions to more directly empower the states.
D) The United States should move to a unitary system of government similar to that of France.

Question 19

Who offered the most robust defense of a strong national government?

A) Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
B) Jonathon Dayton
C) William R. Davie
D) Alexander Hamilton

Question 20

According to historian Jack Rakove, the nearest thing to a first principle among the delegates to the Constitutional Convention was the need for the __________ to be able to resist __________ encroachments.

A) executive; legislative
B) legislature; judicial
C) judiciary; executive
D) state executives; national executive

Question 21

In which of the The Federalist Papers did Hamilton argue that a feeble executive would lead to a feeble government?

A) Federalist 10
B) Federalist 51
C) Federalist 70
D) Federalist 82

Question 22

If you were an advocate of the strongest possible presidency at the Constitutional Convention, you would have endorsed the __________ Plan.

A) Virginia
B) New Jersey
C) British
D) Connecticut

Question 23

If you were in attendance at the Constitutional Convention and supported having more than one person occupying the office of the presidency, you would have advocated for the __________ Plan.

A) British
B) New Jersey
C) Virginia
D) Madison

Question 24

The two imperatives that structured the creation of the American presidency at the Constitutional Convention were a deep distrust of __________ and the __________.

A) concentrated power; need for effective, energetic governance
B) federal systems of power; need for laissez-faire governance
C) indirect election of executive officials; desire for parliamentary style governance
D) majority rule; need for deliberative, slow governance

Question 25

Of the following principles articulated by Madison in Federalist 51 regarding the presidency, which is considered to be the most important?

A) Each branch of government should as much as possible retain control over its own officials.
B) Each branch of government should be given the means to prevent encroachments by the other branches.
C) Each branch of government should equally share powers given to it under the new constitutional order.
D) Compensation for members of each branch of government should depend as little as possible on the discretion of the other branches.

Question 26

Under the new Constitution, the independence of the presidency would be achieved through __________.

A) elections
B) Congress
C) the courts
D) the state legislatures

Question 27

Which restriction was placed on the presidency under the new Constitution?

A) Final veto authority would rest within a council selected by Congress.
B) Congress had the authority to overturn a decision of the Electoral College.
C) The president's salary could never exceed that of either house of Congress.
D) No person could simultaneously serve as both president and a member of Congress.

Question 28

The purpose of having compensation for members of each branch of government depend as little as possible on what the members of other branches receive was the creation of a(n) __________ executive.

A) dominant
B) subordinate
C) democratic
D) independent

Question 29

The phrase "checks and balances" refers to a system of government in which __________.

A) power is shared equally among all the branches of government to prevent excessive democracy
B) the legislature exercises oversight over the court system to guard against the dangers of populism
C) specific powers are granted to each branch of government to guard against the encroachment of the others
D) the legislature retains the majority

Question 30

Which of the following is an exclusive power of the president?

A) to negotiate treaties
B) to grant pardons
C) to appoint justices
D) to appoint ambassadors

Question 31

If you were attending the Constitutional Convention and had fears of making the executive too powerful, you would have supported a __________ executive.

A) plural
B) unitary
C) populist
D) singular

Question 32

If you were opposed to the idea of a plural executive at the Constitutional Convention, to which of the following would you have pointed as an example of the weaknesses of that system?

A) Virginia state constitution
B) Articles of Confederation
C) British monarchy
D) French Republic

Question 33

The development of the Electoral College illustrates what concern held by the Framers?

A) that citizens would be unable to resist demagogic appeals by national candidates for office
B) that citizens would be too slow and deliberate to make an efficient election decision
C) that candidates would not be qualified or effectively vetted before running for office
D) that candidates would not have a viable election strategy when they declared their candidacy for office

Question 34

Deliberations for the structure of the American presidency were based on what consideration?

A) a legal-historical analysis of the needs of the office
B) the belief that George Washington would be the first president
C) recognition of the need to think individually, not institutionally
D) the commitment to preserving the office as it was under the Articles of Confederation

Question 35

The method of selecting the president and the vice president of the United States is known as the __________.

A) Election Council
B) Electoral Committee
C) Electoral College
D) Election Commission

Question 36

The Electoral College addressed the tensions that existed between small and large states in the new republic by __________.

A) requiring that vice presidential candidates be selected from states with small populations to ensure balance in presidential elections
B) giving the largest states a much larger share of the votes, thus reaffirming the core principles embedded in American federalism
C) granting the smallest state the power to break any ties in the Electoral College to keep the small states content with the existing balance of power
D) offering a disproportionately large share of electors to small states to increase their influence in the election process

Question 37

What is an effect of how the Constitution structures the administration of the franchise?

A) There is a single national standard that guarantees suffrage rights for all citizens.
B) States are allowed considerable latitude in the administration of the franchise that allows for great variation in how voting occurs.
C) Congress retains sole authority for the administration of elections, guaranteeing that there are never ties in presidential elections.
D) There are no explicit references to suffrage in the Constitution that could create ambiguity and confusion in close electoral contests.

Question 38

As a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, if you were worried about uninformed voters influencing electoral outcomes, which proposal would you have supported?

A) direct election of the president by citizens in a single election
B) election of the president through a series of small town hall meetings
C) selection of the president by workers councils in a series of meetings
D) indirect election of the president by the Electoral College

Question 39

What is the defining characteristic of the language of Article II with respect to the most important enumerated powers of the presidency?

A) complexity
B) simplicity
C) precision
D) vagueness

Question 40

The Article II provision asserting that executive power is entrusted exclusively to the presidency is known as the __________ clause.

A) vesting
B) exclusive executive
C) faithful execution
D) take-care

Question 41

Where in the Constitution would you find the vesting clause?

A) Article I
B) Article II
C) Article III
D) Article IV

Question 42

The __________ clause ensures that the president faithfully executes the laws.

A) faithful execution
B) vesting
C) exclusive executive
D) take-care

Question 43

In which area of presidential power is the language of Article II most specific?

A) presidential war-making
B) election of the president and vice president
C) implementation of the laws
D) presidential emergency powers

Question 44

Which of the following is an example of constitutional ambiguity surrounding the institutional presidency?

A) the speed at which a president must implement the law
B) the minimum age required for a person to run for president
C) the role of the president in the Supreme Court nomination process
D) the process by which presidents and vice presidents are elected

Question 45

The case that would best illustrate the concept of constitutional ambiguity surrounding the president's foreign policy powers would be a president __________.

A) receiving the credentials of a new ambassador from a foreign power
B) declaring war against another state in response to an armed attack against American troops
C) negotiating a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia and then submitting it to the Senate for ratification
D) commanding an immediate military response when US vessels are attacked on the high seas

Question 46

The ambiguity in Article II is in part the result of __________.

A) partisanship
B) compromise
C) indecision
D) regionalism

Question 47

President Monroe ordering General Andrew Jackson to chase raiding parties of Seminole Indians, which had not yet entered the United States, back to their base in central Florida without consulting Congress is an example of the constitutional ambiguity surrounding __________.

A) presidential war-making powers
B) presidential treaty-making powers
C) the take-care clause of the Constitution
D) the vesting clause of the Constitution

Question 48

Which area of constitutional ambiguity regarding presidential power is best illustrated during the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks?

A) take-care clause
B) vesting clause
C) implementation powers
D) emergency powers

Question 49

Article II recognizes the president's rightful claim to __________.

A) a broad array of titles and responsibilities in both foreign and domestic policy
B) a limited and specific list of titles and responsibilities in both foreign and domestic policy
C) broad titles and responsibilities in foreign policy, but limited ones in domestic policy
D) broad titles and responsibilities in domestic policy, but limited ones in foreign policy

Question 50

What were the weaknesses of the national government under the Articles of Confederation that led to calls for amendment of the Articles?

Question 51

What competing imperatives surrounded the discussion of the American presidency at the Constitutional Convention? Discuss how those dueling claims were evidenced in both the debates about the presidency and the revision plans proposed by the various delegations.

Question 52

How are the core principles of executive independence articulated in Federalist 51 maintained even though the Constitution formally ties the president to the legislative and judicial branches under the arrangement of powers created at the Constitutional Convention in 1787? Use examples to support your points.

Question 53

The Framers created the Electoral College to address specific concerns about executive selection and succession. Analyze how the Framers used the Electoral College to address those concerns, and present an argument on whether the Electoral College remains relevant in contemporary politics.

Question 54

What is constitutional ambiguity as manifested in Article II of the Constitution? How has this ambiguity affected the exercise of executive power in the United States? Discuss these questions using one of the examples presented in the text.