Deck 2: Early Governance and the Constitutional Framework

Question 1

What term best describes the form of government currently found in Russia?

A) constitutional monarchy
B) democracy
C) dictatorship
D) oligarchy

Answer 1

oligarchy

Question 2

James Madison was the author of many of the essays known as __________.

A) Common Sense
B) Two Treatises of Government
C) The New Jersey Plan
D) The Federalist Papers

Answer 2

The Federalist Papers

Question 3

In __________, kings and queens head the government, but their role is largely ceremonial.

A) monarchies
B) democracies
C) constitutional monarchies
D) oligarchies

Answer 3

constitutional monarchies

Question 4

Denmark and Japan represent a form of government called __________.

A) a republic
B) a constitutional monarchy
C) a democracy
D) an oligarchy

Question 5

In __________ regimes, leaders have no real limits on how they proceed or what they do.

A) republic
B) totalitarian
C) democratic
D) oligarchic

Question 6

In __________, government policies are kept in check by informal limits, the military, and social institutions. Leaders face real limits, but they are not imposed through formal political or legal processes.

A) a republic
B) a monarchy
C) an oligarchy
D) an authoritarian regime

Question 7

Which Compact set up the laws for the new settlement at Plymouth, Massachusetts?

A) Mayflower
B) Massachusetts
C) Pilgrim's
D) Plymouth

Question 8

What did the Great Squeeze represent?

A) Britain's attempt to mitigate the influence of Indians on colonists.
B) Britain's attempt to financially bankrupt French business interests.
C) Britain's attempt to colonize around France and squeeze them out.
D) Britain's attempt to pay for the French and Indian War.

Question 9

Which of the following best reflects the thought of Thomas Hobbes?

A) The state of nature is utopia, and government should be limited.
B) The state of nature is harsh, and government should be liberal.
C) The state of nature is harsh, and government should rule autocratically.
D) The state of nature is unknowable, and government should rule democratically.

Question 10

What was supported by the outcome of the trial of Peter Zenger?

A) the right to property
B) the right to a trial by jury
C) the right to bear arms
D) freedom of the press

Question 11

During the Great __________, Parliament passed a number of taxes on the colonies.

A) Push
B) Crush
C) Squeeze
D) Grip

Question 12

Before laws, humans lived in _______.

A) a state of universal law
B) a state of nature
C) traditional states
D) constitutional states

Question 13

__________ argued that all legitimate governing authority is based on the consent of the governed and that all individuals have "natural rights."

A) Burke
B) Hobbes
C) Locke
D) Zenger

Question 14

Which of the following persuaded many of the importance of American independence from Britain?

A) The Articles of Confederation
B) Common Sense
C) The Federalist Papers
D) The Mayflower Compact

Question 15

Social contract theory states that __________.

A) individual freedom requires a written contract with the government
B) individuals must give up certain rights in return for certain protections
C) individual freedom is preeminent above all else
D) individuals have no freedom without the consent of the government

Question 16

Who was pivotal in obtaining French support for America's revolution?

A) John Adams
B) Benjamin Franklin
C) John Jay
D) George Washington

Question 17

What was the underlying cause for the starvation and deplorable conditions during the Continental Army's famed winter encampment at Valley Forge in 1777-1778?

A) a deplorable growing season that year
B) a poorly selected location
C) local farmers selling their produce to the British army
D) British naval blockade of French supply ships

Question 18

The colonists' name for the __________ Acts of 1774 was "Intolerable Acts."

A) Stamp
B) Tea
C) Coercive
D) Commerce

Question 19

Which theory holds that individuals give up certain rights in return for receiving certain protections from the state?

A) natural law
B) social contract
C) revolutionary
D) natural rights

Question 20

Which of the following is one of the three major events that helped turn a faltering revolt into the successful American Revolution?

A) the support of the Spanish government
B) Native Americans participating as soldiers
C) the support of the French government
D) Thomas Jefferson's "Crisis" Papers

Question 21

Which of the following inspired the Constitutional Convention in 1787?

A) George Washington refused to serve as president, wanting instead to be crowned as king.
B) England would not fully surrender until the colonists had a government in place.
C) The Articles of Confederation provided no mechanism for levying taxes in order to pay the costs of the war.
D) John Adams and Thomas Jefferson continued to argue about slavery in the new nation.

Question 22

Under the Articles of Confederation, what could Congress do?

A) collect money from states for services
B) collect taxes from citizens
C) request money from states
D) prohibit states from conducting foreign affairs

Question 23

What was a key underlying cause of Shay's Rebellion?

A) Business interests dominated the state legislature to the detriment of farmers.
B) Farmers were allowed to use "soft money" to pay off debts.
C) Farmers were allowed to pay off debts with agricultural goods.
D) Innovative "stay laws" were used to resolve crises.

Question 24

In drafting the Constitution, which plan was predominantly supported by states with smaller populations?

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

Question 25

What critical issue was at stake with the three-fifths compromise?

A) gender equality
B) judicial oversight
C) representation
D) voting rights

Question 26

The __________ of powers is a key feature of the government established by the Constitution.

A) equality
B) separation
C) justification
D) divine rule

Question 27

Which of the following steps is part of the process for amending the Constitution?

A) ratification by three-fourths of states' legislatures
B) approval by three-fourths of both houses of Congress
C) confirmation by the Supreme Court
D) an executive order by the president

Question 28

Which of the following is a right secured by the Bill of Rights?

A) the right to work
B) the right to bear arms
C) the right to own property
D) the right to happiness

Question 29

Why are The Federalist Papers still relevant to legal scholars?

A) because Thomas Jefferson used them as a basis for the Declaration of Independence
B) because reference to them is a requirement of judicial procedure
C) because the documents show how citizens should behave in a pure democracy
D) because they offer a comprehensive explanation of the Constitution's intentions

Question 30

How did the inclusion of the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution come about?

A) As president, George Washington requested that it be included.
B) It was a concession to the Anti-Federalists in return for ratifying the Constitution.
C) It was a concession to the Federalists in return for ratifying the Constitution.
D) Members to the convention added it in deference to Thomas Jefferson, who wrote it.