Deck 6: Shaping a Federal Union

Question 1

Under the Constitution, each slave would count as one person for purposes of representation, but as only half a person for taxation.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Merchants suffered more than farmers by the separation from Great Britain.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The Constitution established a Supreme Court with nine justices.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The Constitution mentioned the word "slave" (or "slavery") eighteen times.

Question 5

General Washington's personal appeal to his officers ended the Newburgh Conspiracy.

Question 6

Under the Articles of Confederation western lands would be:

A) divided up among the existing states
B) free of slavery
C) recognized as belonging to the Indians
D) owned by the national government
E) extended to the Pacific

Question 7

The Constitution immediately outlawed the foreign slave trade.

Question 8

The New Jersey Plan proposed keeping unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state.

Question 9

The phrase "critical period" refers to:

A) the time of the Revolutionary War
B) the summer the Constitution was written
C) America under the Articles of Confederation
D) George Washington's presidency
E) the years of tension over British taxes

Question 10

By raising taxes in the early 1780s, the Confederation was able to reduce the national debt.

Question 11

Which one of the following gave the Confederation government the most trouble?

A) finances
B) Indian affairs
C) land policy
D) postal service
E) immigration policy

Question 12

In the final years of the Revolutionary War, ______ emerged as the most influential figure in the government.

A) Robert Morris
B) John Adams
C) Benjamin Franklin
D) George Washington
E) Alexander Hamilton

Question 13

The Articles of Confederation required unanimous approval for amendment.

Question 14

George Washington typified elite disapproval of Shays's Rebellion.

Question 15

Delegates to the Constitutional Convention sharply debated whether to establish a monarchy or a republic.

Question 16

The essays that made up The Federalist were originally published in New York newspapers during the fight for ratification.

Question 17

Federalists favored a decentralized federal system of government.

Question 18

One important new development in the mid-1780s was the opening of U.S. trade with China.

Question 19

The Newburgh Conspiracy involved:

A) General Washington's plot to become dictator
B) a military threat to enlarge congressional powers
C) an attempt to destroy the Bank of North America
D) secret peace talks with the British
E) a revolt against Congress by the states

Question 20

Alexander Hamilton presided over the Constitutional Convention.

Question 21

The convention, which assembled in May 1787, was supposed to:

A) write a new constitution
B) address the country's financial crisis
C) revise the Articles of Confederation
D) nominate someone for president
E) discuss better trade relations with Britain

Question 22

The delegates who met:

A) included John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
B) tended to be elderly
C) wanted a weaker central government
D) included many participants in the Revolution
E) arrived knowing what they wanted

Question 23

An ongoing source of American tension toward the British was:

A) British refusal to recognize America
B) British blockade of the Atlantic coast
C) British refusal to pay war damages
D) Britain's refusal to release American POWs
E) British forts along the Canadian border

Question 24

America contended with Spain over:

A) freedom to navigate the Mississippi
B) trade with Spain's colonies
C) ownership of Florida
D) Spain's cruel treatment of Indians
E) discrimination toward Catholics in America

Question 25

The 640-acre sections created in the Northwest:

A) would be given to settlers for free
B) raised enough money to pay the national debt
C) would be reserved for veterans of the Revolution
D) would be sold by local banks
E) would likely be bought by land speculators

Question 26

The plan presented by Reverend Cutler of the Ohio Company was to settle the Northwest with:

A) foreign immigrants
B) military veterans
C) ex-slaves
D) Loyalists
E) prisoners

Question 27

Shays's Rebellion was led by:

A) merchants
B) factory workers
C) bankers
D) indebted farmers
E) ambitious politicians

Question 28

Which of the following was NOT part of the Northwest Ordinance?

A) Slavery was prohibited in the territory above the Ohio River.
B) Statehood was allowed when a territory had a population of 60,000 people.
C) Religious freedom was guaranteed in a "bill of rights."
D) New states formed from the Northwest Territory had to allow Indians "perpetual representation" in the state governments.
E) Territorial governors were to be chosen by Congress.

Question 29

One serious economic problem under the Articles of Confederation was:

A) a scarcity of good farmland
B) the differing tariff policies of the states
C) the impossibility of obtaining credit
D) excessively high income taxes
E) low wages caused by an oversupply of labor

Question 30

After Shays's Rebellion:

A) Massachusetts was governed by martial law
B) farmers throughout America were watched by local committees of safety
C) England prepared for the possibility of resuming the war
D) there were numerous calls promoting a stronger central government
E) was attended by delegates from each state

Question 31

An important new development came in the mid-1780s, when the United States opened trade with:

A) Japan
B) France
C) Canada
D) China
E) India

Question 32

The Constitutional Convention met in:

A) New York
B)Washington, D.C.
C) Philadelphia
D) Boston
E) Albany

Question 33

Shays's Rebellion broke out in:

A) Boston
B) New York City
C) western Massachusetts
D) Rhode Island
E) Pennsylvania

Question 34

Shays's Rebellion:

A) spread to several northern states
B) was supported by George Washington and other elite figures
C) was repressed by state militia
D) resulted in massive bloodshed and property destruction
E) made Americans more fearful of strong central government

Question 35

The United States departed from the colonial policies of Great Britain by:

A) promising equal statehood to all unsettled western territory
B) prohibiting national control of trade with other nations
C) promising citizenship for all western Indians
D) prohibiting the movement of slaves between states, except for sale
E) requiring all taxes to be approved by the voters

Question 36

After the Revolutionary War, American trade with Britain:

A) was illegal
B) was limited to the West Indies
C) resumed
D) was minimal
E) was unrestricted

Question 37

In response to Shays's Rebellion, Thomas Jefferson:

A) was horrified
B) wanted to hang its leaders
C) was silent
D) resigned from the government
E) said occasional revolts were necessary

Question 38

The movement for states to issue paper money in the 1780s was led by:

A) farmers
B) creditors
C) merchants
D) artisans
E) ministers

Question 39

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787:

A) banned slavery in the Northwest
B) made Ohio and Indiana states immediately
C) established colonies in the Ohio Valley
D) denied self-government to that region
E) provided for joint occupation of that area with the British

Question 40

In the lands south of the Ohio River:

A) settlement proceeded more slowly than in the Northwest
B) there was little or no resistance from the Indians as white settlers encroached on their land
C) Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia temporarily kept their titles to the western lands
D) policy was set in the Land Ordinance of 1787
E) slavery was permanently banned

Question 41

The Founding Fathers viewed the most "democratic" branch of the government as the:

A) presidency
B) Senate
C) Supreme Court
D) cabinet
E) House of Representatives

Question 42

The Constitution addressed slavery by:

A) referring numerous times to "slaves" or "slavery"
B) stating that the African slave trade could not be banned before 1808
C) requiring that all slaves count toward a state's congressional representation
D) making it legal in every state
E) requiring that slaves have full legal protections

Question 43

On the question of women's rights, the proposed Constitution:

A) denied the vote to females
B) was surprisingly progressive for its time
C) defined women as the property of their husbands
D) accepted the advice of prominent women
E) said nothing

Question 44

Madison's Virginia Plan:

A) would create a president for life
B) would create a two-house Congress
C) was most favored by the small states
D) would simply amend the Articles of Confederation
E) would abolish the state governments

Question 45

Which of the following was NOT true of the anti-Federalists after ratification?

A) They did not resort to violence when the Constitution was ratified.
B) Many of them became leading figures in the new government.
C) They became the founders of the Whig Party.
D) Few of them wanted to see the work in Philadelphia undone.
E) They felt better about their defeat because of the inclusion of the Bill of Rights.

Question 46

At the outset of the Constitutional Convention, whom did the delegates unanimously elect as president of the convention?

A) Alexander Hamilton
B) James Madison
C) George Washington
D) Benjamin Franklin
E) Thomas Jefferson

Question 47

Who among the following was an anti-Federalist?

A) Alexander Hamilton
B) John Jay
C) Mercy Otis Warren
D) James Madison
E) George Washington

Question 48

According to the Constitution, the president has the authority to do all the following EXCEPT:

A) veto acts of Congress
B) resign and choose his successor
C) recommend legislation to Congress
D) act as commander-in-chief of the armed forces
E) appoint diplomats and judges

Question 49

The convention's most gifted political philosopher and the man who emerged as its central figure was:

A) Alexander Hamilton
B) George Washington
C) Benjamin Franklin
D) Patrick Henry
E) James Madison

Question 50

The Constitution was to be considered ratified as soon as it had been approved by:

A) the Constitutional Convention
B) the Continental Congress
C) all thirteen states
D) nine of the states
E) a majority popular vote

Question 51

The Federalist argued that:

A) the size and diversity of the large new country would make it impossible for any one faction to control the government
B) the Constitution was necessary to prevent one faction from taking control of the nation
C) a republican form of government could not work in a nation as large as the United States and therefore the Constitution was necessary
D) the Constitution would promote control of the government by one faction, which would be good for the nation
E) if the Constitution failed, the country could always go back to the Articles of Confederation

Question 52

The Great Compromise:

A) was negotiated by Benjamin Franklin
B) showed the South's determination to protect slavery
C) listed the explicit powers of Congress
D) created a four-year term for president
E) settled the question of congressional representation

Question 53

Federalist Number 10 explains how a republic can:

A) defend itself
B) become a democracy
C) create a just society
D) pays its debts
E) be successful in a large, diverse society

Question 54

In regard to citizenship, the Constitution:

A) gave citizenship to Indians
B) gave citizenship to free blacks
C) limited future numbers of immigrants
D) gave Congress authority over naturalization
E) allowed noncitizens to serve in Congress

Question 55

The great majority of the Founding Fathers rejected:

A) federal taxation
B) religion
C) property requirements for voting
D) division of federal and state authority
E) rule by the people

Question 56

Most of The Federalist essays were written by:

A) James Madison
B) John Jay
C) Patrick Henry
D) Alexander Hamilton
E) Samuel Adams

Question 57

Under the proposed constitution, members of the Senate would:

A) serve two-year terms
B) be chosen by state legislatures
C) be appointed by state governors
D) be chosen by popular vote
E) be men of substantial wealth

Question 58

Amendments to the Constitution:

A) would be made by the Supreme Court
B) would be proposed by a two-thirds vote of Congress
C) would require approval of every state
D) could be vetoed by the president
E) would ultimately be approved by popular vote

Question 59

The president's powers were limited by all of the following EXCEPT:

A) he would be chosen by popular vote
B) he could not declare war
C) Congress could override his vetoes
D) he could be impeached
E) he could be convicted and removed from office

Question 60

The Great Compromise originated from the delegation.

A) New York
B) Massachusetts
C) Delaware
D) New Hampshire
E) Connecticut

Question 62

Describe the Annapolis Convention and what, if any, successes came as a result of this meeting.

Question 63

Describe details of both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans as they were presented at the Constitutional Convention.

Question 64

Discuss the reaction of the anti-Federalists to their defeat on the Constitution question.

Question 65

Discuss the conflict between Federalists and anti-Federalists in the writing and ratification of the Constitution.

Question 66

Describe the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. Why had the Articles been written that way?

Question 67

Discuss the background, details, and results of Shays's Rebellion. In what way did the rebellion impact the debate about the type of governmental structure America should adopt for its future?

Question 68

The first of these states to ratify the Constitution was:

A) Delaware
B) New York
C) Rhode Island
D) Virginia
E) Massachusetts

Question 69

Discuss the debate over the issue of slavery during the Constitutional Convention.

Question 70

Discuss the effects of the Revolutionary War on the agriculture, trade, diplomacy, and finances of the new nation.

Question 71

As the new Constitution went into effect, Founding Fathers like Franklin and Washington viewed its future with feelings of:

A) supreme confidence
B) fear and loathing
C) God's approval
D) uncertainty
E) regret, since the Articles of Confederation were clearly better

Question 72

Discuss the land policy as it was developed under the Articles of Confederation. What impact did this policy have on the future of the country?

Question 73

Examine the process by which the Constitution was ratified.

Question 74

What major compromises were made at the Constitutional Convention, and what issues did they settle? What issues remained unsettled?

Question 75

Anti-Federalist leaders:

A) often were better organized and prepared than their Federalist opponents
B) tended to be younger than their Federalist counterparts
C) had been the chief proponents of a stronger central government at the Constitutional Convention
D) wanted a Bill of Rights to protect individuals from the new government
E) tended to be wealthier than their Federalist opponents

Question 76

The Constitution was ratified:

A) in a national referendum
B) without serious opposition
C) despite a close vote in Massachusetts
D) despite its rejection in Virginia
E) due to the support of the anti-Federalists

Question 77

Examine the influence of The Federalist on public opinion regarding the question of ratification.

Question 78

Describe the system of checks and balances in the Constitution.

Question 79

Trace the Confederation government's policies concerning diplomacy. How effective was the government in dealing with outside interests?

Question 80

It is sometimes assumed that because the Articles of Confederation were weak, they were unpopular. Discuss the merits of this statement.