Deck 7: Making a New Nation, 1776-1792

Question 1

The man who took charge of the elaborate task of informing and persuading his fellow colonists about the new Declaration was

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

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What was the significance of July 4,1776?

A)framing of the new Constitution
B)first shots fired at Lexington and Concord
C)framing of new state constitutions
D)a written and signed document declaring independence

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The first independent governments in U.S.history belonged to the individual states,which did all of the following EXCEPT

A)make their own laws.
B)agree with one another on what exactly a republican government should look like.
C)devise their own political systems.
D)draw upon their own different colonial legacies.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Perhaps the most radical feature of the new state constitutions was the fact that they

A)established a legal framework that would secure individual rights.
B)determined who had access to wealth and power.
C)were written down in the first place.
D)were the basis for constitutional thinking on a national level.

Question 5

Under the Articles of Confederation,the federal Congress was granted a relative lack of power because

A)of the expense that was likely to occur under a large bureaucracy.
B)leaders of the new states were suspicious of strong governments.
C)of the framers' lack of ability to agree on its structure.
D)it was something that was simply overlooked in favor of more pressing concerns.

Question 6

Which of the following was NOT an aspect of the Declaration of Independence?

A)instructions for the drafting of state constitutions
B)an argument that the revolt against the British was legitimate
C)a public indictment of King George III
D)a personal pledge of commitment on the part of the delegates

Question 7

Which of the following was NOT one of the rights listed in the majority of state constitutions?

A)free speech
B)bearing of arms
C)trial by jury
D)protection from unjustified searches and seizures

Question 8

The first two colonies to adopt permanent written constitutions were

A)New York and New Jersey.
B)New Jersey and Virginia.
C)New York and Virginia.
D)Virginia and New Jersey.

Question 9

According to the Articles of Confederation,in Congress each state delegation would receive

A)votes in proportion to the state's population.
B)votes based on the state's geographical size.
C)one vote.
D)None of these answers is correct.

Question 10

The first government to abolish slavery in the New World was that of

A)New York.
B)Rhode Island.
C)Connecticut.
D)Vermont.

Question 11

Declarations were a special kind of speech act that

A)had little history in English politics.
B)appealed to a governing body elsewhere.
C)were more formal than ordinary announcements.
D)appeared with greater frequency in the colony than pamphlets.

Question 12

Which of the following was NOT a particular function of the Declaration?

A)extend a final offer of reconciliation to Britain
B)rally popular support for the war effort
C)justify the colonial cause
D)announce to other nations that the colonies were available for trade

Question 13

The more memorable words of the Declaration appear in the opening paragraph and include mention of

A)trade restrictions.
B)imposition of taxes.
C)inalienable rights to life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness.
D)the dissolution of representative assemblies.

Question 14

The Articles of Confederation outlined a structure for a

A)federation in which each state was responsible for its own defense.
B)common economic union.
C)single nation.
D)weak central government.

Question 15

The most radical of the new state constitutions was that of

A)PennsylvaniA.
B)Virginia.
C)New Jersey.
D)Georgia.

Question 16

The committee charged with drafting the text of the Declaration included all of the following EXCEPT

A)Thomas Jefferson.
B)George Washington.
C)John Adams.
D)Roger Sherman.

Question 17

Which of the following was NOT one of the strategies tried by American groups and governments to deal with inflation and depression?

A)farmers petitioned to withdraw currency from circulation
B)merchants sought new overseas trading opportunities
C)investors speculated in the debts racked up by state governments
D)debtors lobbied for more paper money to ease the supply

Question 18

The Declaration of Independence

A)made mention of the history and purpose of English colonization.
B)made reference to the cultural identity of the colonists.
C)commented on the legitimacy of monarchy.
D)limited itself to a fairly specific argument for revolution.

Question 19

Which of the following statements is true regarding the question of how to repay war debts?

A)Congress could only request contributions from the states.
B)Congress had power to impose direct taxes.
C)Congress redeemed paper money it had issued at face value.
D)Congress imposed a tariff system.

Question 20

Framers of the Virginia constitution added a phrase

A)that eliminated private property rights.
B)that legitimized the state's authority to tax.
C)about equality that was understood to exclude slaves.
D)restricted the right to bear arms.

Question 21

The notion that the British colonies were part of a single land mass stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific

A)was accepted by the Indians at the time of the Revolution.
B)had been an enduring concept among the colonists since 1750.
C)had been understood by two centuries of English mapmakers.
D)was relatively novel at the time of the Revolution.

Question 22

The planning vision for the Northwest Territory,including the grid design,was significant for all of the following reasons EXCEPT that

A)land use was based on family claims.
B)use of land was not constrained by ancient laws or customs.
C)it was a blueprint for a national real estate market.
D)it was a plan for migration,expansion,and conquest.

Question 23

Which of the following was NOT a stipulation of the Land Ordinance of 1785?

A)Townships would be six miles square.
B)Townships would consist of thirty-six equal sections.
C)Each section would be comprised of four square farm plots.
D)At least one section in each township was to be reserved for military use.

Question 24

The state that leaned on higher taxes rather than inflationary monetary policy was

A)Vermont.
B)Massachusetts.
C)Rhode Island.
D)Pennsylvania.

Question 25

Which state legislature authorized an especially large paper issue in 1786 and declared it legal tender for all debts?

A)Virginia
B)New Jersey
C)Rhode Island
D)Massachusetts

Question 26

Thomas Jefferson considered the Massachusetts "regulation" to be

A)an imminent danger to the state.
B)a rebellion honorably conducted.
C)disconnected from the moral consensus of the local agrarian community.
D)a violation of democratic ideals.

Question 27

The newly mapped boundaries of the United States were immediately contested by the

A)French.
B)Spanish.
C)British.
D)Dutch.

Question 28

As a way to get English-speaking colonists born in the New World to see their identities as united,leaders of the resistance to Britain strategically invoked the idea that the American colonies formed a

A)continent.
B)federation.
C)homogeneous people.
D)regulated militia.

Question 29

The Articles of Confederation created a central government that was limited in its power to

A)regulate the economy.
B)maintain a strong army.
C)engage in effective diplomacy.
D)All these answers are correct.

Question 30

At the Constitutional Convention,the delegates from Virginia

A)spoke openly about the need for protection against Congress's potential use of taxation to abolish slavery.
B)joined New Englanders in criticizing the international slave trade.
C)took the occasion to denounce slavery outright.
D)defended both the practice of slave holding and the international slave trade.

Question 31

At the Philadelphia convention,James Madison's major innovation was to argue that

A)strong governments were prone to oppressing local communities.
B)a national legislature was more likely to conspire against the rights of minorities.
C)slavery was immoral and must be brought to an immediate end.
D)a republican government could thrive in a diverse society.

Question 32

The lesson that Thomas Jefferson drew from Shays' Rebellion was that the central government should

A)collect revenues.
B)set monetary policy.
C)maintain better lines of communication with rural constituents.
D)support a strong military force.

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT true of Shays' Rebellion?

A)The rebels attacked tax offices in Massachusetts.
B)The rebellion was put down by a private army.
C)It dramatized the current economic and political crisis.
D)It caused governments to defend the right of taxpayers to resist.

Question 34

According to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787,the requirements to be met by a territory on its way to statehood included all of the following EXCEPT

A)a population of 60,000.
B)the ability of all residents to own slaves.
C)a voting population of 5,000 free,adult,property-owning males.
D)the return of fugitive slaves who escaped across the Ohio River.

Question 35

ceded significant land in the Ohio River valley to

A)the Iroquois.
B)New York.
C)the United States.
D)Virginia.

Question 36

Concerning the issue of how a state's slave population was to be counted,the convention's delegates settled on the

A)three-fifths clause.
B)two-thirds clause.
C)one-fourth clause.
D)one-half clause.

Question 37

The most significant exercise of national will during the Confederation period was accomplished through the

A)Land Ordinance of 1785.
B)Northwest Ordinance.
C)ceding of the Northwest Territory to the U.S.by several states between 1781 and 1786.
D)Treaty of Paris.

Question 38

Which of America's founding documents defined the new United States as a place on the map?

A)the Constitution
B)the Articles of Confederation
C)the Declaration of Independence
D)the Treaty of Paris

Question 39

Under the proposed Virginia Plan,Congress would

A)represent the sovereign states.
B)become a unicameral legislature.
C)represent the people living in the states.
D)become part of a two-branch federal government.

Question 40

The congressional delegate charged in 1784 with drafting a blueprint for western lands under federal control was

A)Thomas Jefferson.
B)John Adams.
C)George Washington.
D)James Madison.

Question 41

The Federal Copyright Law of 1790 was evidence of

A)the proliferation of political documents of the new nation.
B)the beginning of literary entertainment as a viable business.
C)higher rates of literacy in the states.
D)the success of the new postal system.

Question 42

George Washington accepted the role as the nation's first president because

A)he viewed it as a lucrative opportunity.
B)he respected the opinion of his fellow citizens.
C)it was a position in which he had always hoped to serve.
D)his age prevented him from a further military career.

Question 43

Describe the purpose and content of the Articles of Confederation,and analyze the challenges to the new nation that resulted from the structure of government it outlined.

Question 44

From the start,the national literature of the United States focused attention on

A)women's sexuality and education.
B)honest rural living.
C)the political principles of the new republiC.
D)All these answers are correct.

Question 45

Discuss the establishment of the boundaries of the United States from 1783 to 1802,including the organization of the Northwest Territory.

Question 46

Explain how the literature of the young republic expressed the values and principles of American culture.

Question 47

Compare and contrast the arguments of both the Federalists and the Antifederalists in the process of ratifying the Constitution.

Question 48

Summarize the context and motives behind the Massachusetts "regulation," and explain how this event highlights the economic and political crisis that faced the confederation at that time.

Question 49

________ can be said to have authored the Constitution.

A)Thomas Jefferson
B)Alexander Hamilton
C)Gouverneur Morris
D)James Madison

Question 50

Federalist authors argued that a system of checks and balances would

A)allow excessive growth of the aristocracy.
B)create an oppressive central government.
C)allow for complete democracy.
D)guard against oppression and corruption.

Question 51

Which of the following was a strategy of the Federalists during the ratification process?

A)seeking input from the states
B)allowing states to propose amendments
C)permitting states to votes on particular articles
D)allowing states to accept or reject the Constitution as written

Question 52

highlighted the

A)Christian moral element of society.
B)impact of agriculture on the southern economy.
C)role of ethnicity and language in rural America.
D)significance of economic opportunities in the American identity.

Question 53

Who of the following was NOT a member of the Committee on Style?

A)Alexander Hamilton
B)Thomas Jefferson
C)Rufus King
D)Gouverneur Morris

Question 54

Which of the following was NOT represented in the Bill of Rights?

A)freedom of speech
B)freedom of assembly
C)the right to private property
D)the right to bear arms

Question 55

Evaluate the process of and major issues involved with drafting the Constitution.

Question 56

The Antifederalists were strong in all the following states EXCEPT

A)GeorgiA.
B)Massachusetts.
C)New York.
D)Virginia.

Question 57

Both the opening paragraph and the body of the Declaration of Independence convey significant points.Summarize the content of both sections of the document.