Deck 7: Founding a Nation, 1783-1791

Question 1

How did the Articles of Confederation compare to the Constitution in regard to sovereignty?

A) Under the Articles, states had more autonomy, while the Constitution gave no powers to the states.
B) Under the Articles, states had more autonomy, while the Constitution gave some powers to the states.
C) Under the Articles, states had no power to run the country, while the Constitution gave more powers to the states.
D) Under the Articles, states had some power to run the country, while the Constitution gave more powers to the states.

Answer 1

Under the Articles, states had more autonomy, while the Constitution gave some powers to the states.

Question 2

Under the Articles of Confederation, the states did what with regard to economics?

A) They collected money from the Confederation government.
B) They sold land under various land ordinances.
C) They created a variety of economic policies.
D) They signed trade agreements with England.

Answer 2

They created a variety of economic policies.

Question 3

In the 1780s, settlers in western areas such as Tennessee and Kentucky:

A) were especially attentive to what land belonged to Indians and purchased Indian land legally.
B) found that the soil was poor for growing cash crops such as tobacco or cotton and moved westward.
C) believed they had a right to take possession of western lands and use them as they saw fit.
D) were largely wealthy plantation owners who helped settle thriving trading towns along the rivers.

Answer 3

believed they had a right to take possession of western lands and use them as they saw fit.

Question 4

How did the Articles of Confederation compare to the Constitution with regard to the economy?

A) Under the Articles, states made more decisions about the economy than the national government.
B) Under the Articles, states did not take an interest in their respective economies.
C) Under the new Constitution, land distribution would benefit the poor.
D) Under the new Constitution, current property holders were losing rights.

Question 5

Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was able to:

A) establish national control over land to the west of the thirteen states.
B) sign major treaties with France and Spain.
C) create a new tax policy that would better fund the government.
D) eliminate a provision giving judges power to reject congressional acts.

Question 6

Under the Articles of Confederation, what would be considered an accomplishment of the national government?

A) Sending Lewis and Clark to explore the West.
B) Passing ordinances for establishing settlement of western territory.
C) Gaining trade concessions in the Caribbean.
D) Implementing tariffs to protect American craftsmen.

Question 7

James Madison:

A) urged an expansion of public liberty.
B) played no role at the Constitutional Convention.
C) was Thomas Jefferson's ally and disciple.
D) opposed the idea of a strong national government.

Question 8

To assuage the Anti-Federalists' concerns expressed in this passage, backers of the Constitution eventually promised that

A) the new federal capital would be located in a central part of the United States.
B) state debts from the Revolutionary War would be assumed by the federal government.
C) a bill of rights would be added to the Constitution.
D) restraint would be used in acquiring new territory.

Question 9

How did Thomas Jefferson react to Shays's Rebellion?

A) He urged that troops be raised by the national government.
B) He wanted the state of Massachusetts to quickly put down the revolt.
C) He did not know about the rebellion because he was in France.
D) He was not alarmed, seeing it as a positive for the United States.

Question 10

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787:

A) established the policy to admit the area's population as equal members of the political system.
B) regulated western land sales through a policy that was amicable to the Indians.
C) abolished the Articles of Confederation and called for a second Constitutional Convention.
D) was the first step in Alexander Hamilton's plan for economic growth.

Question 11

Why did Congress claim that some Indians had forfeited their land rights in the aftermath of independence?

A) Because they did not farm it.
B) Because they had never believed that the Indians owned the land.
C) Because they were racially inferior.
D) Because they had aided the British during the war.

Question 12

Which of the following was a characteristic of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation?

A) Congress was a two-chambered body, with a House of Delegates and a Council.
B) Congress could not levy taxes or regulate commerce.
C) Congress could amend the Articles by a two-thirds vote.
D) There were two branches of government-judicial and legislative-but no executive.

Question 13

Which of the following is true of how the leaders of the new nation viewed settlers moving west across the Appalachians in the 1780s?

A) They shared their British predecessors' fears that frontier settlers would fight constantly with Native Americans.
B) They viewed them as the start of a brigade that was going to spread American values and virtues across the continent.
C) They hated them enough to pass laws banning their movement-much like the British Proclamation of 1763-but the settlers ignored them.
D) Benjamin Franklin advocated movement westward, but Thomas Jefferson fought him on it.

Question 14

Shays's Rebellion was significant because it demonstrated:

A) that land distribution policies were out of date.
B) that controversies over the emancipation of slaves could turn violent.
C) that Congress's attempts to pass pro-debtor laws were unpopular with farmers.
D) the need for a stronger central government.

Question 15

The Anti-Federalist Argument (1787)
James Winthrop
. . . no extensive empire can be governed upon republican principles, and that such a government will degenerate to a despotism, unless it be made up of a confederacy of smaller states, each having the full powers of internal regulation. This is precisely the principle which has hitherto preserved our freedom. No instance can be found of any free government of considerable extent which has been supported upon any other plan. Large and consolidated empires may indeed dazzle the eyes of a distant spectator with their splendour, but if examined more nearly are always found to be full of misery. . . . We accordingly find that the very great empires have always been despotic. They have indeed tried to remedy the inconveniences to which the people were exposed by local regulations; but these contrivances have never answered the end. The laws not being made by the people, who felt the inconveniences, did not suit their circumstances. It is under such tyranny that the Spanish provinces languish, and such would be our misfortune and degradation, if we should submit to have the concerns of the whole empire managed by one legislature. To promote the happiness of the people it is necessary that there should be local laws; and it is necessary that those laws should be made by the representatives of those who are immediately subject to the want of them.
Which of the following provisions of the Constitution does NOT specifically address the Anti-Federalist concerns articulated by Winthrop?

A) Representation of states based on a "Great Compromise," which established a bicameral legislature.
B) Prohibiting legislation on the slave trade until 1808 and banning a tax on exports.
C) Establishing rules for veto power.
D) A compromise that dealt with the representation of slaves.

Question 16

What was the significance of the Empress of China?

A) The ship refused to trade with China.
B) She was a ruler who did not recognize American sovereignty.
C) The empress gave American traders extra privileges.
D) It was the first American-flag-flying ship to trade with China.

Question 17

The Anti-Federalist Argument (1787)
James Winthrop
. . . no extensive empire can be governed upon republican principles, and that such a government will degenerate to a despotism, unless it be made up of a confederacy of smaller states, each having the full powers of internal regulation. This is precisely the principle which has hitherto preserved our freedom. No instance can be found of any free government of considerable extent which has been supported upon any other plan. Large and consolidated empires may indeed dazzle the eyes of a distant spectator with their splendour, but if examined more nearly are always found to be full of misery. . . . We accordingly find that the very great empires have always been despotic. They have indeed tried to remedy the inconveniences to which the people were exposed by local regulations; but these contrivances have never answered the end. The laws not being made by the people, who felt the inconveniences, did not suit their circumstances. It is under such tyranny that the Spanish provinces languish, and such would be our misfortune and degradation, if we should submit to have the concerns of the whole empire managed by one legislature. To promote the happiness of the people it is necessary that there should be local laws; and it is necessary that those laws should be made by the representatives of those who are immediately subject to the want of them.
What key concern is expressed in this passage?

A) Whether enough states would be willing to ratify the Constitution.
B) Whether states would be able to nullify legislation.
C) The despotic nature of a strong central government.
D) Specific powers delegated to the federal government.

Question 18

With regard to slavery, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787:

A) allowed for new territorial governments to ban or permit the institution as they saw fit.
B) allowed the importation of slaves into the Old Northwest for at least another twenty years.
C) banned slavery in the area north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River.
D) made no difference, because the U.S. Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional the following year.

Question 19

What was Congress able to accomplish with its Native American policy under the Articles of Confederation?

A) Nothing; Congress was so powerless under the Articles that nothing happened in this area.
B) It negotiated treaties for the tribes to keep their lands, but Congress was so lacking in power that the treaties proved useless.
C) Congress demanded and received surrenders of large amounts of Indian land north of the Ohio River and in the South.
D) Congress backed away from any involvement when land companies requested that the government step aside and leave the West's economic development in private hands.

Question 20

What did the Northwest Territory border on?

A) Atlantic Ocean.
B) Great Lakes.
C) St. Lawrence River.
D) Pacific Ocean.

Question 21

As designed by the Constitution:

A) the president was elected by popular vote.
B) senators were to serve two-year terms.
C) federal judges were appointed by the president, not elected by the people.
D) the congressional representatives were to be appointed by state legislatures.

Question 22

Who took detailed notes of the Constitutional Convention, which were published more than 50 years after the proceedings?

A) James Madison.
B) John Jay.
C) George Washington.
D) Alexander Hamilton.

Question 23

Which of the following is a check against presidential power in the Constitution?

A) Only the Senate can override a president's veto.
B) The Senate can impeach the president for "high crimes and misdemeanors."
C) The Senate can remove the president from office after impeaching him.
D) Congress can reject all presidential appointments.

Question 24

The three-fifths clause in the U.S. Constitution:

A) requires that all revenue bills receive a three-fifths affirmative vote in the U.S. House.
B) gave the white South greater power in national affairs than the size of its free population warranted.
C) explicitly declared that slaves were not fully human and were therefore undeserving of legal rights.
D) made it easier to amend the Constitution than it had been to amend the Articles of Confederation.

Question 25

Which of the following is true of the Virginia Plan?

A) James Madison opposed it, but the other delegates from Virginia supported it.
B) It proposed a one-house legislature, with population determining representation.
C) It proposed a two-house legislature, with population determining representation in each house.
D) It called for each state to have one vote in Congress.

Question 26

Which type of government demonstrates a clear-cut separation of powers?

A) Articles of Confederation.
B) United States Constitution.
C) Constitutional monarchy.
D) Continental Congress.

Question 27

How did southern states react to the Constitution's provisions regarding slavery?

A) South Carolina and Georgia immediately began importing increased numbers of Africans, because in twenty years, the international slave trade could be constitutionally prohibited.
B) They refused to ratify the Constitution without assurances that a bill of rights would be added to protect their right to slave property.
C) The personal opposition of Jefferson and Madison to slavery prompted Virginia to oppose ratification at first.
D) They objected to the Electoral College on the grounds that it ignored the number of slaves in their states and thereby reduced their power.

Question 28

Which two prominent men were not at the Constitutional Convention?

A) Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.
B) Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.
C) John Adams and George Mason.
D) Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.

Question 29

Why was the original House of Representatives so small, with only 65 members?

A) It was not; it had the 435 members it has now.
B) The founders assumed that only prominent individuals could win elections in large districts, and that is what the founders wanted.
C) The founders thought that only five people per state were enough.
D) Since each state had one vote in the House, the founders thought that this would make debate more cordial.

Question 30

What qualifications did the Constitution, ratified in 1787, impose for voting?

A) None; it left voting rules to the states.
B) It allowed all white males over twenty-one to vote but expressly banned women.
C) It allowed all white males over twenty-one to vote and said nothing about women.
D) It imposed a property requirement.

Question 31

What does the omission of the word "slave" or "slavery" in the text of the original Constitution suggest about the founders?

A) They wanted to end slavery as quickly as possible.
B) They felt a reference to slavery tainted American ideals on liberty and equality.
C) The institution of slavery was strictly an economic venture for them.
D) They did not want the Constitution to allow slavery.

Question 32

Which of the following people would have been the most likely supporter of the Articles of Confederation?

A) A merchant desiring access to British markets.
B) A Continental army officer from the Revolutionary War.
C) An indebted farmer in western Massachusetts.
D) A person who owned a bond issued by the Congress.

Question 33

How would one describe the men who attended the Constitutional Convention?

A) They all were slave owners.
B) Most had more wealth than the average American.
C) Most came from nobility in Europe.
D) Very few had served in the military during the Revolutionary War.

Question 34

Which of the following is true of the Constitution of 1787 and slavery?

A) Despite protests from southern delegates, the document permanently freed runaway slaves who made it to the "free air" of the North.
B) The Constitution declared that all territories of the United States would be "free soil" where slavery would not be permitted.
C) The Constitution explicitly protected the security of property in slaves in any state of the Union so that a slaveowner could move permanently with his slaves from South to North.
D) Although never using the word "slavery," the document protected several aspects of the institution.

Question 35

The New Jersey Plan:

A) was mainly supported by the smaller, less populated states.
B) contained a gradual emancipation requirement that proved quite controversial.
C) was a thinly disguised attempt to resurrect monarchy in America.
D) found its greatest support from the Pennsylvania and Massachusetts delegations.

Question 36

In regard to slavery, what did the Constitution do?

A) It allowed slavery but also contained a potential method to end slavery.
B) It fully defined who was a slave.
C) It made slavery mandatory in the South.
D) It ended the external slave trade immediately.

Question 37

By banning the importation of slaves by 1808 with the Constitution, what did critics of slavery hope to accomplish?

A) They wanted to start a civil war.
B) They wanted to weaken the shipbuilding industry in the United States.
C) They hoped cutting off the supply would eventually end slavery in the United States.
D) They hoped the national government would focus on developing manufacturing.

Question 38

Why did the founding fathers create the electoral college?

A) They did not; it was added to the Constitution after the disputed election of 1796.
B) Small states insisted that they have a chance to play a role in choosing the president, and that wouldn't have been possible with direct elections.
C) Alexander Hamilton wanted a king, James Madison wanted no president, and the result was this compromise so that there could be a president.
D) They did not trust ordinary voters to choose the president and vice president directly.

Question 39

The relationship between the national government and the states is called:

A) the separation of powers.
B) the New Jersey Plan.
C) Federalism.
D) the Virginia Plan.

Question 40

Which of the following is true regarding Congress and the African slave trade in the United States under the Constitution?

A) Congress never prohibited this slave trade.
B) The First Congress under the Constitution prohibited the importation of slaves into the United States.
C) Congress always let individual states make their own decisions with regard to importing slaves.
D) Congress prohibited the African slave trade twenty years after ratification of the Constitution.

Question 41

Which of the following groups tended to be Anti-Federalist during the ratification debates?

A) Wealthier citizens.
B) Rural residents closely tied to the commercial marketplace.
C) Merchants engaged in foreign commerce.
D) State politicians fearful of a strong central government.

Question 42

What did James Winthrop, a Massachusetts public official, fear about the new Constitution?

A) Under the Constitution, a citizen would lose basic civil liberties.
B) The new Constitution would not be powerful enough to unite all thirteen states.
C) If the Constitution was not ratified, the United States would be picked on by Spain.
D) Without the Constitution, the United States would not survive as a nation.

Question 43

What helped to encourage ratification of the Constitution?

A) James Madison's refusal to include a Bill of Rights.
B) The idea that the elite would run the country.
C) Some workers thought it would give a boost to the economy.
D) Thomas Jefferson's essays on government.

Question 44

What was an enduring legacy of the Anti-Federalists?

A) The belief that America would become more urban.
B) The idea that blacks and Indians should be granted citizenship.
C) The fear that a strong central government would trample on liberties.
D) The idea that merchants and business leaders would have their economic power decreased.

Question 45

The Anti-Federalist James Winthrop argued that a bill of rights was necessary in the Constitution because:

A) the English had one, so America ought to mirror that example.
B) the right to bear arms for the militia should be guarded by law.
C) using the examples of Wilkes and Zenger, the protection of speech and press was essential.
D) it would secure the minority against the usurpation and tyranny of the majority.

Question 46

What did James Madison aim to accomplish with the protections of both public and private liberties?

A) He wanted to prevent wars with Native Americans.
B) He did not want the United States to acquire any western territory.
C) He wanted to give land to the poor.
D) He hoped to avoid more unrest like Shays's Rebellion.

Question 47

Anti-Federalists included:

A) Patrick Henry and John Adams.
B) George Washington and John Hancock.
C) Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry.
D) Benjamin Franklin and John Jay.

Question 48

In The History of the American Revolution, David Ramsay:

A) argued that the Constitution represented a repudiation of the Revolution.
B) urged southern states to demand greater protection for slavery before ratifying the Constitution.
C) praised American state constitutions for allowing future amendments.
D) took issue with James Madison's vision of "extending the sphere."

Question 49

Which right was heavily influenced by the American Revolutionary period?

A) Free speech.
B) Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment.
C) Free press.
D) Freedom of religion.

Question 50

What influenced men's decisions regarding whether to support ratification of the Constitution?

A) Their love of civil liberties.
B) Their distrust of George Washington.
C) George Washington's eagerness to serve as first president.
D) Their economic statuses and geographical locations.

Question 51

Which of the following scenarios can potentially be seen as a violation of the First Amendment?

A) An accused thief spends two years in jail before receiving a trial.
B) A corporation fires an employee for voicing his or her opinion on the presidential election.
C) A defendant is forced to testify in his trial.
D) A woman is arrested for organizing a peaceful meeting to protest the federal government's actions.

Question 52

The eighty-five essays written in support of ratification of the Constitution are called:

A) Wealth of Nations.
B) The Articles of Confederation.
C) The Federalist.
D) "Agrippa."

Question 53

Which state would have been pleased by both the New Jersey Plan and the three-fifths clause?

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

Question 54

The Somerset case:

A) ended the importation of slaves into the United States.
B) ruled that slavery was unlawful in England.
C) freed slaves from the ship Amistad.
D) used the language of liberty to rule that free blacks could own property.

Question 55

How did James Madison feel about the Bill of Rights in the Constitution?

A) He thought they would be needed to protect individuals from aggressive state governments like Massachusetts.
B) He advocated them at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
C) He refused to acknowledge their ratification in the Constitution.
D) He believed they were redundant and that the original Constitution would protect liberties.

Question 56

What was "the first object of government," according to James Madison?

A) Feed the poor.
B) Protect free speech.
C) Guarantee voting rights.
D) Protect property rights.

Question 57

What did James Madison see as a strength of the new Constitution?

A) He stated that the similarity to England's constitution suited the United States.
B) The Bill of Rights added to the Constitution at the end of the Philadelphia convention.
C) George Washington's approval of the document.
D) He wrote that the large geographical size of the country would secure rights.

Question 58

What occurred at the final meeting of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia?

A) James Madison wanted to start over from scratch.
B) Ben Franklin wanted the Iroquois Confederacy to sign the document too.
C) Patrick Henry finally gave his approval to the new government.
D) Ben Franklin urged the delegates to approve the Constitution.

Question 59

During the process of ratifying the Constitution:

A) two states, Rhode Island and North Carolina, voted against ratification.
B) Alexander Hamilton reversed himself and argued against ratification.
C) propertied men and urban dwellers formed the chief support for the Anti-Federalists.
D) northern state conventions unanimously supported ratification while southern ones were deeply divided.

Question 60

Who wrote the preamble and put the final written touches on the Constitution?

A) Gouverneur Morris.
B) James Madison.
C) Ben Franklin.
D) Alexander Hamilton.

Question 61

How would slaveowners in the late eighteenth century have explained a slave's repeated stealing and drinking of alcohol?

A) The alcohol should have been better hidden from slaves.
B) The slave's race led to him having no self-control.
C) The owner was to be blamed for having alcohol at the house.
D) The actual condition of being a slave pushed him to drink.

Question 62

By the 1790s, the phrase "we the people" had come to mean what?

A) The lower classes of society would share in the economic growth.
B) The president would be elected directly by the people.
C) Rights were increasing for white Americans.
D) America should remain a nation of farmers.

Question 63

Under the Treaty of Greenville of 1795:

A) Great Britain agreed to remove its remaining forts from U.S. soil.
B) twelve Indian tribes ceded most of Ohio to the federal government.
C) the U.S. government allowed Indians to petition for citizenship.
D) the federal government forbade American settlement west of the Mississippi.

Question 64

Based on the Naturalization Act of 1790, who would have been allowed to become an American citizen?

A) A person from India.
B) A German immigrant.
C) An African immigrant.
D) A Chinese woman.

Question 65

What was the annuity system involving the U.S. government and certain Indian tribes?

A) A system under which the Indians ceded land to the United States annually.
B) A system under which the federal government gave annual monetary grants to Indians.
C) A system that placed Indians on reservations.
D) A system that allowed a percentage of Indians each year to attend American schools.

Question 66

Thomas Jefferson believed that African-Americans:

A) should eventually be able to enjoy their natural rights, but they would have to leave the United States to do so.
B) who were held in slavery should be emancipated immediately and that every former slave family should be given a forty-acre farm in a western territory.
C) should, if legally free, be allowed to marry white persons.
D) like Indians, were naturally as intelligent as whites.

Question 67

In the late nineteenth century, what significantly increased freedoms and rights for Americans?

A) Judith Sergeant Murray wrote about women's intellect being equal.
B) Ex-slaves were given the right to vote in southern states.
C) Children were given the same rights as adults.
D) Indentured servitude had declined.

Question 68

During the early years of the republic, African-Americans:

A) were far fewer in number than Native Americans, so ignoring them was easy for the founders and early leaders.
B) enjoyed none of the rights whites enjoyed.
C) made up about 20 percent of the total population.
D) were all held as slaves except for a few free blacks in Massachusetts.

Question 69

Which of the following is true of how the U.S. government in the 1790s dealt with Native Americans?

A) Because the Constitution counted all Indians toward representation in Congress, Indians received all rights and privileges that other Americans did.
B) Because the Constitution stated that Indian tribes were "domestic dependent nations," the government treated them just as it treated nations like Great Britain and France.
C) Henry Knox, the first secretary of war, pursued policies designed to exterminate Native Americans.
D) The U.S. government made treaties with them mainly to transfer land to itself or to the states.

Question 70

Who in the nineteenth century used the words "We the people" from the Constitution to claim that the southern states could not secede from the Union?

A) Andrew Jackson.
B) Abraham Lincoln.
C) George Washington.
D) Jefferson Davis.

Question 71

Hector St. John Crèvecoeur's Letters from an American Farmer:

A) popularized the idea of the United States as a melting pot of ethnicities.
B) was a thinly disguised allegory explaining the need for the Constitution.
C) made the author so unpopular in the United States that he was forced to return to France.
D) argued that America should reject manufacturing and remain an agrarian nation.

Question 72

Which of the following is true of American national identity as envisioned by the Constitution of 1787?

A) The document distinguished only between those defined as American citizens, who were entitled to constitutionally protected rights, and aliens, who were not so entitled.
B) The Constitution clearly states that persons of African descent could not be U.S. citizens, but that anyone of European or Asian descent could be.
C) The "people" were free Americans; Native Americans and "other persons," meaning African-American slaves, were not considered part of the political nation.
D) The Constitution expressly stated that only white men were entitled to the rights it delineated.

Question 73

Compare and contrast the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution, analyzing both similarities and differences with regard to both goals and powers given to the central government.

Question 74

Who appears to have fathered one or more children with his slave?

A) John Adams.
B) Thomas Jefferson.
C) George Washington.
D) Ben Franklin.

Question 75

Explain how the experiences of the revolutionary period shaped the provisions of the Constitution and led to the creation of the Bill of Rights.

Question 76

Envisioning the nation as a community open to all those devoted to its political institutions and social values is what?

A) Civic nationalism.
B) Federalism.
C) Separation of powers.
D) Religious toleration.