Question 1

Which of the following was designed by the framers to be an office directly elected by the people?

Accepted Answer

A)  a member of the U.S. House of Representatives 
B)  a U.S. senator 
C)  a U.S. president 
D)  a federal court judge 
E)  a U.S. vice president

Question 2

Under the Articles of Confederation, the relationship between the states and the federal government can best be compared to

Accepted Answer

A)  the United Nations' relationship with member states. 
B)  a state government's relationship with counties. 
C)  a state government's relationship with cities. 
D)  the Soviet Union's relationship with member republics. 
E)  the United States' relationship with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Question 3

The framers of the U.S. Constitution attempted to create a government that could do all of the following EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

A)  promote commerce. 
B)  protect private property from radical state legislatures. 
C)  limit excessive democracy. 
D)  restrict the power of the central government. 
E)  lead to the eventual inclusion of nonwhites in political life.

Question 4

Which of the following statements about the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

A)  The Senate has the power to ratify treaties while the House does not. 
B)  The Senate has the power to approve presidential appointments while the House does not. 
C)  The House has the power to overturn a president's veto while the Senate does not. 
D)  The House has the power to originate revenue bills while the Senate does not. 
E)  Members of the House have two-year terms while senators have six-year terms.

Question 5

Which of the following powers is NOT explicitly given to Congress by the Constitution?

Accepted Answer

A)  to borrow money 
B)  to declare war 
C)  to maintain an army and a navy 
D)  to regulate commerce 
E)  to abolish state boundaries

Question 6

How did the colonists' victory in the Revolutionary War change the balance of political power in the new states?

Accepted Answer

A)  Royal land, office, and patent holders became the controlling force in many state legislatures, and pre-Revolutionary radicals were significantly weakened. 
B)  Royal land, office, and patent holders were significantly weakened, and pre-Revolutionary radicals became the controlling forces in many state legislatures. 
C)  Royal land, office, and patent holders became the controlling force in many state legislatures, and royalists were placed in positions of power in the federal government. 
D)  Royal land, office, and patent holders became the controlling force in many state legislatures, and women were placed in positions of power in the federal government. 
E)  Royal land, office, and patent holders were significantly weakened, and Native Americans were placed in positions of power in many states.

Question 7

How did the framers attempt to reassure citizens that their views would be represented in the new government created by the Constitution?

Accepted Answer

A)  by allowing citizens to vote directly on all laws enacted by the federal government 
B)  by making the Constitution very easy to amend 
C)  by requiring the direct election of senators, members of the House, and the president 
D)  by giving the federal judiciary the power of judicial review 
E)  by defining the new government's most important powers, such as collecting taxes, borrowing money, and regulating commerce, as belonging to Congress

Question 8

Under the Articles of Confederation, it was left to the ________ to execute the laws passed by Congress.

Accepted Answer

A)  states 
B)  council of presidents 
C)  courts 
D)  bureaucracy 
E)  president

Question 9

Under the United States' first constitution,

Accepted Answer

A)  there was no president. 
B)  the president was more powerful than Congress. 
C)  the Senate was the most powerful political institution. 
D)  the president was directly appointed by the state legislatures. 
E)  the Supreme Court was the most powerful political institution.

Question 10

Shays's Rebellion was significant because it

Accepted Answer

A)  convinced many observers that the government under the Articles of Confederation had become dangerously inefficient and indecisive. 
B)  helped to make the Philadelphia Convention successful. 
C)  both a and b 
D)  convinced Congress to approve the Louisiana Purchase. 
E)  led to the admission of Vermont into the Union.

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT true about the U.S. Constitution?

Accepted Answer

A)  The Senate had staggered terms. 
B)  The electoral college directly selects the U.S. president. 
C)  The Constitution can be amended with a two-thirds majority vote of both houses of Congress and a ratification vote by three-fourths of the states. 
D)  Federal judges have lifetime tenure. 
E)  States do not have to give full faith and credit to official acts in other states.

Question 12

The supremacy clause

Accepted Answer

A)  states that Congress is the most powerful branch of the government. 
B)  establishes that no branch of government is supreme over others. 
C)  announces that the Constitution and all laws made under it are superior to any state laws. 
D)  announces that state laws are superior to any federal laws. 
E)  declares that no European powers shall interfere in North America.

Question 13

The expressed powers of Congress are listed in ________ of the U.S. Constitution.

Accepted Answer

A)  Article I, Section 8 
B)  Article II, Section 1 
C)  Article III, Section 2 
D)  Article IV 
E)  Article VI

Question 14

At the Philadelphia Convention, the proposed plan to create a Congress where representation was distributed according to population was called the ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  Virginia Plan 
B)  Mason Proposal 
C)  New Hampshire Plan 
D)  Morris Plan 
E)  New Jersey Plan

Question 15

Which of the following was a way the framers tried to make the Senate a check against excessive democracy?

Accepted Answer

A)  Senators were originally appointed by state legislatures 
B)  Senators have shorter terms than members of the House of Representatives. 
C)  Senators were directly elected by the people. 
D)  Senators are the only officials immune from impeachment. 
E)  Only the Senate has the power to create revenue bills.

Question 16

The ability of the president to veto a bill passed by Congress is a good example of ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  separation of powers 
B)  federalism 
C)  checks and balances 
D)  civil liberties 
E)  a republican form of government

Question 17

Which of the following was NOT discussed as a purpose of government in the Constitution's Preamble?

Accepted Answer

A)  to promote justice 
B)  to maintain peace at home 
C)  to guarantee an equal distribution of wealth for all citizens 
D)  to defend the nation from foreign foes 
E)  to secure the "blessings of liberty"

Exam 2: The Founding and the Constitution