Question 1

The Stamp Act was a

Accepted Answer

A)  tax on commerce. 
B)  prohibition on all unofficial mail. 
C)  law permitting the Crown to open mail. 
D)  tax on sugar, molasses, and other commodities.

Question 2

Procedures for amending the Constitution are found in Article

Accepted Answer

A)  I. 
B)  II. 
C)  V. 
D)  X.

Question 3

The Land Ordinance of 1785 was significant because it

Accepted Answer

A)  imposed large tariffs on luxury goods arriving on American lands through East Coast ports. 
B)  established the principles of land surveying and landownership that governed America's westward expansion. 
C)  redistributed the property of British loyalists to small farmers who supported the revolution. 
D)  provided 40 acres of free land to all immigrants from western and northern European countries.

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

A)  Virginia 
B)  New Hampshire 
C)  Marshall 
D)  New Jersey

Question 5

Judicial review is the power of

Accepted Answer

A)  the courts to decide on the constitutionality of actions taken by the other branches of government. 
B)  Congress to review the decisions of the federal courts. 
C)  the states to review the constitutionality of federal actions and laws. 
D)  the courts to review and edit pieces of legislation before they are voted on in Congress.

Question 6

Shays's Rebellion was an attempt to

Accepted Answer

A)  prevent the state of Massachusetts from foreclosing on the lands of debt-ridden farmers. 
B)  invade New England by royalists from Canada. 
C)  bring a Georgian slave revolt to Virginia. 
D)  force the British government to rescind the Tea Act.

Question 7

Which of the following statements about national defense under the Articles of Confederation is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

A)  Congress was given the power to declare war. 
B)  Congress was given the power to make treaties and form alliances with other countries. 
C)  The nation's armed forces were composed entirely of the state militias. 
D)  The president served as commander in chief of the nation's armed forces.

Question 8

During the Philadelphia Convention, the New Jersey Plan was supported by ________ states.

Accepted Answer

A)  less populous 
B)  slaveholding 
C)  free 
D)  southern

Question 9

Colonial protesters of the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act rallied around which slogan?

Accepted Answer

A)  "no taxation without representation" 
B)  "give me liberty or give me death" 
C)  "a house divided against itself cannot stand" 
D)  "don't tread on me"

Question 10

The Federalists believed that the powers of government could be limited by

Accepted Answer

A)  decreasing the powers of the executive branch, especially those of the vice president. 
B)  confining the powers of the federal government to certain narrowly defined areas and by adding a bill of rights to the Constitution. 
C)  creating an internal system of checks and controls within government. 
D)  preventing government from collecting revenue through taxation.

Question 11

The Boston Massacre occurred when

Accepted Answer

A)  five British soldiers were killed by an angry mob of colonists protesting outside of the seat of the colonial government in Boston. 
B)  five colonists were killed by British soldiers outside of the seat of the colonial government in Boston. 
C)  50 colonists were killed by British soldiers outside of the seat of the colonial government in Boston. 
D)  50 British soldiers were killed by an angry mob of colonists protesting outside of the seat of the colonial government in Boston.

Question 12

Which of the following statements best describes the motivations of the Founders in writing the U.S. Constitution?

Accepted Answer

A)  The primary goal was to devise a system consistent with the dominant philosophical and moral principles of the day while also promoting commerce and protecting private property from radical state legislatures. 
B)  The primary goal was to devise a system of direct democracy that maximized popular sovereignty. 
C)  The primary goal was to devise a system that concentrated authority in one branch of government. 
D)  The primary goal was to devise a system that ended slavery.

Question 13

Which of the following was a ramification of the Three-Fifths Compromise?

Accepted Answer

A)  It allowed for a political agreement between the North and the South. 
B)  It allowed for a political agreement between large states and small states. 
C)  It permanently outlawed the slave trade. 
D)  It temporarily outlawed slavery.

Question 14

The most important political value for the framers of the Constitution was

Accepted Answer

A)  democracy. 
B)  political equality. 
C)  economic equality. 
D)  individual liberty.

Question 15

The Federalists believed that the most apparent source of tyranny was

Accepted Answer

A)  the king of Great Britain. 
B)  the popular majority. 
C)  the northern merchants. 
D)  the landowning elite.

Question 16

There are ____ amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Accepted Answer

A)  10 
B)  20 
C)  27 
D)  30

Question 17

The First Continental Congress was

Accepted Answer

A)  the meeting arranged between British and colonial forces to negotiate the end of the Revolutionary War. 
B)  the British government's lawmaking body for the colonies prior to 1776. 
C)  a loose affiliation of small farmers and artisans that organized protests against British rule between 1770 and 1774. 
D)  a group of colonial delegates assembled in 1774 that called for a total boycott of all British goods.

Question 18

Under the Articles of Confederation the

Accepted Answer

A)  president of the Continental Congress was more powerful than the Congress itself. 
B)  Senate was the most powerful political institution. 
C)  Continental Congress had no power to lay taxes. 
D)  Supreme Court was the most powerful political institution.

Question 19

What does the supremacy clause assert?

Accepted Answer

A)  Congress is the most powerful branch of the government. 
B)  The Constitution and all laws made under it are superior to any state laws. 
C)  State laws are superior to any federal laws. 
D)  No European powers shall interfere in North America.

Question 20

The framers employed the separation of powers and federalism in order to

Accepted Answer

A)  prevent the new government from abusing its power. 
B)  end the slave trade. 
C)  create a replica of the British political system. 
D)  promote economic equality among all citizens.

Exam 2: The Founding and the Constitution