Question 1

Under the Articles of Confederation

Accepted Answer

A)   the armed forces of the United States consisted of state militias.
B)   the Continental Congress had the power to lay taxes on citizens.
C)   there was no president.
D)   the Continental Congress required only a simple majority to make decisions; the unanimous consent of all states was not necessary. A

Question 2

________ defended the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre.

Accepted Answer

A)   Thomas Jefferson
B)   Samuel Adams
C)   John Adams
D)   John Hancock C

Question 3

The Boston Tea Party was largely a response to the

Accepted Answer

A)   British government's decision to grant the East India Company a monopoly on the export of tea from Britain.
B)   British government's decision to remove all of its soldiers from the colonies.
C)   British government's decision to tax the colonists' personal income.
D)   Boston Massacre. A

Question 4

Why was the Declaration of Independence a remarkable political statement for its time?

Accepted Answer

A)   It convinced southern states to abolish slavery.
B)   It persuaded the British government to give back all of the tax revenue it had collected from the colonies.
C)   It ended the Revolutionary War by offering a compromise with the British government.
D)   It helped unify colonial groups that were divided along economic, regional, and philosophical lines by identifying shared problems, grievances, and principles.

Question 5

The decision to give the national government control over interstate commerce and finance was motivated primarily by the framers' desire to

Accepted Answer

A)   end slavery in the United States.
B)   eliminate state and local governments.
C)   promote economic development and protect property from radical state legislatures.
D)   guarantee economic equality for all citizens.

Question 6

A ________ is a system of government in which member states retain almost all of their sovereign authority and delegate limited powers to a weak central body.

Accepted Answer

A)   republic
B)   confederation
C)   bicameral state
D)   unitary state

Question 7

Which two constitutional provisions have been at the heart of constitutional struggles between federal and state powers throughout American history?

Accepted Answer

A)   the preamble and the elastic clause
B)   the Eighteenth Amendment and the Twentieth Amendment
C)   the Eighteenth Amendment and the Twenty-Fifth Amendment
D)   the elastic clause and the Tenth Amendment

Question 8

Which of the following statements best describes British rule of the American colonies during the first half of the eighteenth century?

Accepted Answer

A)   The British ruled with a heavy hand and exerted a strong influence in every colonial town and city.
B)   The British ruled with a heavy hand in small towns, but exerted no influence at all in the largest cities.
C)   The British ruled with a light hand and exerted a strong influence only in the largest colonial cities.
D)   The British ruled with a light hand and exerted almost no influence at all in any colonial town or city.

Question 9

On the subject of representation, Antifederalists wanted

Accepted Answer

A)   representative bodies that resembled those represented to the highest degree.
B)   representatives who would reflect commercial interests.
C)   as few representatives as possible.
D)   representatives who were significantly more educated and wealthier than the majority of the public.

Question 10

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 11

Which of the following statements best summarizes the Federalists' view on representation?

Accepted Answer

A)   Citizens are too apathetic and uninformed to be given the right to vote, and good representation can only come from entrusting enlightened members of the aristocracy to make decisions.
B)   Representative democracy can never provide good representation for its citizens, and direct democracy is the best way to achieve popular sovereignty.
C)   Representatives must be "a true picture of the people" in order to provide good representation, and this can only be achieved in small, relatively homogeneous republics.
D)   Representatives need not be a "true picture of the people," and the best system of representation allows citizens to elect individuals possessing ability, experience, and talent superior to their own.

Question 12

The American victory in the Revolutionary War changed the balance of political power in the new states so that royal land, office, and patent holders

Accepted Answer

A)   became the controlling force in many state legislatures, and prerevolutionary radicals were significantly weakened.
B)   were significantly weakened, and prerevolutionary radicals became the controlling forces in many state legislatures.
C)   became the controlling force in many state legislatures, and royalists were placed in positions of power in the federal government.
D)   were significantly weakened, and Native Americans were placed in positions of power in many states.

Question 13

The United States' first written constitution was called the ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   Magna Carta
B)   Bill of Rights
C)   Articles of Confederation
D)   Declaration of Independence

Question 14

The Antifederalists argued that the powers of the national government should be limited by

Accepted Answer

A)   providing Congress with a larger grant of powers.
B)   decreasing the powers of the executive branch, especially those of the vice president.
C)   adding a bill of rights to the Constitution.
D)   preventing government from collecting revenue through taxation.

Question 15

What was the most common form of taxation during the colonial era?

Accepted Answer

A)   the income tax
B)   tariffs, duties, and taxes on commerce
C)   the animal head tax
D)   taxes for use of governmental services and lands

Question 16

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 17

A ________ is a person who believes that the Constitution should not be amended by judges and that judges should adhere closely to the document's text.

Accepted Answer

A)   strict constructionist
B)   Federalist
C)   supremacist
D)   separationist

Question 18

Which statement about amendments to the Constitution is most accurate?

Accepted Answer

A)   No amendment to the Constitution has ever been successfully repealed.
B)   One amendment to the Constitution has been successfully repealed.
C)   Five amendments to the Constitution have been successfully repealed.
D)   Congress has officially proposed 29 amendments throughout American history and 27 have been added to the Constitution.

Question 19

The issue of representation, which threatened to cause the Philadelphia convention to fail, was resolved by the ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   New Jersey Plan
B)   Connecticut Compromise
C)   Delaware Deal
D)   Virginia Plan

Question 20

The separation of powers and federalism are two key features of the Constitution. Discuss why the Founders chose to include these institutional arrangements in the Constitution and how they function. In your answer, be sure to define what is meant by the separation of powers and federalism and to describe how each functions in the American political system.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The separation of powers and federalism are...

Exam 2: The Founding and the Constitution