Question 1

Under the Articles of Confederation, the central government was based entirely in Congress.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  True

Question 2

The British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre were defended by __________, a pillar of Boston society and future president of the United States.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 3

Under the Articles of Confederation, the presiding officer of the executive branch was appointed through a nomination and voting process of the assembled delegates in the Electoral College.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 4

Article I of the U.S. Constitution provides for the

Accepted Answer

A)  judicial branch.
B)  executive branch.
C)  legislative branch.
D)  freedom of speech, religion, and press.

Question 5

During the 1750s, the British Crown's North American colonies on the whole paid remarkably little in taxes to the mother country.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

The issue of counting slaves for purposes of representation was settled by the

Accepted Answer

A)  Great Compromise.
B)  Virginia Plan.
C)  Seventh Amendment.
D)  Three-Fifths Compromise.

Question 7

Collective action among colonists was sparked by the British government's harsh response to the Boston Tea Party.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

Colonists organized and participated in the Boston Tea Party of 1773 as a direct response to

Accepted Answer

A)  military seizure of tea and other agricultural goods in Boston Harbor.
B)  atrocities by British garrison troops.
C)  the withdrawal of military protection from commercial ships sailing to the Americas.
D)  the British granting the East India Company a monopoly on the export of tea from Britain.

Question 9

Article VI of the Constitution states that all laws passed by the national government and all treaties are superior to laws adopted by any state. This has come to be known as the

Accepted Answer

A)  supremacy clause.
B)  judicial review clause.
C)  necessary and proper clause.
D)  full faith and credit clause.

Question 10

The framers intended an active and powerful government, so they included language to ensure that Congress could take any step to achieve its enumerated responsibilities. This elastic clause is most commonly known as the

Accepted Answer

A)  necessary and proper clause.
B)  separation of powers clause.
C)  privileges and immunities clause.
D)  national supremacy clause.

Question 11

In 1996, the Defense of Marriage Act was enacted after passing both houses of Congress and being signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman and bans recognition of same-sex marriages. The decision of the Supreme Court to take a case that challenged the constitutionality of the Act is a reflection of which power?

Accepted Answer

A)  reserved power
B)  expressed power
C)  judicial review
D)  veto power

Question 12

The best-known arguments supporting ratification of the Constitution were the 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the name of Publius. These essays are collectively known today as

Accepted Answer

A)  Common Sense.
B)  A Modest Proposal.
C)  the Federalist Papers.
D)  The New Yorker.

Question 13

In the United States, no set of institutional procedures is more important than the

Accepted Answer

A)  Constitution.
B)  Bill of Rights
C)  Articles of Confederation.
D)  Declaration of Independence.

Question 14

The Declaration of Independence was almost entirely written by

Accepted Answer

A)  James Madison.
B)  Thomas Jefferson.
C)  Alexander Hamilton.
D)  George Washington.

Question 15

Why is the process for amending the Constitution a source of path dependency?

Accepted Answer

A)  After the Constitution was amended once, adding new amendments became easier and easier.
B)  Once the Constitution was adopted, the amending process requires supermajority support from multiple institutions and levels of government.
C)  Politicians learned how to amend the Constitution over time, so it became easier.
D)  Congress often prefers to incorporate its policies into the Constitution instead of enacting public laws.

Question 16

In the United States, no set of institutional procedures is more important than the Declaration of Independence.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

The Eighteenth Amendment, having the dubious distinction of being the only constitutional amendment designed to deal directly with some substantive social problem and the only amendment to have been repealed, addressed the issue of

Accepted Answer

A)  slavery.
B)  the income tax.
C)  prohibition of alcohol.
D)  poll taxes.

Question 18

The terms of appointments for senators are staggered so that the terms of one-third of the senators expire every

Accepted Answer

A)  year.
B)  two years.
C)  six years.
D)  four years.

Question 19

The proposal to alter the Articles of Confederation by providing for a system of representation in the national legislature based on the population of each state or the proportion of each state's revenue contribution, or both, was known as the

Accepted Answer

A)  Virginia Plan.
B)  New Jersey Plan.
C)  Massachusetts Plan.
D)  Connecticut Plan.

Question 20

The U.S. Constitution has been amended 27 times, and just 17 times since 1791. What institutional factors help explain the (arguably) low number of amendments to the U.S. Constitution?

Accepted Answer

The answer of The U.S. Constitution has been amended 27...

Exam 2: Constructing a Government: The Founding and the Constitution

Under the Articles of Confederation, the central government was based entirely in Congress.

The British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre were defended by __________, a pillar of Boston society and future president of the United States.

Under the Articles of Confederation, the presiding officer of the executive branch was appointed through a nomination and voting process of the assembled delegates in the Electoral College.

Article I of the U.S. Constitution provides for the

During the 1750s, the British Crown's North American colonies on the whole paid remarkably little in taxes to the mother country.

The issue of counting slaves for purposes of representation was settled by the

Collective action among colonists was sparked by the British government's harsh response to the Boston Tea Party.

Colonists organized and participated in the Boston Tea Party of 1773 as a direct response to

Article VI of the Constitution states that all laws passed by the national government and all treaties are superior to laws adopted by any state. This has come to be known as the

The framers intended an active and powerful government, so they included language to ensure that Congress could take any step to achieve its enumerated responsibilities. This elastic clause is most commonly known as the

The best-known arguments supporting ratification of the Constitution were the 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the name of Publius. These essays are collectively known today as

In the United States, no set of institutional procedures is more important than the

The Declaration of Independence was almost entirely written by

Why is the process for amending the Constitution a source of path dependency?

In the United States, no set of institutional procedures is more important than the Declaration of Independence.

The Eighteenth Amendment, having the dubious distinction of being the only constitutional amendment designed to deal directly with some substantive social problem and the only amendment to have been repealed, addressed the issue of

The terms of appointments for senators are staggered so that the terms of one-third of the senators expire every

The proposal to alter the Articles of Confederation by providing for a system of representation in the national legislature based on the population of each state or the proportion of each state's revenue contribution, or both, was known as the

The U.S. Constitution has been amended 27 times, and just 17 times since 1791. What institutional factors help explain the (arguably) low number of amendments to the U.S. Constitution?