Deck 1: Introduction: American Political Stories: Claiming Rights, Demanding to Be Heard

Question 1

When Thomas Jefferson wrote about the "pursuit of happiness" in the Declaration of Independence, he was actually tapping into which of the following?

A) the ideals of liberty
B) fair and equal justice
C) equality of outcome
D) the American Dream

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The legal basis of Bridget Mergens' claim against her high school was which of the following?

A) the Equal Rights Amendment
B) the Fourteenth Amendment
C) the Civil Rights Act of 1964
D) the Equal Access Act of 1984

Answer 2

D

Question 3

An unintended consequence of the Mergens' decision was the application of the Equal Access Act (EAA) to organizations and clubs related to ______.

A) intramural sports
B) free speech and debate
C) LGBT associations
D) Bible study groups

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Bridget Mergens' request to start a new club on her high school campus was different because she wanted to start a campus-sponsored ______.

A) Christian Bible Club
B) Athletic Booster Club
C) Gay and Lesbian Alliance Club
D) Political Debate Club

Question 5

Which of the following statements best describes the Greek system of democracy?

A) Power is held by government leaders.
B) Power is held by economic factors.
C) Power is held by the common people.
D) Power is held by the physically strong.

Question 6

Which of the following best explains the outcome of the Mergens' case?

A) The Court reaffirmed the principle of separation of church and state by forbidding the creation of faith-based clubs on campus.
B) The Court upheld students' rights to establish faith-based clubs and organizations on high school campuses.
C) The Court refused to acknowledge the Equal Access Act in its application to high school campuses.
D) The Court decided that high school students lacked the maturity to conduct faith-based activities on campus.

Question 7

A system of government in which power is held by the people in that society is best described as a(n) ______.

A) autocracy
B) plutocracy
C) aristocracy
D) democracy

Question 8

Which of the following Supreme Court Justices delivered the majority opinion in favor of Bridget Mergens and the Equal Access Act?

A) Clarence Thomas
B) Anthony Kennedy
C) Sandra Day O'Connor
D) Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Question 9

According to a recent Harvard study, which of the following statements is most correct with regard to the American Dream?

A) Young people 18-27 showed no belief in the achievability of the American Dream.
B) Young people were more likely than the elderly to show faith in the American Dream.
C) The majority of all respondents indicated that the American Dream is no longer alive.
D) Those with college degrees were more likely to say the American Dream is alive.

Question 10

Politics and government are seen as which of the following?

A) synonymous with each other
B) closely connected to each other
C) unrelated to each other
D) opposed to each other

Question 11

In the Declaration of Independence, those rights that are described as "self-evident" are also referred to as ______.

A) inalienable rights
B) privileges of opportunity
C) equality of opportunity
D) the Bill of Rights

Question 12

Within American political ideology, the emphasis tends to be on which of the following?

A) equality of outcome
B) equality of income
C) equality of performance
D) equality of opportunity

Question 13

When the students from Boyd County, Kentucky, had their petition to start a GSA at their school denied, they turned to which organization for help?

A) ACLU
B) NCAA
C) NAACP
D) EPA

Question 14

Politics is best described as the process of which of the following?

A) making and enforcing laws and policies
B) selecting governmental leaders
C) influencing actions and policies of a government
D) administering and executing governmental activities

Question 15

Which of these is a fundamental prerequisite to achieving the American Dream?

A) talent and hard work
B) equality of outcome
C) economic privilege
D) advanced social status

Question 16

What was the purpose of the Equal Access Act of 1984?

A) to enable the ability of public high schools to place limits on faith-based clubs and organizations
B) to restrict the ability of public high schools to limit faith-based clubs and organizations
C) to create new opportunities for students to start a variety of new clubs and organizations
D) to place limits on the types of new clubs and organizations that could be created on a public-school campus

Question 17

Which of the following best describes the difference between privileges and rights?

A) Privileges can only be granted by a government.
B) Rights must be earned through social status.
C) Privileges may be granted and withdrawn by government.
D) Rights and privileges are synonymous with each other.

Question 18

Thomas Jefferson used ideas regarding democracy when drafting the Declaration of Independence, where did these ideas come from?

A) Rome and Spain
B) Great Britain and Greece
C) Greece and Rome
D) Spain and France

Question 19

In 2002, students in Boyd County, Kentucky, petitioned to form a(n) ______ based on their rights under the Equal Access Act.

A) Christian Bible Club
B) Athletic Booster Club
C) Gay and Lesbian Alliance Club
D) Political Debate Club

Question 20

Which of the following laws was passed with the primary intent of restricting the ability of public high schools to exclude faith-based religious extracurricular clubs?

A) the Equal Opportunities Act
B) the Equal Access Act
C) the Religious Freedom Act
D) the Religious Opportunities Act

Question 21

What did the Baron de Montesquieu propose?

A) Power should be shared among political leaders.
B) Power should be divided between different branches.
C) Power should be delegated by a central aristocracy.
D) Power should be held solely by an authoritarian ruler.

Question 22

Which of the following was a reason for colonies wanting to remain sovereign instead of creating a unified legislature?

A) Many colonies were afraid of losing religious freedoms like they had in Great Britain.
B) Many colonies were afraid of land claims creating larger and more powerful colonies at the expense of small colonies.
C) Many colonies were able to form good working relationships with the Native Americans and saw no reason to collaborate with other colonies.
D) Many colonies were still overwhelmingly loyal to Great Britain and the thought of a unified legislature was treasonous in their eyes.

Question 23

Who was the author of the Common Sense pamphlet?

A) John Locke
B) Baron de Montesquieu
C) David Hume
D) Thomas Paine

Question 24

British colonization had which of the following effects on traditional native ways of life?

A) minimal and incomplete
B) comprehensive and total
C) moderate and balanced
D) tolerant and measured

Question 25

Both black slaves and indigenous peoples had which of the following in common?

A) a desire to maintain and defend their native territory
B) an ideal that land could not be owned by any man
C) a struggle to maintain traditional ways of life and culture
D) a tradition of involuntary servitude and European dominance

Question 26

The first elected assembly in colonial America was called ______.

A) the Virginia Commons
B) the Virginia House of Legislation
C) the House of Burgess
D) the House of Parliament

Question 27

Rights which people are born with that cannot be taken away by kings or rulers with absolute power are described as ______.

A) limited rights
B) political privileges
C) natural rights
D) innate privileges

Question 28

American political ideas tend to focus on ensuring equality of economic ______ instead of emphasizing equality of economic outcomes.

A) fortune
B) stability
C) guarantees
D) opportunity

Question 29

Which of the following was considered the goal of the "pamphleteers," including Thomas Paine, in 1776?

A) Their intentions were to start a riot to overthrow Great Britain.
B) Their intentions were to mobilize people in support of their cause.
C) Their intentions were to smear King George III so he would abdicate the throne.
D) Their intentions were to cast doubts within the colonists to keep the colonies sovereign.

Question 30

What was likely the largest factor leading to the decline in Native American populations?

A) technology
B) agriculture
C) education
D) disease

Question 31

Unlike France and Spain, Great Britain lacked a cohesive ______?

A) political policy
B) military policy
C) foreign policy
D) colonial policy

Question 32

Which of the following philosophers did the drafters of the Constitution draw on regarding the natural rights of all citizens that kings cannot take away?

A) John Locke
B) Baron de Montesquieu
C) David Hume
D) Thomas Paine

Question 33

Which of the following best describes the Virginia House of Burgesses?

A) the first elected assembly in Colonial America
B) the first religious body in Colonial America
C) the first agricultural community in Colonial America
D) the first extension of British rule in Colonial America

Question 34

Which of the following was most responsible for Great Britain's increased desire to exert centralized control over its colonies?

A) threat of foreign invasion
B) increasing war debt
C) threat of internal revolution
D) increasing foreign interference

Question 35

Initially, British colonists depended upon ______ of native people for their own survival.

A) technological ignorance and cultural diversity
B) political leadership and a lack of weapons
C) adaptive technologies and agricultural advances
D) ineffective agriculture and a lack of weaponry

Question 36

The first permanent settlement in North America was at ______.

A) Plymouth
B) Philadelphia
C) New York
D) Jamestown

Question 37

The Virginia Company funded the establishment of which settlement?

A) Charleston
B) New York City
C) Philadelphia
D) Jamestown

Question 38

Which of the following companies funded and supported the establishment at Jamestown?

A) Ohio Company
B) Delaware Company
C) Virginia Company
D) Carolina Company

Question 39

Before the Revolutionary War, the governor of Massachusetts questioned how the revolutionaries could justify what?

A) depriving African slaves in their pursuit of happiness by denying their inalienable rights
B) depriving women of full citizenship under the new laws in the colonies
C) forcing Native Americans to give up their rights in order to remain within colonial territory
D) persecuting religious minorities as the King had done while many colonials had still lived in Great Britain

Question 40

The "pursuit of happiness" to reach the American Dream was believed to be achievable by Thomas Jefferson through what?

A) hard work, no taxes, and government assistance
B) sacrifice, government assistance, and luck
C) hard work, sacrifice, and talent
D) talent, luck, and no taxes

Question 41

Thomas Paine unified the colonists into action at a time when many were ready to receive the message by drawing on which of the following ideas?

A) American exceptionalism and supremacy
B) freedom from religious persecution
C) Americans were extensions of the British.
D) Americans had a unique destiny and history.

Question 42

What impact did the Declaration of Rights and Statements of Grievances have in lessening pressures between Great Britain and the colonies?

A) It led to earnest discussions between the colonies and the British Parliament.
B) It led to a lessening of British military aggression through the 13 colonies.
C) It led to the repeal of the Stamp Act but had little effect on the desire for independence.
D) It had minor immediate impact and increased tensions between loyalists and patriots.

Question 43

The proposal for a union of British colonies in North America in which colonial legislatures would appoint delegates to form a law-making body under the direct leadership of Great Britain was referred to as the ______.

A) Connecticut Plan
B) Albany Plan
C) Philadelphia Plan
D) Virginia Plan

Question 44

Which radical organization was most visible and vocal in its dissent against British tax policies of the 1760s?

A) the Second Continental Congress
B) the Sons of Liberty
C) the Daughters of the Revolution
D) the Society of American Loyalists

Question 45

The Daughters of Liberty was formed by women who participated in what?

A) political gatherings
B) religious events
C) tea parties
D) spinning events

Question 46

Benjamin Franklin's proposal for a unified political body was not adopted by colonial governments for which of the following reasons?

A) Great Britain wanted to deal with the colonies as a single nation.
B) The colonies did not wish to give up their own sovereignty.
C) The colonies saw themselves as an extension of Great Britain.
D) Great Britain saw the colonies as an autonomous political unit.

Question 47

The primary means of political propaganda during the 1760s was most probably the _____.

A) newspaper
B) political speech
C) campaign slogan
D) pamphlet

Question 48

Which of the following had the greatest impact on popularizing and spreading the message of American independence?

A) the Sons of Liberty
B) the printing press
C) improved roads and bridges
D) northern industrial expansion

Question 49

A complicating factor for the British revenue policies of the 1760s was that they were instituted during a period of economic ______.

A) expansion
B) recession
C) depression
D) recovery

Question 50

The Treaty of Paris of 1763 left Great Britain ______.

A) a weakened power among northern European nations
B) a weakened sea power in comparison to France and Spain
C) highly dependent upon its colonies for continued power
D) the unquestioned European power in North America and Canada

Question 51

What was the main goal of the Ladies Association created by colonial women like Esther de Berdt Reed and Sarah Franklin Bache?

A) They organized domestic fundraising efforts for the war.
B) They organized political efforts to gain more rights before the war.
C) They organized demonstrations against the treatment of slaves during the war.
D) They organized religious ceremonies for fallen soldiers during the war.

Question 52

The proposer and greatest supporter of the Albany Plan was ______.

A) George Washington
B) Alexander Hamilton
C) Benjamin Franklin
D) Thomas Paine

Question 53

Beginning in the 1770s, what happened to political power in the colonies?

A) It began to shift more in favor of the British loyalists.
B) It began to shift away from moderates to radical groups who called for independence.
C) The political power of radical patriots began to decline in favor of moderate ideals.
D) British loyalists began to dominate the political scene, punishing the patriots.

Question 54

Prior to the Seven Years War, British policy toward the colonies could best be described as ______.

A) support the mother land
B) pay your fair share
C) hands-off
D) direct political control

Question 55

In many ways, colonial opposition to British policies was best described as ______.

A) radical
B) moderate
C) conservative
D) liberal

Question 56

A common phrase associated with the planned strategy of colonial resistance was ______.

A) "give me liberty or give me death"
B) "join or die"
C) "no taxation without representation"
D) "don't tread on me"

Question 57

The war principally between France and Great Britain and other European nations across the globe was known as the ______ in North America.

A) French and Indian War
B) Seven Years War
C) War of the Roses
D) Napoleonic Wars

Question 58

One of the most controversial of British revenue laws of the 1760s was the ______, which attempted to raise money through direct taxes on printed materials such as newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, cards, and dice.

A) Sugar Act
B) Stamp Act
C) Intolerable Acts
D) Currency Act

Question 59

Which of the following could be considered the first national American women's organization?

A) the Daughters of Liberty
B) the Ladies Association
C) the Daughters of the Confederacy
D) the Ladies of Liberty

Question 60

Thomas Paine challenged the legitimacy of the British monarchy and refuted arguments in favor of reconciling England and the colonies by calling King George a ______.

A) "royal brute"
B) "royal fool"
C) "royal usurper"
D) "royal imitator"

Question 61

Which form of government admits no limitations on its power and allows no competing centers of political power?

A) authoritarian
B) totalitarian
C) democratic
D) republican

Question 62

Which of the following delegates first declared the united colonies should be free and independent from the British Crown?

A) Thomas Jefferson
B) Benjamin Franklin
C) Richard Henry Lee
D) Thomas Paine

Question 63

A system of government in which citizens vote directly on public issues in a society could best be described as ______.

A) direct democracy
B) indirect democracy
C) representative democracy
D) limited democracy

Question 64

When did the Second Continental Congress get replaced by the model used in the present day?

A) 1773
B) 1775
C) 1776
D) 1781

Question 65

Virginia Representative ______ offered a motion in Congress declaring American independence on June 7, 1776.

A) Thomas Jefferson
B) Richard Henry Lee
C) Patrick Henry
D) John Hancock

Question 66

In devising a system of government, basic questions must be resolved with regard to which of the following?

A) conducting and determining elections
B) acquiring and distributing power
C) collecting and spending taxes
D) dividing and limiting government

Question 67

Which of the following battles secured the win for the Americans during the Revolutionary War?

A) Battle of Yorktown
B) Battle of Lexington and Concord
C) Battle of Arlington
D) Battle of Potomac

Question 68

Which of the following was a unique exception to the suppression of female participation in colonial times?

A) trade
B) politics
C) ownership
D) religion

Question 69

Which form of government suppresses the voices of its own citizens to maintain a group in power while allowing some economic or social institutions to exist without government control?

A) authoritarian
B) totalitarian
C) democratic
D) republican

Question 70

American independence came as an immediate result of victory in which of the following battles?

A) the Battle of Trenton
B) the Battle of Bunker Hill
C) the Battle of Saratoga
D) the Battle of Yorktown

Question 71

What pamphlet, authored by Esther DeBerdt Reed and published in June 1780, laid out the necessity for colonial women to organize aid to the revolutionary cause?

A) "The Sentiments of the American Woman"
B) "The Declaration of Sentiments, Grievances, and Resolutions"
C) "The Women's Declaration of Independent Sentiments"
D) "The Discussion of Women's Grievances and Arguments"

Question 72

Monarchies, theocracies, and oligarchies all share which of the following?

A) They admit no external challenges to their power or authority.
B) They allow moderate challenge to their power or authority.
C) They are highly influenced by the power of the individual citizen.
D) They admit some external judicial challenges to their authority.

Question 73

The systematic design to keep women out of involvement in government and public life could best be described as ______.

A) "supportive suppression"
B) "selective obsession"
C) "protective oppression"
D) "collective inclusion"

Question 74

In 1770, the confrontation between a mob of Bostonians and a small group of British soldiers beginning with taunts and snowballs and ending in the deaths of five American colonials was referred to as the ______.

A) Boston Tea Party
B) Boston Rampage
C) Boston Uprising
D) Boston Massacre

Question 75

Those rules, laws, and structures that channel and shape political actions are described as ______.

A) governmental units
B) political ideologies
C) democratic ideals
D) political institutions

Question 76

Replacement of British textiles, in particular, brought colonial women together in which of the following organizations?

A) Daughters of Liberty
B) Daughters of the Revolution
C) Daughters of Patriotism
D) Daughters of Commerce

Question 77

During the time of the Second Continental Congress, which of the following groups were opposed to independence from Great Britain?

A) wealthy elites
B) radicals
C) moderates
D) slaves

Question 78

As America moved toward revolution, colonial Americans saw improvements in ______.

A) social equality and liberty at all levels
B) social equality with the exception of northern mercantilists
C) social equality with the exception of southern plantation societies
D) social equality with the exception of western settlers

Question 79

In April of 1773, a group of ______ in Massachusetts petitioned the government for a redress of their grievances, expressing their own natural rights as a reason for their freedom.

A) indentured servants
B) colonial patriots
C) colonial lawyers
D) African Americans

Question 80

After the Battle of Yorktown, American independence was secured with which of the following?

A) the Treaty of Gent
B) the Treaty of Brussels
C) the Treaty of Paris
D) the Treaty of Versailles