Deck 3: The Constitution: Limiting Governmental Power

Question 1

Which state refused to send a delegation to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia?

A)Massachusetts
B)Virginia
C)Rhode Island
D)Georgia

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Natural law,according to John Locke,gives individuals the right to life,liberty,and __________.

A)free association
B)responsible government
D)property
D)the pursuit of happiness

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In what year was the Declaration of Independence signed?

A)1776
B)1801
C)1797
D)1789

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following debated and adopted the Declaration of Independence?

A)Constitutional Congress
B)First Continental Congress
C)Revolutionary Congress
D)Second Continental Congress

Question 5

Who was the author of the Declaration of Independence?

A)James Madison
B)Benjamin Franklin
C)Paul Revere
D)Thomas Jefferson

Question 6

Who authored the following: "We hold these truths to be self evident,that all men are created equal,that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights …"?

A)John Adams
B)Benjamin Franklin
C)Thomas Jefferson
D)James Madison

Question 7

What happened at the Annapolis Convention?

A)Delegates called for a convention to rework the Articles of Confederation.
B)The Declaration of Independence was approved by all thirteen states.
C)Delegates resolved disputes between Virginia and Maryland regarding commerce and navigation rights.
D)The Articles of Confederation were scrapped and a new constitution was written and approved.

Question 8

Which of the following philosophers greatly influenced the colonists' views on the role of government?

A)John Dewey
B)John Locke
C)Martin Heidegger
D)Michael Foucault

Question 9

What is the name given to the law that governed people before governments existed?

A)original law
B)Biblical law
C)natural law
D)universal law

Question 10

At the Constitutional Convention,the delegates agreed that slaves would be counted as __________ of a person for determining population for representation in the House of Representatives.

A)four-fifths
B)three-fifths
C)two-thirds
D)one-third

Question 11

How did delegates to the Constitutional Convention sidestep their original mandate?

A)They aimed to weaken federal power and give even more power to the individual states.
B)They quickly decided to scrap the Articles of Confederation and write a new constitution.
C)They desperately tried to find a way to make the existing Articles of Confederation work.
D)They focused almost exclusively on commerce and navigation between the states.

Question 12

These authorized settlement of the colonies in America and were granted by royal action.

A)colonial charters
B)Charter Oak Affair
C)Magna Carta
D)Mayflower Compact

Question 13

Which of the following plans proposed proportional representation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate?

A)Ohio
B)Virginia
C)New Jersey
D)Massachusetts

Question 14

How was Shays's Rebellion finally crushed?

A)banks were destroyed or fled
B)compromise between farmers and banks
C)federal legal intervention
D)mercenary army intervention

Question 15

Which of the following was a problem under the Articles of Confederation?

A)The national government was too strong compared to the states.
B)The government derived its power from the citizens themselves.
C)Congress imposed excessive taxes.
D)Many different forms of money were circulating.

Question 16

How did the Articles of Confederation affect America's territories west of the Appalachian Mountains?

A)The federal government was able to easily force the British out of American territory,opening the way for settlement.
B)The Articles promised statehood to any region west of the Appalachians that attained a population of 50,000.
C)The federal government's military weakness along its frontiers kept the land value low.
D)Each state ceded its territorial claims to land west of the Appalachians,giving the federal government great power in the territories.

Question 17

As described in Table 3.1,Constitutional Compromise,the Virginia Plan had a two-house legislature,whereas the __________ Plan had only one.

A)New Jersey
B)Massachusetts
C)North Carolina
D)Delaware

Question 18

Under the Articles of Confederation,Congress relied on ________ as a major source of funding.

A)foreign loans
B)loans from wealthy patriot investors
C)income taxes
D)sales tax

Question 19

The U.S.Constitution was adopted in response to the weaknesses of the Articles of __________.

A)Unity
B)Revolution
C)America
D)Confederation

Question 20

What is the foundational document from which all subsequent charters intended to limit government derive?

A)colonial charters
B)Declaration of Independence
C)Magna Carta
D)Mayflower Compact

Question 21

According to the Constitution,the __________ has the power to approve all treaties the United States enters into with other nations.

A)Senate
B)House of Representatives
C)Supreme Court
D)president

Question 22

The Constitution did not permit taxes on exports,mainly to protect __________.

A)hunters and trappers
B)shopkeepers and manufacturers
C)southern planters
D)New England shipbuilders

Question 23

Which of the following was part of both the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution?

A)Congress
B)the presidency
C)the federal judiciary
D)collection of taxes by the federal government

Question 24

Why did the Founders give Congress the power to coin money and regulate its value,and prohibit individual states from issuing their own paper money?

A)to keep inflation low
B)to raise the unemployment rate
C)to drive up the price of American exports
D)to make it more difficult for the federal government to borrow money

Question 25

What was the subject of the Great Compromise?

A)the legality of slavery
B)the form of the legislative branch
C)the number of states in the Union
D)the number of Supreme Court justices

Question 26

Many of the Founders believed that the __________ contract gave the government its legitimacy.

A)implied
B)social
C)governing
D)consent

Question 27

According to the Constitution,who was given specific authority to declare war?

A)Congress
B)the Supreme Court
C)the president
D)state legislatures

Question 28

Which of the following played little role in the development of the Constitution?

A)bankers and investors
B)land speculators
C)planters and traders
D)slave owners

Question 29

Which plan called for a one-house legislature and multiperson executive?

A)New Jersey
B)Connecticut
C)Maryland
D)Virginia

Question 30

Which of the following advocates for limited government that is based on popular consent,but protects against majority tyranny?

A)democracy
B)republicanism
C)libertarianism
D)federalism

Question 31

Which clause provides that the Constitution shall be the supreme law of the land?

A)full faith and credit
B)primacy
C)due process
D)supremacy

Question 32

The Constitution gives the power over the nation's armed forces to the __________.

A)Congress
B)president
C)Supreme Court
D)Secretary of Defense

Question 33

Congress is sometimes said to possess the "power of the purse." What is meant by this saying?

A)Only Congress has the power to coin money and regulate its value.
B)Congress has the power to ask the individual states to contribute to pay off the national debt.
C)The president cannot veto any law that Congress passes if it relates to finances.
D)Only Congress has the power to tax and spend.

Question 34

Republicanism most directly implies __________.

A)conservative government
B)democratic government
C)limited government
D)representative government

Question 35

Which state's representation plan included a council of revision?

A)Virginia
B)Delaware
C)Connecticut
D)New Jersey

Question 36

What did supporters of the New Jersey Plan want to do to the Articles of Confederation?

A)repeal them
B)replace them
C)strengthen them
D)weaken them

Question 37

At the founding of our nation,most delegates believed that only which of the following should be able to vote?

A)native-born citizens
B)married men
C)male property owners
D)wealthy citizens

Question 38

Which delegate believed in universal male suffrage?

A)John Adams
B)Benjamin Franklin
C)John Jay
D)Thomas Jefferson

Question 39

The original Constitution placed most of the tax burden on Americans in the form of __________.

A)tariffs on imported goods
B)an income tax
C)a national sales tax
D)property taxes

Question 40

In the writing of the Constitution,which concept was adopted from John Locke?

A)capitalist free-market system
B)individual liberty and property
C)nationalism
D)republicanism

Question 41

In the United States,the national government derives its power from which of the following?

A)states
B)courts
C)legislature
D)citizens

Question 42

In which of the following systems is government by representatives of the people instead of directly by the people themselves?

A)republic
B)monarchy
C)democracy
D)oligarchy

Question 43

Why is the House of Representatives sometimes referred to as "the people's house"?

A)Unlike the Senate,any American citizen can serve in the House of Representatives.
B)It was originally the only federal decision-making body elected directly by voters in the states.
C)The House was originally the only branch of government in which women could legally serve.
D)The American people tend to pay more attention to affairs in the House than in any other branch of government.

Question 44

Which of the following generally favored a strong national government and supported the proposed U.S.Constitution?

A)Tories
B)Whigs
C)Federalists
D)Anti-Federalists

Question 45

Members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the __________ and confirmed by the __________.

A)Senate; president
B)House of Representatives; Senate
C)president; Senate
D)Senate; House of Representatives

Question 46

For which of the following did the Constitution allow selection by popular vote?

A)House of Representatives
B)presidency
C)Senate
D)Supreme Court

Question 47

Which of the following is a reason for the separation of powers?

A)to ensure the power of the executive
B)to promote justice
C)to prevent tyranny by any one branch
D)to create gridlock in government

Question 48

If a state law allows the use of medical marijuana but federal law prohibits it,the state law violates which clause of the Constitution?

A)supremacy
B)commerce
C)due process
D)equal protection

Question 49

In what year was the U.S.Constitution ratified?

A)1776
B)1788
C)1791
D)1797

Question 50

Prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment,how were senators selected?

A)by direct election
B)by the president
C)by state legislatures
D)by state governors

Question 51

Which of the following holds office for life or until retirement?

A)a Supreme Court justice
B)a Senator
C)the chief executive
D)a Representative

Question 52

The legislative branch of the U.S.government includes which of the following?

A)the Senate
B)the Supreme Court
C)the president
D)the vice president

Question 53

Judicial review gives __________.

A)Congress the power to review the financial affairs of the federal courts
B)the Supreme Court the power to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional
C)the executive authority the power to review the judiciary for impropriety
D)Congress the ability to overturn judicial rulings

Question 54

What is the principle that each branch of the federal government has the means to thwart or influence actions by other branches of government?

A)weights and measures
B)checks and balances
C)balances and powers
D)checks and freedoms

Question 55

Which of the following is a congressional check on the president?

A)can declare laws unconstitutional
B)can nominate judges
C)can refuse to ratify treaties
D)can pardon persons convicted by federal courts

Question 56

As depicted in Figure 3.2,Confidence in the Three Branches of Government,the American people believe which branch of government is the most trustworthy?

A)all branches are equally trustworthy
B)the presidency
C)the Supreme Court
D)Congress

Question 57

The Articles of Confederation required __________ consent from the states for amendments to be approved.

A)three-fifths
B)unanimous
C)two-thirds
D)majority

Question 58

The provision in the Constitution that makes state law subordinate to federal law is the __________.

A)supremacy clause
B)state inferiority clause
C)necessary and proper clause
D)full faith and credit clause

Question 59

The Constitution divides power between the national government and state governments.This is a key tenet of __________.

A)confederation
B)federalism
C)pure democracy
D)oligarchy

Question 60

Why was the Marbury v.Madison decision important?

A)It made slavery illegal in theory though not in practice.
B)It made the Constitution the supreme law of the nation.
C)It institutionalized the federal central bank.
D)It firmly established the principle of judicial review.

Question 61

Who of the following was most likely to support proposed provisions that strengthened national power?

A)James Madison
B)Patrick Henry
C)George Mason
D)Samuel Adams

Question 62

What was the greatest fear of the Anti-Federalists during the Constitutional Convention and subsequent debate?

A)that a weak national government would undermine the survival of the United States
B)that a strong national government would infringe on the essential liberties of the people
C)that a powerful judiciary would restrict freedom of religion
D)that powerful state governments would never assent to the new Constitution

Question 63

Why did the Founders call for special ratifying conventions in the states rather than ask state legislatures to ratify the Constitution?

A)The Founders knew that they could get unanimous consent for the Constitution only through such a tactic.
B)The Constitution placed many prohibitions on state power,which the Founders feared would prevent legislatures from ratifying the document.
C)State legislators were not as educated as members of the ratifying conventions and would not have understood Federalist arguments.
D)The Articles of Confederation required such a procedure if a new governing document were to be proposed.

Question 64

Under the Articles of Confederation,Congress had no power to tax the people directly.

Question 65

Which of the following were most likely to oppose the proposed Constitution?

A)merchants
B)bankers
C)plantation owners
D)small farmers

Question 66

Merchants disliked the Articles of Confederation because of what they considered overregulation and interference in interstate commerce.

Question 67

In which state was Anti-Federalist sentiment especially strong?

A)Massachusetts
B)Delaware
C)New Jersey
D)Virginia

Question 68

How is a constitutional amendment ratified?

A)either by two-thirds of state legislatures or by special state conventions in two-thirds of the states
B)either by three-fourths of state legislatures or by special state conventions in three-fourths of the states
C)either by two-thirds of the U.S.Congress or by two-thirds of the U.S.Senate
D)either by three-fourths of the U.S.Congress or by three-fourths of the U.S.Senate

Question 69

Jackie attends a protest against animal testing.Which of the following secures her right to attend this protest?

A)Bill of Rights
B)Mayflower Compact
C)Declaration of Independence
D)Articles of Confederation

Question 70

How did the Framers deal with divisions between the states over ratification of the Constitution?

A)They required unanimity from all thirteen states.
B)They allowed the convention to impose the Constitution without ratification.
C)They required nine of thirteen states to ratify.
D)They required a simple majority of the thirteen states (seven)to ratify.

Question 71

Which of the following generally opposed the Senate because it would operate as an "aristocratic" upper house?

A)Anti-Federalists
B)Federalists
C)Tories
D)Whigs

Question 72

The Mayflower Compact set forth a precedent of government that would later be used in the colony the Pilgrims formed at Plymouth.

Question 73

Powers specifically mentioned in the Constitution as belonging to the national government are called __________ powers.

A)constitutional
B)supremacy
C)federal
D)enumerated

Question 74

In what year was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?

A)1776
B)1788
C)1789
D)1791

Question 75

A constitution is a written document establishing the structure,functions,and limitations of a government.

Question 76

Why was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?

A)to establish a state church
B)to outline the basic structure of the judiciary
C)to safeguard individual liberties
D)to provide protection from ex post facto laws

Question 77

What did James Madison believe was the greatest source of conflict in society?

A)unequal distribution of property
B)feeble government
C)religious differences
D)slavery system

Question 78

Which of the following remains a compelling source for determining the intent of the Framers?

A)the Federalist Papers
B)Common Sense
C)Treatise on Government
D)the Declaration of Independence

Question 79

Under the Articles of Confederation,states were free to tax the goods of other states.

Question 80

How many amendments have been made to the Constitution since its ratification?

A)ten
B)fifteen
C)twenty-seven
D)thirty-six