Deck 2: The Constitution and Its Origins

Question 1

What did the Fourteenth Amendment achieve?

Answer 1

The Fourteenth Amendment gave citizenship to African Americans and made all Americans equal before the law regardless of race or color. Over the years it has also been used to require states to guarantee their residents the same protections as those granted by the federal government in the Bill of Rights

Question 2

How many states must ratify an amendment before it becomes law?

A) all
B) three-fourths
C) two-thirds
D) one-half

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Critical Thinking Questions


-Do the Constitution and the Bill of Rights protect the life, liberty, and property of all Americans? Why or why not?

Answer 3

Today, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights protect the life, liberty, and property of all Americans. All people have the right to worship as they please and criticize the government, and all are guaranteed due process and trial by jury in criminal cases. However, this has not always been the case. African Americans and women, for example, have not always been guaranteed the protections afforded by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Question 4

According to the Great Compromise, how would representation in Congress be apportioned?

A) Each state would have equal representation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
B) Congress would be a unicameral legislature with each state receiving equal representation.
C) Representation in the House of Representatives would be based on each state's population and every state would have two senators.
D) Representation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate would be based on a state's population.

Question 5

Critical Thinking Questions


-Was the Bill of Rights a necessary addition to the Constitution? Defend your answer.

Question 6

Critical Thinking Questions


-Was Britain truly depriving colonists of their natural rights? Explain your reasoning.

Question 7

Critical Thinking Questions


-One of the chief areas of compromise at the Constitutional Convention was the issue of slavery. Should delegates who opposed slavery have been willing to compromise? Why or why not?

Question 8

What does separation of powers mean?

Question 9

What argument did Alexander Hamilton use to convince people that it was not dangerous to place power in the hands of one man?

A) That man would have to pass a religious test before he could become president; thus, citizens could be sure that he was of good character.
B) One man could respond to crises more quickly than a group of men like Congress.
C) It was easier to control the actions of one man than the actions of a group.
D) both B and C

Question 10

What important power did the national government lack under the Articles of Confederation?

A) It could not coin money.
B) It could not declare war.
C) It could not impose taxes.
D) It could not conduct foreign affairs.

Question 11

Critical Thinking Questions


-What core values and beliefs led to the American Revolution and the writing of the Articles of Confederation? How do these values and beliefs affect American politics today?

Question 12

In what ways did Shays' Rebellion reveal the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?

Question 13

What actions by the British government convinced the colonists that they needed to declare their independence?

Question 14

Why were The Federalist Papers written?

A) To encourage states to oppose the Constitution.
B) To encourage New York to ratify the Constitution.
C) To oppose the admission of slaveholding states to the federal union.
D) To encourage people to vote for George Washington as the nation's first president.

Question 15

British colonists in North America in the late seventeenth century were greatly influenced by the political thought of ________.

A) King James II
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) John Locke
D) James Madison

Question 16

The agreement that citizens will consent to be governed so long as government protects their natural rights is called ________.

A) the divine right of kings
B) the social contract
C) a bill of rights
D) due process

Question 17

What key tenets of American political thought were influential in the decision to declare independence from Britain?

Question 18

What is the Bill of Rights?

A) first ten amendments to the Constitution that protect individual freedoms
B) powers given to Congress in Article I of the Constitution
C) twenty-seven amendments added to the Constitution over the years
D) document authored by Thomas Jefferson that details the rights of the citizens

Question 19

Why did so many people oppose ratification of the Constitution, and how was their opposition partly overcome?

Question 20

How did the delegates to the Constitutional Convention resolve their disagreement regarding slavery?

A) It was agreed that Congress would abolish slavery in 1850.
B) It was agreed that a state's slave population would be counted for purposes of representation but not for purposes of taxation.
C) It was agreed that a state's slave population would be counted for purposes of taxation but not for purposes of representation.
D) It was agreed that 60 percent of a state's slave population would be counted for purposes of both representation and taxation.

Question 21

Critical Thinking Questions


-Is the federal government too powerful? Should states have more power? If so, what specific power(s) should states have?

Question 22

Critical Thinking Questions


-What new amendments should be added to the Constitution? Why?