Deck 2: The Founding and the Constitution

Question 1

The Declaration of Independence was remarkable for its assertion that there are certain unalienable rights including:

A)life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness
B)due process and equal protection under the law
C)justice,domestic tranquility,and general welfare
D)freedom of religion,freedom of the press,and freedom of speech
E)liberty,equality,and fraternity

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In the chain of events leading up to the American Revolution,the radical forces were permitted to expand their political influence because the colonial elites were split by:

A)disagreement over slavery
B)western boundary disputes
C)a lack of common currency
D)British tax and trade policies
E)an inability to bridge their language barriers

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following was NOT one of the sectors of society that was particularly influential in colonial politics?

A)New England merchants
B)Southern planters
C)Daughters of the American Revolution
D)small farmers
E)shopkeepers

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The Boston Tea Party set into motion a cycle of provocation and retaliation that,in 1774,resulted in the convening of an assembly of delegates from all parts of the colonies called the:

A)First Colonial Convention
B)Grand Conclave
C)Boston Confederated Congress
D)Philadelphia Constitutional Convention
E)First Continental Congress

Question 5

The colonists organized and participated in the Boston Tea Party of 1773 as a response to:

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

Question 6

The Boston Tea Party was led by:

A)Patrick Henry
B)Thomas Payne
C)Samuel Adams
D)Alexander Hamilton
E)John Burgoyne

Question 7

In 1773,the British government granted a monopoly on the export of tea from Britain to the politically powerful East India Company who sought to bypass the colonial merchants and sell the tea directly to the colonies.The merchants called on their radical adversaries for support,and the most dramatic result was the:

A)Boston Tea Party
B)attack on Fort Sill
C)Philadelphia slaughter
D)ceremonial burning of the "Union Jack" flag in the Philadelphia town square
E)inciting of pirate attacks on East India Company ships

Question 8

What was the ultimate goal of the radical participants in the Boston Tea Party?

A)Rescind the Tea Act.
B)Rescind the Stamp Act.
C)Close Boston Harbor to British commerce.
D)Alienate the British government from its colonial supporters.
E)Prevent the removal of British garrison troops.

Question 9

The result of the 1777 Continental Congress was a constitution concerned primarily with:

A)preventing domestic insurrection
B)limiting the powers of the central government
C)generating new tax revenues to help pay for armed resistance
D)regulating trade among the colonies as well as imports and exports
E)centralizing currency and monetary policy

Question 10

It is possible that the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia would never have taken place at all if not for a single event that occurred soon after the 1786 meeting of state delegates in Annapolis,Maryland.This event was:

A)Shays's Rebellion
B)the Boston Massacre
C)the Boston Tea Party
D)the hanging in effigy of the tax man
E)the assassination of Elbridge Gerry,governor of Massachusetts

Question 11

Under the Articles of Confederation,what power was Congress given?

A)the power to levy taxes
B)the power to restrict slavery
C)the power to regulate commerce
D)the power to build a standing army
E)the power to declare war

Question 12

By dumping the East India Company's tea into Boston Harbor,Samuel Adams and his followers pressured the British into enacting a number of harsh reprisals that:

A)radicalized Americans to resist British rule
B)effectively ended the slave trade in the Northern states
C)temporarily softened public support for revolutionary forces
D)benefited Southern planters at the expense of New England merchants
E)spurred the emigration of French Huguenots

Question 13

The Declaration of Independence was written by:

A)James Madison
B)Thomas Jefferson
C)George Washington
D)Alexander Hamilton
E)John Randolph

Question 14

The one positive result of the meeting of delegates from five states in Annapolis,Maryland,was a resolution calling for:

A)a declaration of independence from England
B)a boycott of tea,linens,and other goods from England
C)ratification of the new Constitution of the United States
D)a national day of prayer
E)a later meeting in Philadelphia to reform the Articles of Confederation

Question 15

Among the sectors of society that were important in colonial politics prior to the American Revolution,the more radical forces were represented by:

A)New England merchants
B)holders of lands,offices,and patents
C)Southern planters and shipbuilders
D)shopkeepers,laborers,and small farmers
E)well-organized labor unions

Question 16

Prior to the Revolutionary War,British policies harmed the economic interests of which two large sectors of colonial society that previously supported British rule?

A)royalists and small farmers
B)Southern planters and New England merchants
C)laborers and small farmers
D)New England merchants and shopkeepers
E)Southern planters and royalists

Question 17

Besides the United States under the Articles of Confederation,what is another example of a confederate system of government where the subunits of government retain sovereignty and virtually all government powers?

A)the United States under the original Constitution of 1787
B)the United States today under the Constitution of 1787 as amended
C)the United Nations and its member states
D)the United Kingdom
E)Japan after the revision of its constitution in 1947

Question 18

In November 1777,the Continental Congress adopted the United States' first written constitution.It was known as the:

A)Virginia Plan
B)Annapolis Convention
C)Declaration of Independence
D)Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union
E)Seneca Falls Declaration

Question 19

Daniel Shays,a former army captain,led a mob in a rebellion against the Massachusetts government in order to:

A)open up western territories for expansion
B)prevent foreclosures on farm lands
C)release certain British loyalists from captivity as prisoners of war
D)receive full military pensions for service in the Revolutionary War
E)destroy excess supplies of wheat and corn,thereby increasing the market price for these commodities

Question 20

During the winter of 1786-1787,John Adams of Massachusetts was sent to negotiate a new treaty with the British to cover disputes left over from the war.The British government responded that it would:

A)set a blockade around Boston Harbor
B)relinquish control over the lands to the west
C)negotiate with each of the thirteen states separately
D)require war reparations before signing any new treaty
E)need France's approval before suspending war reparations

Question 21

The framers of the American Constitution sought to prevent the perceived threat of "excessive democracy" through a number of institutional innovations.Which constitutional provision did NOT prevent the threat of excessive democracy?

A)allowing each branch of government to participate in and influence the activities of the other branches
B)dividing the legislative assembly into two chambers
C)electing the president by the Electoral College and senators by state legislatures
D)electing members of the House of Representatives every two years
E)renovating one-third of the Senate every two years

Question 22

The Constitution grants the power to ratify treaties to the:

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

Question 23

Why did Shays's Rebellion enable collective action among those who wanted to revise the Articles of Confederation?

A)Shays was a charismatic political entrepreneur who was able to bring together several key opponents of the Articles.
B)The rebellion provided politicians who were already convinced of the inadequacy of the Articles with the ammunition they needed to convince a broader public of the inadequacy of the Articles.
C)The rebellion showed that the federal government was already strong enough to quell an uprising,which demonstrated that taking further steps toward a stronger central government was an attainable goal.
D)Shays introduced key figures in western Massachusetts to the concept of civil disobedience,which in turn caught on with opponents of the Articles across the country.
E)Shays demonstrated a new strategy to provide selective incentives to institutional reformers.

Question 24

Under the American Constitution,the part of elected government designed to be directly responsible to the people was the:

A)Senate
B)judiciary
C)bureaucracy
D)House of Representatives
E)Electoral College

Question 25

Which state did NOT send delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia?

A)Vermont
B)Delaware
C)Rhode Island
D)Massachusetts
E)Georgia

Question 26

The political significance of the Great Compromise and the Three-fifths Compromise was to:

A)confirm the immorality of slavery
B)affirm the principle of checks and balances
C)support the unalienable rights of individuals
D)ensure that the United States would continue to expand westward
E)reinforce the unity of the mercantile and planter forces

Question 27

The question of counting slaves for purposes of representation was ultimately resolved by counting:

A)slaves just as nonslaves for purposes of representation
B)every five slaves as three people for purposes of representation
C)every four slaves as three people for purposes of representation
D)every two slaves as one person for purposes of representation
E)every slave as one person for allocation of block grants but prohibiting voting by slaves

Question 28

A legislative assembly such as the Congress that is divided into two chambers (or houses)is best described as:

A)bipolar
B)dual-bodied
C)bipartisan
D)bicameral
E)bilateral

Question 29

The agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention to adopt the proposal that gave each state an equal number of senators regardless of population,but linked representation in the House of Representatives to population,became known as the:

A)Boston Plan
B)Philadelphia Plan
C)Great Compromise
D)Three-fifths Compromise
E)Jefferson Compromise

Question 30

The state legislature of Georgia,known as the Georgia General Assembly,with its upper chamber (the Georgia Senate)and lower chamber (the Georgia House of Representatives),is an institution that exemplifies the principle of:

A)bicameralism
B)bilateralism
C)binary legislativism
D)bifurcated representation
E)institutional dualism

Question 31

What was the most difficult issue faced by the framers of the Constitution?

A)taxes
B)slavery
C)foreign trade
D)the status of the Native American tribes
E)religion

Question 32

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:

A)Virginia Plan
B)New Jersey Plan
C)Connecticut Plan
D)Massachusetts Plan
E)Rousseau solution

Question 33

Which branch of government has the power to create inferior (lower)courts,change the jurisdiction of federal courts,add or subtract federal judges,and even change the size of the Supreme Court?

A)judiciary
B)Congress
C)executive
D)bureaucracy
E)attorney general

Question 34

In 2012,the five smallest states held roughly 0.5 percent of the seats in the U.S.House of Representatives and 10 percent of the seats in the U.S.Senate.These differing levels of representation of the five small states were the result of which decision during the Constitutional Convention?

A)the New Jersey Plan
B)the Virginia Plan
C)the Three-Fifths Compromise
D)the Great Compromise
E)the Separation of Powers

Question 35

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

A)year
B)two years
C)four years
D)six years
E)eight years

Question 36

Under the unamended Constitution of 1787,what were U.S.senators selected by?

A)direct elections
B)state legislatures
C)the Electoral College
D)the state delegation to the House of Representatives
E)random selection from the major landowners of each state

Question 37

The proposal offered by the smaller states during the Constitutional Convention that argued each state should be equally represented in the new regime regardless of its population was known as the:

A)Virginia Plan
B)Brunswick Plan
C)Connecticut Plan
D)Massachusetts Plan
E)New Jersey Plan

Question 38

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

A)judicial branch
B)executive branch
C)legislative branch
D)role of state governments
E)freedom of speech,religion,and press

Question 39

Why did the smaller states object to the Virginia Plan?

A)Roger Sherman and other small state delegates disliked Madison and Randolph and did not want them to receive recognition for advancing the Virginia Plan.
B)Small states wanted to maintain the existing institutions (the Articles of Confederation),and thought the large states were wrong for trying to change the system.
C)The Virginia Plan provided greater representation in the national legislature for larger and/or wealthier states,which disadvantaged the small states.
D)The small states tended to be from the North and objected to the strong proslavery content in the Virginia Plan.
E)The smaller states feared that the national government would force them to pay equal shares of the national budget.

Question 40

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

A)Great Compromise
B)Virginia Plan
C)Three-Fifths Compromise
D)Seventh Amendment
E)Franklin Proviso

Question 41

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 defined marriage as between a man and a woman and banned 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?

A)reserved power
B)expressed power
C)veto power
D)judicial review
E)the supremacy clause

Question 42

In order to protect federal judges from political influence from citizens and other branches,the framers:

A)ordered that federal judges be selected in democratic elections
B)prohibited the selection of federal judges that share the sitting president's party identification
C)ruled that judges cannot run for reelection at the end of their terms
D)prohibited Congress from impeaching federal judges
E)granted federal judges lifetime appointments to their offices

Question 43

No principle was more widely shared among the framers of the American Constitution than the principle espoused by Baron de Montesquieu that:

A)the citizen must serve the state
B)power must be used to balance power
C)the accused are innocent until proven guilty
D)national powers must be delegated to the states
E)absolute power corrupts absolutely

Question 44

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:

A)supremacy clause
B)judicial review clause
C)full faith and credit clause
D)necessary and proper clause
E)popular mandate

Question 45

In 2010,the Republican Party was able to retake majority control of the U.S.House of Representatives due to anger toward President Barack Obama and the recent passage of the Affordable Care Act.With majority control of the House,Republicans were able to pass a repeal of the Affordable Care Act,yet the Act remains law due to continued support in the Senate and the executive branch.The failure to overturn the Affordable Care Act reflects which component of the Constitution?

A)separation of powers
B)Bill of Rights
C)federalism
D)necessary and proper clause
E)judicial review

Question 46

During the Constitutional Convention,the motion to include a bill of rights was:

A)tabled at the insistence of delegates from Rhode Island
B)approved almost unanimously
C)incorporated as part of the full faith and credit clause after lengthy debate
D)included in the section enumerating the powers of the national government with little floor debate
E)overwhelmingly rejected

Question 47

The idea that the federal government can exercise only the powers specifically articulated in the Constitution is known as the doctrine of:

A)implied powers
B)expressed powers
C)separation of powers
D)necessary and proper powers
E)original limits

Question 48

When President George W.Bush reduced presidential assistant "Scooter" Libby's jail sentence that had been imposed when Libby revealed the name of an undercover CIA operative,he exemplified the power of the president to:

A)recognize foreign countries
B)exert informal influence with the judiciary
C)exert civil authority over the military
D)issue executive orders
E)grant reprieves and pardons

Question 49

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

A)Common Sense
B)A Modest Proposal
C)The Federalist Papers
D)The Democracy Dialogues
E)The New Yorker

Question 50

The framers intended an active and powerful government,so they included language to signify that the enumerated powers were meant to be a source of strength to the national government,not a limitation on it.This "elastic clause" is most commonly known as the:

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

Question 51

The presidential veto power over legislation,the power of the Senate to approve presidential appointments,and judicial review over acts of Congress and presidential actions are examples of the principle in the American political system of:

A)federalism
B)checks and balances
C)separation of powers
D)separated institutions sharing powers
E)gridlock intervals

Question 52

Which of the following is NOT a power that the president can exercise unilaterally (without the approval of Congress)?

A)to grant reprieves and pardons
B)to accept ambassadors
C)to veto legislation
D)to declare war
E)to appoint department heads

Question 53

In the system devised by the framers of the Constitution,sovereignty was vested in:

A)the federal government only
B)state governments only
C)both the federal and state governments
D)local governments
E)the executive branch

Question 54

The framers of the Constitution sought to insulate the president from excessively democratic pressures through:

A)a lifetime appointment
B)direct oversight by independent departments
C)an indirect election through the Electoral College
D)a limitation of only two consecutive terms in office
E)the power to grant pardons

Question 55

The United States currently maintains an embargo against Cuba to prevent individuals or businesses from engaging in economic activities with this island nation.If the state of Florida decided to sign a free trade agreement with Cuba,Florida would be violating which part of the Constitution?

A)the commerce clause
B)the Bill of Rights
C)judicial review
D)the necessary and proper clause
E)the supremacy clause

Question 56

James Madison wrote in Federalist 51,"The power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments,and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments.Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people.The different governments will control each other,at the same time that each will be controlled by itself." Which constitutional principle is best reflected by this statement?

A)bicameralism
B)federalism
C)checks and balances
D)judicial review
E)representative government

Question 57

The power of the courts to render the final decision in cases involving a conflict of interpretation of the Constitution or of laws between the courts and Congress,the courts and the executive branch,or the courts and the states is referred to as:

A)judicial review
B)ceteris paribus
C)juridic oversight
D)contra bonos mores
E)lex suprema

Question 58

Compared to the confederation principle of the Articles of Confederation,federalism was a step toward:

A)greater centralization of power
B)eliminating the power of state governments
C)increasing the sovereignty of state governments
D)weakening the power of the national government
E)increasing the separation of federal and state duties

Question 59

Why might the delegates to the Constitutional Convention reject a motion to include a bill of rights in the Constitution?

A)The delegates thought rights should be guaranteed to the states,not to individual citizens.
B)The delegates thought that the federal government was already limited to its expressed powers,so a bill of rights was unnecessary.
C)The rights of citizens were a secondary concern to the delegates' personal self-interest.
D)A bill of rights would have required granting equal rights to women,which the delegates found to be politically unsavory.
E)They considered a bill of rights unnecessary in the U.S.Constitution since the United Nations' "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" already guaranteed a full set of political rights.

Question 60

The framers of the Constitution crafted a system in which each branch of government had a distinctly different constituency.Some call this system a:

A)democracy
B)multiple principals system
C)mixed regime
D)confederation
E)separated system

Question 61

In the absence of an amendment,any power not specifically enumerated in the Constitution is conceived to be reserved to the national government.

Question 62

In order for Congress to send a small amendment to the Constitution to state legislatures or ratifying conventions for approval,it must pass in:

A)either the House or Senate with a simple majority
B)both the House and Senate with a simple majority
C)either the House or Senate with a two-thirds majority
D)both the House and Senate with a two-thirds majority
E)the House by a simple majority and the Senate by a two-thirds majority

Question 63

The Three-fifths Compromise established the principle,new in republican theory,that a man who lives among slaves had a greater share in the election of representatives than the man who did not.

Question 64

The purpose of the ten amendments in the Bill of Rights was basically to give each of the three branches of government:

A)increased flexibility
B)broader and more explicit powers
C)clearer and more restricted boundaries
D)fewer opportunities to come into conflict with each other
E)a broader grant of power

Question 65

Staggered terms of service in the Senate were intended to make that body even more politically responsive to popular opinion.

Question 66

The Constitution implies that any power not explicitly granted to the federal government is not granted at all.

Question 67

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:

A)slavery
B)the income tax
C)presidential disability
D)prohibition of alcohol
E)poll taxes

Question 68

Under the Articles of Confederation,each state was represented in the Continental Congress in proportion to its population.

Question 69

Under the Articles of Confederation,Congress was given power to declare war and make peace.

Question 70

Under the Constitution as originally passed,the members of the Senate were to be appointed by the state legislatures.

Question 71

The Constitutional Convention passed the New Jersey Plan with little compromise.

Question 72

Under the Articles of Confederation,the nation's armed forces were composed of the state militias.

Question 73

Delegates from large states,such as Pennsylvania,were able to manipulate the procedures at the Constitutional Convention in order to achieve final adoption of the Virginia Plan with negligible amendment.

Question 74

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.

Question 75

Except for one,all of the amendments that have been added to the Constitution have passed in:

A)the House and Senate by two-thirds vote and then ratified by a majority vote of the legislatures of three-fourths of the states
B)the House and Senate by two-thirds vote and then ratified by conventions that called for the purpose in three-fourths of the states
C)a national convention called by Congress in response to petitions by two-thirds of the states and ratified by a majority vote of the legislatures of three-fourths of the states
D)a national convention called by Congress in response to petitions by two-thirds of the states and ratified by conventions called for the purpose in three-fourths of the states
E)a national popular vote on amendments proposed by Congress

Question 76

Which set of amendments provides important safeguards against the arbitrary exercise of governmental power,especially within the judicial branch?

A)First
B)Ninth and Tenth
C)Second,Third,and Fourth
D)Fifth,Sixth,Seventh,and Eighth
E)Second and Eleventh

Question 77

The First Amendment to the Constitution was specifically concerned with limits on:

A)the courts
B)Congress
C)the president
D)state governments
E)citizens

Question 78

Which amendment or set of amendments contained in the Bill of Rights specifically places limits on the powers of Congress?

A)First
B)Ninth and Tenth
C)Second,Third,and Fourth
D)Fifth,Sixth,Seventh,and Eighth
E)none of the first ten amendments

Question 79

The principal advantage of the Articles of Confederation was that the central government could prevent one state from discriminating against other states in the quest for foreign commerce.

Question 80

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