Deck 7: The First Republic 1776-1789

Question 1

What would a follower of Daniel Shays most likely have said in 1786?

A) "It is the common people who should be the strength of republicanism in our nation."
B) "Rebels against the new republic must not submit themselves to base passions."
C) "We must continue to follow the wise counsel of revolutionary leaders in our state."
D) "The highest law in a republic is the one that encourages the vast pursuit of property."

Answer 1

"It is the common people who should be the strength of republicanism in our nation."

Question 2

The effects of Shays's Rebellion included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) many leaders lost faith in the Articles of Confederation.
B) a renewal of public confidence in the national government.
C) calls were made for a central government with more power.
D) Americans realized there were elements of conflict between social classes.

Answer 2

a renewal of public confidence in the national government.

Question 3

From 1776 to 1807, property-holding women had the right to vote:

A) in New Jersey.
B) only in local elections in the United States.
C) in England.
D) if their husbands allowed them to vote.

Answer 3

in New Jersey.

Question 4

Effects of the Revolution on women included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) less restrictive divorce laws.
B) greater access to education.
C) an improved perception of women's moral status.
D) the banning of the sale of black female slaves.

Question 5

The number of free African Americans was highest in:

A) 1730.
B) 1750.
C) 1790.
D) 1800.

Question 6

As a result of the Revolution:

A) the number of free blacks increased dramatically.
B) the number of slaves in the South dropped.
C) slaves grew less bold in their efforts to gain freedom.
D) slaves stopped running away in the 1800s.

Question 7

Between 1777 and 1784:

A) most northern states ended slavery.
B) most northern states accelerated their use of slavery.
C) slaveowners resorted to the use of Indian slaves.
D) many states allowed women a temporary right to vote.

Question 8

Overall, state constitutions did all of the following, EXCEPT:

A) strengthen the executive relative to the legislature.
B) lower property requirements for voting.
C) increase the frequency of elections.
D) make upper houses popularly elected.

Question 9

Official state constitutional support for religions in the 1780s was strongest in:

A) the middle Atlantic states.
B) New England.
C) the Lower South.
D) the Chesapeake region.

Question 10

Most state constitutions put into effect by the end of 1777 included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) the curbing of the powers of the governor in the states.
B) the establishment of annual elections as a norm.
C) expressions of the rights of common citizens.
D) a commitment to custom rather than written constitutions.

Question 11

State constitutions tended to:

A) increase the power of the national government.
B) exclude a formal bill of rights.
C) lower property requirements for the right to vote.
D) strengthen ties between the state and the Anglican Church.

Question 12

Voting power in Congress in 1785 was:

A) based on population.
B) concentrated in the New England states.
C) divided equally among the thirteen states.
D) based on how much states had contributed to the war effort.

Question 13

The most democratic constitution of the revolutionary period was passed in:

A) Massachusetts.
B) New York.
C) South Carolina.
D) Pennsylvania.

Question 14

Under the Articles of Confederation, the American states were:

A) bound by strict statutes of economic and trade policies.
B) granted little power compared to the national government.
C) subject to the rule of the national judiciary.
D) created as a loose association of autonomous states.

Question 15

Under the Articles of Confederation, the national government could NOT:

A) conduct foreign affairs.
B) raise an army.
C) declare war.
D) negotiate with Native Americans.

Question 16

The creators of the Articles of Confederation:

A) were mainly made up of reluctant supporters of the Revolution.
B) feared the encroachment of centralized power.
C) were Tories who sabotaged the American war effort.
D) asserted that the President should have final say on all matters.

Question 17

By the end of the war, Continental money was:

A) actively invested in the London stock exchange.
B) used to effectively pay off the nation's war debts.
C) virtually worthless.
D) more valuable than the British pound.

Question 18

Economic nationalists wanted to do all of the following EXCEPT:

A) secure a charter for the Bank of North America.
B) weaken the ties between the Confederation and the Bank of North America.
C) have Congress assume payment of the entire national debt.
D) use tax revenues to pay off the growing national deficit.

Question 19

The leader of the economic nationalists was:

A) Thomas Jefferson.
B) Robert Morris.
C) Patrick Henry.
D) William Paterson.

Question 20

Regarding trade between Britain and the United States between 1783 and 1789, it is true that:

A) exports approximately equaled imports.
B) America imported more from Britain.
C) Britain imported more from America.
D) Britain imposed a total trade ban on its former American colonies.

Question 21

The American economy in the mid-1780s was:

A) highly inflationary.
B) growing at a slow rate.
C) growing at a rapid rate.
D) in a depression.

Question 22

After the Revolution, British merchants:

A) canceled all debts owed to them by American merchants.
B) continued to close their markets to American goods.
C) refused to sell goods to consumers in America.
D) eagerly accepted Continental money as a means of payment.

Question 23

Within a year of the surrender of Great Britain, the American economy:

A) experienced the nation's first depression.
B) thrived due to subsidies from France.
C) experienced a surplus of exports over imports.
D) bolstered the strength of the small family farm.

Question 24

Problems for the United States' economy in 1784 included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) competition provided by cheap British imports.
B) insufficient circulation of currency.
C) a sharp increase in wages vs. profits.
D) paying off huge war debts.

Question 25

Efforts to offset British attempts to hurt the American economy failed due to the:

A) refusal of northern states to pass protective tariffs.
B) American public's reluctance to blame England for economic woes.
C) release of too much currency by the American government.
D) lack of a unified national policy regarding Great Britain.

Question 26

Why were conservatives alarmed by the actions of the debtor party in Rhode Island?

A) The conservatives were angered by the party's unofficial alliance with England.
B) Conservatives feared the creation of governments that included farmers and artisans.
C) The debtor party supported an open policy of free trade with Great Britain.
D) The debtor party wished to reduce voting rights that had been gained in the Revolution.

Question 27

In the Ordinance of 1784, Thomas Jefferson called for:

A) equal legal and economic rights for Native Americans.
B) compact settlements with undisputed land titles.
C) a lack of emphasis on westward expansion.
D) the end of slavery in western territory after 1800.

Question 28

The Land Ordinance of 1785 encouraged a certain type of settler by:

A) requiring a minimum purchase of 640 acres.
B) allowing Indians to remain settled in their ancestral lands.
C) prohibiting the spread of Catholicism west of the Appalachian Mountains.
D) requiring new states to pay for all the costs of education in new territories.

Question 29

Acres of land under the Land Ordinance of 1785 cost how much per acre?

A) 50 cents
B) 1 dollar
C) 10 dollars
D) 25 dollars

Question 30

A township contains ___ square miles.

A) 9
B) 36
C) 100
D) 625

Question 31

The Southwest Ordinance of 1790 _________ slavery in the western regions south of the Ohio River.

A) did not address
B) banned
C) allowed
D) discouraged

Question 32

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 did all of the following EXCEPT:

A) establish criteria for territories to gain statehood.
B) prohibit slavery in northwestern territories.
C) provide the groundwork for ten new states.
D) create a political structure for the new territories.

Question 33

Chesapeake planters refused to pay their debts to Britain because:

A) the Treaty of Paris did not require payment of debts.
B) the planters were all bankrupt and without assets.
C) Britain had freed many slaves without compensation to slave owners.
D) the planters argued that they never incurred financial debts to British merchants.

Question 34

After the war, Loyalists:

A) still faced hostility in the new United States.
B) refused to leave the new nation.
C) were allowed to keep their property.
D) benefited from treaty requirements that they could not be harassed.

Question 35

_________ was the fourteenth state.

A) Kentucky
B) Tennessee
C) Ohio
D) Vermont

Question 36

Spain contested American land expansion:

A) in New England.
B) along the Mississippi River.
C) east of the Appalachian Mountains.
D) near the Canadian border.

Question 37

The Jay-Gardoqui Treaty:

A) was opposed by northerners.
B) defined relations between America and France.
C) was defeated by Southerners.
D) was signed after the ratification of the Constitution.

Question 38

John Jay's treaty with Spain was opposed by congressmen from the South because:

A) they believed Spain was trying to subsidize northern industry.
B) they suspected Jay of secretly working for British interests.
C) they felt Jay had sold out the interests of Southerners who had pioneered the West.
D) Jay was a leading spokesman in favor of Indian rights and ending slavery.

Question 39

As social, political, and economic crises increased in the mid-1780s:

A) supporters of the Articles of Confederation grew in number.
B) more American leaders became nationalists.
C) westerners were the only Americans who were satisfied with governmental policies.
D) unicameral legislatures dominated state governments.

Question 40

Delegates met at the Annapolis Convention to:

A) create a new federal government.
B) call for a regulated land policy for the Northwest.
C) challenge the institution of slavery.
D) devise a universal system of commercial regulation.

Question 41

The two main leaders who called for a Constitutional Convention were James Madison and:

A) Patrick Henry.
B) Thomas Jefferson.
C) Samuel Adams.
D) Alexander Hamilton.

Question 42

The Constitutional Convention was spurred by all of the following EXCEPT:

A) the elite's discomfort over domestic rebellions.
B) a desire to solve the new nation's financial problems.
C) the feeling that the nation needed a stronger central government.
D) the popular call to create a Bill of Rights for common citizens.

Question 43

The Virginia Plan was introduced by:

A) Alexander Hamilton.
B) Thomas Jefferson.
C) James Madison.
D) Patrick Henry.

Question 44

The New Jersey Plan:

A) was the basis for voting in the Senate.
B) favored large states.
C) would not allow the national government to levy taxes.
D) was excluded from the Great Compromise.

Question 45

Regarding the regulation of interstate and international commerce, the Constitution deems that:

A) states have the sole power of such regulation.
B) the national government has the sole power of such regulation.
C) commerce regulation is shared equally by states and the national government.
D) commerce regulation is the sole province of the president.

Question 46

Regarding the chief executive, the Constitution does all of the following, EXCEPT:

A) prohibit the president from appointing judicial officers.
B) allow the executive to conduct foreign affairs.
C) allow the president to veto legislation.
D) set the length of a presidential term.

Question 47

The Great Compromise, created by Roger Sherman,

A) actually aggravated the situation of free and slave states.
B) successfully split the differences between small and large states.
C) made all representation proportionate to the size of individual states.
D) called for a policy of "one state, one vote."

Question 48

What concession was made to southern delegates to gain their support for the federal government's power to
Regulate trade policies?

A) Northern delegates agreed to never pass tariffs that favored manufacturing interests.
B) A promise by James Madison that southern states could nullify federal laws.
C) Delegates returned to the original idea of entirely proportionate legislation.
D) Northern delegates agreed to drop demands for abolition of the slave trade.

Question 49

The Constitution does NOT provide:

A) equal representation in a unicameral Congress.
B) shared power between the national and state governments.
C) Congress with power to control military affairs.
D) a balance of power between the three branches of government.

Question 50

James Madison's political philosophy regarding the creation of the Constitution was that "Ambition must be made to counter:

A) ambition."
B) commercial dominance."
C) self-interest."
D) monarchy."

Question 51

Most members of the national elite at the Constitutional Convention believed that enlightened self-interest was better for the nation than the revolutionary ideal of:

A) anarchy.
B) republicanism.
C) constitutional monarchy.
D) disinterested virtue.

Question 52

The Constitution established a __________ government.

A) federal
B) unitary
C) confederate
D) monarchical

Question 53

Coming out of the Constitutional Convention, which unresolved issue would have the greatest impact on later American history?

A) judicial review
B) slavery
C) the status of the Supreme Court
D) the method of electing senators

Question 54

Judicial review is the:

A) Supreme Court's right to have the final say on constitutionality.
B) method used to settle tied elections.
C) system of funding the American court system.
D) right of state courts to have the final say on federal laws.

Question 55

Which statement would most likely have been said by a Federalist?

A) "We mistrust the extreme powers the Constitution gives to the national government."
B) "Our republic will thrive best with a balance of power between national and state governments."
C) "Slavery shall be an issue that Congress must never address, for it is not in the domain of the legislative branch."
D) "This Constitution serves us best when it allows local interests to be the heart and soul of the nation."

Question 56

Most Antifederalists:

A) owned manufacturing interests.
B) supported a strong central government.
C) had centers of support in the urban North.
D) distrusted the social and commercial elite.

Question 57

Supporters of ratification of the Constitution included large segments of all the following groups EXCEPT:

A) small farmers.
B) manufacturers.
C) urban artisans.
D) creditors.

Question 58

Many Antifederalists were concerned that the original draft of the Constitution did NOT:

A) make attempts to end slavery.
B) include a Bill of Rights.
C) provide specific language about judicial review.
D) create a bicameral national legislature.

Question 59

Federalists split the ranks of the Antifederalists by:

A) threatening to exclude them from the union.
B) offering rich commercial contracts to them.
C) promising a Bill of Rights as the Constitution's first amendments.
D) guaranteeing that an Antifederalist would be the first President.

Question 60

James Madison argued that a large, diverse republic:

A) was an enemy of true republicanism.
B) would give too much power to the national government.
C) did not reflect the honorable goals of the American Revolution.
D) offered the best hope for safeguarding individual rights.

Question 61

Which is the only event that happened during the Revolutionary War?

A) Shays's Rebellion
B) The Virginia Plan is proposed.
C) The Annapolis Convention convenes.
D) The Articles of Confederation are proposed.

Question 62

All of the following happened after the British surrender in the Revolutionary War EXCEPT:

A) the onset of an economic depression in America.
B) Shays's Rebellion.
C) a large number of farmers in Massachusetts lose their land.
D) states begin writing their own constitutions.

Question 63

What is the correct order of events?

A) Bank of North America created, Shays's Rebellion, Constitution ratified
B) Constitution ratified, Shays's Rebellion, Bank of North America created
C) Shays's Rebellion, Bank of North America created, Constitution ratified
D) Shays's Rebellion, Constitution ratified, Bank of North America created

Question 64

Which event happened last?

A) Constitutional Convention ends
B) Bill of Rights enacted
C) Shays's Rebellion
D) Jay-Gardoqui Treaty is defeated

Question 65

What characteristics define American republicanism?

Question 66

What sort of men made up the membership of the Constitutional Convention?

Question 67

Why did Southerners vehemently oppose the Jay-Gardoqui Treaty?

Question 68

What motivations caused the creation of the Bank of North America?

Question 69

Compare and contrast the major differences between the United States Constitution and the State Constitution of Pennsylvania created in 1776.

Question 70

What were the key events and factors that resulted in the ratification of the Constitution?

Question 71

What major problems did the young republic face after its victory over Great Britain? How did these problems motivate members of the elite to call for a federal constitution?

Question 72

Support the following statement that, to you, best expresses the creation of the Constitution.
"The creation of the Constitution represented:

A) a remarkable example of constructive compromise."
B) a great vision for the nation's future by the men who created it."
C) a successful attempt by the commercial elite to place themselves in power."
D) accommodation of both conservative and liberal visions of republicanism."

Question 73

How did the postwar era and the Constitutional Convention reveal and foreshadow the existence and growth of sectional and class differences in the United States?