Deck 2: The Constitution and the Founding

Question 1

The framers believed that protecting natural rights of citizens would be accomplished through a government that relied on the consent of the governed.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

On the slavery issue, the framers engaged in the politics of splitting the difference and logrolling.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The Great Compromise stipulated that slaves would count as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of representation and taxation.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

What happened during the Revolutionary War?

A) George Washington's troops were well fed, clothed, and armed to fight the British.
B) Congress raised taxes on the states to fund the war effort.
C) The French provided vital assistance to the American war effort.
D) The Spanish provided vital assistance to the American war effort.

Question 5

The Bill of Rights is a list of limits on the control that the federal government has over state governments.

Question 6

Which one of the following statements about the Articles of Confederation is accurate?

A) The executive branch was fairly powerful during this time period.
B) The Articles were submitted to the states for ratification in 1777 and subsequently ratified by all 13 states by 1781.
C) The document gave the legislative branch too much power.
D) The document placed too many limits on governmental power.

Question 7

The Antifederalists pushed for the inclusion of the national supremacy clause.

Question 8

________ occurred after the Revolutionary War was over.

A) The Stamp Act
B) The Tea Act
C) The Boston Tea Party
D) Shays's Rebellion

Question 9

The Supreme Court justices gained the power of judicial review in Article III of the Constitution.

Question 10

Among the president's powers are the power to pass the federal budget, the ability to recognize representatives from other countries, and the responsibility for executing the law.

Question 11

According to political scientist Robert Dahl, the Constitution is reflective of a coherent, unified theory of government.

Question 12

James Madison was mostly concerned about tyranny of minority factions.

Question 13

Patrick Henry was a leading Federalist during the ratification debate.

Question 14

During the ratification debate, Antifederalists such as James Madison favored a stronger national government while Federalists favored stronger state governments.

Question 15

The Constitution places more limits on government power than the Articles of Confederation did.

Question 16

America's relative economic equality compared to Europe did not influence the context of debates at the Constitutional Convention.

Question 17

The Virginia Plan guaranteed that large states would hold more power in the constitutional balance by having membership in both houses of Congress based on population.

Question 18

The enumerated powers are the specific list of powers granted to the president in Article I of the Constitution.

Question 19

Which one of the following best describes the context in which the Constitution was created?

A) Most elites believed that the Articles of Confederation were effective.
B) Most Americans had a prosperous and peaceful life.
C) Life in America was fairly chaotic at that time.
D) Shays's Rebellion demonstrated that the national government could manage a domestic crisis.

Question 20

The Constitution sets up our basic rules of governance, limits government actions against citizens, and provides for specific individual rights.

Question 21

Which one of the following concepts reflects the need to balance the principle of self-government against the rights of specific groups?

A) providing for both civil liberties and civil rights
B) protecting small states from powerful large states
C) creating a legislative government while allowing for executive leadership
D) providing for majority rule while protecting minority rights

Question 22

Which key part of the government was formed under the Articles of Confederation?

A) direct election of members of Congress by the people
B) a federal court system
C) a weak national government
D) an executive branch led by the president

Question 23

To deal with the problem of factions, James Madison proposed

A) controlling them through checks and balances.
B) controlling them by prohibiting citizens from taking certain actions.
C) reducing factions by encouraging citizens to have the same interests.
D) eliminating factions through limits on individual liberties.

Question 24

James Madison's size principle was based on the premise that

A) the new nation of 13 states would be small so that the majority would rule.
B) the new nation of 13 states would be large and diverse so that majority interests would be unlikely to organize and dominate public policy making.
C) the new nation of 13 states would be unlikely to expand in size and scope.
D) a strong president would be able to control Congress the majority of the time.

Question 25

A faction is a group of ________ that seek to control government power to ________.

A) minority interests; protect themselves from everyone else
B) majority interests; promote the public good
C) minority interests; promote the public good
D) minority or majority interests; pursue their own interests

Question 26

Which one of the following events exposed discontent with the new government and led to the Constitutional Convention?

A) Shays's Rebellion
B) the publication of Common Sense
C) the Declaration of Independence
D) Washington's election as president

Question 27

For James Madison, the problem associated with a tyranny of the majority was that

A) large factions might capture control of the government and ignore the rights of those in the minority.
B) the representative legislative branch would exercise too much power over the presidency.
C) regional majorities would become entrenched and prevent government from working for the common good.
D) the president would have too much power over the legislative agenda.

Question 28

John Locke

A) wrote about the state of nature.
B) believed that all citizens had natural rights.
C) wrote about the harmful effects of factions.
D) wrote about the harmful effects of religion.

Question 29

Why did the British pass the Stamp Act of 1765?

A) to punish the colonists for spreading the independence movement
B) to raise money to help American farmers after a poor crop yield
C) to help pay for the French and Indian War
D) to protect the Americans from Spanish invasion

Question 30

________ was chosen as the president of the Constitutional Convention.

A) George Washington
C) Benjamin Franklin
B) Gouverneur Morris
D) James Madison

Question 31

Who wrote the Federalist Papers?

A) James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and John Jay
B) John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton
C) Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and Thomas Jefferson
D) James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay

Question 32

When did the Revolutionary War end?

A) 1779
B) 1781
C) 1784
D) 1786

Question 33

________ wrote the influential pamphlet Common Sense in 1776.

A) Thomas Jefferson
B) Samuel Adams
C) John Hancock
D) Thomas Paine

Question 34

In context of economics in America in the eighteenth century,

A) there were no class differences whatsoever.
B) the North was largely agricultural and manufacturing was prominent in the South.
C) southerners favored free trade.
D) northerners favored free trade.

Question 35

________argued that in order to preserve liberty, one branch of government should be able to check the excesses of the other branches.

A) John Stuart Mill
C) Baron de Montesquieu
B) Thomas Hobbes
D) Thomas Paine

Question 36

How did the Articles of Confederation limit government?

A) The Articles of Confederation included an executive and judicial branch but no legislative branch.
B) The Articles of Confederation included a legislative and executive branch but no judicial branch.
C) The Articles of Confederation did not create a federal level of government.
D) Federal power was given to the legislative branch, where each state had one vote.

Question 37

Which one of the following is true about the Federalists and the Antifederalists?

A) They were the first two political parties in America.
B) They had similar views of how much national power was appropriate.
C) Americans largely supported one movement or the other following the drafting of the Constitution.
D) Americans generally favored the Articles of Confederation over the Constitution during the ratification debate.

Question 38

The writings of ________ influenced many of the framers of the Constitution to reject monarchy as a method of self-governance.

A) John Locke
B) Henry Adams
C) Thomas Hobbes
D) Alexander Hamilton

Question 39

What kind of government exists when the interests of the people are represented through their elected leaders?

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

Question 40

The Annapolis Convention

A) was well attended by the states.
B) was organized by a group of delegates from Virginia.
C) was only attended by delegates from New York and Maryland.
D) was organized to discuss the powers of the chief executive.

Question 41

How did the framers design the Constitution to protect minority rights?

A) separation of powers and checks and balances
B) allowing majority tyranny to occur to protect the rights of the many
C) through the creation of political parties
D) through the creation of interest groups

Question 42

How many states were needed to ratify the Constitution?

A) 11 out of 13
C) 7 out of 13
B) 10 out of 13
D) 9 out of 13

Question 43

Why did the New Jersey Plan contain a proposal for a legislature with equal representation per state?

A) New Jersey prospered economically under the Articles of Confederation, which had such a system.
B) New Jersey had relatively little population and would therefore gain more representation under an equal system.
C) New Jersey legislators had negotiated a separate treaty with the British, and they wanted members of Congress to ratify it.
D) Antifederalists controlled the New Jersey legislature, and they favored equal representation per state.

Question 44

Which one of the following was implemented in order to protect minorities from majority tyranny?

A) a stronger presidency than under the Articles of Confederation
B) separation of powers between three branches of government
C) a direct democracy
D) a parliamentary system of governance

Question 45

Which one of the following concepts best describes the problems associated with the Articles of Confederation?

A) separation of powers
C) pluralism
B) tyranny of the minority
D) checks and balances

Question 46

Which one of the following slavery issues was addressed by utilizing logrolling?

A) counting slaves in determining state population
B) importing slaves from other nations and dealing with runaway slaves
C) counting slaves in determining taxation
D) determining which states would be allowed to maintain slavery

Question 47

Under the Constitution,

A) Congress had the authority to ban the slave trade at any time.
B) the states had the authority to ban the slave trade.
C) the president had the authority to ban the slave trade.
D) Congress had the authority to ban the slave trade but not until 1808 at the earliest.

Question 48

________ was the only state to boycott the Constitutional Convention.

A) North Carolina
C) Rhode Island
B) South Carolina
D) Maine

Question 49

Despite significant agreement on the need for a ________ national government at the Constitutional Convention, there was serious division about ________.

A) weaker; how much stronger state governments should be
B) weaker; how much weaker the federal government should be
C) stronger; how much stronger the federal government should be
D) stronger; how much stronger state governments should be

Question 50

Which agreement gave the legislature two houses?

A) Great Compromise
C) Virginia Plan
B) Three-Fifths Compromise
D) New Jersey Plan

Question 51

According to the authors of the text, what is a serious technical error in the Constitution?

A) It gives electors two votes each.
B) It fails to give the president the right to introduce legislation.
C) It does not better define judicial review.
D) It does not define the power of bureaucrats.

Question 52

The main reaction to the failure of the Articles of Confederation was to

A) focus on resolving debates between the state governments.
B) rein in the power of the national government.
C) encourage stronger state governments.
D) make the national government stronger.

Question 53

The Three-Fifths Compromise referred to

A) giving states with small populations three-fifths of the number of representatives as large-population states.
B) allowing three slave states into the Union for every five nonslave states allowed to enter.
C) counting large states as equal to small states in the Senate but not the House.
D) counting slaves as three-fifths of a person when determining a state's population.

Question 54

Which one of the following methods of political compromise was used at the Constitutional Convention?

A) bribery and filibustering
B) bribery and logrolling (vote trading)
C) splitting the difference and bribery
D) splitting the difference and logrolling (vote trading)

Question 55

Slave state delegates wanted slaves counted for the purposes of ________ but did not want slaves counted when it came to the issue of ________.

A) representation; determining taxes
C) tariffs; determining taxes
B) determining taxes; tariffs
D) tariffs; representation

Question 56

Which one of the following addressed Antifederalist concerns about the absence of limits on national governing power?

A) Three-Fifths Compromise
C) Ninth Amendment
B) separation of powers
D) Tenth Amendment

Question 57

Which one of the following concepts applies most directly to the balance of power between state and national governments?

A) parliamentary system
C) checks and balances
B) bicameralism
D) supremacy clause

Question 58

Which group pushed for the concept of reserved powers?

A) Tories
C) Antifederalists
B) Whigs
D) Federalists

Question 59

A form of government in which the executive leader is chosen by the legislature is called ________.

A) a separation of powers system
C) a parliamentary system
B) a presidential system
D) a democratic system

Question 60

Why did the Connecticut delegation play a pivotal role in the Constitutional Convention?

A) Connecticut was one of the most populated states.
B) Connecticut was in a position to appeal to both large and small states.
C) Connecticut was one of the least populated states.
D) Connecticut's delegation was led by the prominent Benjamin Franklin.

Question 61

Which one of the following is an exclusive power of the legislative branch?

A) the ability to implement laws
C) power to declare war
B) judicial review
D) the power to issue pardons

Question 62

The concept of shared powers means that

A) the legislative and executive branches have equal powers.
B) in some areas of governmental action no branch has exclusive control.
C) the branches can exercise the same powers.
D) no branch can act without approval from other branches.

Question 63

While ________ powers are not held exclusively by any branch of government, ________ powers are those that one branch can exercise over the other.

A) negative; shared
C) shared; exclusive
B) shared; negative
D) exclusive; shared

Question 64

Which branch of government has the longest and most specific list of powers?

A) legislative
B) executive
C) judicial
D) All of the branches have comparable lists of powers.

Question 65

The ability to remove someone because of corruption or abuse of power is called ________.

A) the power of the purse
C) the power to pardon
B) impeachment
D) the power to veto

Question 66

The framers viewed ________ as the first branch of government.

A) the citizens
C) the president
B) the Supreme Court
D) Congress

Question 67

Antifederalists

A) were concerned that the president would have too much power.
B) supported the proposal that presidents should not be subject to term limits.
C) were concerned that the national government would not have sufficient power to promote economic prosperity.
D) generally opposed adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution.

Question 68

What are two important negative checks that Congress can exercise over both the executive and the judicial branches?

A) alteration of their jurisdiction and overriding their decisions
B) overriding their decisions and impeachment
C) impeachment and the power of the purse
D) alteration of their jurisdiction and power of the purse

Question 69

When Congress authorizes an agency to spend money, it is using its ________.

A) power of the sword
C) power of the purse
B) shared power
D) reserved powers

Question 70

While the ________ can make decisions about how to use armed forces, only the ________ can make decisions about funding such actions.

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

Question 71

Which one of the following is a check that the president holds over the judicial branch?

A) the ability to nominate judges for the federal courts
B) the ability to veto decisions made by the Supreme Court
C) the ability to interpret the constitutionality of new laws
D) the ability to remove federal judges from office

Question 72

Which article of the Constitution describes the procedures for ratification?

A) Article VII
C) Article III
B) Article VI
D) Article II

Question 73

Which part of government was considered the weakest because it did not have the "power of the purse or sword"?

A) state governments
C) judicial branch
B) legislative branch
D) local governments

Question 74

How many of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention actually signed the Constitution?

A) 28
C) 48
B) 39
D) 55

Question 75

Which of the following is a power the president can use to check the legislative branch?

A) judicial review
C) veto
B) impeachment
D) power of the sword

Question 76

________ established the power of judicial review.

A) Marbury v. Madison
C) McCulloch v. Maryland
B) Fletcher v. Peck
D) Barron v. Baltimore

Question 77

Who wanted to debate adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution during the Constitutional Convention?

A) James Madison and George Washington
B) James Madison and Alexander Hamilton
C) Thomas Jefferson and John Adams
D) George Mason and Elbridge Gerry

Question 78

Which one of the following statements is accurate about the U.S. Constitution?

A) The president has more specific powers delineated in the Constitution than Congress does.
B) Of the three primary institutions of government, the Supreme Court received the most attention by the framers of the Constitution.
C) The creation and assignment of duties of Congress was the most important issue to the framers of the Constitution.
D) The framers of the Constitution clearly wanted the president to have the power to tax.

Question 79

The war powers held by the president and Congress are an example of ________.

A) shared powers
C) powers of the purse
B) exclusive powers
D) implied powers

Question 80

The Antifederalists argued that the power of ________ was "a political error of the greatest magnitude."

A) the purse
C) the veto
B) the sword
D) declaring war