Deck 9: The Confederation and the Constitution, 1776-1790

Question 1

In keeping with the spirit, if not the actual wording of the Declaration of Independence's affirmation that  "All men are created equal," most states ____ property-holding requirements for voting.  

A) kept the same
B) reduced
C) raised
D) ignored
E) raised significantly

Answer 1

reduced

Question 2

The American Revolution was  

A) truly radical.
B) inconsequential in world history.
C) an example of accelerated evolution rather than outright revolution.
D) very much like the French revolution.
E) very much like the Russian revolution.

Answer 2

an example of accelerated evolution rather than outright revolution.

Question 3

The struggle for divorce between religion and government, in the post-revolutionary period, proved fiercest in  

A) Maryland.
B) Virginia.
C) Rhode Island.
D) Georgia.
E) Massachusetts.

Answer 3

Virginia.

Question 4

One reason that the United States avoided the frightful excesses of the French Revolution is that  

A) America declared martial law until the Constitution was enacted in 1789.
B) the American Revolution suddenly overturned the entire political framework.
C) cheap land was easily available and America had few landed aristocrats.
D) political democracy preceded economic democracy.
E) a strong sense of class consciousness already existed.

Question 5

Early signs of the abolitionist movement can be seen in the  

A) Articles of Confederation.
B) Constitution.
C) emancipation of some slaves.
D) passage of laws allowing interracial marriage.
E) abolition of slavery in a few southern states.

Question 6

As a means of ensuring that legislators stay in touch with the mood of the people, state constitutions  

A) were rewritten once every ten years.
B) were rewritten once every five years.
C) required yearly visits to the homes of their constituents.
D) stipulated that ordinary legislation could override the constitution.
E) required the annual election of legislators.

Question 7

The economic status of the average American at the end of the Revolutionary War was  

A) better than before the war.
B) probably worse than before the war.
C) about the same as before the war.
D) more closely tied to Britain than before the war.
E) more closely tied to France than before the war.

Question 8

Identify the statement that is false.  

A) The American Revolution was not a revolution in the sense of a radical or total change.
B) The American Revolution did not suddenly and violently overturn the entire social and political framework.
C) During the American Revolution, people's lives were thrown in turmoil, they were unable to carry on day to day tasks and activities.
D) Some isolated communities were unaware that the American Revolution was even going on.
E) With the exodus of Loyalists, the emergence of a new Patriot elite was allowed to emerge.

Question 9

The world's first antislavery society was founded by  

A) Thomas Jefferson.
B) Quakers in Philadelphia.
C) Puritans in New England.
D) Catholics in Maryland.
E) the Congregational church.

Question 10

All of the following were factors in the fight for the separation of church and state except  

A) the Anglican Church was re-formed into the Protestant Episcopal Church.
B) The disestablishment of the Congregational Church occurred throughout New England.
C) Thomas Jefferson joined the effort.
D) reformers in Virginia secured the passage of that state's Statute for Religious Freedom.
E) there was resistance to completely disentangling the church from civic affairs in some parts of New England.

Question 11

As a result of the Revolution's emphasis on equality, all of the following were achieved except  

A) the reduction of property qualifications for voting by most states.
B) the growth of trade organizations for artisans and laborers.
C) the establishment of the world's first antislavery society.
D) full equality between women and men.
E) abolishing medieval inheritance laws.

Question 12

The Founding Fathers failed to eliminate slavery because  

A) they did not truly believe in democracy.
B) a fight over slavery might destroy national unity.
C) they were more concerned with securing equality for women.
D) the North, as its industry expanded, began to rely more heavily on slave labor.
E) economic conditions would not allow such a loss.

Question 13

The economic drawbacks of political independence for the United States included all of the following except  

A) much of the coveted commerce of Great Britain remained reserved for loyal members of the British Empire.
B) American ships were now barred from British and British West Indies harbors.
C) fisheries were disrupted by increased competition.
D) bounties for ships' stores had abruptly ended.
E) the accompanying repeal of the Navigation Laws by Great Britain.

Question 14

All of the following are true statements about the status of blacks during the Revolutionary era except  

A) several northern states abolished slavery or provided for gradual emancipation.
B) a few Virginia masters freed their slaves.
C) no states south of Pennsylvania outlawed slavery.
D) many states passed laws that permitted blacks to marry and own land.
E) laws in the North and the South harshly discriminated against free and enslaved blacks.

Question 15

As written documents, the state constitutions functioned in all of the following ways except  

A) to represent a fundamental law superior to ordinary legislation.
B) as contracts that defined the powers of government.
C) as an accumulation of laws, customs and precedents.
D) to guarantee individual liberties, sometimes through a bill of rights.
E) to transform the colonies into becoming new states.

Question 16

Adopted almost a decade before the federal constitution, the ____ constitution remains the longest-lived in the world.  

A) Massachusetts
B) Virginia
C) Maryland
D) Rhode Island
E) Connecticut

Question 17

The Continental Congress in ____ called for the complete abolition of the slave trade, a summons to which most of the states responded positively.  

A) 1770
B) 1772
C) 1774
D) 1776
E) 1780

Question 18

As a result of the Revolution, many state capitals were relocated westward  

A) because better roads now made this territory more easily accessible.
B) due to a fear of British capture.
C) because water routes were now opened to the interior regions.
D) to get them away from the haughty eastern seaports.
E) All of the above

Question 19

Continental army officers attempting to form the Society of the Cincinnati  

A) were brought to trial for trying to sabotage the civil government.
B) were ridiculed for their lordly pretensions.
C) were trying to force the Congress to pay them their pensions.
D) reflected the Revolutionary War generation's spirit of equality.
E) represented the best of the officer corps.

Question 20

Which of these is NOT a true statement about women's roles after the Revolution?  

A) They continued to do traditional women's work.
B) Educated wives and women lost their status as cultivators of the virtues and moral education of their husbands, daughters, and sons.
C) The new ideology of republican motherhood elevated them as special keepers of the nation's conscience.
D) Women's political rights were tightly circumscribed and severely limited by most states.
E) The New Jersey Constitution of 1776 was one of the few state constitutions that extended the right to vote to women.

Question 21

Immediately after the Revolution, the new American nation's greatest strength lay in its  

A) ingrained respect for authority.
B) excellent political leadership.
C) lack of inhibiting political heritage.
D) sound economic structure.
E) economic ties to France.

Question 22

Shays's Rebellion was provoked by  

A) fear that the Articles of Confederation had created too strong a national government for the United States.
B) efforts by wealthy merchants to replace the Articles of Confederation with a new constitution.
C) a quarrel over the boundary between Massachusetts and Vermont.
D) foreclosures on the mortgages of debt-strapped backcountry farmers.
E) the government's failure to pay bonuses to Revolutionary War veterans.

Question 23

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787  

A) provided for the survey and sale of public lands in the Old Northwest.
B) established a procedure for governing the Old Northwest territory and managing the political transition from a territory to the state in the Old Northwest.
C) banned slavery from all territories of the United States.
D) cleared the way for ratification of the Articles of Confederation.
E) gave control over land to the territories in which they were located.

Question 24

The Revolution spawned all of the following economic conditions except  

A) speculation and profiteering.
B) extensive borrowing by state governments that left them buried in debt.
C) runaway deflation.
D) the opening of new foreign markets.
E) unhealthy levels of high inflation that proved ruinous to many American citizens.

Question 25

A major strength of the Articles of Confederation was its

A) control over interstate commerce.
B) strong judicial branch.
C) ability to maintain the ideal of union among the states and hold the states together until a strong constitution could become politically viable and eventually adopted by the states.
D) ability to coin money.
E) strong executive branch.

Question 26

The Articles of Confederation left Congress unable to  

A) organize development of the western lands.
B) deal with foreign affairs.
C) apportion state representation equally.
D) enforce a tax-collection program.
E) establish a postal service.

Question 27

Under the Articles of Confederation, the relationship between the thirteen states  

A) improved to the point of total unity.
B) was good economically but poor politically.
C) led to a single currency.
D) convinced many that a stronger central government was needed.
E) was good politically but poor economically.

Question 28

Shays's Rebellion convinced many Americans of the need for  

A) lower taxes.
B) granting long-delayed bonuses to Revolutionary War veterans.
C) a vigilante effort by westerners to halt the Indian threat.
D) a stronger central government.
E) a weaker military presence in the West.

Question 29

The debate between the supporters and critics of the Articles of Confederation centered on how to  

A) reconcile states' rights with strong national government.
B) transfer territories to equal statehood.
C) abolish slavery yet preserve national unity.
D) balance the power of legislative and executive offices of government.
E) conduct foreign policy while remaining neutral.

Question 30

The issue that finally touched off the movement toward the Constitutional Convention was  

A) government control of public lands.
B) the struggle of control of commerce between states and the central government.
C) Indian policy.
D) monetary policy.
E) foreign threats to our independence.

Question 31

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was called to  

A) write a completely new constitution.
B) allow the most radical Revolutionary leaders to write their ideas into law.
C) weaken the power of the central government.
D) revise the Articles of Confederation.
E) reassess our foreign alliances.

Question 32

The Second Continental Congress of Revolutionary days  

A) operated with strong constitutional authority.
B) still did not comprise representatives from all thirteen states.
C) took away the sovereignty of the states.
D) was little more than a conference of ambassadors without constitutional authority that largely conferred sovereignty on to the states.
E) failed to assert any control over military affairs and foreign policy.

Question 33

The Land Ordinance of 1785 provided for all of the following except  

A) money from land sales should be used to pay off the national debt.
B) the land should be surveyed before its sale.
C) the territory should be divided into townships six miles square.
D) the sixteenth section should be sold to support education.
E) slavery should be prohibitedin the Old Northwest.

Question 34

After the Revolutionary War, both Britain and Spain  

A) tried to gain control of Florida.
B) did their best to win the friendship of America.
C) prevented America from exercising effective control over about half of its total territory.
D) helped America to fight the pirates in North America.
E) abandoned their fortifications in the Old Northwest.

Question 35

Which of the following Revolutionary leaders was not present at the Constitutional Convention?  

A) Thomas Jefferson
B) Benjamin Franklin
C) James Madison
D) George Washington
E) Alexander Hamilton

Question 36

By the time the Constitution was adopted in 1789  

A) the American economy was continuing to experience problems.
B) prosperity was beginning to return.
C) foreign trade was still in terrible shape.
D) inflation was continuing to increase.
E) the issue of states' rights had all but disappeared.

Question 37

The delegate whose contributions to the Philadelphia Convention were so notable that he has been called the "Father of the Constitution" was  

A) George Washington.
B) Benjamin Franklin.
C) James Madison.
D) Thomas Jefferson.
E) Patrick Henry.

Question 38

The Articles of Confederation were finally approved when  

A) agreement was reached on who would be president.
B) states gave up their right to coin money.
C) all states claiming western lands surrendered them to the national government.
D) the states gave up their power to establish tariffs.
E) a two-house national legislature was added.

Question 39

One of the most farsighted provisions of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787  

A) set aside a section of each township for education.
B) abolished slavery in all of the United States.
C) prohibited slavery in the Old Northwest.
D) kept power in the national government.
E) established a commission to determine the extent of a need for a Bill of Rights.

Question 40

Match each nation on the left with the correct description of the problem it presented for U.S.foreign relations following the Revolutionary War.
A.Britain
B.France
C.Spain
D.Barbary Coast
1)threatened American commerce in the Mediterranean
2)demanded repayment of wartime loans
3)occupied a chain of trading forts in the Old Northwest
4)controlled important trade routes from the interior of North America

A) A-1, B-3, C-2, D-4
B) A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3
C) A-2, B-2, C-3, D-4
D) A-3, B-2, C-4, D-1
E) A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3

Question 41

Most of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention could best be labeled  

A) states' rightists.
B) antifederalists.
C) nationalists.
D) ordinary citizens.
E) counter-revolutionaries.

Question 42

Under the Constitution, the president of the United States was to be elected by a majority vote of the  

A) general public.
B) Senate.
C) Electoral College.
D) House of Representatives.
E) state legislatures.

Question 43

According to the framers of the Constitution, the ultimate guarantor of liberty and justice was  

A) the authority of the state.
B) a written constitution.
C) an independent judicial system.
D) the virtue of the people.
E) the absolute authority of the federal government.

Question 44

The idea that all tax measures should start in the House was made to appease  

A) the least populated states.
B) western states.
C) eastern states.
D) the industrialists.
E) the larger states with the most people.

Question 45

Among other views, The Federalist, written during the ratification debate, argued that it was

A) impossible to safeguard the rights of states from the power of a strong central government.
B) possible to extend a republican form of government over a large territory.
C) inevitable that slavery would be abolished in the new republic.
D) illegal to replace the Articles of Confederation with a new constitution.
E) best to establish a direct democracy.

Question 46

Probably the most alarming characteristic of the new Constitution to the antifederalists who opposed it was the  

A) creation of a federal district for the national capital.
B) creation of a standing army.
C) absence of a bill of rights.
D) omission of any reference to God.
E) creation of the presidency.

Question 47

The "large-state plan," or Virginia Plan, put forward in the Constitutional Convention  

A) ultimately provided the final congressional framework of the Constitution.
B) was proposed by Patrick Henry.
C) uniformly favored rural states over urban states.
D) uniformly favored southern states over northern states.
E) based representation in the House and Senate on population.

Question 48

The "small-state plan" or New Jersey Plan presented at the Constitutional Convention included all of the following except  

A) ​representation in a unicameral Congress in states, according to the population.
B) ​equal representation in a unicameral Congress, regardless of size and population.
C) ​favoring greater representation in Congress by all southern states over all northern states.
D) ​favoring greater representation in Congress by all northern states over all southern states.
E) ​a bicameral congressional structure with a House of Representatives determined by population of the state and a Senate composed of equal representation from each state.

Question 49

The delegates at the Constitutional Convention stipulated that the new Constitution be ratified by  

A) state conventions.
B) state legislatures.
C) popular referendum.
D) majority vote in the Congress.
E) the judiciary.

Question 50

The new Constitution established the idea that the only legitimate government was one based on  

A) a strong central government.
B) an unwritten constitution.
C) the authority of the state.
D) control by wealthier people.
E) the consent of the governed.

Question 51

The Constitutional Convention addressed the North-South controversy over slavery through the  

A) large-state plan.
B) small-state plan.
C) three-fifths compromise.
D) closing of the slave trade until 1807.
E) Northwest Ordinance.

Question 52

By their actions, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention manifested their common beliefs in all of the following except  

A) government by the consent of the governed.
B) checks and balances in government.
C) manhood-suffrage democracy.
D) the sanctity of private property.
E) a stronger central government.

Question 53

Which of the following represents a political compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention that was incorporated into the Constitution?  

A) Counting all slaves fully as a person in apportioning membership in the House
B) Short-term continuation of the foreign slave trade before Congress could abolish this controversial form of human commerce
C) Direct election of the president
D) Control of interstate commerce by the national government
E) Prohibiting states from abolishing slavery in their respective states

Question 54

The delegates at the Constitutional Convention were concerned mainly with  

A) abolishing slavery.
B) establishing a very powerful military.
C) protecting America from its weaknesses abroad and its excesses at home.
D) ensuring that the states continued to control tariff policies.
E) establishing the principle of states' rights.

Question 55

The Great Compromise at the Constitutional Convention worked out an acceptable scheme for  

A) regulating interstate commerce.
B) levying taxes for raising a militia.
C) apportioning congressional representation.
D) electing the president.
E) choosing Senators.

Question 56

The antifederalist camp included all of the following groups except  

A) supporters of a strong central authority.
B) states' rights supporters.
C) backcountry dwellers.
D) paper money advocates.
E) debtors.

Question 57

Identify the following statement that is false.  

A) The U.S. Constitution grew out of the Anglo-American common law legal tradition.
B) The U.S. Constitution can be described as a flexible guide to broad rules of procedure, rather than a fixed set of detailed laws.
C) The original (unamended) U.S. Constitution contained just seven articles.
D) The U.S. Constitution can be described as an elaborate legal code, common to other foreign countries constitutions, like India.
E) The U.S. Constitution was approved through a series of compromises.

Question 58

The fifty-five delegates to the Constitutional Convention shared all of the following qualities except  

A) they were well-to-do members of the professional class.
B) they were young.
C) they were liberal.
D) they were more interested in strengthening the young Republic and tapping Revolutionary idealism.
E) they wanted a firm, dignified and respected government.

Question 59

The one branch of the government elected directly by the people is the  

A) military.
B) House of Representatives.
C) executive.
D) judiciary.
E) Senate.

Question 60

Motives of the delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia included all of the following except to  

A) preserve the union.
B) forestall anarchy.
C) ensure the security of life and property.
D) curb unrestrained democracy.
E) foster the popular democracy and uprisings occurring in the various states.

Question 61

Most, if not all, of the new state constitutions enacted in the 1780s  

A) were written documents intended to represent a fundamental law, superior to ordinary statutory legislation.
B) lacked a specific bill of rights.
C) required the annual election of state legislators.
D) granted the state legislatures more power than governors.
E) created weak executive and judicial branches.

Question 62

List all the reasons why the Articles of Confederation needed to be replaced in order of importance, starting with the most important reason.Justify your selection and arrangement.

Question 63

The federalists believe that the sovereignty of the people resided in which branch of the central government?  

A) Executive
B) Legislative
C) Judicial
D) None of these choices are correct.
E) All of these choices are correct.

Question 64

Major goals of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention included  

A) careful revision of each article of the Articles of Confederation.
B) preservation of the Union.
C) creation of a stronger national government.
D) restricting popular democracy in several states.
E) outlawing slavery.

Question 65

Antifederalists believe that the sovereignty of the people resided in which branch of the central government?  

A) Executive
B) Legislative
C) Judicial
D) Cabinet
E) All of these

Question 66

Most of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were  

A) relatively well-to-do.
B) appointed by state legislatures.
C) elected by vote of property owners in each state.
D) experienced at writing constitutions.
E) lawyers.

Question 67

The Revolutionary War and political independence for the United States  

A) stimulated American manufacturing.
B) encouraged a more widespread respect for private property.
C) produced runaway inflation in many states.
D) stimulated a wave of speculation and profiteering in the nation.
E) saw America remain mostly a nation of farmers.

Question 68

Thomas Jefferson observed that "173 despots would surely be as oppressive as one." What was the context of his remark? What was Jefferson warning against?

Question 69

Thomas Jefferson once said he believed that "all the good" of the new Constitution might have been accomplished by simply amending the Articles of Confederation.According to the text's authors, it is probably a good thing that the Founders did not merely amend the Articles of Confederation.With which position do you agree? Why?

Question 70

Why didn't the framers of the Constitution extend the Revolutionary War era spirit of equality and liberty to the abolition of slavery and giving women the right to vote?

Question 71

Compare and contrast the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, especially in regard to the specific powers granted by each to the national government.

Question 72

Had you been a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, how would you have voted on such issues as representation, taxation, regulation of commerce, and the slave trade? Why?

Question 73

Write your definition of democracy.Then use this definition to evaluate the Constitution as it was penned in 1787.In what ways was it a democratic document, and in what ways did it guard against democracy?

Question 74

Had you been a delegate to the Virginia state convention, charged with considering ratification of the Constitution, would you have voted to ratify the Constitution? Had you been a delegate to the New Hampshire state convention, charged with considering ratification of the Constitution, would you have voted to ratify the Constitution? Defend your ratification decisions in each case.

Question 75

During the Revolutionary War, many states  

A) eliminated inheritance laws like primogeniture.
B) extended the right to vote to adult women.
C) reduced property requirements for voting.
D) disestablished the Anglican Church.
E) outlawed the importation of indentured servants.

Question 76

The disruptive forces that produced a shaky start toward union of the states immediately following the Revolutionary War included  

A) the absence of the unifying element of a common cause.
B) an economic recession in the colonies.
C) the fact that each of the thirteen states had its own unique governmental structure.
D) the absence of any really effective political leaders.
E) slavery.

Question 77

Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress  

A) was specifically designed to have limited authority and power to regulate political and economic affairs in the states.
B) had no control over public land policy.
C) had no power to regulate commerce.
D) had no tax-collecting authority.
E) acted in a judicial as well as legislative capacity.

Question 78

One of the enduring paradoxes of American history is that  

A) conservatives supported democracy.
B) liberals supported democracy.
C) both radicals and conservatives have championed the heritage of democratic revolution.
D) conservatives and liberals were on opposite sides in the Revolution.
E) conservatives opposed democracy.

Question 79

According to the text's authors, "In some respects, the hated British Navigation Laws were more disagreeable after independence than before." What is the basis for their conclusion?

Question 80

Under the Articles of Confederation  

A) a unicameral Congress was to be the chief agency of national government.
B) there was no executive branch of national government.
C) each state remained essentially sovereign.
D) major legislation required a two-thirds vote to pass Congress.
E) a strong national judiciary was established.