Deck 2: the Constitution

Question 1

What proportion of the states' votes was required to amend the Articles of Confederation?

A) a simple majority
B) three-fifths
C) two-thirds
D) three-quarters
E) unanimous consent

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Under the Articles of Confederation,many states failed to pay the full amount of money "requisitioned?" by the national government to support the nation's military forces.This is most clearly an example of a/an ____________________.

A) collective-action problem
B) political institution
C) unstable coalition
D) Prisoner's Dilemma
E) path dependent outcome

Answer 2

A

Question 3

____________________ law is the collection of fundamental rules and procedures for creating ____________________ law and regulations.

A) Constitutional/statutory
B) Statutory/commercial
C) Tort/constitutional
D) Statutory/tort
E) Commercial/statutory

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Early revolutionary activities in the American colonies of Great Britain were principally motivated by opposition to ____________________.

A) taxes imposed with the consent of colonial legislatures
B) continued British support for the slave trade
C) the Louisiana Purchase
D) the terms of the treaty ending the French and Indian War
E) King George III's efforts to promote religious reforms in the Church of England

Question 5

Compared to either the Virginia Plan or the Connecticut Compromise,what did the New Jersey Plan propose?

A) a much stronger national government
B) to weigh states' slave populations more heavily for apportioning representation
C) about the same balance of federal and state powers
D) to weigh states' slave populations less heavily for apportioning representation
E) much greater state sovereignty and independence

Question 6

Which is NOT a major feature of the Constitution adopted by the Philadelphia Convention in 1787?

A) unitary executive
B) bicameral legislature
C) Bill of Rights
D) independent judiciary
E) enumerated powers

Question 7

The Electoral College represents a compromise between those who wanted ____________________ to select the president and those who thought the president should be selected by ____________________.

A) the House of Representatives; the Senate
B) Congress; the people
C) state legislatures; the people
D) state legislatures; the House of Representatives
E) the Senate; state legislatures

Question 8

Which institution created by the U.S.Constitution is most clearly related to resolving the coordination problems involved in selecting someone to serve as president?

A) Senate
B) House of Representatives
C) Supreme Court
D) Electoral College
E) Federalism

Question 9

Compared to the Constitution,federalism under the Articles of Confederation assigned ____________________.

A) greater authority to local governments at the expense of states
B) greater authority to states at the expense of local governments
C) greater authority to states at the expense of the national government
D) greater authority to the national government at the expense of states
E) greater authority to international organizations at the expense of the United States government

Question 10

Officials in North Korea,which is an authoritarian regime,may avoid paying taxes,receive usually banned foreign luxury goods,and arrest everyday people for violating laws that they themselves need not obey.This is a violation of ____________________.

A) international coordination problems
B) natural liberty
C) civil liberty
D) the rule of law
E) statutory protections

Question 11

Why was the Constitutional Convention called?

A) Antifederalists were unhappy with the Virginia compromise.
B) The executive had become too strong.
C) States felt they were not paying enough under the system of requisition.
D) Massachusetts wanted to retaliate against Connecticut for levying taxes on its goods.
E) A weak national government made it impossible to solve collective dilemmas.

Question 12

A unicameral legislature is composed of ____________________ houses or chambers.

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four
E) five

Question 13

Which establishes the formal institutions of government and declares how and under what circumstances government may legitimately use its powers?

A) statute
B) regulation
C) decree
D) constitution
E) executive order

Question 14

Which proposal made to the Constitutional Convention resolved the conflict between supporters of greater national power and advocates of greater state sovereignty?

A) Virginia Plan
B) New Jersey Plan
C) Connecticut Compromise
D) Three-fifths Compromise
E) Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

Question 15

For purposes of apportioning representation and tax obligations to the states,slaves were counted as ____________________ of free persons.

A) one-third
B) one-half
C) three-fifths
D) two-thirds
E) three-quarters

Question 16

Shays's Rebellion highlighted weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation,most notably ____________________.

A) that only a simple majority of states paid into federal funds through the requisition system
B) the dangers of vesting too much power in a single executive
C) the coordination problems inherent in a bicameral system
D) the difficulty of maintaining security when states could not be forced to coordinate action
E) the lack of attention representatives paid to the needs of the everyman

Question 17

The rule of law ensures that ____________________.

A) all citizens of a country are treated equally regardless of the offices they hold
B) all visitors to a country are treated equally regardless of the offices they hold
C) all government officials are equally subject to laws when not acting in an official capacity
D) it is illegal for government officials to make arbitrary decisions when not acting in an official capacity
E) it is illegal for citizens to make laws arbitrarily

Question 18

Why were colonial charters an important forerunner of U.S.governmental structures?

A) Proprietary charters allowed entities like the Virginia Company to experiment with different forms of government.
B) Royal colonies' reliance on a strong executive was a model for the U.S. presidency.
C) The popular election of charter council members created democratic institutions.
D) Colonial governments usually had bicameral legislatures and an executive.
E) The crown's methods of granting colonial charters was the model for granting statehood.

Question 19

Which three cleavages presented the most difficult challenges at the Constitutional Convention?

A) the nature of federation, representation of big and small states, slavery
B) representation of big and small states, popular representation, states' rights
C) unicameral versus bicameral legislatures, slavery, popular representation
D) the strength of the executive, representation of big and small states, the nature of federation
E) popular versus financial representation of states, slavery, the strength of the executive

Question 20

The United States needs to pass a law determining whether or not to enter into a trade agreement with France.____________________ determines who gets to make that decision,because ____________________.

A) the Constitution; it specifies the institutional rules that determine who is in the judiciary
B) the Constitution; it specifies the institutional rules that determine which body has power over making trade law
C) the legislature; it determines who may join either house
D) the executive; he or she has power over international treaties
E) the courts; they revise statutory law and have veto power

Question 21

Which term denotes an institutional arrangement in which specific governmental powers are divided among distinct branches of government?

A) federalism
B) bicameralism
C) separation of powers
D) checks and balances
E) reserved powers

Question 22

Which of the following are NOT included in the Bill of Rights?

A) right to vote
B) right to free speech
C) freedom of assembly
D) right to bear arms
E) right to counsel for criminal defendants

Question 23

What proportion of states must approve an amendment to the U.S.Constitution proposed by Congress for that amendment to be ratified?

A) simple majority
B) three-fifths
C) two-thirds
D) three-quarters
E) unanimous consent

Question 24

The "Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republicans" argue ____________________.

A) for a declaration of independence from Great Britain
B) for ratification of the U.S. Constitution
C) against a declaration of independence from Great Britain
D) against ratification of the U.S. Constitution
E) against the New Jersey Plan

Question 25

A business in North Carolina has a legal dispute with a business in New York,yet each party is behaving legally according to their own states' laws.How does the Constitution anticipate conflicts like this?

A) by ensuring that both states have the autonomy to change their own laws
B) by ensuring that both states have equal representation in Congress, where the two states' Congressional delegations can resolve conflicts of law
C) by creating a strong executive who could override states' laws
D) by creating an independent federal judiciary to resolve disputes between state laws
E) by creating an independent federal judiciary with circuit courts that can hear local disputes

Question 26

Benjamin Franklin supported the Constitution because he believed it provided an effective remedy for the problems facing the United States under the Articles of Confederation.Benjamin Franklin is,therefore,best considered a/an ____________________.

A) Hessian
B) Tory
C) Federalist
D) Antifederalist
E) Whig

Question 27

Judicial review,the presidential veto,and requirements of senatorial "advice and consent" are examples of ____________________.

A) federalism
B) separation of powers
C) checks and balances
D) expressed powers
E) reserved powers

Question 28

The Federalist Papers argue ____________________.

A) for a declaration of independence from Great Britain
B) for ratification of the U.S. Constitution
C) against a declaration of independence from Great Britain
D) against ratification of the U.S. Constitution
E) against the New Jersey Plan

Question 29

What does the supremacy clause declare?

A) The Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution is final.
B) The president has supreme authority over the United States military.
C) The chief justice may override a presidential veto.
D) The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
E) The Senate is superior to the House of Representatives.

Question 30

Sonal is eating dinner with her family when the police enter and begin to search her home.The police do not have a warrant and will not tell Sonal what they are looking for.In this instance,Sonal is primarily protected by ____________________.

A) the Bill of Rights, which protects a right to free assembly
B) the Bill of Rights, which protects private property unless the government can obtain a warrant
C) the Bill of Rights, which requires that government officials disclose their intentions prior to a search
D) Miranda Rights, which the Supreme Court has derived from the Bill of Rights
E) the Supreme Court, which can determine whether or not this search was legal

Question 31

In 1987,President Reagan nominated Robert Bork to fill a vacancy on the U.S.Supreme Court.The Senate voted against Bork's nomination,42-58,preventing him from serving as a justice on the Court.This interaction demonstrates the system of ____________________.

A) federalism
B) bicameralism
C) executive independence
D) checks and balances
E) reserved powers

Question 32

Patrick Henry ultimately opposed ratification of the Constitution because he believed it assigned too much power to the national government at the expense of state authority.Patrick Henry is,therefore,best considered a/an ____________________.

A) Hessian
B) Tory
C) Federalist
D) Antifederalist
E) Whig

Question 33

Which constitutional provision states that Congress may create whatever laws are "necessary and proper" in order to execute other enumerated powers?

A) necessary clause
B) free exercise clause
C) elastic clause
D) sanity clause
E) supremacy clause

Question 34

Why was the Bill of Rights an important part of the Constitutional ratification process?

A) Large states, including Virginia and New York, refused to ratify the Constitution until the Bill of Rights was added to it.
B) It addressed the concerns of Federalists, who believed that the Bill of Rights would help enumerate the powers of government.
C) It addressed the concerns of Federalists, who believed that a strong central government also needed to be flexible.
D) It addressed the concerns of Antifederalists, who were concerned that the Constitution did not protect states' rights against the intrusion of the federal government
E) It addressed the concerns of Antifederalists, who were concerned that the Constitution did not protect individual rights against the intrusion of the federal government.

Question 35

Two neighbors have a dispute about the placement of their mailboxes.Which federal institution is designed to handle such a conflict?

A) Congress, because it handles issues of interstate commerce
B) the Supreme Court, because citizens have the right to have their cases heard in the highest court
C) the Supreme Court, because it is designed to settle disputes about interstate commerce
D) none, because conflicts between citizens of the same state should be handled by state governors
E) none, because states have maintained their own court systems for disputes between state residents

Question 36

Why did the Federalists argue that a strong national government was essential?

A) They felt that power lodged in one branch of government was too easily controlled by one faction.
B) They thought that governments are designed to constrain ambitious behavior and lead to better collective outcomes.
C) They believed citizens would become primarily loyal to the national government.
D) They believed that internal competition between states would overstimulate the economy, leading to inflation.
E) They felt that institutions of government are put in place to ensure maximum liberty for state governments.

Question 37

A bicameral legislature is composed of ____________________ houses or chambers.

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four
E) five

Question 38

What proportion of votes cast in each house of Congress is necessary to send a proposed amendment to the U.S.Constitution to the states for possible ratification?

A) simple majority
B) three-fifths
C) two-thirds
D) three-quarters
E) unanimous consent

Question 39

Which provision of the U.S.Constitution is most clearly related to resolving collective-action problems among the states?

A) supremacy clause
B) free exercise clause
C) elastic clause
D) sanity clause
E) due process clause

Question 40

Which constitutional provision declares the federal constitution to be the "supreme law of the land?"

A) supremacy clause
B) free exercise clause
C) elastic clause
D) sanity clause
E) due process clause

Question 41

Are written constitutions the best guarantor of equal rights?

A) Yes, all countries write equal rights into their constitutions.
B) Yes, all countries abide by their written constitutions.
C) Yes, most countries mimic the United States' rights-based legal structures.
D) No, some countries do not abide by rights protections written into their constitutions.
E) No, most countries derive rights protections from international treaties instead of national constitutions.

Question 42

Would political scientists be likely to applaud the constitutional framers' choice of a presidential system?

A) yes, because presidential systems are more likely to sustain democracy
B) yes, because presidential systems have higher levels of education achievement and better economic growth
C) yes, because presidents, unlike prime ministers, cannot be recalled by their own parties, leading to more presidential autonomy
D) no, because presidential systems are less likely to sustain democracy
E) no, because presidents, unlike prime ministers, cannot be recalled by their own parties, leading to less presidential responsiveness

Question 43

Which of the following has most encouraged popular participation in government?

A) the creation of the Electoral College
B) the extension of presidential and senatorial terms
C) the expansion of suffrage
D) the rise of public opinion
E) direct election of Senators

Question 44

What are the "separation of powers" and "checks and balances"? How are these sets of institutional arrangements related? How are they distinct? How are the separation of powers and checks and balances put into effect in the United States Constitution?

Question 45

How did the Constitution deal with the issue of slavery? How were slaves treated in the apportionment of representation in the House of Representatives and taxes? What powers did Congress have to regulate or eliminate slavery or the slave trade?

Question 46

What was the primary issue in the debates between the Federalists and the Antifederalists over the United States Constitution? What was the Federalist perspective? What was the Antifederalist perspective? What major set of concessions were the Antifederalists able to extract from the Federalists during and after the ratification debates?

Question 47

What major disagreements faced the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia? How did the delegates choose to compromise in order to resolve these important differences? What major features of the Constitution reflect these compromises?

Question 48

Which is an enumerated power listed in Article I,Section 8,of the U.S.Constitution that empowers Congress to regulate "Commerce with foreign Nations,and among the several states,and with the Indian Tribes?"

A) federalism
B) supremacy clause
C) commerce clause
D) referral clause
E) elastic clause

Question 49

When the United States was founded,slavery was legally protected and many groups did not vote.Why have changes been possible?

A) The Constitution was written with broad rights protections.
B) These rights were always guaranteed and over time society adjusted so that they could be implemented.
C) The Constitution is a living document designed to evolve in response to changing circumstances.
D) The Supreme Court has attached amendments to the original constitution to increase groups' rights.
E) Social changes have led to de facto group inclusion even without constitutional changes.

Question 50

The Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution has been ____________________.

A) stable over time, because the Constitution is fairly clear
B) stable over time, because judicial actors have an interest in maintaining institutional legitimacy
C) stable since the 1930s, because the Supreme Court has only increased federal powers since then
D) subject to change over time, depending on how individual courts interpret key constitutional clauses
E) subject to change over time, as social and political climates change

Question 51

What was Shays's Rebellion? Explain how Shays's Rebellion illustrates a collective-action problem among the states under the Articles of Confederation.What remedies to the collective-action problem at work during Shays's Rebellion are incorporated into the United States Constitution?

Question 52

When deciding what policy areas Congress is allowed to act on,twentieth-century Courts have primarily used ____________________ as a guide,because they interpret it to mean ____________________.

A) the elastic clause; that Congress has the power to make laws to provide for the general welfare of the United States
B) the supremacy clause; that the federal government has broad authority to act in spite of state policies
C) the commerce clause; that the federal government has the right to regulate most business and commercial activity in the United States
D) the Tenth Amendment; that the federal government cannot act in policy areas that are reserved for the states
E) stare decisis; that they must defer to previous jurisprudence to ensure continuity in the application of the law

Question 53

The federal Food and Drug Administration may enact national bans on medications that it believes to be dangerous to U.S.citizens,even though this is not an enumerated power in the Constitution.The most likely source of this federal power comes from judicial interpretations of ____________________.

A) the commerce clause, which grants the federal government the right to regulate commercial activity within the United States
B) the general welfare clause, which allows the government to override state interests when citizens are in danger
C) incorporation, which applies all federal protections to individual citizens regardless of the state in which they live
D) the supremacy clause, which gives the federal bureaucracy supremacy over state agencies
E) the elastic clause, which gives the federal government the powers needed to protect the common defense and welfare of U.S. citizens