Deck 8: The Early Republic: Conflicts at Home and Abroad, 1789-1800

Question 1

Which of the following is true of the First Congress?

A) It quickly approved a tariff, thereby providing revenue to the new government.
B) It decided that the sale of public land was the best means by which to raise revenue for the government.
C) A majority of its members advocated state sovereignty rather than a strong national government.
D) None of the members of the Constitutional Convention were included in its membership.

Answer 1

It quickly approved a tariff, thereby providing revenue to the new government.

Question 2

In Chisholm v. Georgia the Supreme Court ruled that

A) a citizen of one state has the right to bring suit against another state in federal court.
B) the First Amendment protects a person's actions when those actions are based on the person's religious beliefs.
C) it had the right and power to review any case arising under American law.
D) the truth is a complete defense against the charge of libel.

Answer 2

a citizen of one state has the right to bring suit against another state in federal court.

Question 3

How did most Americans want the new government to handle the debts incurred by the nation in the winning of independence?

A) They believed the government should repudiate those debts.
B) They believed the domestic debt should be paid in full but the foreign debt repudiated.
C) They believed all such debts should be paid at face value.
D) They believed the foreign debt should be paid in full but the domestic debt repudiated.

Answer 3

They believed all such debts should be paid at face value.

Question 4

Section 25 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was important because it

A) allowed appeals from state courts to federal courts in cases that raised certain types of constitutional questions.
B) established circuit courts of appeal subordinate to the Supreme Court.
C) recognized that state courts could independently interpret the Constitution.
D) created a chief justice to preside over the Supreme Court.

Question 5

Why did Hamilton favor the assumption of state debts by the national government?

A) He recognized that many of the states did not have the economic ability to honor their unpaid debts.
B) He wanted to give the holders of public securities a financial stake in the survival of the national government.
C) He personally stood to make a substantial profit from the assumption plan.
D) He believed that patriots who had helped finance the Revolution deserved to be paid the money owed them.

Question 6

Which of the following is true of Congress's response to Hamilton's Report on Manufactures?

A) Congress approved the report in its entirety.
B) Congress approved the report with the exception of the portion calling for a protective tariff.
C) Congress, seeing the future of the nation as being agrarian and not industrial, rejected the report.
D) Congress rejected the report with the exception of the portion calling for a protective tariff.

Question 7

Those citizens who protested imposition of the whiskey tax most vigorously were also very likely to be dissatisfied over the

A) Senate's ratification of the Pinckney Treaty.
B) religious ideas associated with the Second Great Awakening.
C) proliferation of Democratic societies.
D) inability of the army to defend them and their region from Indian attacks.

Question 8

Which of the following statements best expresses the criticism leveled against Hamilton's proposal that Congress assume outstanding state debts?

A) The plan is fine except for the fact that it will cost the government far more than it can afford.
B) The plan will enrich speculators who have purchased securities at a small fraction of their face value.
C) The plan will disrupt the national economy.
D) The plan violates the Constitution, which does not specifically authorize Congress to assume state debts.

Question 9

Which of the following was true of the Supreme Court during its first decade?

A) The Court handed down no decisions.
B) The Court was the most influential branch of government.
C) The justices were bitterly divided over how to interpret the Constitution.
D) The Court handled few cases of any importance.

Question 10

The Second Amendment says that the people shall have the right "to keep and bear arms" because of the

A) right of the people to obtain food by hunting.
B) need for protection against criminals.
C) right to fight tyranny.
D) need for a well-regulated militia.

Question 11

Through his fiscal policies, Hamilton wanted to

A) shift the tax burden from the middle class to the upper class.
B) reduce the national debt by streamlining the government.
C) protect agrarian interests from organized business interests.
D) consolidate power at the national level.

Question 12

Congress's decision concerning who may dismiss heads of executive departments was significant because it established the principle that

A) such officials are responsible to the president.
B) officials who must be confirmed by the Senate serve at the pleasure of the president and the Senate.
C) Congress's impeachment powers would apply not only to the president but to all presidential appointees as well.
D) the branch of government closest to the people, the House of Representatives, would oversee such officials.

Question 13

At the Constitutional Convention, George Washington

A) argued in favor of a parliamentary government modeled after that of England.
B) argued in favor of the election of the president by popular vote.
C) voted against the formation of a two-house legislature.
D) consistently voted in favor of a strong national government.

Question 14

The argument over the creation of the Bank of the United States focused on which of the following questions?

A) Does the nation need a central banking institution?
B) Should the bank be allowed to issue the nation's currency?
C) Does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to create the bank?
D) Should the bank be privately owned, publicly owned, or privately and publicly owned?

Question 15

Ware v. Hylton established the authority of the Supreme Court to

A) rule on the constitutionality of acts of Congress.
B) hear suits brought by state governments against individuals.
C) rule on the constitutionality of state laws.
D) hear suits brought by individuals against state governments.

Question 16

Washington created the president's cabinet by

A) issuing an executive order.
B) consulting frequently with key congressional leaders.
C) using the heads of the executive departments collectively as his advisers.
D) requesting appropriate legislation from Congress.

Question 17

Which of the following groups was most directly affected by the excise tax on whiskey?

A) Urban laborers
B) Southern planters
C) Northern merchants
D) Western farmers

Question 18

Hamilton's proposal concerning the assumption of state debts became law as a result of which of the following?

A) A political deal was struck by which the site for the nation's capital was to be on the Potomac River.
B) Having served under President Washington's command during the Revolutionary War, several opponents of the plan switched their votes out of a sense of duty.
C) President Washington met privately with Madison and Jefferson, and convinced them that their opposition to the proposal was divisive.
D) A joint Senate-House subcommittee agreed that those states that had paid their debts would be taxed at a lower rate than those whose debts were being assumed.

Question 19

Which of the following statements is most consistent with Alexander Hamilton's broad-constructionist view of the Constitution?

A) The Supreme Court is the ultimate and final arbiter of the meaning of the Constitution.
B) Congress can choose any means not specifically prohibited by the Constitution to achieve a constitutional end.
C) The president's emergency powers in times of crisis are virtually unlimited.
D) In times of crisis, the separation of powers among the branches of the government may be temporarily suspended.

Question 20

Which of the following is true of Alexander Hamilton?

A) He trusted the ability of common people to participate in government.
B) He believed that people were motivated primarily by economic self-interest.
C) Rather than viewing the American republic as one nation, he saw it as a collection of sovereign states loosely bound together by a contractual agreement.
D) His optimism about America's future was based on his belief that most people put the common good above their own personal desires.

Question 21

How did Republican leaders justify their opposition to Alexander Hamilton and his policies?

A) They contended that republics were always characterized by debate engendered by the emergence of competing factions.
B) They argued that they wanted to save the republic from Hamilton's plot to subvert republican principles and impose a corrupt government on the United States.
C) They contended that because Alexander Hamilton was born in the British West Indies, he was prohibited by the Constitution from serving as secretary of the treasury.
D) They argued that they were morally right and were bound to uphold God's law, not the laws put forward by a corrupt and adulterous man.

Question 22

Which of the following was a result of the Quasi-War?

A) The United States agreed to honor the terms of its 1778 treaty with France.
B) American forces wrested control of the port of New Orleans from France.
C) French forces invaded the United States through Spanish Florida.
D) The United States Navy established its superiority over French forces in the West Indies.

Question 23

Which of the following was true of Washington's Farewell Address?

A) Washington indicated his belief that Congress plays a secondary role to the president in the making of foreign policy.
B) Washington attempted to portray the Republican opposition as dangerous and misguided.
C) Washington attempted to undermine Alexander Hamilton's chance of succeeding him as president.
D) Washington indicated his belief that the United States should actively ally with Great Britain against the French menace.

Question 24

How did opponents of the Jay Treaty try to prevent it from taking effect?

A) They tried to stop action on all legislative business in the House by engaging in a filibuster.
B) They urged all senators and congressmen who opposed the treaty to engage in a boycott of legislative sessions.
C) They urged the president to invoke executive privilege.
D) They tried to defeat appropriations bills in the House that would provide funds necessary to carry out the treaty's provisions.

Question 25

Which of the following is true of the Treaty of Greenville?

A) An Indian state was established in the area around the Great Lakes.
B) The Native Americans in the South ceded the territory between the Tombigbee River and the Mississippi.
C) West Florida was ceded to the United States.
D) The Northwest Native Americans ceded most of what became the state of Ohio.

Question 26

As a result of the Convention of 1800,

A) the United States was freed from its treaty of alliance with France.
B) the Federalist party was united as it prepared for the presidential election of 1800.
C) the United States received compensation from France for ships seized since 1793.
D) the Federalists chose Alexander Hamilton rather than John Adams as their presidential candidate for the 1800 election.

Question 27

Which of the following would be most likely to support the Federalists?

A) An urban artisan
B) A southern planter
C) A New England farmer
D) An American of Irish descent

Question 28

Why did the war that began between France and Great Britain in 1793 pose a dilemma for the United States?

A) Each belligerent expected the active support of the United States and threatened to declare war if such support was not forthcoming.
B) The United States was ideologically bound to France, but it was economically bound to Great Britain.
C) The Senate voted to honor the 1778 treaty with France, but the House voted in favor of a declaration of neutrality.
D) Because the United States had a mutual defense pact with both countries, it had to choose which agreement to honor.

Question 29

Washington believed which of the following to be behind the Whiskey Rebellion?

A) Catholic immigrants
B) The Society of the Cincinnati
C) Evangelicals associated with the Second Great Awakening
D) The Democratic societies

Question 30

What was the significance of Washington's response to the Whiskey Rebellion?

A) His willingness to attend and answer questions at protest meetings demonstrated the government's tolerance of public criticism.
B) His sympathy and understanding toward the protesters conveyed the message that the government could be trusted to deal fairly with aggrieved groups.
C) His decisive action made it clear that the national government would not tolerate violent resistance to its laws.
D) His hesitation in the face of armed rebellion seriously undermined the people's confidence in their new government.

Question 31

Which of the following was true of the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions?

A) They advanced the theory that the people, speaking through their states, could judge the constitutionality of acts of Congress.
B) They caused divisive arguments within the Republican faction.
C) They were unnecessary because the federal courts were already considering the constitutionality of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
D) They were of little significance beyond their immediate propaganda benefits to Jefferson and Madison.

Question 32

Why did the Democratic societies arouse the fear of President Washington?

A) Washington had not yet accepted the idea that an organized loyal opposition was part of a free government; therefore, he believed that political dissent was a sign of subversion.
B) Members of these societies threatened to engage in terrorist tactics to undermine the government and the Constitution.
C) Their pro-democracy demonstrations seemed to challenge the legitimacy and sovereignty of the United States government.
D) Washington was very disturbed by the fact that these groups called for a violent overthrow of the United States government.

Question 33

Which of the following is true of the Democratic societies?

A) They protested the policies of the Washington administration and warned of self-serving rulers who would destroy the rights of the people.
B) They saw the French Revolution as a perversion of republicanism.
C) They attempted to bridge the gap between the views of Hamilton and those of Jefferson.
D) They urged Americans to ignore events in Europe and to concentrate on perfecting the republic.

Question 34

What was the outcome of the contested presidential election of 1796 between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson?

A) John Adams and his running mate, Thomas Pinckney, were elected president and vice president, respectively.
B) Thomas Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, were elected president and vice president, respectively.
C) John Adams was elected president, and Thomas Jefferson was elected vice president.
D) Thomas Jefferson was elected president, and John Adams was elected vice president.

Question 35

The Jay Treaty was significant in which of the following respects?

A) In persuading the House to appropriate the funds necessary to carry out the treaty's provisions, the Federalists violated one of their key principles by engaging in grassroots politicking.
B) The ratification process used by the Senate demonstrated its commitment to public discussion of key issues.
C) By granting America navigation rights on the Mississippi, it ensured the commercial development of the West.
D) By demilitarizing the Great Lakes, it allowed the diversion of funds from the military to economic development.

Question 36

For which of the following reasons did President Washington choose to seek a second term?

A) He was afraid that Hamilton would be elected president if he retired.
B) He wanted to oversee the military buildup that had begun during his first administration.
C) He wanted to continue to supervise the arms talks with England.
D) He was concerned about the political dispute between Hamilton and Jefferson and hoped to promote political unity.

Question 37

Which of the following was true of the Republicans?

A) They were pessimistic about the future of the nation.
B) They had little interest in westward expansion.
C) They were more concerned about developing the nation's resources than about its standing in the world.
D) They emphasized the need for order and stability.

Question 38

Which of the following was a consequence of the XYZ affair?

A) Anti-French sentiment increased in the United States, and the nation became embroiled in its first undeclared war.
B) The United States entered into a formal alliance with Great Britain.
C) To prove that the United States government was sincere in its desire to negotiate with France, Congress authorized the payment of $250,000 to the French government.
D) President Adams was subjected to ridicule throughout the United States.

Question 39

Angry over the Jay Treaty, the French government ordered French vessels to seize American merchant ships carrying British goods. How did the United States government respond to this order?

A) President Adams broke diplomatic relations with France.
B) The Senate abrogated the Jay Treaty with Great Britain.
C) Congress declared war on France.
D) Congress voted to increase military spending.

Question 40

For which of the following reasons did southern planters voice strenuous objections to ratification of the Jay Treaty?

A) The treaty contained no provision for British evacuation of their forts in the Northwest.
B) The treaty contained no provision to compensate owners of slaves who left with the British army at the end of the Revolutionary War.
C) The treaty contained no provision to deal with claims relating to American merchant ships captured by the British during the Revolutionary War.
D) The treaty contained no provision for easing restrictions on American trade to England or the West Indies.

Question 41

The slave rebellion planned by Gabriel was in part inspired by which of the following?

A) The emergence of an organized antislavery movement in the North
B) Antislavery statements by white ministers in the Richmond area
C) Antislavery statements by prominent Virginia politicians
D) Enslaved blacks' adaptation of the concepts of liberty and equality to their own purposes

Question 42

As a result of the teachings of Handsome Lake, men of the Iroquois Confederacy

A) accepted the imposition of taxes in order to finance economic development and diversification.
B) accepted the tenets of capitalism by allowing the Confederacy to invest in New England textile mills.
C) became more receptive to the European-style sexual division of labor taught by the Quakers.
D) began to work toward the goal of complete assimilation into Anglo-American culture.