Deck 9: The Confederation and the Constitution

Question 1

The most important outcome of the Revolution for white women was that they

A) permanently gained the right to vote.
B) were allowed to serve in the national legislature.
C) were elevated to a newly prestigious role as special keepers of the nation's conscience.
D) were able to enter a wide range of professions.
E) learned how to fight against male oppression.

Answer 1

were elevated to a newly prestigious role as special keepers of the nation's conscience.

Question 2

The newly penned state constitutions enjoyed many features in common, all of them shared the following characteristics except

A) they all represented a fundamental law, superior to the whims of ordinary legislation.
B) most of them included a bill of rights.
C) all of them created weak executive and judicial branches of government.
D) the state legislatures were given sweeping powers.
E) all of them included a clause granting universal suffrage to all citizens.

Answer 2

all of them included a clause granting universal suffrage to all citizens.

Question 3

Continental army officers who formed the Society of the Cincinnati

A) were brought to trial for trying to sabotage civilian 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.

Answer 3

were ridiculed for their lordly pretensions.

Question 4

The Second Continental Congress of revolutionary days

A) operated with strong constitutional authority.
B) functioned as a Revolutionary tribunal with direct authority over citizens and the army.
C) shared equal authority with the states.
D) was little more than a conference of ambassadors from independent states with very limited power.
E) was most effective in developing a banking and currency system.

Question 5

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

A) American revolutionary principles were essentially moderate.
B) the American Revolution brought very little social change.
C) there was an abundance of cheap, available land.
D) political democracy preceded economic democracy.
E) the American aristocracy was socially enlightened.

Question 6

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 in most states.
B) a growing separation of church and state.
C) the establishment of the world's first antislavery society.
D) full equality between women and men.
E) the abolition of medieval inheritance laws.

Question 7

It was highly significant to the course of future events that

A) political democracy preceded economic democracy in the United States.
B) deflation rather than inflation resulted from the Revolution.
C) no economic depression occurred as a consequence of the Revolution.
D) economic democracy preceded political democracy in the United States.
E) the United States went off the gold standard after the Revolution.

Question 8

The Articles of Confederation left Congress unable to

A) decide policy for the western lands.
B) deal with foreign affairs.
C) apportion state representation.
D) enforce a tax-collection program.
E) establish a postal service.

Question 9

As part of the egalitarian movement of the American Revolution,

A) several northern states abolished slavery.
B) the international slave trade was completely outlawed.
C) many states repealed laws against interracial marriage.
D) women were granted the right to vote.
E) Congress prohibited the expansion of slavery to the West.

Question 10

The major issue that delayed ratification of the Articles of Confederation concerned

A) whether Congress could directly tax U.S.citizens.
B) slavery.
C) the power to raise an army and a navy.
D) western lands.
E) a central bank and monetary standards.

Question 11

The Founders 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 began to rely more heavily on slave labor.
E) the whole country was economically dependent on slavery.

Question 12

The Articles of Confederation were finally approved when

A) agreement was reached on a rotating presidency.
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 13

The world's first antislavery society was founded by

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

Question 14

As written documents, the state constitutions were intended to

A) represent a fundamental law superior to ordinary legislation.
B) state the fundamental ideals underlying state laws.
C) grant the governor more power than the legislature.
D) keep the government in the hands of the well-to-do.
E) reaffirm states' rights.

Question 15

The state that briefly granted women the right to vote in its 1776 constitution was:

A) New York.
B) Massachusetts.
C) New Jersey.
D) Pennsylvania.
E) Maryland.

Question 16

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

A) ingrained respect for authority.
B) excellent political leadership.
C) opportunity for westward expansion.
D) sound economic structure.
E) economic ties to France.

Question 17

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

A) because better roads now made this territory more easily accessible.
B) to prevent possible British capture.
C) because water routes were now opened to the interior regions.
D) to get them away from the pretentious eastern seaports.
E) to establish a basis for western land claims.

Question 18

Early signs of the abolitionist movement in the 1780s can be seen in the

A) Articles of Confederation.
B) organization of the underground railroad.
C) emancipation of some slaves by their masters.
D) passage of laws allowing interracial marriage.
E) abolition of slavery in a few southern states.

Question 19

The American Revolution was

A) truly radical at its most basic level.
B) an essentially conservative event.
C) accelerated evolution rather than outright revolution.
D) very much like the French revolution.
E) very much like the Russian revolution.

Question 20

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) closely tied to international economic developments.
E) dependent on government assistance and subsidies.

Question 21

The delegates at the Constitutional Convention were concerned mainly with

A) easing the conflict over slavery.
B) establishing a very powerful military.
C) strengthening the new nation at home and abroad.
D) ensuring that the states would continue to control tariff policies.
E) uphold the republican spirit of equality.

Question 22

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787

A) provided for the survey and sale of public lands in the Old Northwest.
B) established a procedure for turning frontier territories into equal states.
C) banned slavery from all territories of the United States.
D) opened the way to American control of the Great Lakes.
E) carved the Northwest Territory into five future states.

Question 23

The first attempt to revise the Articles of Confederation in 1786 took place in

A) New York.
B) Philadelphia.
C) Annapolis.
D) Boston.
E) Charleston.

Question 24

The "large-state plan" put forward in the Constitutional Convention by Virginia

A) called for a single-house legislature.
B) proposed that the first presidents should all be from Virginia.
C) proposed that all new states in the Union should be large.
D) favored southern states over northern states.
E) based representation in the House and Senate on population.

Question 25

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

A) was almost completely harmonious.
B) was good economically but poor politically.
C) led to near-warfare between New York and Pennsylvania.
D) convinced many that a stronger central government was needed.
E) was good politically but poor economically.

Question 26

Goals of the delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia include all of the following except

A) preserving the union.
B) forestalling anarchy.
C) insuring the security of life and property.
D) curbing unrestrained democracy
E) increasing individual freedom.

Question 27

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) bring territories into equal statehood.
C) abolish slavery yet preserve national unity.
D) balance the power of legislative and executive offices of government.
E) create a civilian commander in chief of the military.

Question 28

Which of the following Revolutionary leaders was present at the Constitutional Convention?

A) Benjamin Franklin
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) Samuel Adams
D) John Adams
E) Thomas Paine

Question 29

Shays's Rebellion was provoked by

A) the growing fear of a southern slaveholders' conspiracy.
B) wealthy merchants' attempt 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 backcountry farmers.
E) the government's failure to pay bonuses to Revolutionary War veterans.

Question 30

One of the most path-breaking step 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) used the revenue from land sales for defense of the West.
E) established "land grant" universities in each of the Great Lakes states.

Question 31

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

A) control of public lands.
B) control of interstate commerce.
C) Indian policy.
D) monetary policy.
E) foreign threats to American independence.

Question 32

A major strength of the Articles of Confederation was its

A) control over interstate commerce.
B) strong judicial branch.
C) upholding of the ideal of national union.
D) ability to coin money.
E) creation of a strong minister of foreign affairs.

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) land in the Northwest 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 would be prohibited in the Northwest territories.

Question 34

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) 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 35

The Constitutional Convention was called to

A) write a completely new constitution.
B) revive the spirit of Revolutionary unity.
C) weaken the power of the central government.
D) revise the Articles of Confederation.
E) create three separate but equal branches of government.

Question 36

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 37

Shays's Rebellion convinced many Americans of the need for

A) lower taxes.
B) granting pensions to Revolutionary War veterans.
C) a stronger military to halt the Indian threat.
D) a stronger central government.
E) a weaker military presence in the West.

Question 38

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

A) liberals.
B) antifederalists.
C) nationalists.
D) inexperienced.
E) revolutionaries.

Question 39

After the Revolutionary War, both Britain and Spain

A) tried to gain control of Florida.
B) regularly attacked American shipping.
C) prevented America from exercising effective control over about half of its total territory.
D) helped America to fight the pirates in North Africa.
E) abandoned their forts in the West.

Question 40

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

A) regulating commerce.
B) appointing the Supreme Court.
C) apportioning congressional representation.
D) electing the president.
E) choosing senators.

Question 41

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 depression.
C) the draining away of population to the west.
D) the lack of effective political leadership.
E) slavery.

Question 42

One of the enduring paradoxes of American history is that

A) conservatives supported the world's first modern Revolution.
B) liberals supported a Supreme Court with lifetime appointments for judges.
C) both liberals and conservatives have championed the heritage of republican revolution.
D) neither conservatives nor liberals saw how the Constitution would evolve.
E) early American conservatives backed a powerful central government while early liberals backed states' rights.

Question 43

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 44

Probably the most alarming characteristic of the new Constitution to the antifederalists 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 45

Under the original Constitution, the only branch of the federal government elected directly by the people was the

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

Question 46

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

A) specially elected state conventions.
B) state legislatures.
C) popular referendum.
D) a majority vote in the Congress.
E) town meetings.

Question 47

Most, if not all, of the new state constitutions

A) were written documents.
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 48

The Founders believed that the ultimate guarantor of liberty, justice, and order was

A) a system of checks and balances.
B) a written constitution.
C) an independent judicial system.
D) the virtue of the people.
E) periodic protests by the people.

Question 49

The antifederalist camp included all of the following groups except

A) the well educated.
B) states' rights supporters.
C) backcountry dwellers.
D) paper money advocates.
E) debtors.

Question 50

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.

Question 51

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 52

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) those without large amounts of property.
E) the large, heavily populated states.

Question 53

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 54

Antifederalists believed that the sovereignty of the people resided on what level of government?

A) local
B) county
C) state
D) federal
E) an international commonwealth of English-speaking people

Question 55

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 slave trade.

Question 56

Which of the following was a compromise in the Constitution that appeased several slaveholding states?

A) All slaves were to be counted as full persons in apportioning membership in the House of Representatives.
B) The international slave trade could continue until the end of 1807.
C) The president would be elected by the Electoral College.
D) Congress would be prohibited from regulating slavery in the territories.
E) The international slave trade would be banned until 1807.

Question 57

A crucial and powerful argument presented in The Federalist No.10 was that it was

A) impossible to safeguard individual rights without a strong central government.
B) possible to extend a republican form of government over a large territory.
C) inevitable that slavery would ultimately disappear in the new republic.
D) better to have presidential terms of four years than annual elections.
E) necessary to have a powerful Senate to advise and control the president.

Question 58

The Revolutionary War

A) stimulated American manufacturing.
B) encouraged a more widespread respect for private property.
C) produced runaway inflation in many states.
D) made most people financially better off than before the war.
E) created a radical redistribution of wealth.

Question 59

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) the authority of God.
E) the consent of the governed.

Question 60

The Federalists met their most sophisticated and intellectually well-armed Antifederalist opposition in

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

Question 61

Why did the leaders of the American Revolution fail to fulfill their spirit of equality by giving full equal rights to African Americans and women?

Question 62

When Thomas Jefferson observed that "173 despots would surely be as oppressive as one," he was warning against the possibility of legislative as well as executive tyranny.What provisions of the Constitution tried to safeguard against a runaway democratic majority?

Question 63

Had you been a delegate to a state convention charged with considering ratification of the Constitution, which way would you have voted? Why?

Question 64

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 65

In what way was anticolonialism established as a legacy of the American Revolution? How, then, did the United States justify its own future territorial expansion? Did the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provide a sufficient guarantee that future territories would not become colonies?

Question 66

Historian Charles Beard argued that the Founding Fathers of the Constitution acted to protect their own economic interests against the lower classes.What justification might there be for this view? To what extent did the Constitution reflect Revolutionary ideals of American republicanism, and to what extent did it protect vested political and economic interests?

Question 67

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 68

Major goals of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention included

A) maintaining the "one state-one vote" principle of the Articles of Confederation.
B) preserving the Union.
C) creating a stronger national government.
D) restricting democracy in the states.
E) outlawing slavery.

Question 69

Historian Charles Beard described the Constitution as the "reactionary" phase of the Revolutionary era.What did he mean by this, and what could have led him to this conclusion?

Question 70

Is it still accurate to say that by embedding the principles of liberty and order in the same document, the Constitution has enabled American liberals and conservatives both to cherish the heritage of revolutionary republicanism?

Question 71

Could there ever be a serious movement to call a new Constitutional Convention? Why have so few American movements, no matter what their grievances, ever wanted to do away with the Constitution?

Question 72

One of the antifederalists' strongest arguments against the Constitution was that it contained no guarantees of individual rights.Was their concern about excessive federal power justified? Did the addition of the first ten amendments (the Bill of Rights) adequately address these antifederalist concerns?

Question 73

Most of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were

A) relatively well-to-do.
B) appointed by state legislatures.
C) military veterans of the Revolutionary War.
D) experienced at writing constitutions.
E) lawyers.

Question 74

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 75

Could the United States have continued to survive and expand with the Articles of Confederation as its Constitution? Why or why not?

Question 76

Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress

A) was specifically designed to be weak.
B) had no control over public land policy.
C) had no power to regulate commerce.
D) had no tax-collecting authority.
E) elected the President of the United States.

Question 77

If you had been a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, what one or two features of the document would you have altered or eliminated? What one or two provisions would you have added?