Deck 2: The Constitution of the United States

Question 1

The delegates to the Constitutional Convention would see the new document they created as a(n)

A)experimental form of government.
B)blueprint for government.
C)license to exercise strong national power.
D)way to weaken the power of the states.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In the minds of Madison and those who shared his views, the hope was that the Annapolis Convention might lead to

A)limitations on the scope and capacity of state power.
B)resolution of federal debts so as to stabilize the economy.
C)newly established national powers on par with those of the states.
D)changes in the fundamental structure of the American government.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Madison, together with a group of similarly practical men, sought to create a republic that would be

A)sufficiently powerful to exert control over the states.
B)representative of the will of the people with weak national powers.
C)strong enough to govern without threatening individual rights.
D)respectful of states' rights while cautiously asserting weak national power.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

At the time the Constitution was constructed, the most respected man in America was

A)Governor Morris.
B)James Madison.
C)Alexander Hamilton.
D)George Washington.

Question 5

How many states sent representatives to the Annapolis Convention?

A)five
B)seven
C)ten
D)thirteen

Question 6

James Madison, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson had which of the following in common?

A)a desire to actively change their government
B)a tradition of slave ownership
C)service on the Constitutional Congress
D)a continued desire to serve their country after the revolution

Question 7

The main question for those who called for political change in America's early history was

A)How do we change?
B)What impact will change have?
C)What kind of change?
D)Who will oversee the change?

Question 8

In the years following the revolution, the American states and the government they created struggled against

A)financial crisis, the fear of foreign invasion, and the threat of internal discord.
B)British interference, strong national leadership, and state oppression against citizens.
C)weak state governments, federal military oppression, and rising currency values.
D)a dictatorial executive, a strong national military, and weak state powers.

Question 9

The first form of American government was a

A)monarchy.
B)oligarchy.
C)republic.
D)confederation.

Question 10

Delegates to the Second Continental Congress had to confront issues that involved the problem of

A)government mistrust.
B)state sovereignty.
C)representative equity.
D)fiscal resources.

Question 11

The skills and intellect of which of the following men were perhaps most important in the creation of the Constitution?

A)Governor Morris
B)James Madison
C)Alexander Hamilton
D)George Washington

Question 12

Madison's immediate concern in the spring of 1786 was preparing for the convention in

A)Annapolis.
B)Philadelphia.
C)Boston.
D)Baltimore.

Question 13

Madison's years of preparation allowed him to

A)shape the agenda of debates.
B)dominate the conversations.
C)wield power over his adversaries.
D)select a specific group of elite politicians.

Question 14

Governments that are ruled by representatives who are elected by the people they represent are best described as

A)democracies.
B)monarchies.
C)oligarchies.
D)republics.

Question 15

James Madison researched which of the following topics prior to the Grand Convention?

A)the rise of governments
B)the growth of monarchies
C)the exercise of absolute power
D)the death of republics

Question 16

Proponents of the new government seized on which of the following to push their agenda forward?

A)economic decline
B)logical political arguments
C)fear of domestic and foreign crises
D)need for stronger national government

Question 17

A document that defines and creates a people politically, sets out the fundamental principles of governance, and creates the rules and institutions through which a people choose to self-govern is defined as a

A)confederation.
B)political contract.
C)constitution.
D)statement of purpose.

Question 18

In comparing the Declaration of Independence to the United States Constitution, the authors of the Declaration felt the need to ______, while the framers of the Constitution sought to ______.

A)change the structure of existing government | declare American independence to the world
B)outline a blueprint for government | persuade colonists to support separation
C)announce and justify their separation from Great Britain | create a new nation
D)create an organized and structured national government | reinforce the power of state governments

Question 19

James Madison was one of America's first ______.

A)industrial engineers
B)academic scholars
C)political scientists
D)philosophical writers

Question 20

Who originally penned the words "We the people…"?

A)James Madison
B)Thomas Jefferson
C)Governor Morris
D)Benjamin Franklin

Question 21

Because of concerns over land rights, the Articles of Confederation provided states with protections against other states ______ without prior approval of the confederal government.

A)imposing taxes
B)claiming territory
C)demanding reparations
D)exerting sovereignty

Question 22

In comparison to French colonies, British colonies were highly

A)centralized.
B)decentralized.
C)authoritarian.
D)coherent.

Question 23

Under the Articles of Confederation, states

A)were authorized to send only one representative chosen by popular election.
B)selected their representatives and chose the number of representatives they sent.
C)chose the number of representatives who were selected by popular vote.
D)were not allowed representation at the national level.

Question 24

Changing or amending the Articles required the approval of ______ states.

A)four
B)seven
C)ten
D)thirteen

Question 25

The roots of the rebellion in Massachusetts were

A)social and cultural.
B)economic and political.
C)agricultural and religious.
D)academic and philosophical.

Question 26

The grassroots popular uprising against state government in Massachusetts, which added a sense of urgency to elitist delegates to the Annapolis Convention, was called

A)Shay's Rebellion,
B)Seward's Folley.
C)Gabriel's Conspiracy.
D)Turner's Uprising.

Question 27

Congressional currency, known as the Continental, was backed by

A)gold reserves in Philadelphia.
B)bank deposits in New York.
C)the promise of the government to pay its debts.
D)tax receipts collected from the states.

Question 28

In order to get around its lack of money and its inability to borrow from foreign nations, Congress

A)taxed individual citizens.
B)forcibly collected from the states.
C)made its own money.
D)imposed import and export taxes.

Question 29

Which of the following best describes the judicial branch under the Articles of Confederation?

A)It had the authority to overturn a law and had full enforcement power.
B)It existed to interpret and enforce confederal law at the state level only.
C)It was able to settle disputes between states and had law enforcement authority.
D)It existed primarily to resolve disputes between states and had no enforcement power.

Question 30

During the debates over the Articles in the Second Continental Congress, mistrust of other colonies crystallized in conflicts over

A)land, representation, and sovereignty.
B)foreign trade, taxes, and authority.
C)intrastate commerce and trade.
D)interstate relations and apportionment.

Question 31

The confederal government had the power to

A)conduct foreign trade and coin money.
B)interpret and enforce national laws.
C)intervene in disputes between states.
D)declare war and conduct foreign policy.

Question 32

The most acrimonious disagreements between colonies were over control of

A)the South Sea.
B)the Barbary Coast.
C)western lands.
D)the Atlantic seaboard.

Question 33

Indebted farmers who focused their protests and attentions on the courts in order to stall or forgo bankruptcy proceedings against their land were known as

A)renegades.
B)regulators.
C)scalawags.
D)scoundrels.

Question 34

The vital change that took place between 1776 and 1787 was in the

A)understanding of political philosophy.
B)desire for centralized authority.
C)shifting population of larger states.
D)balance of political power.

Question 35

State legislative elections in 1786 and 1787 had gone to ______ candidates who favored stronger national government.

A)sectionalist
B)nationalist
C)confederal
D)agrarian

Question 36

In response to rebellions in Massachusetts, local citizens formed ______ to petition their governments to take action to help them.

A)committees of correspondence
B)elected bodies
C)selective commissions
D)executive councils

Question 37

In response to the Articles of Confederation, some Southern states feared the restriction of ______, while the smaller states feared losing their ______.

A)agricultural production | sovereignty
B)slavery | equal representation
C)currency | security
D)land ownership | businesses

Question 38

The confederal government was

A)unicameral.
B)bicameral.
C)tricameral.
D)quadracameral.

Question 39

It was not unnatural at the time of the Second Continental Congress to envision a government in which ______ was/were the real center(s)of power.

A)representatives
B)elites
C)states
D)national authority

Question 40

In order to dispel civil unrest and assist indebted farmers, the state of Rhode Island issued

A)notices of entitlement.
B)paper money.
C)judgments of debt.
D)treasury notes.

Question 41

Which state refused to send a delegate to the Grand Convention in Philadelphia?

A)Massachusetts
B)New York
C)Pennsylvania
D)Rhode Island

Question 42

The president is elected by which of the following methods?

A)direct vote of the people
B)a vote of Congress
C)votes in the Electoral College
D)votes from each of the state legislatures

Question 43

The purpose of Congress was to

A)interpret laws.
B)make laws.
C)execute laws.
D)enforce laws.

Question 44

As chief executive, the president's responsibility is to

A)propose new laws to be passed by Congress.
B)carry out laws passed by Congress.
C)act as a strong leader with absolute power over Congress.
D)interpret and enforce laws passed by Congress.

Question 45

While ______ was one of the greatest proponents of a strong national government, ______ would serve as one of its greatest opponents.

A)Benjamin Franklin | Thomas Jefferson
B)James Monroe | Governor Morris
C)Paul Revere | George Washington
D)Alexander Hamilton | Patrick Henry

Question 46

Alexander Hamilton proposed

A)a weak president that would serve for unlimited one-year terms.
B)a strong president that would serve for a single term of four years.
C)a weak president that would serve for up to ten years.
D)a strong president that would serve for life.

Question 47

The delegate who served as president of the Grand Convention in Philadelphia was

A)James Monroe.
B)Governor Morris.
C)George Washington.
D)Alexander Hamilton.

Question 48

The individual who assembled the various resolutions passed by the Grand Convention into a whole document was

A)James Monroe.
B)Governor Morris.
C)George Washington.
D)Alexander Hamilton.

Question 49

Virginia's delegation recommended a plan for representation that created a

A)strong national government with a bicameral legislature using proportional representation in both houses.
B)weak national government with a unicameral legislature based on equal representation.
C)strong national government with a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the lower house and equal representation in the upper house.
D)weak national government with a bicameral legislature based on equal representation in both houses.

Question 50

In October 1786, the Massachusetts legislature passed the ______ Act, absolving sheriffs and other officials from prosecution for killing rioters.

A)Martial Law
B)Townsend
C)Mann
D)Riot

Question 51

The Great Compromise established which of the following forms of government?

A)equal representation
B)proportional representation
C)a combination of equal and proportional representation
D)a representation plan based on state choice

Question 52

The most democratic of the state constitutions was that of

A)Maryland.
B)Georgia.
C)Pennsylvania.
D)New York.

Question 53

The most contentious issue of the Constitutional Convention was

A)who would represent the states.
B)how states would be represented.
C)the powers of national government.
D)matters of interstate and foreign trade.

Question 54

In order to hear and decide federal cases, the judicial branch includes a system of

A)federal district courts.
B)state supreme courts.
C)county courts at law.
D)municipal courts.

Question 55

Under the Great Compromise, each state would be allowed ______ representatives in the Senate.

A)two
B)four
C)six
D)nine

Question 56

Delegates to the Constitutional Convention decided that judicial power should be held by the

A)local courts.
B)state courts.
C)district courts.
D)Supreme Court.

Question 57

The one social factor that all of the delegates to the Grand Convention had in common was that they were all

A)elites.
B)farmers.
C)wealthy.
D)slave owners.

Question 58

Delegates who had been sent to the Grand Convention in Philadelphia were specifically authorized to

A)make any and all changes necessary to form a new government.
B)fix the Articles of Confederation as necessary.
C)seek a form of government that balanced national and state power.
D)create a new Constitution as a blueprint for future government.

Question 59

Delegates from smaller states proposed which of the following?

A)the Delaware Plan
B)the New Jersey Plan
C)the Virginia Plan
D)the Connecticut Plan

Question 60

Smaller states supported a government that favored

A)equal representation.
B)proportional representation.
C)a combination of equal and proportional representation.
D)a representation plan based on state choice.

Question 61

Antifederalists called for a ______ to be included in the Constitution.

A)Statement of Authority
B)Bill of Rights
C)Guarantee of Sovereignty
D)Declaration of Independence

Question 62

The "full faith and credit" clause of the Constitution was intended to

A)regulate the flow of commerce within and between states.
B)ensure that states recognized the contracts and legal proceedings of other states.
C)give value to the issuing of federal currency and coins.
D)signal to foreign countries that the United States was to be trusted.

Question 63

The Three-Fifths Censured that

A)a three-fifths vote of Congress was required to propose a Constitutional Amendment.
B)a three-fifths vote in the Electoral College was required to be elected president.
C)three-fifths of a state's slave population would be counted for the purposes of representation.
D)three-fifths of the justices on the Supreme Court must vote for a judicial decision.

Question 64

Tyranny of the minority occurs when

A)a large number of citizens use their power to trample on the rights of smaller groups.
B)small numbers of citizens trample on the rights of the larger population.
C)authoritarian leaders trample on the rights of the citizens through unitary rule.
D)liberal leaders give more rights to their supporters than they do to their opponents.

Question 65

Many experts argue that the preservation of slavery was the result of a trading of votes known as a

A)logroll.
B)filibuster.
C)sequester.
D)cloture.

Question 66

In Federalist 10, James Madison argued that ______ is the main driver of factionalization.

A)political polarization
B)social inequality
C)inequality of wealth
D)societal hierarchy

Question 67

Judicial review gives the judicial branch of government the authority to

A)oversee the actions of state and local courts.
B)propose new laws for consideration by Congress.
C)determine if a law, part of a law, or an act of government is in violation of the Constitution.
D)conduct trials in cases involving a violation of federal or state law.

Question 68

In some ways, Federalists and Antifederalists were split along distinctions of

A)class.
B)religion.
C)age.
D)education.

Question 69

While small states wanted the states themselves to approve new Constitutional amendments, the nationalists wanted the ______ to decide.

A)president
B)Senate
C)people
D)Supreme Court

Question 70

Amending the Constitution is a ______-stage process.

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

Question 71

The distribution of powers across institutions including the legislative, executive, and judicial branches is known as

A)checks and balances.
B)the federal system.
C)separation of powers.
D)constitutionalism.

Question 72

In order to allow the Constitution to be changed as needed, a process of ______ was included.

A)revision
B)inclusion
C)correction
D)amendment

Question 73

Federalists made their strongest theoretical case for the new republic in a set of eighty-five essays known as

A)Common Sense.
B)the Antifederalist Papers.
C)Statements of Liberty.
D)the Federalist Papers.

Question 74

Tyranny of the majority occurs when

A)a large number of citizens use their power to trample on the rights of smaller groups.
B)small numbers of citizens trample on the rights of the larger population.
C)authoritarian leaders trample on the rights of the citizens through unitary rule.
D)liberal leaders give more rights to their supporters than they do to their opponents.

Question 75

James Madison was concerned about groups of people who would collectively try to use the government to get what they wanted.He called these groups

A)factions.
B)lobbies.
C)PACs.
D)parties.

Question 76

Supporters of the Constitution were known as ______ and opponents to the Constitution were called ______.

A)Nationalists | Regulators
B)Constitutionalists | Freedom-fighters
C)Federalists | Antifederalists
D)Republicans | Democrats

Question 77

According to Madison, only through a ______ could factions be prevented from organizing.

A)democratic government
B)tyrannical government
C)constitutional republic
D)authoritarian monarchy

Question 78

Federalists called for

A)supporting the new Constitution and a strong national government.
B)including a Bill of Rights and a strong state government.
C)strong restrictions on branches of government.
D)controls against the tyranny of the minority.

Question 79

Which of the following is superior to the others?

A)the Executive Branch
B)the Legislative Branch
C)the Judicial Branch
D)the United States Constitution

Question 80

According to the original wording of the Constitution, slavery was

A)restricted and regulated.
B)unrestricted until at least 1808.
C)considered a basic property right.
D)not directly addressed.