Deck 2: The Constitution

Question 1

The delegates of the Constitutional Convention met at Independence Hall in __________.

A) Boston, Massachusetts
B) New Haven, Connecticut
C) Providence, Rhode Island
D) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Tea Party members cite a doctrine that allows states to nullify any federal law they think violates the Constitution; this doctrine is called _________..

A) nullification
B) the Preamble of the Constitution
C) the Tenth Amendment
D) the Ten Commandments

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The American colonies enjoyed a measure of self-government in the early 1770s through __________.

A) the U.S. Senate
B) the Continental Congress
C) the British House of Lords and House of Commons
D) totalitarian rule

Answer 3

B

Question 4

One of the consequences of yearly state elections during the American Revolution was __________.

A) state politicians pandered to the people and horse-traded to achieve power
B) state legislatures became undemocratic
C) state legislatures tried to strengthen the national government to compensate
D) the term of office of the governor was extended to four years

Question 5

Under the Articles, Congress could not tax individuals directly, and therefore __________.

A) paid back the war debt
B) failed in financing an army
C) provided foreign security
D) enforced a national currency

Question 6

Patrick Henry, who did not attend the Constitutional Convention, feared another monarchy and wanted __________.

A) a new convention
B) a weak national government
C) Washington to become king
D) a stronger national government

Question 7

The Great Compromise called for a legislature with __________.

A) two houses, both based on population
B) two houses, one based on population, one based on equal representation
C) one house, with members chosen in the states' legislatures
D) one house, based on equal representation

Question 8

The Articles of Confederation established a weak central government because of __________.

A) wariness of a powerful executive
B) a strong and distant king
C) debtors
D) colonial experience under the British government

Question 9

During the formation of the Articles, National leaders felt that fluctuating laws and pandering in the state governments were a result of __________.

A) an excess of democracy
B) a weak federal relationship
C) Jeffersonian agrarianism
D) poor convention delegates

Question 10

Which of the houses in Congress resulted in the appeasement of the large states?

A) Supreme Court
B) House of Representatives
C) Senate
D) Blair House

Question 11

The New Jersey Plan favored __________.

A) large states with its bicameral legislature
B) northern states by outlawing slavery
C) equal representation by the states
D) no states or regions

Question 12

Shays's Rebellion __________.

A) underscored weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation
B) resulted in a new constitution for the state of Massachusetts
C) caused the Massachusetts legislature to pass laws that made military service compulsory
D) demonstrated the need for a Bill of Rights

Question 13

During the Revolutionary War, the American colonists adopted the Declaration of Independence in __________.

A) 1774
B) 1787
C) 1791
D) 1776

Question 14

After Shays's Rebellion, Congress approved a convention to __________.

A) revise the Articles of Confederation
B) write a new constitution
C) give more powers to the state governments
D) fund the rebellion

Question 15

The form of government agreed to by the Framers at the Conventions is a republic that more specifically refers to a/an __________.

A) monarchy
B) democracy
C) direct democracy
D) indirect democracy

Question 16

The contract with which the Pilgrims formed their civil government is called the __________.

A) Mayflower Compact
B) Mayflower Covenant
C) Jamestown Compact
D) Plymouth Covenant

Question 17

James Madison __________.

A) embraced the Articles and made them the cornerstone of the new constitution
B) had very little influence in crafting the new constitution
C) was one of the primary architects of the new constitution
D) ignored the ideas of Montesquieu to favor the ideas of John Locke

Question 18

By weakening the national government, the Articles of Confederation __________.

A) was evidence of a lack of national identity among Americans at the time
B) enhanced the ability of the states to provide for a national defense
C) created an opening for rebellion
D) shifted power to the president

Question 19

Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress could not raise an army because ___________.

A) it could only provide for a navy
B) it could not draft individuals directly
C) of a lack of qualified leadership
D) of the refusal of states to appoint generals

Question 20

During the Revolutionary War, colonial women __________.

A) were content with hearth and home
B) were sometimes part of the American army
C) had little involvement in the war
D) often called for peace with the British

Question 21

The sharpest conflict that emerged between small and large states was over __________.

A) repayment of war reparations
B) the structure of the election of the president
C) representation
D) debtor relief legislation

Question 22

The debate on representation at the Constitutional Convention created dissent among the delegates; they eventually solved the issue by __________.

A) leaving for home, never to return
B) aligning with a European country
C) falling back onto the Articles of Confederation
D) compromising weeks later

Question 23

A parliamentary system is different from the U.S. congressional system mainly due to __________.

A) commonwealths and the monarchy sharing a federal relationship
B) parliamentary government requiring monthly elections
C) parliamentary systems requiring a king
D) executive and judicial officials being responsible to the legislature in parliament

Question 24

Which of the following undemocratic features of the Constitution impacts the manner in which presidents are elected to office?

A) denial of some groups' equal treatment under the law
B) the failure to outlaw slavery
C) creating the Electoral College
D) giving each state two Senate seats

Question 25

Thomas Jefferson opposed the two-house legislature, but George Washington supported the system by explaining __________.

A) "we pour legislation into the senatorial saucer to cool it"
B) "we must beware the mischief of factions"
C) "alas, men are not angels"
D) "...nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes"

Question 26

Under the Articles, the U.S. had a(n) __________ form of government.

A) federal
B) unitary
C) confederal
D) decimated

Question 27

Most of the delegates at the convention were well-to-do individuals and therefore championed the __________.

A) rights of immigrants
B) right to property
C) restriction on trade
D) rights of women

Question 28

The Three-Fifths Compromise __________.

A) limited imported goods to 3/5s of a ship's cargo
B) was a compromise with southern slaveholders about how slaves would be counted
C) limited the amount of taxes that could be raised by the national government
D) increased the power of northern states

Question 29

The only other country to have five (5) veto points like the United States is __________.

A) China
B) Australia
C) Switzerland
D) no other country

Question 30

In presidential and congressional elections, more than a quarter of voters __________.

A) split-ticket vote
B) support unified government
C) vote in the wrong district
D) only vote for Senators

Question 31

The system of checks and balances gives each branch __________.

A) an absolute veto of actions taken by another branch
B) some authority over the other branches
C) staggered terms for office holders
D) a chance to expand government powers

Question 32

When the federal government wields all the power, this type of government is called __________.

A) federalism
B) a unitary system
C) confederalism
D) anarchy

Question 33

Making certain assumptions about human nature, the Founders__________.

A) created a government of fragmented power
B) rejected the Three-fifths Compromise
C) refused to provide a written constitution
D) viewed a Bill of Rights as unnecessary

Question 34

Evidence that federalism was incorporated into the national government can be found in __________.

A) Congress's representation based on population
B) having two Senators from each state regardless of size
C) the Supreme Court's term limits
D) the provision for the office of Vice President

Question 35

On September 17, 1787, of the fifty-five original delegates at the Constitutional Convention, __________ delegates signed the new Constitution.

A) thirty-nine
B) forty-nine
C) all fifty-five
D) thirteen

Question 36

Separation of powers creates the possibility of __________.

A) divided government
B) unified government
C) authoritarianism
D) confederalism

Question 37

The Virginia Plan, which suggested a bicameral legislature each with representation based on population, was introduced by __________.

A) Alexander Hamilton
B) James Wilson
C) James Madison
D) Gouverneur Morris

Question 38

Two concessions northerners made to southern states were __________.

A) not banning the importation of slaves and regulating commerce by simple majority
B) regulating commerce by simple majority and requiring the return of fugitive slaves
C) not banning the importation of slaves and requiring the return of fugitive slaves
D) government subsidies for cotton production and a tax on exports

Question 39

One of the many political philosophers that influenced the Founding Founders and their ideas in the Constitution was __________.

A) John Locke
B) Henry David Thoreau
C) Charles Sumner
D) John Rawls

Question 40

Locke's view of the social contract-an implied agreement between the people and their government-is that the __________.

A) powers of the government should be limited.
B) powers of the government should be absolute.
C) people's power should be absolute.
D) government should act without the consent of the governed.

Question 41

The case of McCulloch v. Maryland was important because it __________.

A) upheld the power of the states over the power of the national government
B) made it illegal for small banks to operate in the states
C) confirmed that the Supreme Court was the least powerful branch of government
D) established the legal basis for the supremacy of national authority over the states

Question 42

What was Shays's Rebellion?

Question 43

The origination of the congressional committee system __________.

A) occurred when Woodrow Wilson was president
B) is an example of change through judicial interpretation
C) took place through political practice
D) required the president's approval

Question 44

From what source does the judicial branch receive the power to interpret the Constitution?

A) constitution
B) Bill of Rights
C) congress
D) judicial branch

Question 45

Antifederalists failed in their efforts to oppose the Constitution because they __________.

A) demanded a bill of rights
B) were wary of centralized power under the Constitution
C) failed to lobby effectively in the states
D) were divided and failed to offer an alternative

Question 46

One of the major differences between the Great Depression and today's economic crisis is __________.

A) most people were wealthy
B) Americans lost their jobs and savings
C) many struggled to find food
D) there were no systematic welfare programs to relieve the suffering

Question 47

One of the major ideas dealt with in the Bill of Rights involves __________.

A) expression
B) women's suffrage
C) election of Senators
D) term limits

Question 48

The Reconstruction Amendments __________.

A) were passed prior to the Civil War
B) were supported by most southerners
C) shifted power from state governments to the federal government
D) were later repealed

Question 49

What was the New Jersey Plan?

Question 50

Judicial interpretation and political practice are __________.

A) two means of constitutional change without amending the Constitution
B) examples of the failure to solidify the Founders' vision
C) less influential than Constitutional amendments
D) regarded as illegitimate and covert ways of changing the Constitution

Question 51

The idea that our constitutional structure should operate almost automatically with its various parts in balance relates to the writings of __________.

A) Montesquieu
B) Isaac Newton
C) John Locke
D) James Madison

Question 52

Those who supported the Constitution and emphasized a real division of power between the national and state governments were the __________.

A) Antifederalists
B) slave owners
C) localists
D) Federalists

Question 53

__________ was a prominent chief justice who believed in a strong national government.

A) James Madison
B) John McCulloch
C) John Marshall
D) John Locke

Question 54

How did John Locke's ideas shape the way the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution?

Question 55

Political scientists believe that philosophy, economics, and __________ were important influences on the Founding Fathers.

A) politics
B) war
C) monopolies
D) expansion

Question 56

Since the ratification of the Constitution, more than nine thousand amendments have been proposed, but only __________ have been adopted.

A) 50
B) 10
C) 27
D) 150

Question 57

According to Locke, limited government was meant to __________.

A) control certain aspects of the economy
B) be ruled by a just and moral monarch
C) protect the people's rights, but not threaten them
D) have action and reaction manifested in checks and balances

Question 58

In his Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln focused on the idea that __________.

A) the Constitution creates equality among men
B) the Union should relinquish the Confederacy
C) we are "a new nation", not a collection of states
D) all states should honor the Emancipation Proclamation

Question 59

Women gained the vote in the __________ Amendment.

A) Eighteenth
B) Nineteenth
C) Twentieth
D) Twenty-First

Question 60

During the first part of FDR's presidency the Supreme Court __________.

A) staunchly defended laissez faire capitalism
B) encouraged the growth of government
C) was rarely hostile to FDR
D) defended the status quo

Question 61

What was the Three-Fifths Compromise?

Question 62

In what ways did the Civil War and the Great Depression change the Constitution?

Question 63

Describe the concepts of federalism and checks and balances, and provide one example to illustrate each.

Question 64

James Madison wrote: "In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the chief difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself." What did Madison mean by this and why is this? How did the Founders address this problem in the Constitution?

Question 65

What is one major conceptual change of the evolving Constitution that is quite different from the one drafted by the Founders?

Question 66

What is an Antifederalist?

Question 67

How did the New Deal affect the Constitution?

Question 68

While writing the Constitution, the Founding Fathers were influenced by ideas from past political philosophers. Name at least two of these Enlightenment philosophers and provide examples of their ideas.

Question 69

Think about the specific veto points within our government. Detail who has the veto points, and explain when they can use them. How does the number of points compare to other countries from around the world?

Question 70

Describe three fundamental compromises made at the Constitutional Convention. What were the issues and who were the opposing sides?

Question 71

The Constitution has been called both an enduring document and an ambiguous one. Identify features in the Constitution that support this statement. In addition, discuss the future of the Constitution as a governing document given the growth of ethnic and racial diversity in the U.S.

Question 72

Why might the Gettysburg Address be seen as the preamble to a new constitution?

Question 73

Describe ways the Constitution can be changed or altered.

Question 74

How does the Supremacy Clause affect the federal relationship set up in the Constitution?