Question 1

A right to privacy, while recognized over time by federal judges, is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution.It can be said that such a right is protected under the Constitution, all the same, because:

Accepted Answer

The Ninth Amendment asserts that a failure to mention a right does not mean it is not possessed by the people.

Question 2

Congress can overturn a presidential veto only through:

Accepted Answer

Congress can overturn a presidential veto only through a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress.

Question 3

Imagine that states could still engage in unrelated commerce with foreign nations, as they could under the Articles of Confederation.Now, suppose an American president-going against the free trade-oriented, national economic policies of recent American history-placed steep tariffs on imports.What if a group of free trade-friendly states then sought an independent trade agreement with the affected countries? Why might this prove to be as much of a problem today as it was under the Articles?

Accepted Answer

Allowing states to negotiate trade agreements with foreign countries could lead to competition and conflict among states, undermining national unity and economic stability, similar to issues faced under the Articles of Confederation.

Question 4

Different constituencies elect senators and representatives, and they serve terms that are different in length, because the Constitution's framers:

Accepted Answer

The framers of the Constitution designed the Senate and House of Representatives to have different constituencies and term lengths to ensure a balance of perspectives and to allow diverse groups to influence policymaking.

Question 5

The Eighteenth Amendment, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol, and the Twenty-First Amendment, which repealed that prohibition, were unusual among constitutional amendments in that ____________________.

Accepted Answer

The Eighteenth and Twenty-First Amendments are unique because they addressed social policy issues, specifically the prohibition and subsequent repeal of alcohol, rather than structural or governmental changes.

Question 6

The First Amendment to the Constitution was specifically concerned with limits on:

Accepted Answer

The First Amendment specifically limits Congress by prohibiting it from making laws that infringe on freedoms such as speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition.

Question 7

Why, despite the fact that the framers valued liberty above democracy, and even sought to protect liberty from a presumed tyranny of the mob, did the country quickly begin democratizing after the Constitution was ratified?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why, despite the fact that the framers...

Question 8

The decision of the Constitution's framers to allow federal judges, all unelected, to serve lifetime appointments demonstrated their concern with:

Accepted Answer

The framers were concerned about the excesses of democracy and wanted to ensure that the judiciary would be independent from political pressures, allowing judges to make decisions based on law and not on popular opinion or political influence.

Question 9

At some point in a future America, Congress calls for new U.S.Constitutional Convention.Once it begins, delegates start hashing out a new amendment for dealing with immigration, still a crucial, divisive issue.There is only one major sticking point: In agreeing to a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants now living in the country, southwestern states want concessions.One, delegates from the region assert, is having half of their undocumented, nonvoting immigrant population count as citizens for the purposes of congressional redistricting.In response, states with higher metropolitan area populations, and larger numbers of nonvoting foreign nationals with work visas, want their representation boosted as well.The result of such a compromise would be more congressional representation and greater Electoral College representation for the more Democratic-leaning northeastern and far western states, and Republican-leaning southwestern states. How would this scenario echo the effects of the Three-Fifths Compromise of the existing U.S.Constitution?

Accepted Answer

The scenario is similar to the Three-Fifths Compromise because it involves counting a portion of a non-voting population to increase congressional and Electoral College representation, thereby giving certain states more political power.

Question 10

The purpose of the ten amendments in the Bill of Rights was basically to give each of the three branches of government:

Accepted Answer

The Bill of Rights was designed to limit the powers of the government by clearly defining the rights of individuals, thus setting boundaries for the government branches.

Question 11

A group known as the Antifederalists, including Richard Henry Lee and Patrick Henry of Virginia and George Clinton of New York, argued in writings against the new Constitution that:

Accepted Answer

The Antifederalists argued that the new Constitution concentrated too much power in the federal government, which they feared could lead to a form of monarchy, betraying the principles of the American Revolution.

Question 12

Since 2010, a conservative organization based in Florida has been pushing, and won support from legislatures in more than half the states, for a national convention of the states in order to pass a balanced budget amendment, and possibly others.This would be unusual in American history, if successful, because:

Accepted Answer

No amendment to the U.S. Constitution has ever been passed through a national convention of the states; all have been proposed by Congress and then ratified by the states.

Question 13

Although the national Constitution seems to limit federal power by its suggestion that any powers not explicitly given to the national government were denied it, the framers nonetheless gave the national government a broad grant of power through:

Accepted Answer

The necessary and proper clause, also known as the elastic clause, allows Congress to pass laws needed to execute its enumerated powers, thus granting broad authority to the national government.

Question 14

The Constitution's framers designed this institution to be the closest, and most democratically responsive, to the people:

Accepted Answer

The House of Representatives was designed to be the most directly responsive to the people, with members elected every two years by popular vote.

Question 15

All American states have their own constitutions, ones that establish their institutional frameworks, much like the national Constitution.They are considered subordinate to the latter document, however, under:

Accepted Answer

The supremacy clause in the U.S. Constitution establishes that federal law takes precedence over state laws and constitutions.

Question 16

During the Constitutional Convention, the motion to include a bill of rights was:

Accepted Answer

The motion to include a bill of rights was almost unanimously rejected during the Constitutional Convention, as many delegates believed it was unnecessary at that time.

Question 17

Except for one, all of the amendments that have been added to the Constitution have passed in:

Accepted Answer

The typical process for amending the Constitution involves a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate, followed by ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures. This method has been used for all amendments except the 21st, which was ratified by state conventions.

Question 18

The Constitution's framers decided to have senators appointed for six-year terms because:

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Constitution's framers decided to have senators...

Question 19

On his last full day in office in 2016, President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 330 federal inmates, most of them drug offenders who he felt were serving overly harsh sentences.His actions were an example:

Accepted Answer

The president has the constitutional power to grant reprieves and pardons for federal offenses, which includes commuting sentences.

Question 20

For Congress to send an amendment to the Constitution to state legislatures or to ratifying conventions for approval, it must pass in:

Accepted Answer

To propose an amendment to the Constitution, it must be approved by a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Quiz 2: The Founding and the Constitution