Question 1

Staggered terms of service in the Senate were intended to make that body even more politically responsive to popular opinion.

Accepted Answer

Staggered terms were designed to provide stability and continuity within the Senate, making it less susceptible to sudden shifts in public opinion compared to the House of Representatives.

Question 2

In the United States, no set of institutional procedures is more important than the Declaration of Independence.

Accepted Answer

The Constitution, not the Declaration of Independence, is the supreme law of the land and outlines the institutional procedures and framework of the government.

Question 3

Federal judges are given lifetime appointments.

Accepted Answer

Federal judges are indeed given lifetime appointments, which means they serve on the bench until they either retire, resign, or are impeached and removed from office. The idea behind lifetime appointments is to insulate judges from political pressures and ensure their independence and impartiality in interpreting and applying the law.

Question 4

Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was given power to declare war and make peace.

Accepted Answer

This is true according to Article VI of the Articles of Confederation.

Question 5

Delegates from large states, such as Pennsylvania, were able to manipulate the procedures at the Constitutional Convention in order to achieve final adoption of the Virginia Plan with negligible amendment.

Accepted Answer

The Virginia Plan was significantly altered during the Constitutional Convention, leading to the creation of the Connecticut Compromise (or Great Compromise), which established a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the lower house and equal representation of the states in the upper house, rather than adopting the Virginia Plan with negligible amendment.

Question 6

The Constitution grants the Supreme Court the unconditional right to grant reprieves and pardons.

Accepted Answer

The Constitution grants the President the unconditional right to grant reprieves and pardons.

Question 7

Under the Articles of Confederation, the presiding officer of the executive branch was appointed through a nomination and voting process of the assembled delegates in the Electoral College.

Accepted Answer

Under the Articles of Confederation, there was no executive branch or president.

Question 8

The principal advantage of the Articles of Confederation was that the central government could prevent one state from discriminating against other states in the quest for foreign commerce.

Accepted Answer

Under the Articles of Confederation, the central government lacked the power to regulate interstate commerce or foreign trade effectively, which meant it could not prevent states from discriminating against each other in matters of commerce.

Question 9

The Constitutional Convention passed the New Jersey Plan with little compromise.

Accepted Answer

The New Jersey Plan was heavily debated and eventually compromised with the Virginia Plan to create the Connecticut Compromise, which established a bicameral legislature with representation based on both population and equal representation for all states.

Question 10

The American colonists who led the revolution against England and worked to construct a workable constitution were not very concerned about philosophical and ethical ideas.

Accepted Answer

The American colonists who led the revolution against England and worked to construct a workable constitution were deeply concerned about philosophical and ethical ideas such as individual rights, democracy, and the social contract theory of government. These ideas heavily influenced the formation of the United States and its political institutions.

Question 11

The Constitution grants the president the unconditional power to accept ambassadors from other countries.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Constitution grants the president the unconditional...

Question 12

The Three-Fifths Compromise established the principle, new in republican theory, that a man who lives among slaves had a greater share in the election of representatives than the man who did not.

Accepted Answer

The Three-Fifths Compromise counted slaves as three-fifths of a person for representation purposes. This meant that white men who owned slaves in the South had more representation in Congress than white men in the North who did not own slaves. This was a departure from the principle of "one man, one vote" in republican theory.

Question 13

Shays's Rebellion was forcefully ended by the quick and decisive actions by federal troops sent by Congress under the Confederation.

Accepted Answer

Shays's Rebellion was quelled by state militia forces in Massachusetts, not by federal troops, as the weak federal government under the Articles of Confederation lacked the means to respond effectively.

Question 14

Delegates from all 13 colonies attended the Annapolis Convention.

Accepted Answer

The Annapolis Convention, held in 1786, was attended by delegates from only five states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia.

Question 15

Under the Articles of Confederation, each state was represented in the Continental Congress in proportion to its population.

Accepted Answer

Under the Articles of Confederation, each state was represented in the Continental Congress with one vote regardless of its population.

Question 16

The Constitution implies that any power not explicitly granted to the federal government is not granted at all.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Constitution implies that any power not...

Question 17

In the absence of an amendment, any power not specifically enumerated in the Constitution is conceived to be reserved to the national government.

Accepted Answer

In the absence of an amendment, any power not specifically enumerated in the Constitution is conceived to be reserved to the states (not national government) per the 10th Amendment.

Question 18

Under the Articles of Confederation, the nation's armed forces were financed by federal income taxes.

Accepted Answer

Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government did not have the power to levy taxes, including income taxes. The nation's armed forces were financed by voluntary contributions from the states.

Question 19

Under the Constitution as originally passed, the members of the Senate were to be appointed by the state legislatures.

Accepted Answer

According to Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution, the members of the Senate were to be appointed by the state legislatures. It was not until the 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913 that Senators were directly elected by the people.

Question 20

Members of the U.S.Supreme Court serve staggered six-year terms.

Accepted Answer

Members of the U.S. Supreme Court serve lifetime appointments.

Quiz 2: Constructing a Government: the Founding and the Constitution