The Constitution #5
1) Equality was the goal of the
a) French Revolution.
b) American Revolution.
c) Both the French and the American Revolutions.
d) Neither the French nor the American Revolution.
2) The principal goal of the American Revolution was
a) Equality.
b) Financial betterment.
c) Political efficacy.
d) Liberty.
3) One major difference between the American Revolution and the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Chinese Revolution ending in 1949 was that the
a) American Revolution had liberty as its goal.
b) Russian and Chinese Revolutions were violent.
c) Russian and Chinese Revolutions were people’s revolutions.
d) American Revolution had equality as its goal.
4) One of the basic liberties sought by the colonists through independence from Great Britain was
a) Freedom from taxation without representation.
b) The right to bear arms and to defend life and property.
c) Freedom to assemble in public and to engage in public debate.
d) The right to own and trade slaves.
5) In 1776 one important reason colonists regarded independence as a desirable alternative was that they
a) No longer had confidence in the British constitution.
b) Could no longer afford the price of British exports.
c) Had come to reject the philosophy of John Locke.
d) Had come to reject British ideas of individual rights.
6) The liberties that the colonists sought to protect were based on
a) The language of the individual states’ constitutions.
b) The rights proclaimed originally by the king of Great Britain.
c) A historical understanding of the essentials of human progress.
d) Natural rights created by God.
7) The theory of natural law provided the basis for the colonists’ justification of
a) The separation of powers.
b) The liberties they sought.
c) Federalism.
d) Noninterference with slavery.
8) “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” were
a) Rights commonly listed in colonial charters.
b) Jefferson’s variation on commonly listed rights.
c) Explicitly named in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution.
d) Enumerated in the Bill of Rights.
9) Jefferson’s phrase, “the pursuit of happiness,” stated in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, was more specifically interpreted by the colonists to mean the right to
a) Self-employment.
b) Political liberty.
c) Taxation only with representation.
d) Property.
10) In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson’s list of complaints against George III and his ministers spoke of
a) Social conditions in the colonies.
b) Economic conditions in the colonies.
c) Specific violations of political liberties.
d) All of the above.
11) The list of the essential rights demanded by the colonists included life, liberty, and
a) Trading rights.
b) Property.
c) The right to own slaves.
d) The pursuit of truth.
12) In the minds of the colonists, the essential rights they demanded from the British – life, liberty, and property – derived principally from
a) The British constitution.
b) The set of laws, charters, and traditional understandings that proclaimed the liberties of British subjects.
c) Certain natural rights ordained by God.
d) The Magna Carta.
13) Which term describes rights that are based on nature and Providence?
a) Civil rights
b) Unalienable rights
c) Essential rights
d) Political rights
14) Which of the following was not among the ideas that underlay the American Revolution?
a) The importance of tradition
b) The priority of human liberty over government
c) The necessity of a written constitution
d) Legislative supremacy over the executive branch
15) Which of the following statements about the Declaration of Independence is correct?
a) It was a lawyer’s brief justifying a revolution.
b) It was an important innovation in political philosophy.
c) It was a rejection of the philosophy of John Locke.
d) It was written primarily by George Washington and James Madison.
16) The phrase “a lawyer’s brief justifying a revolution” has been used to describe the
a) U.S. Constitution.
b) Declaration of Independence.
c) Articles of Confederation.
d) Bill of Rights.
17) What the colonists sought in proclaiming independence from Great Britain was political power embodied in
a) A written constitution.
b) Royal prerogative.
c) Equally strong executive and legislative branches of government.
d) Colonial charters.
18) The only explicit reference to slavery in the Declaration of Independence was with regard to the
a) Termination of all slave trading.
b) Colonists’ right to own slaves as property.
c) King’s incitement of slave insurrections.
d) Freedom of slaves to hold property.
19) The primacy of a written charter of government
a) Had long been recognized in Anglo-Saxon history.
b) Became common in the later eighteenth century.
c) Is universally accepted today.
d) Was insisted upon first by Americans.
20) The U.S. Constitution was signed in the year
a) 1775.
b) 1776.
c) 1779.
d) 1787.
21) The year 1787 was when the
a) Declaration of Independence was drafted.
b) Annapolis Convention was held.
c) Articles of Confederation were written.
d) U.S. Constitution was written.
22) In the year 1787, Florida was
a) Occupied by Spain.
b) One of the original thirteen colonies.
c) Occupied by France.
d) Part of Georgia.
23) Public mood in the thirteen states between the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the signing of the U.S. Constitution can best be described as
a) Confident and calmly optimistic.
b) Warlike but with a common spirit of right and justice.
c) Brash and arrogant.
d) Fearful and tumultuous.
24) Under the Articles of Confederation, the national government could
a) Run the Post Office.
b) Levy taxes.
c) Regulate commerce.
d) Establish a national judicial system.
25) The power to operate a postal service was given to the national government by the
a) Declaration of Independence.
b) Articles of Confederation.
c) U.S. Constitution.
d) Bill of Rights.
26) Among the rights reserved by Congress following the signing of the Articles of Confederation in 1781 were all of the following except
a) The right to settle state claims.
b) The right to coin money.
c) The right to run a national Post Office.
d) The right to make peace.
27) If the United States were operating today under the Articles of Confederation, issues such as the effect of acid rain on the environment would be handled by
a) Congress.
b) The executive branch.
c) The Supreme Court.
d) The individual states.
28) If the United States were still operating under the Articles of Confederation, which of the following issues would have to be handled by the states?
a) Arms reduction negotiations
b) Interstate commerce
c) Postal regulation
d) All of the above
29) The purpose of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was to
a) Prepare a new constitution.
b) Revise the Articles of Confederation.
c) Draft a Declaration of Independence.
d) Adopt a common state constitution.
30) The Federalist Papers contain the results of studies of various forms of government assembled by
a) Benjamin Franklin.
b) Thomas Jefferson.
c) James Madison.
d) George Washington.
31) James Madison examined historical data on republics, confederations, and aristocracies to learn about the formation of a government. His conclusions are found in
a) The Federalist Papers.
b) His essay “On Liberty.”
c) His personal diary.
d) Revolutionary Governments (Parts 1 -4)
32) The Pennsylvania constitution was notable for
a) Being very democratic.
b) The protection it granted to minorities.
c) Granting so much power to the executive.
d) The opposition it drew from French philosophers.
33) A state constitution notable in the 1780s for its democratic nature was that of
a) Connecticut.
b) New York.
c) Pennsylvania.
d) Virginia.
34) Wordy question
35) The effect of Shay’s Rebellion on attendance by delegates at the planned Constitutional Convention of 1787 was to
a) Encourage attendance by delegates fearing the collapse of state governments.
b) Encourage attendance by delegates fearing intervention by the British.
c) Discourage attendance by delegates fearing a public outcry against any strengthening of the Articles of Confederation.
d) Discourage attendance by delegates fearing intervention by the British.
36) Shays’ Rebellion, an early test of the powers of the Articles of Confederation, took place in
a) Virginia.
b) Rhode Island.
c) Massachusetts.
d) Maryland.
37) In an early test of the powers of the Articles of Confederation, the Continental Congress failed to deal with an uprising in western Massachusetts known as
a) The Massachusetts conspiracy.
b) The Whig uprising.
c) The Springfield conspiracy.
d) Shays’ Rebellion.
38) The Massachusetts constitution did all of the following except
a) Treat all religious denominations alike.
b) Create a separation of powers.
c) Establish property qualifications.
d) Provide for an independent judiciary.
39) Some thirty delegates actually showed up regularly at the Constitutional Convention, out of the ______elected for that purpose.
a) Thirty-five
b) Fifty-five
c) Seventy-two
d) One hundred
40) Although fifty-five delegates were chosen to attend the Constitutional Convention, the number actually attending was approximately
a) Thirty.
b) Forty.
c) Fifty.
d) Sixty.
41) Among those who were absent from the Constitutional Convention were
a) Alexander Hamilton and George Washington.
b) Benjamin Franklin and John Hancock.
c) John Adams and James Madison.
d) Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry.
42) The central issue in the framing of the U.S. Constitution was that of
a) How strong to make the central government.
b) How best to divide powers among the branches of government.
c) How best to break with Great Britain.
d) How to adopt liberty but still allow slaveholding.
43) Locke’s notion of the “state of nature” might best be exemplified today by
a) The famine in Ethiopia.
b) Capitalistic venture in Eastern Europe.
c) The Clinton administration’s policy on national lands.
d) International relations between the superpowers.
44) If a new constitutional convention were called today, and the delegates proceeded to model their behavior quite precisely on that of delegates to the original Constitutional Convention, the first group to be outraged by the delegates’ behavior would probably be
a) State legislators.
b) Supreme Court justices.
c) The media.
d) The general public.
45) A “council of revision” for acts of the national legislature was proposed in the
a) Connecticut Plan.
b) New Jersey Plan.
c) Maryland Plan.
d) Virginia Plan.
46) The national legislature would have had the power to veto state laws under the
a) Connecticut Plan.
b) New Jersey Plan.
c) Maryland Plan.
d) Virginia Plan.
47) Under the Virginia Plan, acts of the national legislature could have been revised by
a) The president.
b) The Supreme Court.
c) A council of revision.
d) No one – they would have been supreme.
48) The Virginia Plan would have granted the national legislature the power to veto state laws
a) Any time it chose.
b) When national prerogatives were infringed.
c) After consulting with the state in question.
d) Rarely or never.
49) According to the Virginia Plan, proposed at the Constitutional Convention, all state laws would be
a) Immune from interference by the central government.
b) Immediately null and void, and new national laws would be enacted.
c) Subject to veto by a national legislature.
d) Subject to revision by a national judiciary.
50) The New Jersey Plan was a reaction by some states primarily to the fear that
a) Legislative veto power called for by the Virginia Plan would seriously undermine individual states’ rights.
b) The weak central government devised by the Virginia Plan would grant too much power to rural states.
c) The strong central government devised by the Virginia Plan would grant too much power to small states.
d) The Virginia Plan gave too much power to populous states.
51) Which of the following was intended merely to adopt amendments to the Articles of Confederation?
a) The Connecticut Plan
b) The New Jersey Plan
c) The Maryland Plan
d) The Virginia Plan
52) Each state would have had an equal number of votes in the legislature under the
a) Connecticut Plan.
b) New Jersey Plan.
c) Maryland Plan.
d) Virginia Plan.
53) The intent of the New Jersey Plan was to ______the old Articles of Confederation.
a) Replace
b) Amend
c) Rescind
d) Weaken
54) The New Jersey Plan would have allotted votes in Congress to states on the basis of
a) Area.
b) Equality.
c) Population.
d) Voting population.
55) A majority of the thirteen states eligible to vote for the compromise plan submitted to the Constitutional Convention on July 5, 1787,
a) Voted for the compromise.
b) Were either absent or did not vote for the compromise.
c) Rejected the compromise in favor of the Virginia Plan.
d) Rejected the compromise in favor of the New Jersey Plan.
56) The Great Compromise finally allocated representation on the basis of
a) Population, in both houses.
b) Equality, in both houses.
c) Population in the House and equality in the Senate.
d) Equality in the House and population in the Senate.
57) The reconciliation of the interests of the large and small states at the Constitutional Convention is referred to as the
a) Virginia Plan.
b) Great Compromise.
c) Forty-four Forty Agreement.
d) New Jersey Plan.
58) Seats in Congress were allocated on the basis of both equality (Senate) and population (House) under the
a) Great Compromise.
b) New Jersey Plan.
c) Maryland Plan.
d) Virginia Plan.
59) The net result of the Great Compromise was the
a) Balancing of the interests of the central government with state interests.
b) Reconciliation of large- and small-state representation.
c) Settling of the colonists’ financial obligation to Great Britain.
d) Settlement of the slavery issue among the colonies.
60) The importance of the Great Compromise adopted by the Constitutional Convention on July 16, 1787, was that it