American Government 100Part I
Patterson, pgs. 26-41, AG2-11
Woll, pgs. 41-46
Constitutional Democracy
True or False Questions
1. Patterson believes that self-government and limited government are wholly compatible since these concepts mean the same thing. True or False
2. In the American democratic political system, the will of the majority always trumps the demands of the minority. True or False
3. The idea of popular government--in which the majority's desires have a more direct and immediate impact on governing officials--has gained little strength since the nation's beginning. True or False
4. The British Parliament was simply a rubber-stamp institution that bowed to the powers of the monarch. True or False.
5. The American colonies had an elected representative assembly which was subject to British oversight. True or False
6. Locke held that people have inalienable rights,but unlike Jefferson, Locke argued that people may never rebel against a ruler who tramples on these rights. True or False
7. The Declaration of Independence was a call to form a new government and not to revolution. True or False
8. In spite of the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation, the central government was allowed to tax the states. True or False
9. The Virginia Plan was concocted by Patrick Henry to the delight of Alexander Hamilton as a means of derailing the constitutional convention and maintaining confederation. True or False
10. After an extended debate at the constitutional convention between southern and northern delegates, a compromise was reached whereby Congress would have the authority to tax imports but would be prohibited from taxing exports. True or False
11. Most of the Framers of the Constitution had no objection to slavery and were indeed enthusiastic about its legitimation in the document. True or False
12. The Continental Congress had authorized a complete restructuring of the federal government, authorizing the delegates to the Philadelphia convention to come up with a more effective system. True or False
13. The Anti-Federalists acknowledged the need for more economic cooperation between the states and for a stronger common defense, but they opposed the creation of a strong national government. True or False
14. Historical evidence indicates that at the time of the Constitution's ratification, the majority of ordinary Americans supported it. True or False
Multiple Choice Questions
1. According to Patterson, a system of government that places strict legal limits on the uses of power: a) majority rule, b) self-government, c) limited government, d) referendum.
2. The following requires that the majority, through its representatives, has the power to rule: a) minority protections, b) checks and balances, c) separation of powers, d) self-government.
3. How does the Constitution provide for limited government? a) by creating democratic institutions for the major branches and empowering the chief executive, b) by defining lawful powers and dividing those powers among competing institutions, c) by establishing a more powerful upper legislative chamber and electing the judiciary, d) by limiting the terms of members of Congress and the president and creating greater uniformity in the election process.
4. The Constitution in its original form provided for self-government mainly through: a) direct systems of running the government, b) direct manifestations of popular will, c) indirect systems of popular election of representations, d) indirect houses of sovereign will.
5. Although most European nations of the eighteenth century implicitly acknowledged the divine right of kings (absolute monarchies), which of the following was the exception? a) France, b) Britain, c) Spain, d) Holland.
6. Most of the colonists living in the former thirteen colonies were: a) Protestant, b) Catholic, c) Mormon, d) Agnostics.
7. Why did the 1765 Stamp Act violate the fundamental rights of the colonies as “British subjects and men?” a) Because taxes violate the legitimate authority of government, b) Because property is a natural right that can never be taken away, c) Because the colonists had no representation in the British Parliament, d) Because the colonists believed that taxes are illegitimate.
8. Which of the following did the British refuse to remove the Townshend Tax? a) paper, b) glass, c) lead, d) tea.
9. Why did Locke’s idea of natural rights have strong appeal in America? a) because settlers were loyal British citizens, b) Because there was no nobility to limit the freedoms of so vast a continent, c) Because King George III held sway to the peoples’ rights, d) Because the settlers’ children were taught in the public schools that everyone was equal.
10. Why did Daniel Shays initiate a rebellion after the Revolutionary War? a) Shays and his men were promised back pay and no taxes on their property, commitments that went unfulfilled, b) Shays decided that life was much better under British rule and wanted a return to the former political system, c) Shays and his men were criminals and terrorists who wanted to establish a breakaway republic, d) Shays was erroneously accused of fomenting rebellion when in fact it was Patrick Henry who was the real culprit.
11. What conditions were required in the New Jersey Plan? a) It called for a weaker central authority, b) It demanded that the states regulate commerce while the central government print the currency, c) It demanded that all aspects of the Articles be eliminated, d) It stipulated that congress would have a single chamber with each state receiving a single vote.
12. The Great Compromise reassured the small states because it created a Congress with a two chamber configuration whereby: a) the upper chamber would be based on state equality, b) the lower chamber would be based on the size and amount of collected taxes, c) both chambers could side-step each other proposing and passing legislation with the agreement of the President, d) neither chamber could propose legislation that the President opposed.
13. The following provided for a bicameral legislature with representation in the House based on population while representation in the Senate would be based on state equality: a) the New Hampshire Agreement, b) the North-South Alliance, c) the New England Proviso, d) the Great Compromise.
14. For purposes of apportionment of taxes and seats in the House of Representatives, each slave was to be counted as: a) whole persons for purposes of representation in the House and taxes, b) three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation in the House and nonpersons for purposes of apportioning taxes, c) three-fourths of a person for purposes of representation in the House and two-thirds for purposes of apportioning taxes, d) one-half of a person for purposes of representation in the House and four-fifths for purposes of apportioning taxes.
15. To increase the chances that the Constitution would be ratified, what strategy did the delegates of the Constitution apply? a) they violated the Articles of Confederation by requiring ratification by nine states through special conventions, b) they won the propaganda war and had encircled the Continental Congress with threats and intimidation if they refused to ratify the Constitution, c) they essentially paid the majority of members of the Continental Congress with bribes and promises of additional lands to win their votes, d) they followed the mandate of the Continental Congress and applied the procedures stipulated in the Articles of Confederation to scrap the latter.
16. What two states were opposed to ratifying the Constitution and held out until the other eleven states had ratified the document and had begun the process of forming a new government? a) South Carolina and New Hampshire, b) North Carolina and Rhode Island, c) New York and West Virginia, d) Massachusetts and Georgia.
17. What especially heightened the concerns of the Anti-federalists regarding the Constitution? a) It did not explain the role of the federal government, b) It lacked a bill of rights, c) It neglected the separation of powers principle, d)It placed no check on the legislature.
18. Madison and Hamilton argued that the government of the Constitution would: a) not endanger the people but would marginalize the states, b) reinforce the limitation of the Articles of Confederation by restricting the Congress, c) correct the defects in the Articles through a system of separation of powers, d) require that the Congress and the judiciary be limited and the executive be the dominant institution.
19. What tilted the two larger states of Virginia and New York to finally support ratification of the Constitution? a) They were assured that representation in Congress would be based on population size, b) They were promised that political power would result from the size of a state, c) They were promised that a bill of rights would be incorporated into the Constitution, d) They were promised that federal taxes would be based on state equality not population or state size.
20. A system of government in which power is divided between the national government and the states: a) federalism, b) unitary, c) parliamentary, d) consensual.
21. A government that was/is restricted in its lawful uses of power: a) republican government, b) presidential system, c) limited government, d) confederation
22. A system government that gives people a voice in how the former functions: a) checks and balances, b) self-government, c) a bill of rights, d) states' rights.
Fill-in Questions
1. Jefferson paraphrased Locke’s ideas in passages of the Declaration of Independence, including:
a) those asserting that “all men are created _____,” and
b) that they are entitled to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of ______,” that
c) governments derive “their just powers from the ______of the governed,” and that
d) “it is the right of the people to alter or ______” a tyrannical government.
2. What were some of the weaknesses under the Articles of Confederation?
a) Each state retained its full "______, freedom, and independence."
b) The national government had no independent executive and no independent ______.
c) Each of the thirteen states had ____ vote in Congress, and
d) each state ______its congressional representatives and paid their salary.
e) Legislation could be enacted only if _____ of the thirteen agreed to it.
f) The Articles could only be amended if all ______states agreed.
3. The Virginia Plan (also called the large-state plan) called for:
a) included ______judicial and executive branches, and a
b) ____-______Congress that would have supreme authority in all areas,
c) particularly ______and ______trade.
d) Members of the lower chamber would be chosen by the ______, while members of the upper chamber would be selected by members of the lower chamber from lists of nominees provided by their respective ______.
e) Representation in Congress would be based on the _____ of the state’s population and taxes received.
4. What were four of the major goals of the framers of the Constitution?
a) To establish a government ______enough to meet the nation’s ______.
b) To establish a government that would not ______the existence of the separate ______.
c) To establish a government that would not threaten ______.
d) To establish a government based on popular ______.
Limitation on Governmental Power
Woll, pgs. 41-46
1. According to Woll, constitutional democracy refers to the following:
a) the government is regulated by laws that control and limit the exercise of .
b) people participate in government on a basis
c) majority rule is curtailed and checked through various ______devices.
2. This doctrine was designed to prevent any group from gaining control of the national governmental apparatus: a) limited government, b) separation of powers, c) consent of the governed, d) federalism.
Federalist 47
1. What is Madison's basic definition of tyranny in Federalist 47?
The accumulation of all powers, , , and in the hands, whether of one, a few, or many.
2. He was the French philosopher from which Madison adopted the idea of separation of powers: a) Rousseau, b) Kant, c) Montesquieu, d) Descartes.
3. Under limited circumstances, for Madison, the executive branch can introduce laws. True or False
4. According to Madison, the following state constitution corresponds precisely with the doctrine that Montesquieu articulated: a) Pennsylvania, b) New York, c) Rhode Island, d) Massachusetts
Federalist 48
1. In a representative republic, argues Madison, the following branch is the most powerful: a) executive, b) legislative, c) judiciary, d) military.
2. In a monarchy, which government department is the greatest source of danger for Madison? a) the executive department b) the legislative department, c) the military, d) the judiciary
Federalist 51
1. He is quoted in Federalist 51 as saying that "if men were angels, no government would be necessary?" a) Jefferson, b) Madison, c) Franklin, d) Washington.
2. "In a republican form of government, the ______authority naturally predominates. The remedy for this inconvenience is to ______the ______into ______branches; and render them by different modes of ______...."
3. According to Madison, the executive branch should have the power to veto legislative decisions in order to guard against dangerous encroachments by the latter. True or False
Answers
Patterson, pgs. 26-41
True or False Questions
1. False
3. False
5. True
7. False
9. False
11. False
13. True
Multiple Choice Questions
1. c
3. b
5. b
7. c
9. b
11. d
13. d
15. a
17. b
19. c
21. c
Fill-in Questions
1. a) equal, b) happiness, c) consent, d) abolish
3. a) separate, b) two-chamber, c) interstate, d) voters, state legislatures, e) size
Woll, pgs. 41-46
1. a) political power, b) limited, c) legal
Federalist 47
1. legislative, executive, judicial, same
3. False
Federalist 48
1. b
Federalist 51
1. b
3. True
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