link test bank for american government power and purpose 11th edition by lowi ginsberg shepsle and ansolabehere

Test Bank for American Government Power and
Purpose 11th Edition by Theodore J.Lowi,
Benjamin Ginsberg, Kenneth A.Shepsle and
Stephen Ansolabehere
CHAPTER 2 Constructing a Government: The Founding

and the Constitution

CONCEPT MAP
I.
The First Founding: Pre-Constitutional Government
a. British taxes and colonial interests
i. Sectors of society with stakes in
colonial politics
ii. British taxation
1. Stamp Act
2. Sugar Act
3. Boston Massacre
4. Organized resistance as collective action
5. First Continental Congress
b. Political strife and colonial radicalism
i. Boston Tea Party
ii. British reactions to the Tea Party
c. Declaration of Independence
d. Articles of Confederation
i. Weak organization
ii. Confederation—sovereignty in states
II. The Second Founding: Creating the
Constitution a. International standing
b. Annapolis Convention
c. Shays’s Rebellion

d. Constitutional Convention
i. Ideals vs. interests


1. Beard’s economic interpretation
2. Philosophical concerns
ii. Great Compromise
1. Virginia plan vs. New Jersey plan
2. Representation conflict
iii. Three-fifths Compromise
1. Slavery in the Constitution
2. Counting slaves for
representation III. The Constitution
a. Legislative branch
i. Bicameralism
ii. Powers of Congress
iii.Expressed power
iv. Necessary and proper clause
b. Executive branch
i. Powers of the executive
ii. Enables decisive action
c. Judicial branch
i. Powers of the judicial branch
ii. Judicial review
iii. Life tenure
d. National unity and
power i.Supremacy clause
ii. Interstate relations
e.Constitutional limits on federal power
i.Goals of the Constitution

ii. Separation of powers
1. Checks and balances
2. Mixed regime
iii. Federalism
iv. A bill of rights
IV. Ratification
a. Federalists and Antifederalists
b. Representation
c. Tyranny
i.Of the majority
ii. Of an aristocracy
d. Scope of governmental power
V. Constitutional Amendment
a. Process of amendment
b. Twenty-seven amendments
i.The Bill of Rights

ii. Purposes of the amendments

MULTIPLE CHOICE


1.

a.
b.
c.
d.

In reaction to English legislative attempts in 1765 to extract tax revenue to pay for the

troops that were being sent to defend the colonial frontier, protests erupted throughout the
colonies against the infamous:
Stamp Act
Coinage Act
Red Tape Act
Westchester Act
ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: Stamp Act (I.a.ii.1)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 30

2.

a.
b.
c.
d.

During the period leading to the Revolutionary War, England justified increased taxes because:

the East India Company needed government support to deliver products to the colonies
the British government accrued large debts in defense of the colonies
they needed to supplement the low salaries in the House of Commons
they needed to compensate for travel expenses of colonial representatives to parliament in
England
ANS: B
NOT: Conceptual
KEY: British taxation (I.a.ii)
DIF: Moderate

REF: Page 33

3.
a.
b.
c.
d.

Why did the British government impose taxes like the Stamp Act specifically on the American
colonies instead of in England only?
The British government had spent large sums of money on defending the colonies and sought
to recapture that revenue from the colonists.
Increased taxes were politically unpopular in England, so the government chose to raise taxes on
the colonists instead.
Influential interest groups supported the colonial taxes.
Money raised from the taxes was intended to be used to pacify revolutionary citizens in
the colonies.
ANS: A
NOT: Conceptual
KEY: British taxation (I.a.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 33

4.

a.
b.
c.
d.

After years of relatively little interference in the local affairs of its American colonies, the
English government passed a tax on all printed and legal documents, including newspapers,
pamphlets, playing cards, advertisements, notes and bonds, leases, deeds, and licenses. Mass
protests declaring ―no taxation without representation‖ erupted throughout the colonies
against the:
Tea Act
Stamp Act
Royalist Tariff
Colonial Tariff
ANS: B
NOT: Factual


KEY: British taxation (I.a.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Pages 30–31
5.
a.
b.
c.
d.

To show their displeasure with the Stamp Act of 1765, colonists in Boston:
stormed Bunker Hill and took over its fort
organized demonstrations and a boycott of British goods
dumped tea into the harbor in what became known as the Boston Tea Party
killed twelve British soldiers in what became known as the Boston Massacre
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: British taxation (I.a.ii)

DIF: Difficult
REF: Page 34

6.
a.
b.
c.
d.

In the United States, no set of institutional procedures is more important than the:
Constitution
Bill of Rights
Articles of Confederation
Declaration of Independence

ANS: a.
NOT: Factual
KEY: Goals of the Constitution (III.e.ii.1)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 32
7. In the mid-eighteenth century, the revenues that governments relied on came mostly
from: a. a flat tax
b. an income tax
c. tariffs and duties
d. voluntary citizen donations—usually from elite property owners
ANS: C
NOT: Factual
KEY: British taxation (I.a.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 33

8.
a.
b.
c.
d.

The Stamp Act of 1765 and the Sugar Act of 1764 most heavily affected the:
small farmers
artisans and laborers
holders of royal land offices and patents
New England merchants and southern planters
ANS: D
NOT: Factual
KEY: Stamp Act and Sugar Act (I.a.ii.1 and I.a.ii.2)
DIF: Difficult
REF: Page 33

9.

In the chain of events leading up to the American Revolution, the radical forces were permitted
to expand their political influence because the colonial elites were split by:
a. disagreement over slavery
b. western boundary disputes


c. a lack of common currency
d. British tax and trade policies
ANS: D
NOT: Factual
KEY: British taxation (I.a.ii)

DIF: Difficult
REF: Page 33
10. Among the sectors of society that were important in colonial politics prior to the
American Revolution, the more radical forces were represented by:
a. the New England merchants
b. holders of lands, offices, and patents
c. the southern planters and ship builders
d. shopkeepers, laborers, and small farmers
ANS: D
NOT: Factual
KEY: Sectors of society with stakes in colonial politics (I.a.i)
DIF: Difficult
REF: Page 28
11. Which of the following was NOT one of the sectors of society that was particularly influential
in colonial politics?
a. New England merchants
b. Southern planters
c. the Daughters of the American Revolution
d. small farmers
ANS: C
NOT: Factual
KEY: Sectors of society with stakes in colonial politics (I.a.i)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 32
12. On March 5, 1770, nervous British soldiers opened fire on the mob surrounding them, killing five
colonists and wounding eight others. News of this event quickly spread throughout the colonies
and was used to fan anti-British sentiment by radicals who called the incident the:

a.
b.

c.
d.

Boston Massacre
Tuesday butchery
Boston Tea Party
Tragedy of the commons
ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: Boston Massacre (I.a.ii.3)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 34

13. The British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre were defended by a pillar of
Boston society and future president of the United States:
a. John Adams
b. James Madison
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. George Washington


ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: Boston Massacre (I.a.ii.3)
DIF: Difficult
REF: Page 34
14. Why did the colonists organize and participate in the Boston Tea Party of 1773?
a. as a response to the unjustness of the Stamp Act
b. as a response to military seizure of tea and other agricultural goods in Boston harbor
c. as a response to the British granting the East India Company a monopoly on the export of

tea from Britain
d. as a response to the withdrawal of military protection from commercial ships sailing to
the Americas
ANS: C
NOT: Conceptual
KEY: Boston Tea Party (I.b.i)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 35
15. In 1773, the British government granted a monopoly on the export of tea from Britain to the
politically powerful East India Company who sought to bypass the colonial merchants and sell
the tea directly to the colonies. The merchants called on their radical adversaries for support and
the most dramatic result was the:
a. Boston Tea Party
b. attack on Fort Sill
c. Philadelphia slaughter
d. ceremonial burning of the ―Union Jack‖ flag in the Philadelphia town square
ANS: C
NOT: Applied
KEY: Boston Tea Party (I.b.i)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 35
16. The Boston Tea Party was led by:
a. Patrick Henry
b. Thomas Payne
c. Samuel Adams
d. Alexander Hamilton
ANS: C
NOT: Factual
KEY: Boston Tea Party (I.b.i)
DIF: Difficult

REF: Page 35
17. The ultimate goal of participants in the Boston Tea Party was to:
a. rescind the Tea Act
b. rescind the Stamp Act
c. close Boston harbor to British commerce
d. alienate the British government from its colonial supporters
ANS: D
NOT: Factual


KEY: Boston Tea Party (I.b.i)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 35
18. By dumping the East India Company’s tea into Boston Harbor, Samuel Adams and
his followers pressured the British into enacting a number of harsh reprisals that:
a. radicalized Americans to resist British rule
b. effectively ended the slave trade in the northern states
c. temporarily softened public support for revolutionary forces
d. benefited southern planters at the expense of New England merchants
ANS: A
NOT: Applied
KEY: British Reactions to the Tea Party (I.b.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 35
19. The Boston Tea Party set into motion a cycle of provocation and retaliation that, in 1774, resulted
in the convening of an assembly of delegates from all parts of the colonies called the:

a.
b.
c.

d.

First Colonial Convention
First Continental Congress
Boston Confederated Congress
Philadelphia Constitutional Convention
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: First Continental Congress (I.a.ii.5)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 35

20. Dramatic events like the Boston Massacre provide an issue for individuals to organize
around when putting together revolutionary activities. This provides a way to overcome:
a. the collective action problem
b. the institutions principle
c. the history principle
d. the revolutionary organization conundrum
ANS: A
NOT: Applied
KEY: Organized resistance as collective action (I.a.ii.4)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 34
21. The Declaration of Independence was written by:
a. James Madison
b. Thomas Jefferson
c. George Washington
d. Alexander Hamilton
ANS: B
NOT: Factual

KEY: Declaration of Independence (I.c)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 36


22. The Declaration of Independence was remarkable for its assertion that there are certain
unalienable rights including:
a. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
b. due process and equal protection under the law
c. justice, domestic tranquility, and general welfare
d. the freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Declaration of Independence (I.c)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 36
23. In November of 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the United States’ first
written constitution. It was known as the:
a. Virginia Plan
b. Annapolis Convention
c. Declaration of Independence
d. Articles of Confederation and perpetual union
ANS: D
NOT: Factual
KEY: Articles of Confederation (I.d)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 36
24. The result of the 1777 Continental Congress was a constitution concerned primarily with:
a. preventing domestic insurrection
b. limiting the powers of the central government

c. generating new tax revenues to help pay for armed resistance
d. regulating trade among the colonies as well as imports and exports
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Articles of Confederation (I.d)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 36
25. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress was given the power to:
a. levy taxes
b. declare war
c. regulate commerce
d. build a standing army
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Weak Organization (I.d.i)
DIF: Difficult
REF: Page 37
26. Besides the United States under the Articles of Confederation, another example of a confederate
system of government where the sub-units of government retain sovereignty but create a higher
level of government to serve specific purposes is:
a. the United States under the original Constitution of 1787
b. the United States today under the Constitution of 1787 as amended
c. the United Nations and its member states


d. the United Kingdom
ANS: C
NOT: Applied
KEY: Confederation—sovereignty in states (I.d.ii)
DIF: Moderate

REF: Page 37
27. During the winter of 1786–1787, John Adams of Massachusetts was sent to negotiate a new
treaty with the British to cover disputes left over from the war. The British government
responded that it would:
a. set a blockade around Boston harbor
b. relinquish control over the lands to the west
c. negotiate with each of the thirteen states separately
d. require war reparations before signing any new treaty
ANS: C
NOT: Factual
KEY: Confederation—sovereignty in states (I.d.ii)
DIF: Difficult
REF: Pages 37–38
28. Early states had broad latitude to pursue their own policies and the national government, under
the Articles of Confederation, had little recourse if they disliked those policies. For example, the
Rhode Island legislature, dominated by representatives of small farmers, artisans, and
shopkeepers, frightened businessmen and property owners throughout the country by
instituting:
a. free trade policies
b. economic policies including drastic currency inflation
c. generous agricultural subsidies and severely protective tariffs
d. eminent domain activities for an extensive statewide park system
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Confederation—sovereignty in states (I.d.ii)
DIF: Difficult
REF: Page 38
29. The one positive result of the Annapolis Convention was a resolution calling for:
a. a declaration of independence from England
b. a boycott of tea, linens, and other goods from England

c. ratification of the new Constitution of the United States
d. a later meeting in Philadelphia to reform the Articles of Confederation
ANS: D
NOT: Factual
KEY: International standing (II.a)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 38
30. It is possible that the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia would never have taken
place at all if not for a single event that occurred soon after the Annapolis Convention. This
event was:
a. Shays’s Rebellion
b. the Boston Massacre


c. the Boston Tea Party
d. the hanging in effigy of the tax man
ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: Shays’ Rebellion (II.c)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 39
31. Daniel Shays, a former army captain, led a mob in a rebellion against the
Massachusetts government in order to:
a. open up western territories for expansion
b. prevent foreclosures on debt-ridden farm lands
c. release certain British loyalists from captivity as prisoners of war
d. receive full military pensions for service in the Revolutionary War
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Shays’s Rebellion (II.c)

DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 39
32. Why did Shays’s Rebellion enable collective action among those who wanted to revise the
Articles of Confederation?
a. Shays was a charismatic political entrepreneur who was able to bring together several
key opponents of the Articles.
b. The rebellion provided politicians who were already convinced of the inadequacy of the Articles
with the ammunition they needed to convince a broader public of the inadequacy of the Articles.
c. The rebellion showed that the federal government was already strong enough to quell an
uprising, which demonstrated that taking further steps toward a stronger central government were
attainable goals.
d. Shays introduced key figures in western Massachusetts to the concept of civil disobedience,
which in turn caught on with opponents of the Articles across the country.
ANS: B
NOT: Conceptual
KEY: Shays’s Rebellion (II.c)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 39
33. Delegates were sent to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia by every state EXCEPT:
a. Vermont
b. Delaware
c. Rhode Island
d. Massachusetts
ANS: C
NOT: Factual
KEY: Constitutional Convention (II.d)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 39
34. According to historian Charles Beard, the framers of the Constitution were motivated
primarily by:

a. revenge


b. moral principles
c. the quest for justice
d. personal enrichment
ANS: D
NOT: Factual
KEY: Beard’s economic interpretation (II.d.i.1)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 40
35. Charles Beard’s interpretation of the framing of the Constitution was primarily:
a. legal
b. ethical
c. economic
d. philosophical
ANS: C
NOT: Factual
KEY: Beard’s economic interpretation (II.d.i.1)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 40
36. In contrast to Charles Beard’s approach, some view the framers of the constitution as
being motivated by:
a. trust in a strong, centralized government
b. economic self-interest
c. the dominant philosophical and moral values of the day
d. political party identification
ANS: C
NOT: Factual
KEY: Beard’s economic interpretation (II.d.i.1)

DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 40
37. The founder that probably had the most influence on the Virginia Plan (which served as the
framework for the eventual Constitution) was:
a. John Adams
b. James Madison
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. Alexander Hamilton
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Virginia Plan vs. New Jersey Plan (II.d.ii.1)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 41
38. The proposal to alter the Articles of Confederation by providing for a system of representation
in the national legislature based on the population of each state or the proportion of each
state’s revenue contribution, or both, was known as the:
a. Virginia Plan
b. New Jersey Plan
c. Connecticut Plan
d. Massachusetts Plan


ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: Virginia Plan vs. New Jersey Plan (II.d.ii.1)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 41
39. Why did the smaller states object to the Virginia Plan?
a. Roger Sherman and other small state delegates disliked Madison and Randolph and did not
want them to receive recognition for advancing the Virginia Plan.

b. In accordance with the institutions principle, small states wanted to maintain the existing
institutions (the Articles of Confederation) but the institutions principle does not apply to
large states.
c. The Virginia Plan provided greater representation in the national legislature for larger and/or
wealthier states, which disadvantaged the small states.
d. The small states tended to be from the North and objected to the strong proslavery content in the
Virginia Plan.
ANS: C
NOT: Conceptual
KEY: Representation conflict (II.d.ii.2)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 41
40. The proposal offered by the smaller states during the Constitutional Convention that argued
each state should be equally represented in the new regime regardless of its population was
known as the:
a. Virginia Plan
b. New Jersey Plan
c. Connecticut Plan
d. Massachusetts Plan
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Representation conflict (II.d.ii.2)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 41
41. The agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention to adopt the proposal that gave
each state an equal number of senators regardless of population, but linked representation in the
House of Representatives to population became known as the:
a. Boston Plan
b. Philadelphia Plan
c. Great Compromise

d. Three-fifths Compromise
ANS: C
NOT: Factual
KEY: Representation conflict (II.d.ii.2)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 42
42. The question of counting slaves for purposes of representation was ultimately resolved by:
a. counting slaves just as nonslaves for purposes of representation
b. counting every five slaves as three people for purposes of representation
c. counting every four slaves as three people for purposes of representation


d. counting every two slaves as one person for purposes of representation
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Counting slaves for representation (II.d.iii.2)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 42
43. The issue of counting slaves for purposes of representation was settled by:
a. the Great Compromise
b. the Virginia Plan
c. the Three-Fifths Compromise
d. the seventh amendment
ANS: C
NOT: Factual
KEY: Counting slaves for representation (II.d.iii.2)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 42
44. The most difficult issue faced by the framers of the Constitution was:
a. taxes

b. slavery
c. foreign trade
d. the status of the Native American tribes
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Slavery in the Constitution (II.d.iii.1)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 42
45. The political significance of the Great Compromise and the Three-fifths Compromise was to:
a. confirm the immorality of slavery
b. affirm the principle of checks and balances
c. support the unalienable rights of individuals
d. reinforce the unity of the mercantile and planter forces
ANS: D
NOT: Factual
KEY: Sectors of society with stakes in colonial politics (I.a.i)
DIF: Difficult
REF: Page 43
46. A legislative assembly such as the Congress that is divided into two chambers (or houses)
is best described as:
a. bipolar
b. bilateral
c. bipartisan
d. bicameral
ANS: D
NOT: Factual
KEY: Bicameralism (III.a.i)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 43

47. The state legislature of Georgia, known as the Georgia General Assembly, with its upper
chamber (the Georgia Senate) and lower chamber (the Georgia House of Representatives) is
an institution that exemplifies the principle of:
a. bicameralism
b. bilateralism
c. binary legislativism
d. bifurcated representation
ANS: A
NOT: Applied
KEY: Bicameralism (III.a.i)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 43
48. The framers of the American Constitution sought to prevent the perceived threat of
―excessive democracy‖ by supporting bicameralism, that is the:
a. existence of two sovereign levels of government
b. division of legislative assembly into two chambers
c. allocation of two senators per each state regardless of population
d. election of members of the House of Representatives every two years
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Bicameralism (III.a.i)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 43
49. Article I of the U.S. Constitution provides for the:
a. judicial branch
b. executive branch
c. legislative branch
d. role of state governments
ANS: C

NOT: Factual
KEY: Legislative branch (III.a)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 46
50. The Constitution grants the power to ratify treaties to the:
a. Senate
b. president
c. Supreme Court
d. House of Representatives
ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: Powers of Congress (III.a.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 46
51. Under the unamended Constitution of 1787, U.S. senators were selected by:
a. direct elections
b. state legislatures
c. the electoral college


d. the state delegation to the House of Representatives
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Legislative branch (III.a)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 46
52. The terms of appointments for senators are staggered so that one third of the senators expire
every:
a. two years
b. four years

c. six years
d. eight years
ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: Legislative branch (III.a)
DIF: Easy
REF: Pages 46–47
53. Under the American Constitution, the sole power to originate revenue bills is vested in the:
a. Senate
b. vice president
c. state legislatures
d. House of Representatives
ANS: D
NOT: Factual
KEY: Powers of Congress (III.a.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 46
54. Under the American Constitution, the part of elected government designed to be
directly responsible to the people was the:
a. Senate
b. judiciary
c. bureaucracy
d. House of Representatives
ANS: D
NOT: Factual
KEY: Legislative Branch (III.a)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 46
55. The idea that the federal government can exercise only the powers specifically articulated in
the Constitution is known as the doctrine of:

a. implied powers
b. expressed powers
c. separation of powers
d. necessary and proper powers
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Expressed power (III.a.iii)


DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 47
56. The framers intended an active and powerful government, so they included language to
signify that the enumerated powers were meant to be a source of strength to the national
government, not a limitation on it. This ―elastic clause‖ is most commonly known as the:
a. national supremacy clause
b. separation of powers clause
c. necessary and proper clause
d. privileges and immunities clause
ANS: C
NOT: Factual
KEY: Necessary and proper clause (III.a.iv)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 47
57. The framers of the Constitution sought to insulate the president from excessively
democratic pressures through:
a. a lifetime appointment
b. direct oversight by independent departments
c. an indirect election through the electoral college
d. a limitation of only two consecutive terms in office
ANS: C

NOT: Factual
KEY: Executive branch (III.b)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 48
58. Which branch of government was designed to make the federal government capable of timely
and decisive action to deal with public issues and problems?
a. executive
b. legislative
c. judicial
d. state governments
ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: Executive Branch—enables decisive action (III.b.ii)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 48
59. When George Bush reduced ―Scooter‖ Libby’s jail sentence that had been imposed when Libby
revealed the name of an undercover CIA operative, he exemplified the power of the president
to:
a. recognize foreign countries
b. exert informal influence with the judiciary
c. grant reprieves and pardons
d. issue executive orders
ANS: C
NOT: Applied
KEY: Powers of the executive (III.b.i)
DIF: Easy


REF: Page 48
60. Which of the following is NOT a power that the president can exercise unilaterally (without

the approval of Congress)?
a. the power to grant reprieves and pardons
b. the power to accept ambassadors
c. the power to veto legislation
d. the power to declare war
ANS: D
NOT: Factual
KEY: Powers of the executive (III.b.i)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Pages 47–48
61. Which branch of government has the power to create inferior (lower) courts, change the
jurisdiction of federal courts, add or subtract federal judges, and even change the size of the
Supreme Court?
a. judiciary
b. Congress
c. executive
d. bureaucracy
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Powers of Congress (III.a.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 48
62. The power of the courts to render the final decision in cases involving a conflict of
interpretation of the Constitution or of laws between the courts and Congress, the courts and the
executive branch, or the courts and the states is referred to as:
a. judicial review
b. ceteris paribus
c. juridic oversight
d. contra bonos mores
ANS: A

NOT: Factual
KEY: Judicial review (III.c.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 49
63. When the Supreme Court struck down a Maryland state law that would have taxed the federal
government, it justified its decision by asserting:
a. the Seventeenth Amendment
b. the power of judicial review
c. the power of ultimate interpretation
d. the principle of judicial supremacy
ANS: B
NOT: Applied
KEY: Judicial review (III.c.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 49


64. In order to protect federal judges from political influence from citizens and other branches,
the framers:
a. ordered that federal judges be selected in democratic elections
b. prohibited the selection of federal judges that share the sitting president’s party identification
c. granted federal judges lifetime appointments to their offices
d. prohibited Congress from impeaching federal judges
ANS: C
NOT: Factual
KEY: Life tenure (III.c.iii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 49
65. Article VI of the Constitution states that all laws passed by the national government and all
treaties are superior to laws adopted by any state. This has come to be known as the:

a. supremacy clause
b. judicial review clause
c. full faith and credit clause
d. necessary and proper clause
ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: Supremacy clause (III.d.i)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 49
66. No principle was more widely shared among the framers of the American Constitution than
the principle espoused by Baron de Montesquieu that:
a. the citizen must serve the state
b. power must be used to balance power
c. the accused are innocent until proven guilty
d. national powers must be delegated to the states
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Separation of powers (III.e.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 50
67. The presidential veto power over legislation, the power of the Senate to approve presidential
appointments, and judicial review over acts of Congress and presidential actions are example
of the principle in the American political system of:
a. federalism
b. checks and balances
c. separation of powers
d. separated institutions sharing powers
ANS: B
NOT: Applied
KEY: Checks and balances (III.e.ii.1)

DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 50
68. The framers of the Constitution crafted a system where each branch of government had a
distinctly different constituency. Montesquieu and others called it a:


a.
b.
c.
d.

democracy
mixed regime
separated system
confederation
ANS: B NOT:
Applied
KEY: Mixed regime (III.e.i.2)
DIF: Difficult
REF: Page 51

69. Compared to the confederation principle of the Articles of Confederation, federalism was a
step toward:
a. greater centralization of power
b. eliminating the power of state governments
c. increasing sovereignty of state governments
d. weakening the power of the national government
ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: Federalism (III.e.iii)

DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 51
70. In the system devised by the framers of the Constitution, sovereignty was vested in:
a. the federal government only
b. state governments only
c. both the federal and state governments
d. local governments
ANS: C
NOT: Factual
KEY: Federalism (III.e.iii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 51
71. During the Constitutional Convention, the motion to include a bill of rights was:
a. overwhelmingly rejected
b. approved almost unanimously
c. incorporated as part of the full faith and credit clause after lengthy debate
d. included in the section enumerating the powers of the national government with little floor debate
ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: A bill of rights (III.e.iv)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 52
72. Why might the delegates to the Constitutional Convention reject a motion to include a bill of
rights in the Constitution?
a. The delegates thought rights should be guaranteed to the states, not to individual citizens.
b. The delegates thought that the federal government was already limited to its expressed powers
so a bill of rights was unnecessary.
c. The rights of citizens were a secondary concern to the delegates’ personal self-interest.
d. A bill of rights would have required granting equal rights to women, which the delegates found
to be politically unsavory.

ANS: B
NOT: Conceptual
KEY: A bill of rights (III.e.iii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 52
73. The best-known arguments supporting ratification of the Constitution were the eighty-five
essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the name of

a.
b.
c.
d.

―Publius.‖ These essays are collectively known today as:
Common Sense
A Modest Proposal
The Federalist Papers
The Democracy Dialogues
ANS: C
NOT: Factual
KEY: Federalists and Antifederalists (IV.a)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 54

74. Which of the following statements describes the attitudes of Federalists and Antifederalists
toward representation as it would likely be observed under the proposed constitution?

a. Neither the Federalists nor the Antifederalists cared a great deal about representative democracy.

b. Antifederalists thought that representation was critical and could best be achieved in small
republics while Federalists thought representatives did not need to perfectly represent the views
of their constituents.
c. Federalists thought that representation was critical and could best be achieved in small republics
while Antifederalists thought representatives did not need to perfectly represent the views of
their constituents.
d. Both the Federalists and Antifederalists thought that representation in the form of catering to
public preferences was vitally important.
ANS: B
NOT: Applied
KEY: Ratification—Representation (IV.b)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Pages 54–55
75. Unjust rule by the group in power is called:
a. tyranny
b. supremacy
c. domination
d. enforcement
ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: Tyranny (IV.c)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 55
76. The Federalists understood that temporary majorities could abuse their power in a
democracy, but Madison argued that such an outcome is less likely if the nation is:
a. large with diverse interests
b. small with diverse interests
c. large with common interests

d. small with common interests
ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: Tyranny of the majority (IV.c.i)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 56
77. The Antifederalists perceived the danger of tyranny to be posed most severely by:
a. small numbers of individuals in positions of authority
b. majorities that wished to impose their will on minorities
c. the House of Representatives
d. direct democracy provisions like the initiative or referendum
ANS: C
NOT: Factual
KEY: Tyranny of an aristocracy (IV.c.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 56
78. The First Amendment to the Constitution was specifically concerned with limits on the:
a. courts
b. Congress
c. president
d. state governments
ANS: B
NOT: Factual
KEY: Purposes of the amendments (V.b.ii)
DIF: Difficult
REF: Page 55
79. Except for one, all of the amendments that have been added to the Constitution have passed in:
a. the House and Senate by two-thirds vote; then were ratified by a majority vote of the
legislatures of three-fourths of the states
b. the House and Senate by two-thirds vote; then were ratified by conventions called for the purpose

in three-fourths of the states
c. a national convention called by Congress in response to petitions by two-thirds of the states and
ratified by a majority vote of the legislatures of three-fourths of the states
d. a national convention called by Congress in a response to petitions by two-thirds of the states and
ratified by conventions called for the purpose in three-fourths of the states
ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: Process of amendment (V.a)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 59
80. In order for Congress to send a small amendment to the Constitution to state legislatures
or ratifying conventions for approval, it must:
a. pass in either the House or Senate with a simple majority
b. pass in both the House and Senate with a simple majority
c. pass in either the House or Senate with a two-thirds majority
d. pass in both the House and Senate with a two-thirds majority
ANS: D


NOT: Factual
KEY: Process of amendment (V.a)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 58
81. The purpose of the ten amendments in the Bill of Rights was basically to give each of the three
branches of government:
a. increased flexibility
b. broader and more explicit powers
c. clearer and more restricted boundaries
d. fewer opportunities to come into conflict with each other
ANS: C

NOT: Factual
KEY: The Bill of Rights (V.b.i)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 59
82. Which amendment or set of amendments contained in the Bill of Rights specifically places
limits on the powers of Congress?
a. First
b. Ninth and Tenth
c. Second, Third, and Fourth
d. Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth
ANS: A
NOT: Factual
KEY: Purposes of the amendments (V.b.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 59
83. Which set of amendments provides important safeguards against the arbitrary exercise
of governmental power, especially within the judicial branch?
a. First
b. Ninth and Tenth
c. Second, Third, and Fourth
d. Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth
ANS: D
NOT: Factual
KEY: Purposes of the amendments (V.b.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 59
84. The Eighteenth Amendment, having the dubious distinction of being the only Constitutional
amendment designed to deal directly with some substantive social problem and the only
amendment to have been repealed, addressed the issue of:
a. slavery

b. the income tax
c. presidential disability
d. prohibition of alcohol
ANS: D
NOT: Factual
KEY: Purposes of the amendments (V.b.ii)


DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 62

TRUE/FALSE
1.

During the lead up to the American Revolution, the New England merchants who cried ―no
taxation without representation‖ cared more about expanded representation than about
lower taxes.
ANS: F
KEY: British taxation (I.a.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 32

2.

During the 1750s, the British crown’s North American colonies on the whole paid
remarkably little in taxes to the mother country.
ANS: T
KEY: British taxation (I.a.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 33

3.

The income tax represented the single most important source of government revenue for the
British regime prior to the American Revolution.
ANS: F
KEY: British taxation (I.a.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 33

4.

In the United States, no set of institutional procedures is more important than the Declaration
of Independence.
ANS: F
KEY: The Constitution (III)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 32

5.

Dramatic events helped colonial revolutionaries overcome the collective action problem.
ANS: T
KEY: Organized resistance as collective action (I.a.ii.4)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 34

6.

Most respectable Bostonians supported the actions of the British soldiers involved in the Boston

Massacre.
ANS: T
KEY: Boston Massacre (I.a.ii.3)
DIF: Difficult
REF: Page 34

7.

Collective action may emerge spontaneously.
ANS: T
KEY: Organized resistance as collective action (I.a.ii.4)


DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 35
8.

The First Continental Congress called for a total boycott of British goods.
ANS: T
KEY: First Continental Congress (I.a.ii.5)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 36

9.

Under the Articles of Confederation, the central government was based entirely in Congress.
ANS: T
KEY: Articles of Confederation (I.d)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 36

10. Under the Articles of Confederation, each state was represented in the Continental Congress
in proportion to its population.
ANS: F
KEY: Articles of Confederation (I.d)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 37
11. 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.
ANS: F
KEY: Articles of Confederation (I.d)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 37
12. Under the Articles of Confederation, the nation’s armed forces were composed of the
state militias.
ANS: T
KEY: Confederation—sovereignty in states (I.d.ii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 37
13. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was given power to declare war and make peace.
ANS: T
KEY: Articles of Confederation (I.d)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 37
14. 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.
ANS: F
KEY: Confederation—sovereignty in states (I.d.ii)
DIF: Moderate

REF: Page 37
15. Delegates from all thirteen colonies attended the Annapolis
Convention. ANS: F


KEY: Annapolis Convention (II.b)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 38
16. Shays’s Rebellion was forcefully ended by the quick and decisive actions taken by
Congress under the Confederation.
ANS: F
KEY: Shays’s Rebellion (II.c)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 39
17. 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.
ANS: F
KEY: Ideals vs. interests (II.d.i)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 40
18. The Constitutional Convention passed the New Jersey Plan with little compromise.
ANS: F
KEY: Virginia Plan vs. New Jersey Plan (II.d.ii.1)
DIF: Easy
REF: Page 41
19. Gouverneur Morris, delegate from Pennsylvania, manipulated the procedures at the
convention in order to achieve final adoption of the Virginia Plan with negligible amendment.
ANS: F
KEY: Virginia Plan vs. New Jersey Plan (II.d.ii.1)
DIF: Easy

REF: Page 41
20. 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 that the man
who did not.
ANS: T
KEY: Three-fifths Compromise (II.d.iii)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 42
21. Even southerners like Edmund Randolph of Virginia, who conceded that slavery was
immoral, insisted on including slaves in the allocation of congressional seats.
ANS: T
KEY: Counting slaves for representation (II.d.iii.2)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 43
22. Under the Constitution as originally passed, the members of the Senate were to be appointed by
the state legislatures.
ANS: T
KEY: Legislative branch (III.a)
DIF: Moderate
REF: Page 46