06
STUDENT MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
Name
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Date
Instructions
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TEST ON THE HISTORY AND PRINCIPLES OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
1. How did living in the colonies influence the Americans’
ideas about government?
a. The colonists took part in their own government.
b. In the colonies, royalty made the laws.
c. The Founders believed that Great Britain would
protect the rights of the colonists.
d. The colonists brought a single set of ideas about
religion, government, and rights to the new land.
2. Which best describes what life might be like if there
were no laws or government?
a. Nobody’s rights would be protected.
b. Everyone’s rights would be protected.
People would behave reasonably.
d. Strong people would have to help weak people.
3. A social contract is an agreement
a. among people to get along with one another.
b. among people that is not written.
c. among the people to set up a government.
d. between two governments.
4. The “common good” means that which is best for
a. government.
b. the largest number of people.
c. the rich.
d. the poor.
5. The term civic virtue means that the citizens
a. put the common good ahead of their own interests.
b. put their own interests ahead of the common good.
c. rule themselves.
d. limit the powers of government.
D6
STUDENT MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST
(CONTINUED)
6. The best source of information about how a nation’s government is organized
is a
a. dictionary.
b. government report.
c. constitution.
d. speech by a government leader.
7. A government is a constitutional government when
a. it has a written constitution.
b. the people ratify the constitution.
c. government protects the right to trial by jury
d. there are limits on the power of government.
8. The Declaration of Independence expresses this idea:
a. All people are created equal.
b. Government gets its power from the Supreme Court.
c. Government should protect the right to trial by jury
d. The people never have the right to change their government.
9. In a republican government the
a. leaders have all the power.
b. people elect members of government to represent them.
c. people make the laws.
d. leaders are not responsible to anyone.
10. The Articles of Confederation had this serious problem:
a. The state governments were too weak.
b. The national government was too weak.
c. There were no limits on the power of the national government.
d. No one had control over the army.
11. At the start of the Philadelphia Convention, the delegates agreed to
a. follow the instructions of Congress
b. improve the Articles of Confederation.
give the state governments more power.
d. write a new constitution.
12. The Great Compromise solved a conflict about
a. when slavery would be abolished.
b. how to collect taxes from the states.
c. how many representatives a state could send to Congress.
d. which natural rights the government should protect.
D6
STUDENT MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST
(CONTINUED)
13. One reason that the Framers were willing to compromise
on the issues of slavery was because
a. both the North and the South held large
numbers of people as slaves.
b. some Framers were from Southern states.
c. the Framers wanted the Southern states
to join the new government.
d. the Framers agreed to pass a bill of rights.
14. The Preamble to the Constitution begins with the words,
We the People.” These words mean
a. Americans were one people.
b. the people approved of the new constitution.
the people wanted a better way of life.
d. it is the people who create government.
15. The Constitution separates the powers of government
so that no branch can
a.
raise
taxes.
b. become too powerful.
c. disagree with the other branches.
d. protect the rights of the people.
16. The Constitution limits the power of the national government by
a. denying the states certain powers.
b. a system of separation of powers and checks and balances.
c. giving the president the power to veto bills.
d. dividing Congress into two houses.
17. The legislative branch of government
a. makes the laws.
b. carries out and enforces the laws.
c. settles disagreements about laws.
d. declares laws unconstitutional.
18. The executive branch of government
a. amends the Constitution.
b. carries out and enforces the laws.
c. settles disagreements about laws.
d. makes the laws.
D6
STUDENT MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST
19.
(CONTINUED)
The judicial branch of government
a. appoints the members of Congress.
b. settles disagreements about laws.
c. makes the laws.
d. amends the Constitution.
20. The power of judicial review means that the Supreme
Court can
a. set up a system of lower courts.
b. declare a law unconstitutional.
c. approve treaties made by the president.
d. decide when a justice may no longer serve on the Court.
21. The best description for a federal system of government is
a. one government has all the power.
b. the people do not have any power.
c. power is divided between national and state governments.
d. power is divided among the states.
22. The federal government is responsible for
a. traffic laws and regulations.
h. age requirements for school attendance.
marriage and divorce laws.
d. a treaty in which nations agree to clean up the environment.
23. Freedom of expression gives people many benefits. One of
the benefits is
a. it supports the need to make violent changes in government.
b. it allows the government to make strict requirements for voting
.
c. it allows you to meet with others to discuss your belief,
ideas, or feelings.
d. it makes sure that anything written for a newspaper
praises the government.
24. The establishment and free exercise clauses are two
parts
of the First Amendment. They protect the right to
a. due process.
b. equal protection of the laws.
c. freedom of religion.
d. trial by jury
06
STUDENT MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST
(CONTINUED>
25. The Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act require state
governments to treat people fairly without taking into account race,
religion, national origin, or gender. This is called
a. equal protection.
h. disability protection.
c. a violation of the Constitution.
d. discrimination.
26. The right to due process of law means that government cannot
a. arrest you.
h. make laws that you disagree with.
c. send you to prison.
d. treat you unfairly.
27. Women gained the right to vote
a.
b.
c.
d.
because the Framers decided they deserved it.
after many decades of civil protest.
if their grandmothers had the right.
when they became landowners.
28. Some ways that countries of the world interact are
a. restricting voting, travel, and the press.
b. passing laws that prevent the sharing of culture and scientific discoveries.
buying and selling goods only in their own national markets.
d. giving humanitarian aid, making treaties, and engaging in trade.
29. Citizens of the United States are those who
a. are born in countries that have treaties with the Unted States.
b. work in the United States and pay taxes.
c. have lived in the United States for at least rwenty years.
ci. are born in the United States or are naturalized.
3O. A good way for fifth- and sixth-graders to participate
in our government is to
a. vote in elections.
b. write to a representative.
c. run for public office.
d. serve on a jury.