American Government – Examination #2
For each of the following, place the letter of the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the
question in the appropriate blank on the answer sheet.
1. In order to amend the Constitution, it must first be proposed:
a. at the national level, i.e. national convention or Congress.
b. at the state level, i.e. state conventions or state legislatures.
c. at both the state and national level.
d. by a majority vote of the American people.
2. After an amendment to the Constitution is propsed, it must then be ratified:
a. at the national level, i.e. national convention or Congress.
b. at the state level, i.e. state conventions or state legislatures.
c. at both the state and national level.
d. by a majority vote of the American people.
3. How did the Antifederalists differ from the Federalists?
a. The Antifederalists wanted a stronger central government.
b. The Federalists wanted to protect state sovereignty.
c. The Antifederalists believed that a strong central government may become oppressive.
d. The Antifederalists were against a Bill of Rights.
4. Under which governments (or proposed governments) did a unicameral legislature exist?
a. New Jersey Plan
b. Connecticut Compromise
c. Virginia Plan
d. the current United States government
5. The powers explicitly granted to Congress by Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution are known as:
a. the enumerated powers.
b. the implied powers.
c. the elastic powers.
d. the necessary and proper powers.
6. Which of the following statements about the Declaration of Independence is correct?
a. It was written primarily by James Madison.
b. It was a rejection of the philosophy of John Locke.
c. It drew almost explicitly upon the works of Thomas Hobbes.
d. It contained a long list of grievences regarding the king’s violations against the colonists.
7. All of the following were true of the government under the Articles EXCEPT
a. Each state had one vote in Congress.
b. The national government could not levy taxes.
c. There was no judicial branch.
d. The executive was very powerful.
8. The original purpose of the Constitutional Convention was to
a. draw up a bill of rights.
b. levy taxes.
c. build an army.
d. revise the Articles of Confederation.
9. The Great Compromise
a. required Supreme Court justices to be confirmed by the Senate.
b. based House representation on population and the Senate on equal representation.
c. provided the president be selected by the Electoral College.
d. dealt with slavery.
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10. The Federalist Papers were written
a. at the suggestion of Benjamin Franklin.
b. to explain democracy to European governments.
c. to help win ratification of the Constitution in New York.
d. to try and satisfy Shays’ Rebellion.
11. Read the following quote.
“The country should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous, and alien sovereignties.”
This statement is most indicative of which viewpoint?
a. Anti-Federalist
b. Federalist
c. Pure liberal
d. Constitutionalist
12. Read the following quote.
“… one government … never can extend equal benefits to all parts of the United States.
Different laws, customs, and opinions exist in the different states, which by a uniform system of
laws would be unreasonably invaded.”
This statement is most indicative of which viewpoint?
a. Anti-Federalist
b. Federalist
c. Statist
d. Constitutionalist
13. When he wrote the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson replaced ___ with “the pursuit of
happiness.”
a. Life
b. Property
c. Justice
d. Equality
14. The importance of Shays’ Rebellion to the development of the U.S. Constitution was that it:
a. revealed the necessity of adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution.
b. indicated that a stronger national government was needed than what was originally established
under the Articles of Confederation.
c. reinforced the idea that slavery should be outlawed in the new Constitution.
d. demonstrated the intensity of antiratification sentiment in the states of New York and Virginia.
15. The Anti-Federalists believed that the new constitution:
a. created a new government too weak to be effective, and they preferred a monarchy to ensure
stability.
b. created too powerful of a central governent that might trample the rights of individuals.
c. was too similar to the government under the Articles of Confederation.
d. with whatever faults it might have, was the young nation’s best hope for a workable
government.
16. As originally established by the Constituton, the House of Representatives had how many members
from each state?
a. one
c. seven
b. two
d. it depended on the state’s population
17. “Concentration of executive, legislative, and judicial power in the same hands creates tyranny.” This
view of Montisquieu’s BEST highlights a need for the constitutional principle of:
a. separation of powers.
b. limited government.
c. federalism.
d. republicanism.
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18. The idea that the people need resprentatives to act on their behalf in the government is an example of
the constitutional principle of:
a. republicanism.
b. individual rights.
c. checks and balances.
d. federalism.
19. When there is a separation of powers,:
a. the people grant the states the authority to govern.
b. the basic powers of government are held by a single agency.
c. power is distributed among three independent branches of government.
d. power is divided between the national government and the states.
20. The first government of the United States was a(n) ___ system while the second was a(n) ___ system.
a. federal, federal
b. unitary, federal
c. confederation, unitary
d. confederation, federal
21. Which of the following British documents was NOT influential in the early Americans’ conceptions of
how the Crown should govern the new colonies?
a. Magna Carta
b. English Bill of Rights
c. Petition of Right
d. Representation of the People Act
22. The Constitution’s supremacy clause:
a. is vague about which level of government should prevail in a dispute involving federalism.
b. gives the states superiority over the national government’s Constitution and laws.
c. made the Constitution, the laws of the national government, and the national government’s
treaties the supreme law of the land.
d. makes the President supreme in any constitutional conflicts with the other two branches.
23. A strict constructionist would likely view the “necessary and proper clause”:
a. favorably.
c. indifferently.
b. unfavorably.
d. similar to a liberal constructionist.
24. The enumerated powers of Congress are found in Article ___ of the Constitution.
a. I
c. III
b. II
d. IV
25. Which of the following was NOT a compromise of the Constitutional Convention?
a. States would maintain their right to coin money.
b. Slaves would count as 3/5 of a person in censuses.
c. A bicameral legislature would be established with an upper and lower house.
d. Congress could not ban external slave trade for twenty years.
26. A discussion of the Electoral College is found in Article ___ of the Constitution.
a. I
c. III
b. II
d. IV
27. Which plan in the Constitutional Convention favored the small states?
a. New Jersey Plan
b. Rhode Island Plan
c. Virginia Plan
d. Connecticut Plan
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28. Thomas Jefferson described the Declaration of Independence as “pure ___” due to the heavy influence
of his political views.
a. Locke
b. Hobbes
c. Montisquieu
d. Washington
29. The “56th Delegate” at the Philadelphia Convention was:
a. Thomas Jefferson
b. a fear of “mobocracy”
c. the King of England
d. George Washington
30. Which event led to greater taxation of the colonists and therefore an increasingly hostile relationship
between the British Crown and the American colonists?
a. Hundred Years’ War
b. French and Indian War
c. Anglo-Cherokee War
d. War of the Quadruple Alliance
31. The authors of the United States Constitution believed that the voice of the people should be heard
frequently. Which part of the Government was instituted to respond most directly to the will of the
people?
a. Supreme Court
b. House of Representatives
c. Presidency
d. Vice President
32. A strict constructionist:
a. favors a loose interpretation of the Constitution.
b. believes the Constitution should be interpreted as it is written.
c. believes the Constitution should create a powerful national government.
d. is in favor of the “necessary and proper” clause.
33. One way in which the authors of the Constitution tried to create “limited government” was by providing
for:
a. a loyal opposition through a two-party system.
b. a division of power bewtween the national and state governments.
c. the establishment of naturalization laws.
d. the popular election of federal judges.
34. The two-term limit of Presidents is an example of informal amendment by:
a. unwritten custom.
c. state action.
b. court decision.
d. basic legislation.
35. Thomas Jefferson and many Anti-Federalists agreed to accept the proposed Constitution only if:
a.
b.
c.
d.
the bicameral legislature was abandoned.
the Federalists agreed to grant states the power to tax federal institutions.
states were permitted to maintain their sovereignty.
a Bill of Rights was included.
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