Practice Exam #1
American Foundations - Marshall!
1
1.
In relationship to the doctrine of an inspired Constitution, which section of the Doctrine and Covenants is
correctly matched with its content?
a. D&C 58:21-23, 26-28 — Whatsoever is more or less than the constitutional law of the land comes of evil.
— Wise, good, and honest men should be sought for and supported in public office.
b. D&C 134— People who keep the laws of God have no need to break the laws of the land. — Men should
be anxiously engaged in a good cause and do many things of their own free will.
c. D&C 101:76-80 — The men who wrote the Constitution were raised up for that very purpose. — The
Constitution contains just and holy principles that are intended for all mankind.
d. D&C 109:54 — We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man, and that God
holds men accountable for their acts in relation to governments. — Religion was instituted of God, and
men are amenable to God only for the exercise of it.
2.
Which statement would NOT be considered part of the doctrine of an inspired Constitution as Brother
Marshall described that doctrine?
a. The Constitution and its principles should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh.
b. The fundamental principles of the Constitution are just and holy and belong to all mankind.
c. The fundamental principles of the Constitution are unique to the people of the United States and belong
to them only.
d. The principles of the Constitution are part of the fundamental principles of moral agency that form the
perfect law of liberty contained within the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
3.
Which statement does NOT correctly describe a just and holy principle of the Constitution as presented by
Brother Marshall?
a. Some powers which might otherwise be exercised by government must be specifically prohibited in the
fundamental law of the Constitution.
b. The terms of office for government officials must be flexible enough to meet the changing moods and
conditions of the people.
c. A republic is the best form of popular government because the will of the majority must be refined and
enlarged by representatives of the people.
d. In order to control the corrupting influences of power, the powers of government must be divided in
various ways.
4.
During our discussion on topics 2 and 4, a question was asked about how the ideas presented had influenced
the American character. In which of the following options are the specific characteristics that resulted
matched correctly with the traditions (economic, political, or religious) that caused those characteristics? (You
must answer the question based on the specific notes in the text.)
a. Early American RELIGIOUS traditions — it strengthened the people’s commitment to such values as
decency, honesty, tolerance, and justice, as well as their commitment to the simple rule that “you ought to
do to others as you would have them do to you.”
b. The POLITICAL traditions resulting from America’s British Heritage — it created a people committed to
individual initiative, self-reliance, industry, hard work, frugality, thrift, and charity.
c. Early American ECONOMIC traditions and the colonial quest for economic freedom — it created a
“tenacious” commitment to self-government and a “fierce and untractable” spirit of liberty
5.
Which statement correctly describes a basic religious characteristic of the American colonial period?
a. The most devout Christians had the least influence in colonial governments.
b. There was very little religious influence in colonial social and political life, mainly because colonial
leaders were the least religious of all the people.
c. Colonial protestantism created an abundant spirit of dissent and a deep desire for liberty.
d. Only two of the colonies ever had established churches.
Practice Exam #1
American Foundations - Marshall!
2
6.
Which statement correctly describes the characteristics of an established church as they were practiced in the
British colonies of North America?
a. “Establishment of Religion” created a unique situation of equality among all the various churches; no
church was ever considered to be more “official” than any other church.
b. The established church had the power to compel worship through civil law.
c. All citizens of the colony could vote and hold public office even if they were not members of the
established church.
d. No “official church” of any of the colonies ever had power enough to compel worship or taxation for
church support through civil law.
7.
The First Great Awakening of the early 1700s
a. destroyed religious values and sentiments and led to a more secular American people.
b. greatly reduced the spirit of political dissent by strengthening the loyalty of people to their local
clergymen and, ultimately, to their royal governors.
c. rekindled and strengthened religious values, commitments, and sentiments among many of the colonists.
d. decreased religious toleration in the American colonies.
8.
Which statement correctly describes how early Americans understood the relationship of religion to
government?
a. Without government, the people are more likely to live happy and peaceful lives.
b. Religion is ordained of God and is the basis of good government.
c. Rulers should govern in the fear of men, but never in the fear of God.
d. God had set the events of the world in motion and refrains from blessing any nation with His providence.
9.
Which statement correctly describes a basic characteristic of the economic system that developed in the
British colonies of North America?
a. Giving out economic favors and patronage is necessary to encourage economic production.
b. They believed that land and other resources ought to be owned by all the people together.
c. The colonists accept self-interest because profit and wealth are strong motives for industry and
production.
d. They believed it was necessary for government to intervene in economic affairs if the economy was to be
prosperous.
10. Which statement correctly describes the theory of mercantilism or the influence of that theory on economic
freedom in England’s American colonies?
a. Lively, widespread competition was encouraged in the colonies to stimulate new trade and commerce.
b. England granted special economic favors to some people and companies but not to others.
c. The various economic regulations and restrictions placed on the colonists enhanced prosperity for the
colonists and destroyed their commitment to economic freedom.
d. Monopolies were forbidden in England and in the colonies.
11. When one considers our discussion of America’s political heritage from England and the nature of the English
constitution, which statement is true?
a. At no time before 1776 did the colonists believe themselves to be subject to the English crown, nor did
they believe that they retained any of the rights and privileges granted to the people of England under
the British constitution.
b. The English constitution was a single document which summarized many other acts, laws, declarations
and traditions.
c. The English constitution created a “balanced government” in which power was divided among the
traditional social classes— the royal family, the aristocracy, and the common people.
d. The principles of English common law were never considered part of the English constitution.
Practice Exam #1
American Foundations - Marshall!
3
12. Which of the following does NOT correctly describe a right and privilege Americans claimed to enjoy under
the British constitution?
a. to be governed and taxed by their own consent
b. to have and keep real and personal property
c. to have controlled and fettered elections
d. to have their own governments
e. to enjoy the right of trial by jury
13. Which statement correctly describes why the end of the French and Indian War was a turning point in the
relationship between the government of England and England’s colonies in North America?
a. The English felt that the colonists had paid their fair share of the money needed to fight the war.
b. Between the end of the war and 1776, the colonists became increasingly hesitant to say or write anything
about their rights or their liberties.
c. The English policies that followed the war became a catalyst for an unprecedented debate in America on
the nature of freedom and liberty.
d. England had no debt at the end of the war, but insisted that the colonists pay higher taxes anyway.
14. In which of the following is a policy of the British government after the French and Indian war correctly
matched with what it did?
a. The Proclamation of 1763— granted the East India Company of England a virtual monopoly for the sale
of tea in the colonies.
b. The Townshend Acts of 1767 — ordered the colonist to remain on the eastern side of the Appalachian
Mountains.
c. The Stamp Act of 1765 — required the payment of a tax on purchases of all newspapers, pamphlets,
almanacs, licenses, and commercial and legal documents.
d. The Tea Act of 1773 — suspended the New York Assembly, dissolved the Massachusetts legislature.
15. Which statement correctly describes something about the Patriot “philosophers” and political theorists of the
1760s and 1770s?
a. They were always the first ones to resist and rebel and stir up the people’s passions.
b. The role of these patriots was very important because they sought to justify the rebellion and carefully
shape the arguments and appeals for liberty.
c. There were only a small handful of patriot philosophers who could carefully and skillfully articulate the
arguments for liberty.
d. All the political writing of this period combined together would only fill three or four small books.
16. Which statement correctly describes something about America’s Founding Generation and the sources and
traditions of revolutionary thought which was available to them?
a. Americans struggled to find enough history and thought to assist them in their desire to work out the
logic of the revolution.
b. The Founding Generation felt no need to justify to the world their rebellion against England.
c. The Founding Generation were careful to glean through the history of the world to find the ideas and
theories that would support their own ideas.
d. The Founding Generation accepting virtually everything that was written in the history they read and
rejected none of it.
Practice Exam #1
American Foundations - Marshall!
4
17. Which statement does NOT correctly describes something about the Enlightenment or its influence on
Americans in the 1700s?
a. The Enlightenment is a period from the mid 1600s through the 1700s and is often called the Age of
Reason.
b. The Enlightenment was a continuation of the scientific revolution of the 1600s and focused on the
discovery of natural laws.
c. The philosophers of the period sought for broad implications of natural law in the social, moral, and
political conditions of the world.
d. Enlightenment thinkers had little faith in human understanding or the power of reason and felt that no
human being could devise efficient and benevolent political institutions.
18. Which one of the following is NOT a fundamental idea of the Revolution that was articulated by the patriot
philosophers in colonial America?
a. There are long term benefits of liberty upon the human soul.
b. Legitimate power to govern must arise from the people.
c. Factions and demagogues can never be a threat to popular governments.
d. Man’s true nature is a composite of virtue and vice.
19. In which one of the following options is a general classification of tyranny correctly linked with its
description?
a. political tyranny — exploitation to keep the masses in poverty, slave labor, denial of land and
opportunity
b. economic tyranny — a tightly controlled church hierarchy, suppression of worship, persecution of
“dissenters” or non-believers
c. social tyranny — general oppression of the lower class, a strictly defined class society, domination of one
group by another
d. religious tyranny — absolute control (totalitarian political philosophies), coercion, no freedom of
expression, a police state with its reign of terror
20. Which statement does NOT correctly describe the nature of true liberty as it was discussed in class or in
Mosiah 29.
a. True liberty is a delicate balance between law order and stability on the one hand with freedom,
responsibility and self-restraint on the other hand.
b. All the people must be able to enjoy their rights and privileges alike.
c. Each person must express a willingness to answer for his or her own actions and “sins.”
d. The people enjoy true liberty when they have absolute freedom to do anything they desire.
21. When we spoke of the virtuous side of man’s nature in class, we listed four general characteristics with
examples of how the Founding Generation would have discussed each one. In which of the following
options is a general characteristic correctly linked with the examples given in class?
a. Goodness and basic human decency — ability to understand important ideas and concepts and to apply
the natural laws of justice and equity
b. The capacity for being reasonable and rational — there are tender and social affections in the people’s
hearts which are sometimes evident by a sadness for others calamities
c. The capacity for public cooperation — working for the common good and pursuing a common interest
Practice Exam #1
American Foundations - Marshall!
5
22. Based on their understanding of the nature of man, which statement correctly describes their view of
government and its structure?
a. They doubted whether or not the people had sufficient public virtue to govern themselves.
b. They believed that governments must be carefully structured to protect against the potential corruption
of ambition and self-interest.
c. They believed that self-interest was totally bad; that it could never be directed to help sustain and support
government by the governed.
d. Their view of the nature of man destroyed their faith in what they called “republican principles.”
23. Which statement describes correctly what the Founders meant when they spoke of a republic or a democracy
as a form of government?
a. A republic is a scheme of government in which a small number of citizens assemble and administer the
government in person.
b. A republic cannot be considered a popular government.
c. A democracy is a scheme of government in which the people have direct control over the making of law.
d. A democracy can be extended over a greater sphere of country and a larger group of people than a
republic.
24. Which of the following correctly defines one way that natural law was understood by the Founding Fathers?
a. It is simple opinions or statements about what is right and wrong which change with the circumstances
and conditions of the people and their culture.
b. It is a set of principles which change with the times and with the circumstances of the people.
c. It exists only in the written laws of man that grant legal or civil rights.
d. It is the eternal, immutable laws of good and evil that help regulate and restrain the freewill of man.
25. Which statement does NOT correctly describe some way the Founders used natural law to justify their
rebellion and their belief in man’s basic right to govern himself?
a. It is because moral truth distills upon our conscience through the power of reason, that government by
the people is even possible.
b. Human beings would voluntarily agree to form a government only if that government would protect and
secure their rights and privileges.
c. Resistance and rebellion are never justified among a people who accept the moral truths contained in the
laws of nature.
d. The natural rights of man are self-evident, self-existent, and unalienable from the people.
26. Based on the portion of Sir William Blackstone’s description of natural law given in the notebook, which
statement is true?
a. The Creator is a being of infinite power, but not of infinite wisdom or goodness.
b. Because God’s laws are quite unjust and arbitrary, men must make their own laws.
c. God has reduced the rule of obedience to one precept: that man should never pursue his own happiness,
but only the happiness of others.
d. No human laws are of any validity if contrary to the laws of nature.
27. Which statement correctly describes how the Founders struggled with some of the perplexing issues of
equality?
a. They believed that the artificial titles of nobility and the hereditary privileges were the rightful privileges
of an aristocracy.
b. They believed that a man’s claims to greatness should not be based on his wisdom and talent.
c. None of the Founders ever worried about the unequal possessions of land and wealth that existed in their
own time.
d. They were certain that any kind of forced economic or social equality would be contrary to liberty.
Practice Exam #1
American Foundations - Marshall!
6
28. Which statement correctly describes something the Founders understood about the absolute political equality
of man?
a. Some men are endowed with more of the natural rights than others.
b. All men have equal claim to be free of earthly power except by their own consent.
c. Some men have more right to the benefits and protection of government than do others.
d. Men should not be allowed to rise on the basis of their talents and abilities because that is contrary to
spirit of equality.
29. In its most elementary form, what does Rule of Law mean?
a. A tyrant’s will must be followed without question.
b. The best way to create Rule of Law is by military force.
c. That men should be governed by laws that are written and known.
d. The will of one person is always wiser than the will of the majority.
30. Which statement does NOT describe correctly a principle or value the people must embrace if true Rule of
Law is to exist in a civil society?
a. True liberty is a balance between freedom and restraint.
b. All restraint in a civil society must be imposed by the written laws.
c. Rule of law is related to natural law because the idea of self-restraint is most often present when people
obey the immutable laws of human nature that tell us what is right and wrong.
d. Factions and minorities with unjust agendas will become more numerous as the people lose faith in each
other when they lack the spirit of honesty, fairness, and justice.
31. Which statement does NOT describe correctly how government will treat its citizens when its actions are
guided by the basic principles and values of Rule of Law.
a. Laws will be made with the consent and knowledge of the people.
b. Law will be made within the bounds of the authority granted.
c. The legislative power must act with some discretion because the law must be based on the common good
and on just and moral principles.
d. Laws should be made without the knowledge of the people so that the people’s passions are filtered out
and the people are not confused by the details of the law.
READING QUESTIONS
32. Stephen Hopkins, 1764 — “The Rights of Colonies Examined.” Choose the statement or phrase which would
NOT have been written by Hopkins.
a. Absolute liberty is, perhaps, incompatible with any kind of government.
b. The colonists of America should be partakers of all the privileges and advantages of the British
constitution.
c. A people who can be taxed without their own consent have no property and can have no liberty.
d. The colonies of America have, by their own acknowledgement, demeaned themselves as unfaithful and
disloyal subjects and have kept their own governments in a state of total confusion.
33. Jonathan Mayhew, 1766 — “The Snare Broken.” Choose the statement or phrase which would NOT have
been written by Mayhew.
a. We are free-born and have a right to our property until we have freely consented to part with it.
b. The colonies have no right (in nature or under the British Constitution) to petition and remonstrate
against the Stamp Act.
c. Infractions of liberty would discourage the trade, industry, and population of the colonies.
d. History affords few examples of a more general, generous and just sense of liberty in any country than
has appeared in America.
Practice Exam #1
American Foundations - Marshall!
7
34. Benjamin Franklin, 1766 — “Examination Before the House of Commons.” Choose the statement or phrase
which would NOT have been said by Franklin.
a. If the Stamp Tax is modified, the American people will submit to it; and if the Stamp Act is repealed, the
American people will acknowledge Parliament’s right to tax them.
b. The people of America will not pay the Stamp Tax unless compelled to do so by force of arms.
c. Before the Stamp Act, the American people had not only respect for Great Britain, but they had respect for
its laws, its customs, and its manners.
d. The sentiments of Americans towards the British Parliament have been greatly lessened in the past few
years.
35. Edmund Burke, 1775 — “Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies.” Choose the statement or phrase which
would NOT have been written by Burke.
a. In the character of the Americans, a love of freedom is the predominating feature.
b. Americans care little about principles; they will fight for and defend their liberty only when they are
forced to suffer enormous wrongs.
c. Because Americans are religious protestants, they do not want their minds and opinions to be subject to
control by others.
d. Perhaps in no other country is education and the study of law so general and widespread.
36. Baron de Montesquieu — “The Spirit of the Laws.” Choose the statement or phrase which would NOT have
been written by Montesquieu.
a. Political liberty is obtained when there is an absolute and unlimited freedom.
b. Political liberty is found when there is no abuse of power and the power of one official is checked by the
power of another official.
c. Liberty is found in the right of doing whatever the law permits.
d. Liberty is found in a peace of mind where one man does not have to fear another man.
37. Abraham Williams, 1762 — “An Election Sermon.” Choose the statement or phrase which would NOT have
been written by Williams.
a. The social affections of human nature and the desire for the good things of life cause men to associate
together.
b. The nature of man does not make him well fitted and disposed to forming societies.
c. The envy, ambition, and covetousness of some men make our entering into society necessary to protect us
from those evils.
d. Civil societies and government appear to be natural and ordained of God
38. John Dickinson, 1786 — “Letter from a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies.”
Choose the statement or phrase which would NOT have been written by Dickinson.
a. My industry has allowed me to become master of my time, and so I have been able to acquired significant
knowledge in the laws of my country.
b. From my infancy I was taught to love liberty and humanity.
c. Enquiry and the fuller experience of my life have convinced me of the errors and follies of liberty.
d. No free people can long exist without keeping the “purse strings” of government in their own hands.
39. Nathaniel Niles, 1774 — “Discourse of Liberty.” Choose the statement or phrase which would NOT have
been written by Niles.
a. Paul esteemed personal liberty as a great inheritance, but he rightly claimed that the liberty of a
community was an even greater inheritance.
Practice Exam #1
American Foundations - Marshall!
8
b. Other things being equal, a majority has a more general and distinct knowledge of the circumstances of a
nation than a minority.
c. Government is not necessary to true liberty and is totally inconsistent with its principles.
d. The imperfections of liberty as it has taken place in the world should not discourage us in our attempts to
obtain it more perfectly
40. Elisha Williams, 1744 — “the Essential Rights and Privileges of Protestants.” Choose the statement or phrase
which would NOT have been written by Williams.
a. A Christian is to receive his Christianity from Christ alone.
b. The civil authority of government has no right to create an establishment of religion.
c. Forcing every person to believe in the same church is necessary for the pease and security of government.
d. every Christian has the right to determine what he church he shall join himself to.
41. Daniel Shute, 1768 — “An election Sermon.” Choose the statement or phrase which would NOT have been
written by Shute.
a. As happiness is the end of creation, government should promote that benevolent purpose.
b. Happiness comes to man by acting in accordance to certain rules prescribed by the Creator of man.
c. The ultimate happiness of man in this life can be secured in a civil society which seeks to conform to
those rules of human conduct laid down by God himself.
d. Natural rights should never become the basis of creating constitutional rights.
42. Charles Chauncy, 1747 — “Civil magistrates must be Just, Ruling in the Fear of God.” Choose the statement
or phrase which would NOT have been written by Chauncy.
a. Rulers must be positively righteous, being possessed of a steady and uniform principle of justice.
b. Rulers must confine their powers to limits prescribed in the constitution they are under.
c. When making laws, rulers should give in to their own self-will and self-interest.
d. Rulers should promote the general welfare and prosperity of the people by discouraging idleness,
profaneness, and like immoralities.
43. John Tucker, 1771 — “An Election Sermon.” Choose the statement or phrase which would NOT have been
written by Tucker.
a. Clear and understandable laws are necessary to keep rulers from exercising tyranny and to keep the
people from ignorant disobedience.
b. Those who govern ought to be men of superior knowledge and wisdom who understand the natural
consequences of their own acts.
c. There ought to be some mystery in the plan of a government so that rulers can exercise rights that are not
clearly defined.
d. Those who govern ought to be men with resolution and firmness of mind who recognize difficulties and
threatened dangers.
44. Worcestriensis Number IV, 1776 — Anonymous Article Published in the Massachusetts Spy . Choose the
statement or phrase which would NOT have been written in this article.
a. In a well regulated state, it is the duty of the legislature to encourage different churches to molest and
disturb each other.
b. Instead of making men religious, force and compulsion generally have a contrary tendency and lead to
hypocrisy.
c. Laws should be made which punish those who violate the natural laws of decency, disturb the public
peace, and profane against the Supreme Being.
d. It is proper for government to encourage the general principles of religion and morality.
Practice Exam #1
Key to the questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
c
c
b
a
c
b
c
b
c
b
c
c
c
c
b
c
d
c
c
d
c
b
c
d
c
d
d
b
c
b
d
d
b
a
b
a
b
c
c
c
d
c
c
a
American Foundations - Marshall!
9