Government ch 2

A U.S. senator's term of service is

6 years

Identify some of the core principles of the Declaration of Independence.

All men are equal, The consent of the governed is fundamental, All men have fundamental rights.

A key concern for the group known as the ______ was that the proposed Constitution lacked a bill of rights.

Anti-Federalists

Which document served as the first constitution of the United States?

Articles of Confederation

According to the Virginia Plan, who or what would exercise power in all areas "in which the separate states are incompetent"?

Congress

One way to propose an amendment to the Constitution is to have

Congress pass it by at least a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate.

On what point concerning separation of powers did the framers disagree with Montesquieu?

Dividing government's authority along institutional lines would provide sufficient separation of power.

The system chose by the framers to select the president is the

Electoral College.

Which series of essays did James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay write in support of the Constitution?

Federalist Papers

What was the lesson of the Articles of Confederation?

Government must be granted the amount of power that is necessary for it to carry out its responsibilities.

The plan that accommodated both large and small states by creating a two-chamber Congress was known as the

Great Compromise.

How did Jefferson propose to put his vision of a popular government into practice?

He had no clear idea about how to accomplish this.

How did George III react to the demands put forth by the First Continental Congress?

He rejected them outright.

Which of the following statements describe the terms democracy and republic as understood by the framers of the Constitution?

In a democracy the power of the majority is unlimited, The government of a republic responds to the needs of the majority while protecting the minority., The separation of powers is a characteristic of republican government.

The essay Federalist No. 10, written by ______, is considered one of the most influential writings on American government.

James Madison

The concept of separation of powers was proposed by

Montesquieu.

The proposal that tended to favor the less-populated states was called the

New Jersey Plan.

When the states drafted new constitutions after the start of the Revolutionary War, ______ did not have separation of powers. Its negative experience, in which the all-powerful legislature ignored basic rights and freedoms, proved the necessity of separation.

Pennsylvania

In the framers' view, a republican government does which of the following? (Select all that apply.)

Prevents tyranny of the majority Reduces the likelihood of reckless, hasty actions Adds constraints that protect the rights of individuals

The text describes one compromise as crucial to convince small states to support what became known as the Great Compromise. What was it?

Representation in the Senate would be equal for all states.

What two states were steadfastly opposed to the new union created at Philadelphia?

Rhode Island and North Carolina

The ratification of what constitutional amendment made the direct election of senators, a cause long supported by Progressives, the law of the land?

Seventeenth

Identify the events that led to creation of the U.S. Constitution. (Select all that apply.)

The Annapolis Convention did not have enough participants to revise the Articles of Confederation, Shays' rebellion had shown the weakness of the national government under the Articles of Confederation, Madison and Hamilton encouraged delegates at the Annapolis Convention to meet again to revise the Articles of Confederation.

What led the British navy to blockade Boston's port during the period of the Boston Tea Party?

The city refused to pay for the destroyed tea.

What were some of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?

The national government did not have the power to regulate commerce between the states, The national government depended on the states for its funding, and they often didn't pay their full share.

Which of the following statements about Shays' Rebellion are correct?

The rebellion was led by a former captain in the American army. Shays' followers were a large group of farmers. The primary purpose of the rebellion was to prevent land foreclosures.

What had Daniel Shays' followers been promised during their Revolutionary War service?

Their land would not be confiscated for unpaid debts and back taxes.

Why didn't Congress respond with troops when the governor asked for assistance during Shays' Rebellion?

There were no troops to send.

When did North Carolina and Rhode Island ratify the Constitution?

They ratified only after the other 11 states had done so.

As president, Andrew Jackson implemented much of what ______ had foreshadowed.

Thomas Jefferson

The northern-southern conflict over slavery resulted in which compromise?

Three-Fifths Compromise

Most historians assume that ______ role in the new government is what tipped the balance toward ratification of the Constitution?

Washington's

What was the central question that led to establishing judicial review?

Who was to decide whether officials were operating within the limits of their constitutional powers?

The Great Compromise created

a bicameral legislature with a lower house based on population and an upper house based on equal representation of the states.

As a result of Shays' Rebellion,

a convention was called for, to meet in Annapolis.

Historian Charles Beard described the founding fathers who wrote our Constitution as

a group of wealthy individuals whose main goal was to keep power in the hands of the wealthy.

What provision had been removed from Jefferson's initial draft of the Declaration of Independence at the insistence of southern states?

a statement critical of slavery

The Boston Tea Party happened in direct response to

a tax on tea.

The U.S. Constitution is rarely amended because

amending the Constitution is a difficult, two-step process.

The framers' goal of a government that would not threaten liberty was to be accomplished by

an elaborate system of checks and balances.

John Adams believed that the nation was best governed by

an elite class.

Goals of the First Continental Congress included which of the following? (Select all that apply.)

asking Britain for their own councils for the imposition of taxes, requesting a guarantee of trial by local juries, seeking an end to the British military occupation in the colonies.

Shays' Rebellion was an uprising of farmers against the government of Massachusetts over what two issues?

back pay for military service, taxes

The key point of Madison's Federalist No. 10 is that governments need to be structured carefully in order to ______ factions.

balance and control

Andrew Jackson believed the public should

be more fully involved in government.

Thomas Jefferson's interpretation of Locke's ideas, as found in the Declaration of Independence, was a

call for revolution.

A dilemma that confronted the framers is that the threat to liberty is inherent in government because of its ______ power.

coercive

From the beginning of the Philadelphia convention, prominent delegates were determined to

create a stronger central government.

Goals of the framers of the Constitution included

creating a national government that could meet the nation's defense needs, dividing power between the national government and the states, preserving the states as governing entities.

The U.S. system of government is said to be ______ in providing for majority influence through elections.

democratic

Powers specifically prohibited from belonging to the state and national governments in the Constitution are known as

denials of power.

The goal of the First Continental Congress, which met in Philadelphia in 1774, was to

develop policy requirements for an improved relationship with Britain.

True or false: The Virginia Plan favored the states with smaller populations.

false

Why was there strong support for a bill of rights during the debate over ratification of the Constitution?

fear that the national government would not respect people's rights

The mechanism by which political authority is divided between national government and the states is

federalism.

John Adams publicly stated that the Constitution was designed

for a governing elite.

The U.S. president's term of service is

four years.

Under the Articles of Confederation, the states

had more power than the national government

The U.S. Constitution placed limitations on popular rule in which of the following ways? (Select all that apply.)

having U.S. senators elected by state legislatures, having the president nominate federal judges, having the president elected by the Electoral College

What tax policies did the South fear as the negotiations began that eventually resulted in the Three-Fifths Compromise?

heavy taxes on agricultural goods exported from the U.S., heavy taxes on manufactured goods imported from Europe,a tax of any kind on the importation of slaves

The Three-Fifths Compromise was the result of negotiations between northern and southern states over

how to count slaves for the purpose of taxation and representation.

A federal judge's term of service is

indefinite but subject to "good behavior."

Which of the following were actions of the British government after the French and Indian War (1754-1763) that colonists found objectionable?

levying a tax on newspapers, taxation without representation

The principle that individuals should be free to act and think as they choose, provided they do not infringe unreasonably on the freedom and well-being of others, is known as

liberty.

A government that is subject to strict legal limits on the uses of power so as not to threaten the people's liberty is a

limited government.

Another term for "inalienable rights" is ______ rights.

natural

To pass legislative policies and ratify treaties under the Articles of Confederation, only ______ states were required to vote for it.

nine

Delegates to the constitutional convention decided that the Constitution would take effect for ratifying states when_______ of the 13 states approved it.

nine or 2/3

As defined by the framers, who or what limits the majority's power in a democracy?

nothing and no one

Historical evidence suggests that a majority of ordinary Americans ______ ratification of the Constitution.

opposed

Even if passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, a constitutional amendment still must be________by three-quarters of the states.

passed, approved or ratified

Under the Constitution, Congress was prohibited until 1808 from taking which of the following actions regarding slaves?

passing laws ending the slave trade

One goal of the framers of the Constitution was to

preserve the states as governing entities

Executive power is vested in

president

According to Andrew Jackson, what requirement should not be used to determine who has the right to vote?

property

Which of the following are constitutional grants of power to the national government?

raising an army, taxation, declaring war against another nation

Concerning banks, Andrew Jackson sought to

reduce their power.

The challenge facing the framers was how to reconcile

representative government and limited government.

A government in which people govern by the selection of their representatives is called a

representative government.

The Philadelphia convention was called to

revise the Articles of Confederation.

The belief that the power of government can be controlled by dividing it into several branches instead of concentrating it in one area is known as

separation of powers.

The Three-Fifths Compromise stated that ______ would be counted for the purposes of representation and apportionment, but only partially.

slaves

According to John Locke's theory called the ______, people agree to form a government in order to protect society from the actions of dangerous individuals.

social contract

In the debate over the U.S. Constitution, the Federalists

supported a strong national government.

In the U.S., what is the highest law of the land?

the Constitution

At the time the Constitution was created, what was the only institution that would be based on direct popular election?

the House of Representatives

The branches of the federal government include

the executive., the judicial., the legislative.

Following the French and Indian War, Britain for the first time imposed what on the colonies?

the implementation of heavy taxation

In a majority of the state conventions to ratify the Constitution (8 of 13), it was claimed that ______ would have the power to nullify actions that violated the Constitution.

the judiciary

Anti-Federalists believed that

the national government was going to have excessive power under the Constitution.

Who among the following felt threatened by Shays' Rebellion?

the wealthy

Amending the Articles of Confederation required ______ states to approve of the amendment.

thirteen

Why does our Constitution contain checks and balances?

to prevent the arbitrary use of power

According to the New Jersey Plan, what power in addition to those in the Articles of Confederation would the national government have?

to tax

During the debate over ratification of the Constitution, what objections did the Anti-Federalists raise?

too much power being taken from the states and given to the national government, the absence of a Bill of Rights

True or false: The U.S. Constitution provides the method for choosing the country's leaders.

true

Americans' personal freedom at the time the Constitution was being created is best characterized as

unparalleled.

The American Revolution was partly a rebellion against Britain's failure to

uphold colonial traditions of self-government.

The president's use of the______can prevent a congressional bill from becoming law.

veto

What was the first opportunity to determine whether or not the judiciary had the power to nullify actions that violated the Constitution?

when a dispute arose after the election of 1800