PLS 101 Chapter 2: Constitutional Democracy: Promoting Liberty and Self-Government
The Constitution gave Congress the power to end the importation of new slaves in which year?
1808
A U.S. representative (member of the House) has a term of service of
2 years
What happened as a result of Shays' Rebellion?
A convention was called for, to meet in Annapolis.
Which document served as the first constitution of the United States?
Articles of Confederation
The principle of and is designed to prevent a branch of the government from exceeding its constitutional powers.
Blank 1: checks or check Blank 2: balances, balance, or balancing
The tyranny of the refers to the potential of the majority becoming inflamed by a passionate issue or fiery demagogue and trampling on the rights of the minority.
Blank 1: majority
Even if passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, a constitutional amendment still must be by three-quarters of the states.
Blank 1: ratified, approved, or passed
The power to impeach and remove the president from office is held by ______.
Congress
What provisions of the Constitution serve to limit the power of the judicial branch of the federal government?
Congress can impeach and remove judges from office. Congress can restrict the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction in some instances. The president appoints federal judges with the consent of the Senate.
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
True or false: The Virginia Plan favored the states with smaller populations.
False
Which series of essays did James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay write in support of the Constitution?
Federalist Papers
The U.S. president's term of service is
Four years
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 his vision.
Which of the following were features of the Virginia Plan for national government?
It would include a bicameral legislature. States with the largest populations would have the most representatives.
The federal court case that established judicial review was ______.
Marbury v. Madison.
The proposal that tended to favor the less-populated states was called the ______.
New Jersey Plan
Delegates to the constitutional convention decided that the Constitution would take effect for ratifying states when of the 13 states approved it.
Nine, 9, 2/3 ,or Two-thirds
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
According to Andrew Jackson, what requirement should not be used to determine who has the right to vote?
Property
Which of the following issues divided the northern and southern states at the constitutional convention?
Slavery
Identify the events that led to creation of the U.S. Constitution.
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 is the method of selecting nominees for state and national offices that was introduced by Progressives and adopted by most states by the early 1900s?
The common people voted for nominees in primary elections.
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.
Which of the following statements describe the terms democracy and republic as understood by the framers of the Constitution?
The separation of powers is a characteristic of republican government. 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.
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 of Massachusetts asked for assistance during Shays' Rebellion?
There were no troops to send.
How did Madison view factions?
They are natural divisions, but no faction should gain full power.
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
Who argued that "A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse or rest on inference"?
Thomas Jefferson
Who was the principal writer of the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson
During the debate over ratification of the Constitution, what objections did the Anti-Federalists raise?
Too much power was being taken from the states and given to the national government. The Constitution lacked a bill of rights.
True or false: It took over 60 votes for the delegates to the constitutional convention to agree on how the president would be chosen.
True
True or false: Natural rights are defined as those possessed by all people.
True
True or false: The U.S. Constitution provides the method for choosing the country's leaders.
True
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
Historian Charles Beard described the framers who wrote the U.S. Constitution as ______
a group of wealthy individuals whose main goal was to keep power in the hands of the wealthy
For the Federalists, the Bill of Rights was ______.
a political necessity to get the Constitution ratified
In the framers' view, a republican government does which of the following? (Choose every correct answer.)
adds constraints that protect the rights of individuals reduces the likelihood of reckless, hasty actions reduces the risk of tyranny of the majority
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
The key point of Madison's Federalist No. 10 is that governments need to be structured carefully in order to ______ factions.
balance and control
Southern delegates to the Philadelphia convention were determined to ______.
block any attempt to end slavery
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 a threat to liberty is inherent in government because of its ______ power.
coercive
While historian Charles Beard's critique of the U.S. Constitution as a vehicle for protecting wealthy interests has some truth to it, the framers were also ______.
concerned with the unchecked rule of the majority
Despite the original purpose of the Philadelphia convention, which was to revise the Articles of Confederation, from its beginning prominent delegates were determined to
create a stronger central government
A constitution's main purpose is to ______.
define the way that the system of government will legitimately operate
The U.S. system of government is said to be ______ in providing for majority influence through elections.
democratic
The goal of the First Continental Congress, which met in Philadelphia in 1774, was to ______.
develop policy requirements for an improved relationship with Britain
In choosing the president, the number of members of the House and Senate from a state determines the state's number of ______.
electoral votes
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
What tax policies did the South fear as the negotiations began that eventually resulted in the Three-Fifths Compromise? (Choose every correct answer.)
heavy taxes on manufactured goods imported from Europe heavy taxes on agricultural goods exported from the United States a tax of any kind on the importation of slaves
Madison, Hamilton, and Jay wrote The Federalist Papers ______.
in support of the Constitution
The president's ability to veto a bill ______.
is a check on Congress
In the Electoral College, each state has electors equal to ______.
its representation in Congress
The power of the federal judiciary to determine the constitutionality of the actions of the other two branches of government and to declare their actions null and void is called ______.
judicial review
Match the branch of the federal government with its definition. Instructions legislative executive judicial
legislative- the Congress executive- the president judicial- the Supreme Court
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 constraints 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
The agreement of ______ states was required to enact legislation under the Articles of Confederation.
nine
In his criticism of the Constitution, historian Charles Beard noted that property interests were ______.
often discussed during the Philadelphia convention
Historical evidence suggests that a majority of ordinary Americans ______ ratification of the Constitution.
opposed
Goals of the framers of the Constitution included ______.
preserving the states as governing entities creating a national government that could meet the nation's defense needs dividing power between the national government and the states
Jefferson and Jackson had different views concerning the branch of government that was best equipped to ______.
represent the views of the majority
The U.S. system of government created by the founders in 1787 can be described as which of the following?
republican constitutional
The goals of the First Continental Congress included which of the following?
requesting a guarantee of trial by local juries seeking an end to the British military occupation in the colonies asking Britain for their own councils for the imposition of taxes
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 ratification of what constitutional amendment made the direct election of senators, a cause long supported by Progressives, the law of the land?
seventeenth
The House and the Senate (which together form the Congress) ______.
share the lawmaking function in the United States
Which of the following are constitutional grants of power to the national government?
taxation raising an army declaring war against another nation
Which British policy was the main source of dispute for the American colonists?
taxation without representation
At the time the Constitution was created, what was the only institution that would be based on direct popular election?
the House of Representatives
When the president makes a treaty, it must be approved by ______.
the Senate
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
During the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, Anti-Federalists believed that ______.
the national government was going to have excessive power under the Constitution
Who or what is responsible for executing court decisions?
the president
The framers tried to balance the need to give people a voice in their government against the need to prevent ______.
the tyranny of the majority
Amending the Articles of Confederation required ______ states to approve of the amendment
thirteen
Amending the Articles of Confederation required ______ states to approve of the amendment.
thirteen
Andrew Jackson argued that electoral votes should be ______.
tied to the popular vote
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
The Articles of Confederation gave the most power ______.
to the individual states
The framers of the Constitution wanted a government ______.
where popular majorities could not disregard the rights of others that protected unpopular groups from mob rule and violence where people could be free to do as they pleased if they didn't harm others
