chapter 8

How did James Madison imagine that a federal republic with a strong central government might work, especially one that governed such a vast land area as the United States?

He believed that various interests and factions would cancel each other out in a large republic, and that virtuous national leaders would govern on behalf of all the people.

One result of the harsh treatment of loyalists during and following the Revolution was:

New opportunities were created for enterprising "patriots" to move up the ladder of wealth and influence.

Which of the following is the most accurate statement describing the nature and extent of changes in American society brought about by the revolution?

The Revolution did not cause a massive restructuring of American society, but political institutions rooted in a commitment to equality and liberty made change in the future easier.

Which of the following is NOT a true statement concerning African Americans following the Revolution?

The number of blacks in slavery declined.

The Federalist Papers presented strong and convincing arguments in favor of:

adopting the Constitution of 1787.

The first state constitutions tried to make the government accountable to the people through:

annual elections and representation by district.

The constitutions written by the states provided several important precedents for the later federal system created by the Constitution of 1787; one of the most important was the principle of:

creating a written document as supreme law.

The two most pressing problems for the new nation, which neither the states nor the Confederation Congress could solve, were:

divisions between the states and border disputes with Britain and Spain.

In American society after the Revolution, people believed more and more in ___________, while in reality many parts of society were becoming ___________.

equality; unequal

The Northwest Ordinance, which established a basis for territorial government for lands between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes, included all of the following provisions

freedom of religion, encouragement of education, eventual creation of three to five new states.

After the Revolution, women in America gained:

in literacy

Weaknesses of Congress under the Articles of Confederation included

it could not levy taxes or regulate trade, it could not enforce its own resolutions, its structure meant that national leadership was marked by weakness and discontinuity.

The Society of Cincinnati, a veterans' club for former Continental Army officers, attracted criticism because:

it was perceived as aristocratic.

The Articles of Confederation provided for a government by:

national legislature.

Immediately after the Revolution, the United States began to have difficulties with Spain. The disputes related to the boundaries of Florida and:

navigation rights on the Mississippi.

The Constitutional Convention deadlocked until it could find a compromise solution to the issue of:

representation in Congress.

Following the revolution, while most states did not alter the basic structure of their governments, they did alter the balance of power among the different branches of government. They did all the following

severely restricted the power of the governor or abolished the office completely, significantly strengthened the powers of the state legislatures, insisted on written state constitutions.

America's first governing document was called:

the Articles of Confederation.

The young United States confronted strong challenges from which foreign powers at its borders?

the Spanish and British

The Constitution represented the triumph of compromise, and Americans who accepted the Constitution had to change many of their basic beliefs about government. These included all the following

the assumption that republics were best suited to small geographic areas, the preoccupation with severely limiting executive power, the instinct to give ultimate loyalty and sovereignty to one's own state. NOT the ability of free citizens to govern themselves through disinterested representatives.

The most significant reform of the republican campaign against artificial privilege was:

the dismantling of state-supported church

In the debates over ratification, a major fear of the Anti-Federalists was that:

the most powerful groups in society would dominate, and eventually rule in a corrupt and arbitrary fashion.

The delegates to the Constitutional Convention, though from 12 different states, had two important things in common. These were:

they were all men of considerable political experience who recognized the need for a stronger national union.

What is the best description of the United States of America under the Articles of Confederation?

13 independent state republics loosely joined together under a virtually powerless representative body

The chapter introduction discusses the dilemma of citizens identifying with state and nation after the Revolution to make the point that:

Americans had to experiment to find a way to create a united republic that confronted the realities of separate identities and inequalities.

When peace was restored in the 1780s, Americans were forced to face some unanswered questions raised by their revolution. These included all the following

Could the individual states establish treaties and agreements with foreign countries, excluding the other states? Would the lands in the West eventually become part of the United States, and how would this take place? Would factions and self-interest groups pull the states apart and make union impossible? What forces and issues united the very different types of people who populated the new states?

What was the most important result of the uprising of western Massachusetts debtor farmers led by Daniel Shays?

It gave crucial momentum to the growing movement to strengthen the national government.

Which of the following leaders shaped the framing of the federal Constitution more than anyone else?

James Madison

One of the chief controversies that delayed initial ratification of the Articles of Confederation turned out to be the one area of substantial achievement by the Confederation Congress. This related to:

western lands.

In the debates over ratification, the Federalists argued that the Constitution:

would protect the nation from itself by providing a system of checks and balances.