Government Unit 2 Potential Test Questions

• Congress proposes an amendment legalizing an income tax. • The Supreme Court rules that the income tax is unconstitutional. These events illustrate the use of

Checks and Balances

The expansion of suffrage in the United States best illustrates society's changing views of

Civil Rights

Gibbons v. Ogden and McCulloch v. Maryland were landmark cases involving the principle of federalism which gave more power to _______________.

Congress

The ______________ is the SUPREME law of the land

Constitution

Chris challenged the law in his home state that allowed the chief of police to identify him as 'a dangerous driver' based on observation. This classification denied him the right to renew his driver's license. Chris successfully argued that he was entitled to a hearing before the state could post his name on the dangerous driver list. Which constitutional principle does this scenario represent?

Due Process of law

Which part of the Great Compromise benefitted states with smaller populations?

Each state has two representatives in the Senate

Which of the following constitutional clauses is located in the 5th and 14th Amendments and states that States "shall not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process or equal protection of law?"

Equal Protection (Due Process) Clause

The Articles of Confederation represented the ___________.

First attempt at self-government in the United States

A group of poor farmers in Massachusetts, led by Taylor Coutts and John Sullivan is angered by war debts, bad harvests and high taxes. When their debt-ridden farms are taken by the bank, they march on the state capital in protest. Massachusetts sends their militia to try to stop them and appeals to Congress for assistance. Which of the following reasons BEST explains the inability of the Articles of Confederation to deal with this scenario?

The Articles of Confederation had no power to tax and pay for an army to put down the rebellion

How is the principle of FEDERALISM reflected in the US Constitution?

The Constitution acknowledges state governments which must share power with the federal government

How did federalism limit the powers of government in the United States?

It created two sovereigns, the state government and the federal government, which must share power

The _______ branch makes laws, the _______ branch executes laws, and the _____ branch interprets laws.

Legislative, Executive, Judicial

Which of the following constitutional principles states that all the power is not in the hands of government and is limited by a constitution?

Limited Government

Which of the following was NOT a key influence on the delegates at the Constitutional Convention?

Napoleonic Code and French common law

Congress established a minimum wage for workers and regulations on radio broadcasts by regulating interstate commerce with which of the following clauses?

Necessary and Proper Clause

Which of the following Supreme Court cases established the phrase "separate but equal" and legalized segregation as long as the black facilities were equal to white facilities?

Plessy v. Ferguson

Which of the following constitutional principles states that people are only government source of power?

Popular Sovereignty

Which action would be necessary before the government could deny a person a public trial by an impartial jury?

Ratification of a new constitutional amendment

Which of the following is NOT a power granted to the federal government in the Constitution?

Regulate intrastate trade

Which of the following is NOT a correct description of the six parts of the preamble?

Secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity - stronger central government than what existed under the Articles of Confederation

Who can prevent the President of the United States from controlling the Supreme Court by blocking appointments to the bench?

Senate

Which newspaper headline is the BEST examples of checks and balances?

Senate Rejects President's Choice for Chief Justice

Which of the following is an example of popular sovereignty?

Some states decided to prohibit slavery by a vote of residents

The decision of the United States Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison established the power of the

Supreme Court to determine constitutionality of laws

Which headline illustrates the use of judicial review?

"New York State's Reapportionment Plan Ruled Unconstitutional"

Which headline is the BEST illustrates an example of checks and balances?

"Senate Confirms New Supreme Court Justice"

Which quotation from the United States Constitution provides for a Federal System of government?

"The powers not delegated to the United States . . . are reserved to the states . . ."

Which idea guided the development of the Articles of Confederation?

A strong central government would threaten the rights of the people

Which of the following was NOT a key issue of the Constitutional Convention?

Appointing a new dynastic ruler

Which of the following IS a shared power between the state and national government?

Borrow Money

"Supreme Court rules segregation unconstitutional" would be a national headline related to which landmark Supreme Court case?

Brown v. Board of Education

Which statement is an example of the system of federalism?

The national government coins money, but states cannot

The national Congress should consist of two houses: one in which representation is based on population, and one in which states are equally represented." Which document was being written when this discussion most likely occurred?

US Constitution

The Supreme Court case __________ established the idea the President of the United States could not invoke executive privilege when information was need to impeach or prosecute a President.

US v. Nixon

Which of the following IS TRUE concerning the Legislative Debate at the Constitutional Convention?

Virginia Plan wanted a bicameral legislature and New Jersey wanted a unicameral legislature

One way in which the authors of the Constitution tried to create "limited government" was by providing for

a division of power between the national and state governments

The Articles of Confederation and the US Constitution both provided for

a national legislature

The U.S. Government is considered a federal system because

both national and state governments exist within the nation

Amendments reflect __________ in the Constitution over a long period of time.

changes

"It is equally evident, that the members of each department should be as little dependent as possible on those of the others...Were the executive magistrate, or the judges, not independent of the legislature in this particular, their independence in every other would be merely nominal." Federalist No. 51 Which constitutional principle is described in the quotation?

checks and balances

The Three-fifths (3/5ths) Compromise was included in the Constitution to resolve a conflict over the

counting of enslaved persons in relation to taxation and representation

One way in which the United States Constitution differed from the Articles of Confederation was that the Constitution

created a national government having three branches

The Great Compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention resulted in the

creation of a bicameral legislature

During the debates over the ratification of the United States Constitution, Federalists and Anti-Federalists disagreed most strongly over the

division of powers between the national and state governments

At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, delegates from the small states most strongly supported the idea of

equal representation for the states in the national legislature

All of the following were weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation EXCEPT

establishing the Northwest Ordinance of 1787

• Under the Articles of Confederation, taxes were applied by Congress and collected by the states. • Under the Constitution, taxes are both applied and collected by Congress. Which of these BEST describes the change in government as reflected by the scenario above?

expanding power of the political government

Shays' Rebellion (1786) became a concern for many national leaders because it

exposed fundamental weaknesses in government under the Articles of Confederation

The main reason the Articles of Confederation were replaced as the basis of the United States government was that they

failed to give the central government enough power to govern effectively

The government created by the Articles of Confederation was unsuccessful at solving many major problems because

most power remained with the state governments

Antifederalists criticized the United States Constitution primarily because governing power was concentrated in the

national government

A system of checks and balances was included in the United States Constitution because the authors were concerned about

one branch of government becoming too strong

In the 1780's, many Americans distrusted a strong central government. This distrust is best shown by the

plan of government set up by the Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation are BEST described as a

plan of union for the original thirteen states

The Bill of Rights was added to the United States Constitution to

protect individuals' civil liberties

Soon after the Constitution of the United States was ratified, the first ten amendments were added because many citizens felt the need for

protecting their liberties from abuses by the federal government

"The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence." — United States Constitution, Article IV, Section 4. According to this excerpt, a goal of the framers of the Constitution was to ensure that the US

provided for the common defense of every state

Once an amendment has been added to the United States Constitution, which process must be used to change that amendment?

ratifying a new amendment

Delegates at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 agreed to the Three-fifths (3/5ths) Compromise to solve a dispute directly related to

representation in Congress

What was the primary reason for holding the Constitutional Convention of 1787?

revise the Articles of Confederation

The reserved powers clause in the Constitution reserves powers to the

states

"In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this, you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself." This passage from the Federalist Papers refers to the need for a(n)

system of checks and balances

In the United States, the use of implied powers, the amending process, and Supreme Court interpretations have resulted in

the Constitution being adapted to fit changing times

The Supreme Court's power of judicial review is a result of

the Court's own interpretation of the Constitution

The 14th Amendment provides that no "state [shall] deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." A direct result of this amendment was

the guarantees in the Bill of Rights were applied to state actions

A major weakness of government under the Articles of Confederation was that

the national government could not enforce its laws

The amendment process was included in the United States Constitution in order

to allow government to meet the changing needs of society

The writers of the US Constitution created a federalist government primarily

to divide power among levels of government

"The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it." This provision is evidence that the writers of the United States Constitution

wanted to balance individual liberty with the needs of the nation

Which of the following would most likely be a part of a limited government?

written restraints on government power