Chapters 9+10 Practice Quiz Questions

The image most directly reflects the belief held by many in 1788 that

a stronger central government was a positive step

The Great Compromise of 1787 resulted in

a system of political representation for the states in the federal government

The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 arose in southwestern Pennsylvania when the federal government

levied an excise tax on whiskey

The financial programs of Alexander Hamilton included all of the following EXCEPT

nullification of all private debts to the states

"It was painful for me, on a subject of such national importance, to differ from the respectable members who signed the Constitution; but conceiving, as I did, that the liberties of America were not secured by the system, it was my duty to oppose it. "My principal objections to the plan are, that there is no adequate provision for a representation of the people; . . . that some of the powers of the legislature are ambiguous . . . ; that the executive is blended with, and will have an undue influence over, the legislature; that the judicial department will be oppressive; . . . and that the system is without the security of a bill of rights. These are objections which are not local, but apply equally to all the states. "As the Convention was called for the 'sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation . . . ,' I did not conceive that these powers extend to the formation of the plan proposed; but the Convention being of a different opinion, I acquiesced [agreed] in it, being fully convinced that, to preserve the Union, an efficient government was indispensably necessary, and that it would be difficult to make proper amendments to the Articles of Confederation. "The Constitution proposed has few, if any, federal features, but is rather a system of national government. Nevertheless, in many respects, I think it has great merit, and, by proper amendments, may be adapted. . . . "Others may suppose that the Constitution may be safely adopted, because therein provision is made to amend it. But cannot this object be better attained before a ratification than after it? And should a free people adopt a form of government under conviction that it wants [needs] amendment?" Elbridge Gerry, letter to the Massachusetts state legislature, 1787 Gerry made which of the following arguments regarding amending the Constitution?

A Bill of Rights should be added before ratification

Thomas Jefferson believed all of the following EXCEPT:

A strong national army is essential to keep order in the United States

Which of the following most directly addressed reservations about the process depicted in the image?

The addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution

"Threatened by popular political victories [in the states] and widespread resistance, many elite Pennsylvanians launched an effort to remake the state and national governments so that they were less democratic. . . . Popular policies and resistance . . . threatened elite ideals. . . . Popular calls for a revaluation of war debt certificates, bans on for-profit corporations, progressive taxation, limits on land speculation, and every other measure designed to make property more equal promised to take wealth away from the elite. . . . It was also threatening that popular politics frightened off potential European investors. . . . [They] were alarmed by the Pennsylvania legislature's 1785 [cancellation] of the Bank of North America's corporate charter. . . . . . . The push for the Constitution was based in part on the belief that state governments across the new nation had been too democratic and, as a result, had produced policies . . . that threatened elite interests. Most of the men who assembled at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 were also convinced that the national government under the Articles of Confederation was too weak to counter the rising tide of democracy in the states." Terry Bouton, historian, Taming Democracy: "The People," the Founders, and the Troubled Ending of the American Revolution, 2007 The relationship established between the federal government and the states under the United States Constitution was a long-term response to which of the following earlier developments?

The claims of parliamentary authority over colonial legislatures

"The Anti-Federalists charged that the authors of the Constitution had failed to put up strong enough barriers to block this inevitably corrupting and tyrannical force. They painted a very black picture indeed of what the national representatives might and probably would do with the unchecked power conferred upon them under the provisions of the new Constitution.... But [the Anti-Federalists] lacked both the faith and the vision to extend their principles nationwide." Cecelia M. Kenyon, historian, "Men of Little Faith: The Anti-Federalists on the Nature of Representative Government," 1955 The Anti-Federalists' view of government power during the 1780s, as described in the excerpt, is best reflected by which of the following?

The existence of many state constitutions that limited executive authority

"Thus, fellow citizens, have I pointed out what I thought necessary to be amended in our Federal Constitution. I beg you to call to mind our glorious Declaration of Independence, read it, and compare it with the Federal Constitution; what a degree of apostacy will you not then discover. Therefore, guard against all encroachments upon your liberties so dearly purchased with the costly expense of blood and treasure." A Georgian, Gazette of the State of Georgia, November 15, 1787 Which of the following factors contributed most directly to the views expressed in the excerpt?

The fear of excessive centralized authority

"Thus, fellow citizens, have I pointed out what I thought necessary to be amended in our Federal Constitution. I beg you to call to mind our glorious Declaration of Independence, read it, and compare it with the Federal Constitution; what a degree of apostacy will you not then discover. Therefore, guard against all encroachments upon your liberties so dearly purchased with the costly expense of blood and treasure." A Georgian, Gazette of the State of Georgia, November 15, 1787 Which of the following factors contributed most directly to the views expressed in the excerpt?

The fear of excessive centralized authority

The Founding Fathers failed to eliminate slavery because

a fight over slavery might destroy national unity

As originally ratified, the United States Constitution provided for

an electoral college

The American Revolution was

an example of accelerated evolution rather than outright revolution

The Federalist papers were written in order to

attain ratification of the Constitution

Alexander Hamilton's proposed bank of the United States was

based on the "necessary and proper," or "elastic," clause in the Constitution

One of the major criticisms of the Constitution as drafted in Philadelphia was that it

did not provide guarantees for individual rights

One of the major criticisms of the Constitution as drafted in Philadelphia was that it.

did not provide guarantees for individual rights

One of George Washington's major contributions as president was

keeping the nation out of foreign wars

"Mr. Jay's treaty [which reestablished trade and diplomatic relations between the United States and Great Britain following the Revolutionary War] has at length been made public. So general a burst of dissatisfaction never before appeared against any transaction. Those who understand the particular articles of it, condemn these articles. Those who do not understand them minutely, condemn it generally as wearing a hostile face to France. This last is the most numerous class, comprehending the whole body of the people, who have taken a greater interest in this transaction than they were ever known to do in any other. It has in my opinion completely demolished the monarchical party here." Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Monroe, September 6, 1795 Thomas Jefferson's reaction to the Jay Treaty as expressed in the letter was most directly a reflection of ongoing debates in the United States over

economic policy

Alexander Hamilton's economic program was designed primarily to

establish the financial stability and credit of the new government

Hamilton believed that, together, his funding and assumption programs would

gain the monetary and political support of the wealthy class for the federal government

The Constitutional Convention designed the electoral college to

insulate the presidency from the popular will

The government under the Articles of Confederation consisted of

only a unicameral legislature

A major strength of the Articles of Confederation was its

presentation of the ideal of a united nation

The Land Ordinance of 1785 provided for all of the following except

prohibiting slavery

In Jay's Treaty, the British

promised to evacuate the chain of forts in the Old Northwest

Thomas Jefferson disagreed with Alexander Hamilton's economic plan primarily because he feared that it would

promote urban mercantile interests at the expense of agricultural interests

By the time the Constitution was adopted in 1789,

prosperity was beginning to return

The government of the Articles of Confederation was successful in resolving the problem of how to

provide for statehood for western territories

The government of the Articles of Confederation was successful in resolving the problem of how to open British Caribbean ports to American trade

provide for statehood for western territories

By the 1790s the ideas of the Anti-Federalists contributed most directly to the

resistance of western farmers to federal oversight

The antifederalist camp included all of the following groups except

supporters of a strong central authority

The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions took the position that

the authority of state governments included the power to decide whether or not an act of Congress was constitutional

Thomas Jefferson's reaction to the Jay Treaty as expressed in the letter was most directly a reflection of

the impact of the French Revolution

When the new government was launched in 1789,

the nation's population was doubling about every twenty-five years

Alexander Hamilton's financial program for the economic development of the United States favored

the wealthy

The Sedition Act

threatened First Amendment freedoms

Washington's Neutrality Proclamation of 1793

was based on calculations of American self-interest

The Second Continental Congress of Revolutionary days

was little more than a conference of ambassadors with very limited power