AP G&P - Ratification of the US Constitution

Why have there been relatively few constitutional amendments?

A Constitution Amendment Bill requires more than a simple majority to be ratified

Why did the Framers decide to include Article V of the Constitution, detailing an amendment process?

Concerns about protecting self-government

Which of the following policies is an example of a present-day debate about the balance of power between the federal government and state governments?

Congress passing the Every Student Succeeds (ESSA) Act that decreased the number of standardized tests

Which of the following scenarios is an example of a present-day constitutional issue about democracy and governmental power?

FBI agents being able to obtain phone records without a judge's approval

"The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States . . . The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative . . . "SECTION 3 "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote." Sections 2 and 3 of the United States Constitution The excerpt above is the result of which compromise in the Constitutional Convention?

Great (Connecticut) Compromise

Which of the following statements best explains the compromise behind the creation of the Electoral College?

It was a compromise between big and small states so that states with a larger population cannot control presidential elections

"Because of our two-party system, voters often find themselves voting for the 'lesser of two evils,' rather than a candidate they really feel would do the best job. . . . "Since most states distribute their electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis, the smaller party has no chance to gain support without seeming to take this support from one of the major parties. Few people will support a party that never wins, especially when they are supporting that party at the possible expense of their least favorite candidate taking power." Which of the following governmental policies would the author of this passage most likely support?

Reforming or eliminating the Electoral College

"Given the increasing difference in size between the largest and smallest states, combined with other changes in the American political context[,] any effects of Senate apportionment are greater today than in the past. By reference to the one person, one vote standard, the Senate is the most malapportioned legislature in the world . . . Currently Wyoming, with fewer than half a million residents, enjoys the same level of representation as California, with more than 30 million." -Frances E. Lee and Bruce I. Oppenheimer, Sizing Up the Senate: The Unequal Consequences of Equal Representation, 1999 Which of the following statements best summarizes the author's argument?

The Great Compromise failed to anticipate growing population differences in small and large states, leaving matters unresolved

A member of the House of Representatives proposes a Constitutional amendment that would force the president and Congress to balance the budget every year. Which of the following accurately describes the amendment process?

The bill must pass both the House and the Senate with a two-thirds majority

Why are the compromises that were necessary to secure ratification of the Constitution still debated today?

They left some matters unresolved

Which of the following procedures results in the addition of an amendment to the Constitution?

Two-thirds of state legislatures propose a Constitution Amendment Bill, which is ratified by three-fourths of the states

The Three-Fifths Compromise is best defined as which of the following?

For every five enslaved Africans, three would be counted for representation