Chapter 2 - POLS 229-1
Direct results of the Boston Tea Party included:
- A British naval blockade of Boston Harbor - Colonists refusing to pay for the destroyed tea - Britain asking the colonists to pay for the destroyed tea
Which of the following were features of the Virginia Plan for national government?
- A bicameral legislature - States with the largest populations would have the most representatives
The Boston Tea Party happened in direct response to:
- An assault on Boston residents - A tax on tea
The New Jersey Plan
- Called for a unicameral legislature - designated that all states would have equal vote in the legislation
What provisions of the Constitution serve to limit the power of the judicial branch of the federal government ?
- Congress can establish the size of the federal court system - The president can appoint federal judges - Congress can impeach and remove judges from office
The U.S Constitution placed limitations on popular rule in which of the following ways?
- Having U.S Senators elected by state legislatures - Having the President elected by the Electoral College - Limiting the right to vote to a minority of citizens
Which of the following statements describe the terms democracy and republic as understood by the framers of the Constitution?
- 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 - The separation of powers is a characteristic of republican government
Which of the following events led to the creation of the U.S Constitution?
- Madison and Hamilton encouraged delegates at the Annapolis Convention to meet again to revise the Articles of Confederation - Shay's rebellion had shown the weakness of the national government under the Articles of Confederation - The Annapolis Convention did not have enough participants to revise the Articles of Confederation
Which of the following are elements of the social contract that John Locke believed was the foundation of government?
- People submit to governmental authority in return for the protection it can provide, if it respects their rights. - People are born with certain inalienable rights, such as life, liberty and property. - If a government does not respect the natural rights of the people can rightfully rebel against it.
Goals of the farmers of the constitution included:
- Preserving the states as governing entities - Dividing power between the national government and the states - creating a national government that could meet the nation's defense needs
In the framer's view, a republican government :
- Reduces the likelihood of reckless, hasty actions - Prevents tyranny of the majority - Adds constraints that protect the rights of individuals
Goals of the First Continental Congress included:
- Seeking an end to the British military occupation in the colonies - Asking Britain for their own councils for the imposition of taxes - Requesting a guarantee of trial by local juries
Which of the following are constitutional grants of power to the national government?
- Taxation - Declaring war against another nation - Raising an Army
Which of the following were actions of the British government after the French and Indian War (1754-1763) that colonists found objectionable?
- Taxation without representation - Levying a tax on newspapers - Passage of the Townshend Act
Shay's Rebellion was an uprising of farmers against the government of Massachusetts over what issues?
- Taxes - Back pay for Military service
Name some of the core principles of the Declaration of Independence:
- The consent of the governed is fundamental - All men have fundamental rights - All men are equal
Which of the following are reasons why the Constitution begins with the words "We The People" ?
- The idea that the U.S government ultimately derives its power from the people - People need to exercise control over government
What were some of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
- The national government did not have the power to regulate commerce between the states. - The national government depended on the states for its funding and they often did not pay their full share.
Which of the following statements about Shays' Rebellion are correct?
- The primary purpose of the rebellion was to prevent land foreclosure - Shays's followers were a large group of farmers - The rebellion was led by a former captain in the American army
The framers of the Constitution wanted a government:
- Where popular majorities could not disregard the rights of others - Where people could be free to do as they pleased if they didn't harm others. - That protected unpopular groups from mob rule and violence.
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 founding fathers who wrote our Constitution as :
A group of wealthy individuals whose main goal was to keep power in the hands of the wealthy
To make sure no single branch of the federal government dominated the others, the Constitution contained _____ on each branch.
Checks and balances
One way to propose an amendment to the Constitution is to have:
Congress pass it by at least two-thirds majority in the House and Senate
The prohibition of ex post facto laws is an example of ____ in the Constitution.
Denial of Power
Powers specifically prohibited from belonging to the state and national governments in the Constitution are known as:
Denials of Power
In choosing the president, the number of members of the House and Senate from a state determines the state's number of
Electoral votes
The Three Fifths Compromise was :
How to count slaves for the purpose of taxation and representation
President Andrew Jackson:
Involved the public more fully in selecting government leaders
The essay Federalist No. 10, written by ______ is considered one of the most influential writings on American government.
James Madison
The branches of the federal government include the ________ branch, the _______ branch, and the _______ branch.
Legislative Judicial Executive
The proposal that tended to favor the less-populated states was called the
New Jersey Plan
To pass legislative policies and ratify treaties under the Articles of Confederation, ____ states were required to vote for it.
Nine
Under the Constitution, Congress was prohibited until 1808 from taking which of the following actions regarding slaves?
Passing laws ending the slave trade
Regular voters select their party nominees through ____ elections.
Primary
Another term for republic is :
Representative democracy
A governing form that is responsive to the majority but not captive to it is a
Republic
Why is the Senate considered less responsive to popular pressure than the House of Representatives?
Senate elections are less frequent than elections for Representatives
The belief that the power of government can be controlled by dividing it into several branches instead of concentrating it in one area known as
Separation of powers
The Three-Fifths Compromise states that _____ would be counted for the purposes of representation and apportionment, but only partially.
Slaves
In the debate over the U.S Constitution, the Federalists:
Supported a strong national governement
The concept of judicial review means that
The judicial branch has the power to declare null and void government actions that it finds unconstitutional
Anti-Federalist believed that
The national government was going to have excessive power under the Constitution
What is one key risk of popular government ?
The potential for tyranny of the majority
Who was the principal writer of the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson
Why does our Constitution contain checks and balances?
To prevent the arbitrary use of power
The Articles of Confederation gave the most power:
To the individual states
True or False : Marbury vs. Madison (1803) established the judicial branch/s power of judicial review
True
True or False: Natural rights are defined as those possessed by all people?
True
Elected officials who act as ____ rely primarily on their own judgment in making decisions, while those who act as _____ vote strictly according to the wishes of their constituents.
Trustees Delegates
The presidents use of the ____ can prevent a congressional bill from becoming a law.
Veto
A constitutions main purpose is to :
define the way the the system of government will operate
Why did Madison, Hamilton, and Jay write The Federalist Papers ?
in support of the Constitution
The Bill of Rights
limited power of the national government
One goal of the framers of the Constitution was to:
preserve the states as governing entities
The constitution was designed to :
provide for a limited government