Gov

Which headline illustrates the use of judicial review?

"New York State's Reapportionment Plan Ruled Unconstitutional"

After it was decided that representation in the House would be based on population, the debate turned to whether or not African Americans would be counted in a state's population. Delegates from states with large slave populations wanted the slaves to be counted toward their total population because that meant they would have more representation in the House. Delegates from states with few slaves argued that only free people should count toward population totals. What was the result of this debate?

Connecticut (Great) Compromise

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

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

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

Each state has two representatives in the Senate

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 U.S. Constitution corrected a weakness of the Articles of Confederation by

Giving the federal government the power to collect taxes

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

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

"The judicial power will operate to effect an entire subversion of the legislative, executive and judicial powers of the individual states...any question that may arise upon the nature and extent of the general government, will affect the limits of the state jurisdiction." This quotation was written in 1788 by an Anti-Federalist. Which statement BEST describes the author's position on the judiciary?

He believes federal judicial power will restrict states' rights

In which way does a dictatorship differ from a democracy?

In a dictatorship the power is held by one person and political party

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

Which of the following was the MAIN purpose of the United States Constitution?

It established the governmental structure for the new country

Which of the following BEST describes the US Constitution?

It is the supreme law of the land

Which man is often called the Father of the Constitution?

James Madison

"Supreme Court declares restrictions on election ads unconstitutional." The Supreme Court's ruling in this situation is an example of

Judicial review

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

Legislative, Executive, Judicial

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

Napoleonic Code and French common law

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

National Government

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

What statement BEST describes the impact of the supremacy clause?

Places federal law above individual state laws

Which of the following is an example of the principle of checks and balances?

Presidents can veto an act of congress.

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 MAIN criticism of the Articles of Confederation was that they failed to

Provide adequate powers for the central government

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

Which of these is an example of popular sovereignty?

Some states decided to prohibit slavery by a vote of residents

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." - Preamble, U.S. Constitution How does the Preamble to the United States Constitution suggest the political principle of the social compact?

The Constitution and government are established by the people

Which of the following statements best describes a federal system of government

State or regional governments share power with a national government.

The reserved powers clause in the Constitution reserves powers to the

States

Which of the following was a result of competitive federalism during the late 1900s?

States were given more responsibility

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

Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of laws

Which phrase BEST summarizes the New Jersey Plan?

A bicameral legislature with each state having equal representation

"A form of government that derives it power directly or indirectly from the people, is administered by officials holding power for a limited time, and incorporates representative institutions." -James Madison Which of the following BEST describes the above quote?

A constitutional government governed by the rule of law

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

Why are excerpts, sections or entire amendments, of the US Constitution, still studied even though they are outdated or obsolete?

Because they are a permanent part of a document that changes as society 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

Based on this excerpt, which statement best describes the Federalist view of the proposed Constitution? Use the excerpt from The Federalist essays to answer the question. [A] people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs, and who . . . have nobly established general liberty and independence. This country and this people seem to have been made for each other . . . united to each other by the strongest ties, should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous, and alien sovereignties. The Federalist No. 2, John Jay

The Federalists believed that similarity of the people in the United States was a source of strength and should be further strengthened by a strong national government.

Which passage from the U.S. Constitution reflects the principle of popular sovereignty?

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States

Which of these is an example of separation of powers?

The President enforces a law passed by Congress

Which of these was the intention of James Madison's Virginia Plan?

The larger states would have had much more influence in national government than the smaller states

Which statement is an example of the system of federalism?

The national government coins money, but states cannot

Which statement BEST describes a weakness of the Articles of Confederation?

The powers of Congress were weak

The delegates to the Constitutional Convention faced a challenge. They wanted to create a strong, central government, yet they also wanted to insure that no individual or small group in the government would become too powerful. Because of the colonies' experience under the British monarchy, the delegates wanted to avoid giving any one person or group absolute control in government. Under the Articles of Confederation, the government had lacked centralization, and the delegates didn't want to have that problem again. To solve these problems, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention created a government with three separate branches, each with its own distinct powers. This system would establish a strong central government, while insuring a balance of power. Why did the Constitutional Congress decide to create three branches of our government?

The three-branch system established a strong central government without giving too much power to any one group

patricians

The wealthy, hereditary aristocrats during the Roman era.

How did the framers of the Constitution approach the issue of slavery?

They chose to remain silent about slavery in the Constitution

Why did the Founding Fathers divide the Congress into two chambers?

They wanted large and small states to be assured representation

Why did the Framers of the Constitution make amending the Constitution so difficult?

They wanted the Constitution to be able to change, but only if it was widely agreed upon

"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 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

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

Feudalism

a loosely organized system in which powerful lords divided their land among other, lesser lords

How would popular sovereignty be supported here in the United States?

a person exercising their right to vote in an election

A political system that separates the law-making and law-enforcing branches is called what?

a presidential system

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

appointing a dynastic ruler

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

both national and state governments exist within the nation

What issue did the great compromise address?

congressional representation

The Great Compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention resulted in the

creation of a bicameral legislature

Which forms of government are best associated with the United States?

democratic, republican, federal, and presidential

The Articles of Confederation represented the

first attempt at self-government in the United States

The flexibility of the original US Constitution is MAINLY due to

its provision for amending process and judicial interpretation

Which branch of government has the power to make laws?

legislative

The Articles of Confederation established a weak national government. Choose the answer that best completes the chart. (weaknesses of the articles of confederation)

no Executive Branch

The Articles of Confederation are BEST described as a

plan of union for the original thirteen states

"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 IV 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

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

revise the Articles of Confederation

The U.S. government is divided into three branches. What is this an example of?

separation of power

"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

At which meeting did the delegates decide to replace the Articles of Confederation?

the Constitutional Convention

Plebeians

the common people of ancient Rome

The US Constitution has survived for more than 200 years primarily because

the language of the Constitution allows for a variety of interpretations

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

the national government could not enforce its laws

"It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. . ." --Marbury v. Madison, 1803 This statement expresses the Supreme Court's claim that

the power of judicial review belongs to the courts

The writers of the US Constitution created a federalist government PRIMARILY

to divide power among levels of government