Constitution

Question 1

1. The Connecticut Plan presented to the Constitutional Convention of 1787
   A. proposal for a one-house legislature based on population
   B. proposal for a two-house legislature based on proportional representation
   C. proposal for a one-house legislature based on proportional representation
   D. proposal for a two-house legislature, with one house based on propor­tional representation
   E. proposal for a balance of power between executive, legislative, and judicial branches

Answer 1

(Correct Answer: D. The Connecticut plan, also called the Great Compromise, was ratified by the delegates. Under this plan, representation in the House of Representatives would be by population, while all states would have equal represen­tation in the Senate.)

Question 2

2. The Kentucky and Virginia Resolves
   A. expressed support for the new U.S. Constitution
   B. expressed opposition to the govern­ment actions in putting down the Whiskey Rebellion
   C. stated that individual states do not have to enforce laws the states con­sider unconstitutional
   D. were written to support John Adams’ support of the Sedition Act
   E. were written in opposition to the economic policies of Alexander Hamilton

Answer 2

(Correct Answer: C. After the passage of the Sedition Act, legislatures in Kentucky and Virginia passed resolutions stating that states do not have to enforce laws they consider to be unconstitutional.)

Question 3

3. Many in America felt that the English and the French failed to treat the United States as a major power in this era; all of the following are evidence of that except
   A. the Convention of 1800
   B. the treatment of American ships by the French during the 1790s
   C. Jay’s Treaty
   D. the treatment of American ships by the British during the 1790s
   E. the XYZ Affair

Answer 3

(Correct Answer: A. As a result of the Convention of 1800, the French agreed to compensate the United States for ships seized during the previous decade. Events mentioned in all of the other choices demonstrate that the French and English had little respect for American rights in diplomatic matters and on the high seas during this era.)

Question 4

4. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton had different views on all of the following except whether America should be a commercial or agrarian society
   A. the amount of power the federal
   B. government should have
   C. the tariff policy of the United States
   D. the importance of a National Bank
   E. their belief in the power of the U.S. Constitution

Answer 4

(Correct Answer: E. Both believed in the power of the Constitution, although their interpretation of the Constitution was different. Jefferson believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution, while Hamilton believed in a broad interpretation.)

Question 5

5. Under the Electoral College system
   A. voters directly elect the president of the United States
   B. state legislatures elect the president of the United States
   C. voters approve electors, who elect the president of the United States
   D. it is possible to win the popular vote and lose the election in the Electoral College
   E. C and D above

Answer 5

(Correct Answer: E. As demonstrated in the presidential election of 2000, it is possible to get the most number of votes nationwide but to lose the presidential election in the Electoral College. This also occurred in the presidential election of 1876.)