Constructed Response Questions

Question 1

Why did the founding fathers create an electoral college? (1 of 3)

Answer 1

The founding fathers felt that most Americans weren’t educated enough politically and wouldn’t know who to vote for.

Question 2

Why did the founding fathers create an electoral college? (2 of 3)

Answer 2

They decided to choose specific people to represent each state who would formally cast votes on behalf of the American people.

Question 3

Why did the founding fathers create an electoral college? 3 of 3

Answer 3

Many people today now argue that the electoral college should be done away with due to the fact that Americans are much more engaged and have greater access to information which allows them to vote in a much more informed way.

Question 4

Why did Washington create a cabinet of advisors? (1of 3)

Answer 4

Washington had a group of trusted advisors that he met with regularly to discuss important issues that the country was facing.

Question 5

Why did Washington create a cabinet of advisors? (2 of 3)

Answer 5

He chose people who had different areas of expertise that could help him make logical decisions that would benefit the young country.

Question 6

Why did Washington create a cabinet of advisors? (3 of 3)

Answer 6

Washington created this precedent of electing advisors, every president after Washington did the same.

Question 7

What significant precedent did Washington set upon leaving office? (1 of 2)

Answer 7

Washington decided that the U.S will stay neutral and stay out of all European conflicts.

Question 8

What significant precedent did Washington set upon leaving office? (2 of 2)

Answer 8

This will allow the United States to grow both its military and its economy which will help make it a much more powerful country long term.

Question 9

What did the Alien & Sedition Acts do? Why were these acts especially problematic? (1 of 2)

Answer 9

The Alien & Sedition Acts made it harder for immigrants to obtain citizenship. It also allowed the President to arrest anyone who spoke poorly of the United States. Adams essentially broke the 1st Amendment.

Question 10

What did the Alien & Sedition Acts do? Why were these acts especially problematic? (2 of 2)

Answer 10

This was problematic because the government started to take away people’s 1st Amendment rights: the freedom of speech, the press, and to protest.
These new laws were canceled after Adams left office

Question 11

What power did the Supreme Court claim in Marbury v. Madison? (1 of 3)

Answer 11

The Supreme Court claimed the power of Judicial Review . This meant that they could declare a law to be unconstitutional and have it repealed (cancelled).

Question 12

What power did the Supreme Court claim in Marbury v. Madison? (2 of 3)

Answer 12

It forced lawmakers to create laws that follow the Constitution. Essentially, it would prevent something like the Alien & Sedition Acts from happening again.

Question 13

What power did the Supreme Court claim in Marbury v. Madison? (3 of 3)

Answer 13

It balanced out power between the Judicial (Supreme Court), Legislative (Congress - lawmakers) , and Executive (the President). So no one group could obtain too much power.

Question 14

How much larger did the United States become after the Louisiana Purchase?

Answer 14

The United States doubled in size after the Louisiana Purchase.

Question 15

In what ways did the Louisiana Purchase represent a challenge to Jefferson’s principles?

Answer 15

When he bought Louisiana, it opened up a lot of new land for people to settle and do big-scale farming (Jefferson wanted the US to be a small-scale farming economy). Jefferson was anti-slavery but the expansion of farming in Louisiana made it more difficult to stop the spread of slavery. By buying the land, he was doing the opposite of what he believed in.

Question 16

The U.S. declared war against Britain in 1812. Why was this a huge problem for the U.S.? (1 of 3)

Answer 16

The American military was small and not well-equipped compared to the powerful British army and navy.

Question 17

The U.S. declared war against Britain in 1812. Why was this a huge problem for the U.S.? (2 of 3)

Answer 17

The United States was at a disadvantage and had a hard time defending itself.

Question 18

The U.S. declared war against Britain in 1812. Why was this a huge problem for the U.S.? (3 of 3)

Answer 18

Luckily, the British were fighting multiple wars at this time and had spread their troops too much. The British decided to sign a peace treaty (The Treaty of Ghent) in order to focus on fighting the French.

Question 19

How did the War of 1812 change the way Americans viewed themselves? (1 of 2)

Answer 19

Nationalism. A new sense of national pride spread and American started to unite against the British invasion.

Question 20

How did the War of 1812 change the way Americans viewed themselves? (2 of 2)

Answer 20

People started to think of themselves as Americans. They were proud to be a part of the country, not just the state that they were from.

Question 21

What did Monroe claim in the Monroe Doctrine? (1 of 2)

Answer 21

The Monroe Doctrine made it clear that European countries should stay in Europe, they were no longer going to be allowed to colonize territories in the Americas.

Question 22

What did Monroe claim in the Monroe Doctrine? (2 of 2)

Answer 22

This also allowed the United States to work closely with South American countries which led to more trade deals ($$$)