practice quiz 3

Question 1

This interstate convention was called in 1786 to discuss commerce issues. It proved to be a failure because only 5 of the 13 states sent delegates.

Answer 1

The Annapolis Convention

Question 2

The American system of government was influenced by Aristotle’s theory of mixed constitutions. Which branch of the American government is representative of Aristotle’s rule of one?

Answer 2

the executive branch

Question 3

Which of the following states were either fully or partially covered by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its amendments and reauthorizations?

Answer 3

all of the above

Question 4

Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic work that praised American democratic institutions and lack of aristocracy, affirming that democracies require strong legal and voluntary associations is referred to as

Answer 4

Democracy in America.

Question 5

A system of government where power is divided between a legislative, and executive, and a judicial branch of government is referred to as

Answer 5

a Separation of Power system.

Question 6

The term democracy is not used in the American Constitution, in order to sidestep objections to direct democracy. Why does Plato argue that democracies are inferior systems of government?

Answer 6

All of the above

Question 7

Those who were more generally opposed to both a stronger central government and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution were known as

Answer 7

Anti-Federalists.

Question 8

This landmark Supreme Court case expanded the powers of the national government by finding the government had “implied” powers in addition to the enumerated powers found in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution

Answer 8

McCulloch v. Maryland

Question 9

Which is NOT one of the fundamental principles of the U.S. Constitution in helping to ensure that the government did not tyrannize over individuals and states?

Answer 9

Direct Democracy

Question 10

What constitutional issue is at the center of the controversy in American politics over same-sex marriage?

Answer 10

the Full Faith and Credit Clause

Question 11

The American system of government was influenced by Aristotle’s theory of mixed constitutions. Which branch of the American government is representative of Aristotle’s rule of few?

Answer 11

the judicial branch

Question 12

The 1876 Presidential Election was one of the most controversial elections in U.S. history. Political corruption in South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida made it next to impossible to determine the winner. A political compromise was reached whereby all of the electoral votes would be awarded to the Republican candidate in exchange for a Republican pledge to remove federal troops from the south, thereby ending Reconstruction and leading to the disenfranchisement of African American voters. In the election of 1876,

Answer 12

Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded the Presidency over Sam Tilden.

Question 13

A system of government that divides power between a national and state governments is referred to as

Answer 13

a federalist system of government.

Question 14

In the Federalist Paper No. 39, Madison argues that the national government will not dominate over the states because

Answer 14

the states will play a role in selecting Senators, the President, and making Constitutional Amendments.

Question 15

Constitutional powers that are granted to both the national government and state governments are referred to as

Answer 15

Concurrent Powers.

Question 16

Which of the following documents cited the “repeated injuries and usurpations” of King George III as a reason to found a new nation?

Answer 16

The Declaration of Independence

Question 17

Which of the following was NOT a qualification for voting when the Constitutional Convention convened in 1787?

Answer 17

being 18 years of age or above

Question 18

This clause that is found in Article IV of the U.S. Constitution requires states to surrender criminal offenders to states in which the crime was committed.

Answer 18

Extradition clause.

Question 19

The requirement that state courts enforce the civil judgments of other state courts and accept their public records as valid is known as

Answer 19

the full faith and credit clause.

Question 20

Madison’s Federalist Paper No. 10 is widely regarded as America’s greatest contribution to political theory. Madison’s primary concern focused on how a system of government can allow for majority rule while remaining sensitive to minority rights. What did Madison recommend to “control the effects” of majority factions?

Answer 20

a Federalist System and a Representative Democracy

Question 21

Which of the following is NOT a target of protest by the contemporary Tea Party?

Answer 21

the Townshend Acts

Question 22

The clause in the U.S. Constitution that the Constitution, national laws, and treaties are superior over state laws when in compliance with the U.S. Constitution is the

Answer 22

Supremacy Clause.

Question 23

This Constitutional Amendment prevents the government from inflicting cruel and unusual punishment.

Answer 23

The Eighth Amendment

Question 24

Which is NOT an example of checks and balances according to the U.S. Constitution?

Answer 24

The House of Representatives can ratify treaties.

Question 25

This “elastic clause” played an important role in the McCulloch v. Maryland case and expands federal powers by granting the federal government all powers required to carry out the enumerated powers of Congress.

Answer 25

Necessary and Proper Clause

Question 26

Which of the following is an example of a concurrent power?

Answer 26

the power to tax

Question 27

Those supportive of ratifying the Constitution and who generally favored a stronger central government were known as

Answer 27

Federalists.

Question 28

This clause that is found in Article IV of the U.S. Constitution assures non-residents are granted basic benefits afforded to residents of that state.

Answer 28

Privileges and immunities clause

Question 29

Which Constitutional Amendment defines the powers delegated to the federal and state governments?

Answer 29

Tenth Amendment

Question 30

In McCulloch v. Maryland, Chief Justice John Marshall held that

Answer 30

the federal government had the authority to establish a federal banking system.

Question 31

One of the compromises at the Constitutional Convention addressed whether slaves should be counted as part of the population when determining the number of representatives per state. This is referred to as

Answer 31

the Three-Fifths Compromise.

Question 32

The most serious disagreement in the debate between large and small states at the Constitutional Convention was the issue of (resolved by the Connecticut Compromise)

Answer 32

representation in Congress.

Question 33

Charles Beard’s famous works portrays the Founding Fathers as interested in something other than an enlightened political system when drafting the Constitution. According to Beard, what were the Founding Fathers primarily motivated by at the Constitutional Convention?

Answer 33

Promoting their own economic wealth and maintaining private property rights

Question 34

What made the “triggering formula” of the Voting Rights Act (1965) controversial?

Question 35

Shays’s Rebellion in 1786 was significant in part because it caused a nudge away from the Articles of Confederation and helped to inspire the Constitutional Convention. Why were the Massachusetts residents revolting?

Answer 35

To prevent the state from seizing their farms

Question 36

Federalist Paper No. 10 is widely regarded as America’s greatest contribution to political theory. Who is credited with writing Federalist Paper No. 10?

Answer 36

James Madison

Question 37

The American system of government was influenced by Aristotle’s theory of mixed constitutions. Which branch of the American government is representative of Aristotle’s rule of many?

Answer 37

the legislative branch

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT a concurrent power?

Question 39

Ratification of formal constitutional amendments requires a

Answer 39

3/4 vote in state legislatures or conventions.

Question 40

This Constitutional Amendment protects freedom of speech, press, religion, and the right to assemble.

Answer 40

The First Amendment

Question 41

Of what event did Thomas Jefferson say, “A little rebellion now and then is a good thing. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government.”

Answer 41

Shays’s Rebellion

Question 42

The American Founders risked their lives by rising up against British rule and signing the Declaration of Independence. Which was NOT one of the British Acts that helped inspire the Framers to declare independence from Britain?

Answer 42

The Judiciary Act

Question 43

Federalist Paper #54 makes an argument for the three-fifths compromise that:

Answer 43

slaves should be viewed by the Constitution as both persons and property

Question 44

Which Constitutional Amendment made it unlawful to deny voting rights according to race?

Answer 44

Fifteenth Amendment

Question 45

The influence of Thomas Hobbes’s view of human nature and Baron de Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws is directly present in the Constitution in what system?

Answer 45

separation of powers

Question 46

When Congress was first established, the Constitution apportioned one representative for every ______ residents.

Answer 46

30,000

Question 47

The authors of the Federalist Papers were

Answer 47

John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison.

Question 48

The system of government associated with the Articles of Confederation was widely criticized for being extraordinarily weak. Which of the following was NOT a criticism of the Articles of Confederation?

Answer 48

The government did not give enough power to the states.

Question 49

In a confederate form of government,

Answer 49

the central government has weak authority and smaller state governments wield great power

Question 50

According to Alexis de Tocqueville, which principle do Americans value over all other principles?

Answer 50

Equality