Our Constitution Quiz

The postage stamp below shows a committee of Second Continental Congress drafting the Articles of Confederation. 
Why did this committee create a weak central government? 

• to encourage more trade between the states
• to preserve the powers of the individual states
• to promote national security against foreign invasion
• to permit the taxation of citizens to pay the nations's debts

How did the Americans' experience under British rule influence the form of government they established under the Articles of Confederation?

• The new legislature had two houses, just like the British Parliament.
• The states were sovereign, just as the colonies had been under British rule.
• The new central government was not given any power to direct the military.
• The new central government was not able to tax citizens as the British government had tried to do. 

Which steps would the Confederation Congress have taken in the event of another war?

• Declare war --> Raise its own troops to defend the nation --> Pass a tax to raise money
• Declare war --> Ask states to contribute troops and funds --> Direct the army and navy
• Ask states for permission to declare war --> Borrow money --> Raise an army and navy
• Declare war with the states --> Pass a tax law to fund the army and build the navy --> direct the army and the navy

By 1786, why did many merchants want the Articles of Confederation to be replaced? 

• Several states were taxing activities of the Confederation
• States were discouraging trade by taxing one another's goods.
• Congress was forcing the states to contribute to its general fund.
• The Confederation Congress printed so much money that it lost its value. 

Which was not a concern that led Americans to strengthen their national government in 1787?

• Britain had refused to abandon its forts in the Northwest
• Americans feared that the French might retake Canada
• Spain was challenging America's borders to the Southwest
• American ships sailing along the coast of Africa were being attacked by pirates

The illustration,from a popular almanac in 1787, shows Captain Daniel Shays. 
Why did his rebellion send a wave of fear among wealthy merchants and landowners?

• Officers worried about losing their back pay
• Shays planned to take money from the rich and give it to the poor
• There was no national army to put down domestic unrest if it spread
• Bankers and other lenders feared the loss of loans to their national government. 

Which weakness of the Articles of Confederation was addressed by the Constitution?

• the continuation of slavery
• the lack of a national court system
• the absence of a balanced budget
• the need to strengthen the power of the states

View 1:  As delegates from small states, we insist on a national legislature in which each state receives equal representation. 
View 2: As delegates from large states, we believe that representation should be based on population.  States with more people should have more representatives.
How was the disagreement between small states and large states resolved?

• by creating both federal and state legislatures
• by counting each slave as three-fifths of a person
• by passing a Bill of Rights to protect individual rights
• by creating a bicameral legislature with one house on each basis

Why did the Preamble to the Constitution begin with phrase, "We the People." 

• to indicate that the national government had limited powers
• to indicate that the states had been associated in a confederation
• to indicate that federal power was separated among three branches 
• to indicate that the American people were the ultimate source of its authority. 

Which identifies one of the goals of government listed in the Preamble?

• to guarantee employment to all citizens
• to expand the nation's frontiers westward
• to establish independence from Great Britain
• to protect the rights and freedom of all citizens