EOC practice #2

The Founding Fathers divided the power to make, enforce, and interpret laws between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. What might have happened if they given all of these powers to the executive branch?

• The balance of power among the different branches would have made government more efficient.
• The president could have grown too powerful, leading to tyranny.
• Congress would have had more occasions to override presidential vetoes.
• Supreme Court justices would have had to strike down more laws as unconstitutional.

How did the English Bill of Rights influence delegates to the Constitutional Convention?

• It was submitted as a model for the new constitution.
• It spelled out the proper role for the legislative branch as the representative of the people. 
• It established a number of rights that the delegates wished to guarantee in the new constitution.
• It was the first document to limit the power of the monarch.

Read this quotation from Thomas Paine's publication Common Sense (1776):
"Every thing that is right or natural pleads for separation. The blood of the slain,, the weeping voice of nature cries 'TIS TIME TO PART. Even the distance at which the Almighty hath placed England and America, is a strong an natural proof, that the authority of the one, over the other, was never the design of Heaven."
What was Thomas Paine trying to win support for?

• the separation of natural rights from legal rights
• the separation of powers between the federal and state governments
• the separation of powers between the three branches of government
• the separation of the colonies from Great Britain

Why were colonists outraged by taxes imposed by the British government?

• because they were denied trials by jury
• because they had no representation in Parliament
• because they made British paper products less expensive
• because they had to house British soldiers

Which of the following correctly completes this statement?
Rights mentioned in the Declaration of Independence: Life, Liberty, and ______

• Freedom of Speech
• Freedom of Religion
• Freedom to own Property
• the Pursuit of Happiness

Which of the following might have caused people to oppose the Articles of Confederation?

• Congress had the power to collect taxes
• Congress could not pay soldiers who had fought in the revolution
• Congress controlled trade between the states
• Congress granted too much power to the executive branch

How does the system of checks and balances reinforce the separation of powers?

• by giving each branch of government powers to limit the other branches
• by dividing government duties among three branches
• by defining the roles of each branch of government in three separate articles
• by dividing powers power between the national and state levels of government

Read this quotation:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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."

In which document is this statement found? 

• the Bill of Rights
• the Preamble of the Constitution
• the Mayflower Compact
• The Federalist Papers

Why did Antifederalists want a bill of rights in the Constitution?

• to list their rights
• to protect their rights
• to prevent ratification of the Constitution
• to oppose the Federalists

What constitutional principle is illustrated with the following information?
          Clinton: 37 vetoes; 2 overridden
      GW Bush: 12 vetoes; 4 overridden
          Obama: 12 vetoes; 1 overridden 

• social contract
• popular sovereignty
• federal supremacy
• checks and balances