STAAR review 8th grade US History

With which of the following arguments would the authors of "The Federalist Papers" most likely have agreed?

• A bill of rights should be included in the Constitution before it is ratified.
• Having a stronger central government will make the country more stable and prosperous.
• The Three-Fifths Compromise will result in fair and equal representation.
• Universal suffrage should be constitutionally guaranteed.

The Three-Fifths Compromise

• freed three-fifths of slaves in the southern states.
• granted three-fifths of freed slaves the right to vote.
• determined how many representatives a state would have in the Congress by counting three-fifths of the state’s slave population.
• decided to give an extra delegate to each state that had banned the slave trade, giving northern states a three-fifths majority in the Congress.

Under the Virginia Plan the structure of the national government would have been changed by the creation of a/an

• unicameral legislature
• bicameral legislature in which the number of delegates per state would be based on a state’s population.
• strong judiciary with sovereignty over the other two branches of government.
• executive office the leader of which would have sole control of the nation.

Which of these was a weakness in the Articles of Confederation exposed by Shays’s Rebellion?

• the imbalance of power between the three branches of government
• the dominance of an overly powerful executive branch
• the problem of states having more power than the federal government
• the abuse of force by the national army against the nation’s citizens

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established which procedure?

• election of state governors by the people
• admission of a new state into the Union
• drafting of male citizens into state militias
• collection of property taxes from state residents

As drafted by the Second Continental Congress the Articles of Confederation established the

• process of electing representatives to the Congress.
• first national government of the United States.
• requirements for being president of the Congress.
• three branches of the United States government.

According to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, what was a serious flaw in Alexander Hamilton’s plan for a national bank?

• The federal government lacked the authority to create a national bank, making it unconstitutional.
• Keeping the nation’s money in one place would create unnecessary risk.
• A national bank would put private lenders out of business.
• A national bank would not help the United States economy grow.

Alexander Hamilton believed in a flexible interpretation of the Constitution while Thomas Jefferson believed in a

• loose construction.
• soft construction.
• strict construction.
• tight construction.

Which excerpt from the U. S. Constitution best illustrates the principle of popular sovereignty?

• "Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members..."
• "The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States..."
• "The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore..."
• "The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof."

The Supreme Court case of Gibbons v. Ogden established

• judicial review.
• separate but equal.
• federal power to regulate interstate commerce.
• state power to regulate interstate commerce.