US History Regents Practice Exam

During the colonial period in British North America, the major geographic barrier to westward expansion was the

• Ohio River

• Great Plains

• Rocky Mountains

• Appalachian Mountains

The United States purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1803 was geographically important because it

• assured sole ownership of the Great Lakes

• ended Spanish control of the Southwest

• provided full access to the Mississippi River

• allowed completion of the first railroad in California

The Mayflower Compact (1620) and the Virginia House of Burgesses (1619) are early examples of

• restrictions on religious freedom (

• steps toward representative government

• resistance to British rule

• economic systems in the colonies

In writing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson was most directly influenced by the social contract theory of

• Benjamin Franklin

• James Madison

• John Locke

• Baron de Montesquieu

One way in which the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the original United States Constitution (1789) are similar is that both documents

• include a specific bill of rights

• guarantee voting rights to all persons

• list grievances against the British monarchy

• state that government receives its power from the people

One way the original Constitution of the United States addressed the issue of congressional representation was by

• not counting women as part of a state’s population for representation

• counting three-fifths of the enslaved population when determining representation

• setting a four-year term of office for all members of Congress

• giving every state the same number of representatives in the House

"But the great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department, consists in giving to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others."

-James Madison, Federalist No. 51

Which principle of the United States Constitution is most directly described in this passage?

• States rights

• checks and balances

• the elastic clause

• concurrent powers

Most of the amendments to the United States Constitution have dealt with

• expanding the powers of the presidency

• setting immigration restrictions

• strengthening the authority of state governments

• guaranteeing civil and political rights

Which statement is a fact rather than an opinion?

• The power of judicial review was established by a Supreme Court decision.

• Supreme Court Justices should have a mandatory retirement age

• The Supreme Court achieved its greatest accomplishments under the leadership of Chief Justice John Marshall.

• The Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade is its most controversial decision

An example of the unwritten constitution is the

• impeachment process

• two-house legislature

• presidential veto power

• formation of political parties