Unit 1 Foundations of American Government

Use the list below to answer the question.

• Limits the power of government

• Establishes a structure of government

• Defines the powers of government

1. Which question is best answered by this list?

• A. Why is a bill of rights important?

• What is the purpose of checks and balances?

• How does popular sovereignty protect the rights of people?

• D. What are the benefits of a written constitution?

2.Which of these is MOST related to the concept of Federalism? (SSCG3c)

• A. veto power

• B. judicial review

• C. concurrent powers

• D. legislative process

No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned . . . except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.

—Magna Carta

3. Which political ideal is expressed in this excerpt?

• A. Leaders should be accountable to the people.

• B. Citizens have the right to due process.

• C. Legislation should follow a constitution.

• D. Criminal punishments should be humane.

5.The concept of Separation of Powers calls for a (SSCG3c)

• A. A distinct division between Federal and State laws

• B. A separation of the functions of the Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branch.

• C. A requirement by the President to seek the consent of the Governors before committing troops.

• D. The power of state laws to supersede federal laws when they are in conflict.

6.How did the English Bill of Rights limit the power of the monarch? (SSCG2a)

• A. Parliament could not rule without the consent of the monarch.

• B. A cabinet was created to represent Parliament's majority party.

• C. The monarch could not levy taxes without a specific grant of authority from Parliament.

• D. Nobles were selected to be a part of the monarch's special advisory group.

7.According to John Locke, what was the primary purpose of government?

• A. to support an aristocratic class

• B. to protect natural rights of individuals

• C. to promote equality among citizens

• D. to uphold complete religious toleration

8.In The Spirit of the Laws, Baron de Montesquieu defined which of the following as “the accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective”?

• A. repubicanism

• B. federalism

• C. democracy

• D. tyranny

9.Which Enlightenment theorist argued that the state needed absolute power to control citizens?

• A. Thomas Hobbes

• B. John Locke

• C. Baron de Montesquieu

• D. Jean Jacques Rousseau

No freeman is to be taken or imprisoned . . . save by lawful judgement [sic] of his peers. . . .

—Magna Carta

10. This excerpt forms the basis for which practice in modern criminal law?

• A. posting bail

• B. reading rights to the accused

• C. guaranteeing legal representation

• D. jury trial

11. Which of the following best reflects the motivation of the Framers of the Constitution to add the Bill of Rights in 1791?

• A. It was a compromise which ensured the ratification of the Constitution by New York and Virginia, guaranteeing state and civil liberties.

• B. James Madison, the "father" of the Constitution, personally felt the document was incomplete and requested the authority to draft the new amendments.

• C. The Congress wished to try out the new amendment process to see if it worked.

• D. The Supreme Court had ruled the document to be "unconstitutional" due to the lack of the Bill of Rights.