2.13 Unit Exam: Constitutional Underpinnings

Which of these ideas had the most influence on the American Revolution?

• the Great Awakening

• the Enlightenment

• the Renaissance

• Socialism

The ideas of which Enlightenment philosopher had the most direct impact on the American founders?

• Immanuel Kant

• Voltaire

• John Locke

• John Dewey

What event occurred in 1775?

• The Sugar and Stamp Acts were passed.

• The Townshend Acts were passed.

• The Declaration of Independence was written.

• The American Revolution began.

Which principle was included in most state constitutions?

• parliamentary structure; the early state constitutions all copied Pennsylvania's model and had a unicameral (one house) legislature

• judicial review; the state constitutions all created special boards of censors to review and reject bad laws

• separation of powers; state constitutions had several branches of government

• popular sovereignty; the states all copied New Jersey's constitution and gave women the right to vote

Which was an accomplishment of the United States government under the Articles of Confederation?

• Shays's Rebellion occurred.

• The Northwest Ordinance was passed.

• The Declaration of Independence was written.

• The Proclamation Line was defined.

The Constitutional Convention was called to address the problems that the United States faced under the Articles of Confederation. Which was not a problem that led to the Convention?

• quarrels among the states

• Shays's Rebellion

• the Imperial Crisis

• fear of a future European invasion

What was the Three-Fifths Compromise at the Constitutional Convention?

• Congress was divided into two houses. The Senate was seated equally by state; the House of Representatives was seated by population.

• Only three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted when calculating each state's representation in Congress.

• Some powers were given to the states, some to the federal government, and some to both.

• Knowing that George Washington would be the first president, people at the Convention wrote the powers of the president with him in mind.

Congress can print money but cannot issue licenses. States can issue licenses but cannot print money. What constitutional principle explains these contrasting powers?

• popular sovereignty

• federalism

• separation of powers

• limited government

Why were the Federalists so anxious that New York and Virginia ratify the Constitution?

• because the smaller states were waiting to see what these two large states would do before they decided if they would ratify the Constitution

• because these would be the eighth and ninth states to ratify, thus putting the Constitution into effect as laid out in Article VII

• because these would be the 12th and 13th states to ratify, thus satisfying the conditions for amending the Articles of Confederation

• because without these large states the new national government would surely fail

What is the connection between ratification and the Bill of Rights?

• The Constitutional Convention considered a Bill of Rights but decided not to include it in the document that it sent to the states.

• The Bill of Rights was ratified two years after the Constitution went into effect.

• Five states ratified on the condition that amendments would be added soon after the Constitution went into effect.

• Alexander Hamilton opposed a Bill of Rights because he feared that if rights were written down, the rights of the people would be limited to only those rights that were written in the Constitution.