1.3 Federalist and Anti-Federalist Debate

The debates between Federalists and Anti-Federalists were primarily about which of the following issues?

• The right of the people to rebel

• The existence of slavery

• The scope of power of the central government

• The need to establish a standard currency

• The representation of large and small states

Which of the following is argued by James Madison in The Federalist paper number 10?

• A system of republican representation helps to limit the excesses of factionalism.

• Small republics are better able to ensure individual liberty than are large republics.

• The presence of a few large factions helps to protect the rights of minorities.

• Participatory democracy is the surest way to prevent tyranny.

• The elimination of the causes of factionalism is the best protection against tyranny.

Brutus was an example of an Anti-Federalist because he

• believed a centralized government posed a major threat to individual rights

• argued that a national military force was needed to deal with insurrections

• argued that the laws passed by the national government were supreme over state laws

• believed that compromise between the branches of government would ensure a limited government

Which of the following is a fundamental element of the United States Constitution?

• Recognition of the centrality of political parties in government

• Direct election of members of the executive branch

• An executive branch that is more powerful than the legislature

• Emphasis on a unitary system of government

• Division of government authority across political institutions

In The Federalist papers, James Madison expressed the view that political factions

• should be nurtured by a free nation

• should play a minor role in any free nation

• are central to the creation of a free nation

• are undesirable but inevitable in a free nation

• are necessary to control the masses in a free nation

Which of the following describes the social contract theory as advanced by John Locke?

• It is an agreement between political actors to maintain their grip on power.

• It is an agreement in which the government promises to provide a minimum standard of living to citizens.

• It is an agreement in which the government promises to protect the natural rights of people.

• It is an agreement between economic elites to maintain a stable economy.

• It is an agreement in which the government outlines socially acceptable norms of political behavior.

In 2015, the United States Supreme Court decided the case Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which ruled that states must recognize same sex couples’ right to marry. Which of the following ideals of democracy would the attorneys for the same sex couple most likely put forth as their argument?

• Limited government would more likely defer to state laws on same sex marriage rather than a blanket directive from the Supreme Court.

• Natural rights of life and liberty include the right to marry whom you choose.

• Popular sovereignty requires that elected representatives in the state should decide right-to-marry issues.

• Social contract theory guarantees that the right to marry is enshrined in a constitutional framework.

Which of the following statements reflects a pluralist theory of American politics?

• American politics is dominated by a small elite.

• Public policies emerge from cooperation among elites in business labor, and government.

• Public policies emerge from compromises reached among competing groups

• American politics is dominated by cities at the expense of rural areas

• The American political arena is made up of isolated individuals who have few group affiliations outside the family.

The Declaration of Independence states “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” This was a revolutionary change from the system of British monarchy, which was based on the divine right of kings. For which of the ideals of democracy does this quote provide a foundation?

• Popular sovereignty

• Federalism

• Separation of power

• Limited government

The framers of the Constitution all believed that one of the primary functions of government is

• educating citizens

• protecting individual property rights

• protecting new immigrants from persecution

• expanding the borders of the nation

• ensuring that anyone accused of a crime has the right to legal representation