Civics EOC Practice Test 1

Why did the Founding Fathers separate the power to make, enforce, and interpret laws between different branches of government?

• to prevent one branch of government from becoming too powerful

• to make the national government more efficient

• to increase the power of the presidency

• to ensure that Congress would act according to the will of the people

What pamphlet denounced British rule and fanned the flames of revolution?

• Magna Carta

• Mayflower Compact

• Two Treatises of Government

• Common Sense

Use the quotation to answer the question.

"THE HORRID MASSACRE IN BOSTON, Perpetrated in the evening of the fifth day of March, 1770, by soldiers of the Twenty-ninth Regiment, which with the Fourteenth Regiment were then quartered there; with some observations on the state of things prior to that catastrophe.” — anonymous account, A Short Narrative

of the Horrid Massacre in Boston, 1770

Who most likely wrote this passage and for what reason?

• a Redcoat, to describe the risks faced by soldiers

• a Patriot, to raise fears about the British army in the colonies

• a Loyalist, to gain support for quartering British troops

• an eyewitness, to promote nonviolent protest

Consider this situation: On January 25, 2011, widespread pro-democracy demonstrations began in Egypt. For 18 days, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets, demanding free elections, free speech, and an end to government corruption, police brutality, and President Hosni Mubarak’s regime. Finally, on February 11, Mubarak resigned. Which of the following ideas expressed in the U.S. Declaration of Independence best supports the actions of the Egyptian people?

• The government grants rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

• Citizens have a right to overthrow a government that violates their natural rights.

• All citizens are created equal and have unalienable rights.

• Citizens must consent to follow the rules of a social contract.

What is the most likely reason it was difficult to pass laws under the Articles of Confederation?

• Passage required a unanimous vote of the 13 states.

• Passage required the votes of 9 of the 13 states.

• The government did not have a legislature.

• Americans were content to follow British laws.

The Preamble of the Constitution lists six goals, including which of the following?

• to separate from Britain

• to form a more perfect union

• to decide who can be a Supreme Court justice

• to decrease the power of the federal government

Use the table to answer the question.

Which of the following best completes the title of this table?

• The Federal System

• Separation of Powers

• Checks and Balances

• Popular Sovereignty

Use the information in the box to answer the question.

Who are the speakers and what are they afraid of ?

• Patriots; ineffective government

• Federalists; the loss of liberty

• Antifederalists; a strong national government

• Loyalists; the loss of property rights

Use the quotation to answer the question.

Which group did Patrick Henry most likely side with during the ratification debate?

• the Loyalists

• the Federalists

• the Antifederalists

• the Constitutionalists

What is meant by “the rule of law”?

• the idea that people are the source of government power

• the idea that all people, including rulers and leaders, must obey the law

• the theory that power should be divided among three branches of government

• the power of the courts to interpret the Constitution and other laws