EOC Civics Review

What did many American colonists use Thomas Paine's Common Sense to justify?

• Acts of sabotage against British merchants

• Declaring independence from Britain

• Joining the army instead of the militia

• Supporting the British monarch

The Declaration of Independence included these complaints:

• Taxation without representation • Limiting judicial powers • Quartering Troops • Dissolving legislature

Which complaint should be added to this list?

• Requiring colonists to send representation to Parliament

• Suspending trial by jury in many cases

• Ordering colonists to move from Native American land

• Allowing the wealthy to avoid local law

How did the U.S. Constitution address the problem under the Articles of Confederation that Congress had no power to ensure its laws were followed by the states?

• It created an executive branch to enforce law

• It gave each state sovereign authority over its laws

• It required the president to resolve disputes between states

• It required unanimous consent of states to create new laws.

What does the phrase "insure domestic tranquility" in the Preamble of the Constitution mean?

• Give land to the homeless

• Fight wars on foreign soil

• Keep the homeland at peace

• Provide citizens with insurance

The passage below is from Federalist 51, written by James Madison in 1788.

"the interior structure of the government as that its several constituent parts may, by their mutual relations, be the means of keeping each other in their proper places."

Which constitutional principle does Madison describe in the passage?

• Popular sovereignty

• Judicial review

• Checks and balances

• Checks and balances

Answer explanation

Checks and Balances are a system where one branch of government may act to limit the power of the other branches to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful. In the passage from Federalist 51 James Madison describes this principle by saying that the interior structure of government (i.e. the legislative, executive and judicial branches) must be the means of keeping each other in their proper places (i.e. not allowing one to become too powerful)

Which viewpoint was common among Anti-Federalists?

• There is no need for a separate Bill of Rights.

• The Constitution does not give enough power to the states.

• The Constitution will not strengthen the government.

• A strong national government will protect the people in times of crisis.

What is a government that is run by the people, either directly or indirectly?

• Democracy

• Oligarchy

• Monarchy

• Communism

What is the term used in the Fourteenth Amendment to describe persons who are born or naturalized in the United States?

• Aliens

• Citizens

• Immigrants

• Residents

Which situation does NOT involve a right protected by the Bill of Rights?

• Freedom to publish opinions in the local newspaper

• The ability to own a gun, as long as the laws are followed

• The guarantee of a well-paying job

• Freedom to join the church of choice

Peter Brown has lived in his home since he was a child. Now the department of parks and recreation wants to tear down his neighborhood to build a park. A government official comes to visit Peter and offers to buy the house from him. Peter refuses. The official says that the government will now seize the property under the constitutional power of "eminent domain." According to the U.S. Constitution, under what circumstances would Peter win his fight to keep his home?

• If Peter could prove that he had paid the full price of the house already

• If Peter could prove that he had paid the full price of the house already

• If the government did not make a reasonable effort to build the park in an uninhabited are

• If the government did not offer him fair market price for his home