As drafted by the Second Continental Congress the Articles of Confederation established the

• three branches of the United States government.

• first national government of the United States.

• process of electing representatives to the Congress.

• the executive branch of government

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established which procedure?

• admission of a state into the Union

• election of state governors by the people

• collection of property taxes from state residents

• election of state governors by the people

The Articles of Confederation made it difficult for Congress to protect the nation against foreign threats by

• placing high tariffs on imports of military supplies.

• not creating a national budget for defense spending.

• not instituting a mandatory draft.

• declaring it impossible to force states to provide soldiers.

The Three-Fifths Compromise

• granted three-fifths of freed slaves the right to vote.

• freed three-fifths of slaves in the southern states.

• determined how many representatives a state would have in the Congress by counting three-fifths of the state’s slave population.

• decided to give an extra delegate to each state that had banned the slave trade, giving northern states a three-fifths majority in the Congress.

The framers of the Constitution created a system of checks and balances to

• outline the powers held by each branch of government.

• keep any one branch of government from becoming too powerful.

• strengthen the powers held by each branch of government.

• give the people an opportunity to control the branches of government.

What determines how many members represent each state in the House of Representatives?

• apportionment, a system designed to keep the number of representatives at 435

• the U.S. Constitution, which assigned a fixed number of seats to each state

• state tax revenues, which indicate how valuable a state’s voice is to the nation

• the U.S. Census, a nationwide population count taken every ten years

What is the function of Congress in the federal government?

• Congress is the legislative branch, which makes the nation’s laws.

• The executive branch is led by Congress, which can veto the nation’s laws.

• The judicial branch is led by Congress, which interprets the nation’s laws.

• Congress is the judicial branch, which enforces the nation’s laws.

The president can check the power of the legislative branch by

• petitioning Congress.

• vetoing a law.

• issuing an executive order.

• granting a pardon.

On what grounds can a federal court strike down a state or federal law?

• The law goes against existing laws.

• The law overlaps existing laws.

• The law is unconstitutional.

• The law repeats basic common sense.

Why do American men 18 years old or older have to register with selective service?

• so the federal government can contact them in case of a military draft

• so that state-based political campaigns can get them to vote

• so that state colleges can tell them about financial aid programs

• so the local court system can call on them to sit for jury duty