Unit 2: The Roots of American Democracy

Which of the following best defines the principle of popular sovereignty?

• The powers of a government are limited by the people.
• Government is based on laws that apply to all the people.
• The ultimate source of governmental authority is the people.
• Elected leaders work through government to serve the people.

The idea of representative government first developed in ancient

• Egypt.
• Greece.
• Israel.
• Rome.

Who is known as the Father of the Constitution and as the principal author of the Bill of Rights?

• Benjamin Franklin
• Thomas Jefferson
• James Madison
• George Washington

This outlined the rights and duties of English nobles and set limits on the monarch's power.

• Magna Carta
• Mayflower Compact
• English Bill of Rights
• Second Treatise on Government

Government is based on clear and fairly enforced laws and that no one is above the law.

• The Constitution
• The Rule of Law
• The Magna Curtain
• Popular Sovereignty

Which complaint was the greatest barrier to ratifying the Constitution?

• It did not include a bill of rights.
• It had to be approved by all 13 states.
• It allowed too many people to vote.
• It created a weak central government.

Which of these issues at the Constitutional Convention was resolved by what is known as the Great Compromise?

• the representation of the states in Congress
• the eventual abolition of slavery in the South
• the power of Congress to regulate foreign trade
• the method for choosing the president of the United States

The Articles of Confederation reflected Americans’ fear of...

• a permanent standing army.
• a strong central government.
• a threatened foreign invasion.
• a breakdown in law and order.

Which political philosopher favored separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches?

• Thomas Hobbes
• John Locke
• Baron de Montesquieu
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense, was influenced by Rousseau’s argument that a government should be dissolved if it...

• was too weak to be effective.
• acted contrary to the general will.
• depended on inherited leadership.
• could not keep the economy stable.