Quiz d/c GOVT—2305 Origins of US Government

A (a)   is a system of government in which member states retain almost all of their sovereign authority and delegate limited powers to a weak central body.

• republic

• confederation

• bicameral state

• unitary state

Which of the following statements regarding the colonists’ desire to break away from the British is true?

• The colonists wished to break free from British rule because the colonists opposed the practice of slavery, while the British embraced it.

• While elite colonists supported the new taxes imposed by the British, merchants and working class colonists strongly opposed them and sought to break away from the British.

• Profits gained through the enslavement of people for forced labor were critical to the early development of the colonial economy and made it possible for the colonists to imagine a future without the British.

• Most colonists were opposed to breaking away from the British; only the royalists supported the idea.

Why did the British government impose taxes on the American colonies?

• to compensate for establishing American representatives in the British Parliament

• to punish colonists for their part in the slave trade

• to help pay British debts and to ease other financial problems of colonialism

• to punish the colonists for agitating for independence

The philosophical view articulated in the Declaration of Independence was most heavily influenced by the work of liberal theorist

• Niccolò Machiavelli.

• Alexis de Tocqueville.

• John Locke.

• Immanuel Kant.

Which of the following statements best summarizes John Locke’s philosophical arguments in his treatises on government?

• Individuals create governments to protect their lives, liberties, and possessions, and if a government fails in its duties, the citizenry has the right to alter or abolish it.

• Monarchs rule by “divine right” and citizens can only retain those rights that are approved by the king or queen.

• Governments exist to provide their citizens with equality, and the only legitimate use of government force is to provide for the equal distribution of wealth.

• All governments necessarily lose their legitimacy after one generation, and all new generations of citizens must determine which rights should be protected in their country.

Why did the British government tell John Adams that they would not negotiate treaties related to Revolutionary War disputes with the confederation national government?

• The British claimed that only the United Nations, not the national government, could negotiate treaties between countries at war.

• The British claimed that the national government under the Articles of Confederation was guilty of human rights violations for its ongoing support of slavery and the slave trade.

What was the agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that stipulated that for apportionment of congressional seats, only a portion of enslaved people would be counted?

• the Three-Fifths Compromise

• the Great Compromise

• the Confederation Compromise

• the New Jersey Plan

Why was the question of how seats in Congress were to be allocated especially significant to the delegates?

• Because states’ populations, economies, and interests varied considerably, the rules determining states’ representation could ultimately affect which states would win and lose in policymaking.

• The rules determining states’ representation mattered mostly for the size of government; a rule leading to more seats would mean that decisions would be harder to reach.

• As a practical matter, the rules determining states’ representation had little importance because the states had similar preferences on most issues, including slavery, and size and makeup of states’ populations were fairly consistent.

• The decision of how to allocate representation mattered most for the enslaved Black people, who would be able to receive a vote under the plans calling for population-based representation.

Which of the following documents summarized its philosophy toward the national government by stating “each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence”?

• the Emancipation Proclamation

• the Magna Carta

• the United States Constitution

• the Articles of Confederation

Assume that you were a delegate from a less populous state attending the Constitutional Convention. Which of the following proposals would you support?

• A state’s representation in the legislature is based upon the population of the state.

• Each state has an equal number of representatives regardless of its size.

• States receive representation based on the revenue they generate.

• States’ representation is based on a formula that considers the state’s population and its revenues.