Founding a New Nation Quiz

Which provisions were included in all early state constitutions? (Select all that apply)

• It was illegal to enslave people.

• State governments could not keep a person in jail without a trial.

• State governments had the right to declare war on another state.

• State governments needed a good reason to search a person's home.

• Women were guaranteed the right to vote in state elections.

"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." -Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson's statement is most closely related to which right?

• Self-rule

• Trial by jury

• Freedom of religion

• Freedom of assembly

Who was Elizabeth Freeman?

• A pastor who wrote Virginia's Statute for Religious Freedom

• A lawyer who helped enslaved people in northern states win their freedom

• An enslaved woman who used the Massachusetts constitution to gain her freedom

• A delegate to the Second Continental Congress who helped write America's first constitution

America's first plan for a national government was called the...

• Magna Carta

• US Constitution

• Articles of Confederation

• Declaration of Independence

Which of the following could correctly be added to the "Powers of Congress" column in the chart?

• Create a post office

• Enforce national laws

• Regulate local schools

• Create a national court system

Which of the following was a major weakness of the Articles of Confederation?

• The president had too much power

• Congress lacked the ability to tax the states.

• The executive and judicial branches had too much power.

• The national government could force citizens to serve in the military.

How did Shays's Rebellion expose a weakness in the Articles of Confederation?

• It showed that the price of land in the Northwest Territory was too high.

• It showed that the government of the United States had no one at its head.

• It showed that the national income tax unfairly targeted farmers and small landowners.

• It showed that the national government lacked the power to protect citizens from unrest.

Under the Articles of Confederation, how many of the thirteen states had to approve a law before it could be passed?

• Seven

• Nine

• Eleven

• Thirteen

Which conclusion is supported by the map of the Northwest Territory in 1789?

• The Northwest Ordinances served as a means to add new states to the Union.

• The sale of land in the Northwest Territory was the only way Congress could raise revenue.

• People living in the Northwest Territory did not have the same rights as citizens in the thirteen states.

• Passage of the Northwest Ordinances was the most obvious weakness of the Articles of Confederation.

According to the excerpt from the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, the state of Virginia...

• had the right to make it illegal to be an atheist

• could impose a tax on all churches within the state

• had the right to force people to join the state church

• could not stop someone from voting based on their religion