WorksheetsAP Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy Review
Total questions: 49
Worksheet time: 49mins
Which of the following best explains the difference in the number of bureaucrats employed by the Department of Education and the Department of Homeland Security?
The Department of Homeland Security was created before the Department of Education.
The Department of Education receives its funding from Congress, while the Department of Homeland Security works directly for the president.
The Department of Education primarily addresses state issues, whereas the Department of Homeland Security primarily addresses national issues.
The Department of Homeland Security hires more employees at the state level than the Department of Education.
The legislative process at the national level of government reflects the intent of the framers of the Constitution to create a legislature that would be
less powerful than the executive.
slow and deliberate in the lawmaking process.
able to involve as many citizens as possible in the lawmaking process.
able to ensure that all citizens are equally represented.
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 authorized the government to deny income tax deductions for employer health plans that did not offer employees the option of keeping their health insurance after leaving the job. Which enumerated power allowed Congress to make the law?
Regulating commerce among the states
Declaring laws unconstitutional
Borrowing money on the credit of the United States
Issuing copyrights and patents
Which of the following scenarios would be considered an unconstitutional use of state power?
A state passes a law that increases the pay of state legislators.
A state enacts a law prohibiting smoking in all public places.
A state places a tax on furniture made overseas.
A state raises the drinking age to 25 years of age.
Constitutional checks and balances, especially applied to the president, are designed to
ensure that the states don’t become too powerful.
ensure efficient government.
minimize the threat of tyranny from any one branch of government.
provide for a balanced budget.
The Articles of Confederation implemented the principle of
a strong national government.
a unified system of taxes.
an independent judiciary.
state sovereignty.
The framers of the Constitution intended to establish
a representative republic.
a direct democracy.
a socialist democracy.
a parliamentary republic.
Many scholars argue that categorical grants-in-aid do which of the following?
Give states far too much power over national monies
Broaden state power beyond that outlined in the Constitution
Strengthen the impact of the Tenth Amendment
Weaken the power of state governors and legislators
In the United States political system, the term federalism refers to
limits on the powers of the state governments.
limits on the powers of the national government.
the division of powers between the levels of government.
the fundamental basis of law.
Which of the following is a correct statement about the federal government’s role in interstate commerce?
The federal government’s role is limited to regulating commerce transported on interstate waterways such as the Mississippi River.
The federal government’s role is limited to regulating activities that may lead to federal crimes.
The federal government’s role is limited to regulating the transport of agricultural goods.
The federal government’s role has been greatly expanded through the interpretation of the interstate commerce clause.
Which of the following constitutional provisions broadened the power of Congress?
The necessary and proper clause
The equal protection clause
The Tenth Amendment
The eminent domain provision in the Fifth Amendment
According to James Madison, which of the following best controls the effects of faction?
Direct democracy
The popular election of state judges
A large republic
The creation of a merit-based civil service
Which of the following describes the social contract theory as advanced by John Locke?
It is an agreement in which the government promises to provide a minimum standard of living to citizens.
It is an agreement in which the government promises to protect the natural rights of people.
It is an agreement between economic elites to maintain a stable economy.
It is an agreement in which the government outlines socially acceptable norms of political behavior.
The clause in the United States Constitution that states that federal law will prevail in the event of a conflict between federal and state law is known as the
necessary and proper clause.
supremacy clause.
presentment clause.
equal protection clause.
The Constitutional Convention sought to replace the Articles of Confederation because they
created a large central government.
guaranteed a separation of powers.
failed to provide for states’ rights.
did not have the ability to tax and provide for the common defense.
A pivotal event that symbolized the problems with the Articles of Confederation and demonstrated the need to reform the Articles was
Shays’s Rebellion.
Nat Turner’s Rebellion.
the failure of all states to send troops for defense against a new British attack.
a national tax to help pay the debt incurred by the Revolutionary War.
The Constitution creates a system that prevents, in James Madison’s words, “a tyranny of the _____.”
states.
minority.
government.
majority.
The Anti-Federalists’ opposition to the Constitution was predicated on the belief that a strong central government would
empower the general public and undermine government officials.
create states that were free to act in their own interests.
not be an effective way to deal with other nations.
strip states and individuals of their rights and the authority to make laws.
The Constitution differs from the Declaration of Independence in that it does not focus on the individual rights of the governed, but rather on
the structure and function of the government.
the rights of the government.
the promotion of a republican system.
the reduction of state government authority.
The primary economic failure of the Articles of Confederation was that
national debt needed to be paid off by individual states.
Congress could not collect taxes.
there was no system for states to pay back their debts.
individuals were taxed directly by the national government.
The commerce clause expands Congress’s power, because it gives the national legislature the authority to
collect taxes from private businesses.
nationalize certain legislative policy.
supersede state law.
own certain industries.
The New Jersey Plan, an alternative to the Virginia Plan, received states’ rights support because it
created an independent judiciary.
maintained the one state-one vote structure that existed under the Articles of Confederation.
placed financial responsibility with the states.
created a powerful executive.
According to James Madison, the republican form of government addresses the tyranny of the majority through
pluralism.
regionalization.
limited government.
democratization.
Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the concept of concurrent powers?
The president negotiates a treaty regarding climate change with foreign governments, but for the treaty to take effect, it requires approval by the Senate.
A commander-in-chief of the military, the president orders troops to a foreign nation to address a potential threat to national security.
A Senate committee holds a hearing to discuss potential misuse of funds by the Department of Veterans Affairs
The federal government provides about 25% of the total funding for highways and transit in the United States, while the other 75% of the funding comes from states.
Which of the following was a direct outcome of the Three-Fifths Compromise?
The number of senators increased in slaveholding states.
Slavery quickly declined, especially in larger cities in the South.
Slaveholding states were able to count slaves to determine their number of senators.
The number of representatives in the House of Representatives from slaveholding states increased.
The case United States v. Lopez (1995) struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act because
it violated the Fourth Amendment protections against unwarranted searches.
Congress exceeded its authority in the use of the commerce clause.
the Second Amendment is a right incorporated to the states.
students retained their First Amendment rights while attending public schools.
South Carolina passed a law to increase the state tax on gasoline to help fund repairs on highways and bridges. The state tax is in addition to the federal tax on every gallon of gasoline that is sold. Which of the following constitutional provisions does this scenario illustrate?
Delegated powers
Reserved powers
Concurrent powers
Exclusive powers
Which of the following is an example of checks and balances?
An unpopular Supreme Court ruling can be overturned by a majority vote of both houses of Congress.
A rule issued by a bureaucratic agency may be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
A filibuster in the Senate can be ended with a cloture motion that has the support of 60 senators.
A treaty negotiated by the president with a foreign government must be approved by a majority vote of the House.
In May of 2015, a federal appeals court ruled that the National Security Agency’s collection of Americans’ phone records was in violation of the USA PATRIOT Act. Which of the following core values are involved in the national debate regarding the surveillance program referred to in this scenario?
Liberty versus stability and order
Majority rule versus minority rights
States’ rights versus federal authority
Common good versus freedom of expression
Arizona enacted an immigration law in 2010, claiming the legislation complemented existing federal law. The Obama administration disagreed, claiming the state law conflicted with national law. Which clause of the Constitution did the Supreme Court most likely use to strike down a section of the state law?
Commerce clause
Necessary and proper clause
Full faith and credit clause
Supremacy clause
Which of the following is a fundamental element of the United States Constitution?
Division of government authority across political institutions
Direct election of members of the executive branch
Emphasis on a unitary system of government
An executive branch that is more powerful than the legislature
In The Federalist 10, James Madison contended that government should
deny citizens access to competitive factions.
abolish most competitive factions.
permit many factions to compete.
regulate factions through taxation.
Which of the following best explains the difference in the number of bureaucrats employed by the Department of Education and the Department of Homeland Security?
The Department of Homeland Security was created before the Department of Education.
The Department of Education receives its funding from Congress, while the Department of Homeland Security works directly for the president.
The Department of Education primarily addresses state issues, whereas the Department of Homeland Security primarily addresses national issues.
The Department of Homeland Security hires more employees at the state level than the Department of Education.
In the 1780s, proponents of the new Constitution cited Shays’ Rebellion as an example in support of which of the following criticisms of the national government under the Articles of Confederation?
The national government did not provide sufficient protection of individual rights.
The lack of a centralized judiciary made enforcement of national laws difficult.
States with larger populations were underrepresented in Congress.
There was a lack of a national military power to address security concerns.
Which of the following is the correct pairing of powers found in the Articles of Confederation and powers found in the Constitution?
A
B
C
D
I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally.
This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.
The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.
Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. . . .
It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism.
George Washington’s Farewell Address, 1796
In what respect does the Constitution address Washington’s concern regarding the “spirit of encroachment” expressed in the excerpt?
The Constitution distributes power across national institutions.
The Constitution provides for equal representation of all citizens in Congress.
The Constitution requires a simple majority vote in Congress to overturn a veto.
The Constitution requires the Supreme Court to approve all legislation.
Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the concept of concurrent powers?
The president negotiates a treaty regarding climate change with foreign governments, but for the treaty to take effect, it requires approval by the Senate.
As commander-in-chief of the military, the president orders troops to a foreign nation to address a potential threat to national security.
A Senate committee holds a hearing to discuss potential misuse of funds by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The federal government provides about 25% of the total funding for highways and transit in the United States, while the other 75% of the funding comes from states.
Which of the following is the most accurate interpretation of the political cartoon?
State governments have used the Tenth Amendment to override the federal government’s mandates.
State governments are unwilling to share their budgetary surpluses with other states.
State governments prefer federal funding but do not want federal oversight over how the money is spent.
The fiscal irresponsibility of state governments has led to increased federal regulation on their budgetary priorities.
Which of the following policies would the states most likely prefer according to the political cartoon?
Federal mandates
Regulatory preemption
Block grants
Categorical grants
Which of the following pair of Supreme Court cases best illustrates how views of federalism have shifted in the United States?
A
B
C
D
Which of the following constitutional principles best explains why there is variation among states on the use of capital punishment?
Separation of powers
Judicial review
Checks and balances
Federalism
I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally.
This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.
The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.
Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. . . .
It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism.
George Washington’s Farewell Address, 1796
Which of the following newspaper headlines best summarizes the excerpt from Washington's Farewell Address?
Washington Boasts of the Potential of the New Republic
Washington Warns of Dangerous Party Factions
Washington Endorses a Stronger Executive Branch
Washington Takes Negative View of Checks and Balances
Concurrent powers have which of the following effects on the United States political system?
They reinforce the expansion of the power of national government and the supremacy of the national law.
They eliminate disputes between the states and national government by creating completely separate spheres of influence.
They foster cooperation between the states and the national government by requiring that the two levels of government work together.
They make it possible for the states and the national government to simultaneously exercise influence in the same areas of public policy.
I go further, and affirm that bills of rights, in the sense and to the extent in which they are contended for, are not only unnecessary in the proposed Constitution, but would even be dangerous. They would contain various exceptions to powers not granted; and, on this very account, would afford a colorable pretext to claim more than were granted. For why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do? Why, for instance, should it be said that the liberty of the press shall not be restrained, when no power is given by which restrictions may be imposed? I will not contend that such a provision would confer a regulating power; but it is evident that it would furnish, to men disposed to usurp, a plausible pretense for claiming that power.
--Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist paper number 84
Which of the following statements best summarizes Hamilton's arguments?
Even though civil liberties are protected by a bill of rights, there are some reasonable exceptions.
Listing rights will lead some to assume that government may regulate those rights.
Freedom of the press is essential for a functioning democracy.
A bill of rights is necessary to protect civil liberties such as freedom of the press.
I go further, and affirm that bills of rights, in the sense and to the extent in which they are contended for, are not only unnecessary in the proposed Constitution, but would even be dangerous. They would contain various exceptions to powers not granted; and, on this very account, would afford a colorable pretext to claim more than were granted. For why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do? Why, for instance, should it be said that the liberty of the press shall not be restrained, when no power is given by which restrictions may be imposed? I will not contend that such a provision would confer a regulating power; but it is evident that it would furnish, to men disposed to usurp, a plausible pretense for claiming that power.
--Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist paper number 84
Which of the following constitutional provisions limits the power of the national government in Hamilton's argument?
Enumerated powers in Article I
Faithful execution of the laws in Article II
Judicial review in Article III
Supremacy Clause in Article VI
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of Federalist and Anti-Federalist views on government?
A
B
C
D
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the two court cases?
A
B
C
D
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of constitutional provisions?
A
B
C
D
Which of the following is a correct comparison between the US Constitution and the Articles of Confederation?
A
B
C
D
