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American Founding Documents

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 20mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

This document created a stronger national government with 3 branches.

a)

Constitution

b)

Declaration of Independence

c)

Bill of Rights

d)

Articles of Confederation

2.

This document was written to help get the Constitution ratified by limiting the government’s powers

a)

Constitution

b)

Declaration of Independence

c)

Bill of Rights

d)

Articles of Confederation

3.

This document declared our independence from Great Britain

a)

Constitution

b)

Declaration of Independence

c)

Bill of Rights

d)

Articles of Confederation

4.

This document created our current government and set up a system of checks and balances

a)

Constitution

b)

Declaration of Independence

c)

Bill of Rights

d)

Articles of Confederation

5.

This document protects the rights of citizens of the United States of America

a)

Constitution

b)

Declaration of Independence

c)

Bill of Rights

d)

Articles of Confederation

6.

This document created the United States of America and supports equality for all

a)

Constitution

b)

Declaration of Independence

c)

Bill of Rights

d)

Articles of Confederation

7.

The Bill of Rights was added to the U.S. Constitution primarily to

a)

establish fair and impartial elections

b)

protect individual rights

c)

guarantee voting privileges to minorities

d)

provide the President with power in times of emergency

8.

What guarantees freedom of the press, of speech and of religion to individuals in the U.S.?

a)

The U.S. Constitution

b)

The Declaration of Independence

c)

The Bill of Rights

d)

The Articles of Confederation

9.

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

a)

Benjamin Franklin

b)

John Adams

c)

James Madison

d)

Thomas Jefferson

10.

... that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain ___?___

a)

Unalienable rights

b)

Equalities of opportunity

c)

Repeated injuries and abuses

d)

Duties and responsibilities

11.

The term _________________ means to approve.

a)

popular sovereignty

b)

ratify

c)

federalism

d)

republicanism

12.

The Founding Fathers protected freedom of the press in the Bill of Rights because they —

a)

wanted to secure the authority of the federal government

b)

so the government would be accountable to the people.

c)

wanted the government would publish a national newspaper.

d)

hoped that the government would establish public libraries.

13.

unalienable rights of life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness acknowledge the importance of

a)

the community

b)

the individual

c)

the government

d)

the state

14.

Popular sovereignty is an important characteristic of democratic government because

a)

government cannot tell citizens what to do.

b)

the three branches of government can check one another

c)

citizens are able to vote and participate in government

d)

citizens are given life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness

15.

Which principle prevents one branch of the federal government from being too powerful?

a)

Popular Sovereignty

b)

Checks and Balances

c)

Republican government

d)

Judicial Review

16.

Which excerpt from the Declaration of Independence describes the Enlightenment idea of natural rights?

a)

"... all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with ... Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

b)

"He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of people."

c)

"We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and have conjured the by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations ..."

d)

"... whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new Government ..."

17.

The rights to alter or abolish the government was first proclaimed in what U.S. document?

a)

Declaration of Independence

b)

Northwest Ordinance

c)

Articles of Confederation

d)

Ohio Bill of Rights

18.

According to the Declaration of Independence, where does government get its power?

a)

From the Unite States Constitution

b)

From elected representatives

c)

From the consent of the governed (the people)

d)

From the military leaders

19.

The Declaration of Independence argued that:

a)

Nations cannot be divided and a people must never secede from their mother nation.

b)

People should revolt when they suffer deep injustices.

c)

The British government was to blame for the evils experienced by the colonists.

d)

Revolution is justifiable whenever people become angry with their government for any reason.

20.

Inspiration for the Bill of Rights goes all the way back to medieval England, and the signing of this document by King John in 1215.

a)

Declaration of Independence

b)

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

c)

Magna Carta

d)

Virginia Declaration of Rights