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TOPIC 1.1

Total questions: 17

Worksheet time: 17mins

Name
Class
Date
1.
Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?
a)
George Washington
b)
Thomas Jefferson
c)
John Adams
d)
Benjamin Franklin
2.
What are the three inalienable rights that all people have?
a)
Food, Shelter, and Clothing
b)
Life, Liberty and Death
c)
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
3.
What is the main purpose of government?
a)
To protect the rights of the people
b)
To protect the life of people's things
c)
To give people things
4.
Who gives government the ability to govern?
a)
The people
b)
Parliament
c)
The King
d)
The Sons of Liberty
5.
"Inalienable Rights: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" what did this mean?
a)
All WHITE men were created equal. The DOI didn't mention women or slaves.
b)
Rights are given to men by their government but are inherent and undeniable. Rights we are born with
c)
The purpose of government is to protect the rights of the people
d)
If the government does not protect the rights of the people, it is the right of the people to change the government
6.
"It is the right of the people to alter or abolish (get rid of) a government that is not working" what did this mean?
a)
All WHITE men were created equal. The DOI didn't mention women or slaves.
b)
Rights are given to men by their government but are inherent and undeniable. Rights we are born with
c)
The purpose of government is to protect the rights of the people
d)
If the government does not protect the rights of the people, it is the right of the people to change the government
7.
According to the Declaration,  what causes a government to be just? 
a)
powerful institutions
b)
a Bill of Rights 
c)
ease of altering 
d)
Consent of the people being governed
8.
From whom did the signers of the Declaration of Independence receive their authority to declare independence? 
a)
From the King of England
b)
From the European nations. 
c)
From the people of the American colonies.
d)
They needed no authority.
9.

The Declaration of Independence is most like a what?

a)

Love Letter

b)

Treaty

c)

Break-up letter

d)

Constitution

10.

What is the purpose of the following lines from the declaration?

"He has dissolved our legislative assemblies"

“ He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies ” “For imposing taxes on us without consent”

“ For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury”

a)

To justify independence by giving examples of complaints about rights violated by King George and the British government

b)

To give examples of complaints against the American government, asking King George III to fix them

c)

To request that the king protect certain rights and complain about rights that colonists didn't have

11.

Why were the colonists being taxed so heavily?

a)

To pay for the French and Indian War

b)

Because the King felt like it

c)

Because they wanted a revolution

d)

They owed a lot of money to China

12.
Which statement best describes the role of government according to the Declaration of Independence?
a)
“The main purpose of government is to expand and glorify the state”
b)
“The main purpose of government is to protect the unalienable rights of individuals”
c)
“The main purpose of government is to protect the rights and privileges of His Majesty, the King”
d)
“The main purpose of government is to promote the general welfare of the community by taking steps toward social equality”
13.
When Thomas Jefferson copied John Locke's ideas about the social contract, what did he say the people had the right to do to a government who was not protecting the people's rights?
a)
Write a letter
b)
Suggest how it could be better
c)
Wait until they started to respect the people's rights
d)
Abolish it
14.
The Declaration states that all men are created ___________.
a)
Just
b)
Equal
c)
the same
d)
Free
15.

Which quotation from the Declaration of Independence best supports the main purpose of a nation's government.

a)

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all mean are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...

b)

...[To] secure these rights , governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...

c)

...[G}overnments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath show, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable,than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

d)

...[A]s free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do.

16.

The theory that all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in government, resulting in healthy democratic compromise and balance, is called

a)

elite power politics

b)

socialism

c)

pluralism

d)

rational choice

e)

institutionalism

17.

Which of the following accurately characterizes the main difference between elite theories and pluralist theories of politics in the United States?

a)

Elite theories concentrate on the role of interest groups; pluralist theories emphasize the role of individuals.

b)

Elite theories argue that a single minority dominates politics in all policy areas; pluralist theories argue that many minorities compete for power in different policy areas.

c)

Elite theories argue that social status is the major source of political power; pluralist theories argue that wealth is the major source.

d)

Elite theories emphasize the multiple access points that interest groups have to public officials; pluralist theories stress the limits in the number and effectiveness of such access points.

e)

Elite theories view government as efficient; pluralist theories view it as slow and wasteful.