WorksheetsTopic 2 Review - The Beginnings of American Government
Total questions: 33
Worksheet time: 11mins
Which historic document did the Barons require King John to sign in 1215, effectively limiting the power of a monarch for the first time?
English Bill of Rights
Mayflower Compact
The Olive Branch Petition
The Magna Carta
What two major plans were offered as replacements for the Articles of Confederation at the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
The New Jersey and Georgia Plans
The Connecticut and Virginia Plans
The New Jersey and Virginia Plans
The Pennsylvania and South Carolina Plans
The English colonists brought with them knowledge of political systems that influenced constitutional government in North America. Which answer most emphasizes that people should have a voice in determining what their government can and cannot do?
Colonialism
Limited Government
Representative Government
Ordered Government
Which event, born out of “The Glorious Revolution” and signed in 1689 by William and Mary, directly influenced later American political ideas and traditions?
The Bill of Rights
The Magna Carta
The English Bill of Rights
The Mayflower Compact
What was the first permanent English colony established in North America in the year 1607?
Plymouth
Jamestown
Roanoke
St. Augustine
The second permanent English colony in North America was established by a group of Puritans fleeing religious persecution in 1620.
Plymouth
Rhode Island
Jamestown
Roanoke Island
Viewed as an important document in the development of democracy in the English colonies, it stated that "all would work together for just and equal laws and the overall good of the new colony."
The Magna Carta
The English Bill of Rights
The Mayflower Compact
The Declaration of Independence
Which of the following BEST describes why delegates from the 13 colonies met in Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress in 1774?
The British Parliament had levied a series of unfair taxes and acts on the American colonists in the years following the French Indian War (1763 to 1774).
The colonists wanted to boycott all British goods.
Parliament requested a meeting of all colonial legislatures.
The 13 colonies wanted to seek immediate independence from Great Britain.
Which of these actions did the Second Continental Congress take when it convened in May 1775?
Appointed George Washington as commander of the new Continental Army.
Began printing Continental currency (money).
Set up a committee to conduct foreign relations.
All of these
This patriot wrote COMMON SENSE, the pamphlet published in January 1776, which made a passionate plea for the colonists to break with Great Britain.
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
John Adams
Thomas Paine
In the late spring of 1776, which Virginian was asked by the Second Continental Congress to draft the Declaration of Independence?
John Adams
James Madison
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Franklin
Which English Enlightenment Thinker's ideas are clearly interwoven into the American Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Hobbes
John Locke
Baron de Montesquieu
Thomas Locke
How would you complete this famous line from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident...”?
that all men have the right to life, liberty, and property
that all people are equal
that all men are created equal
that all men have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
Where did General George Washington finally trap the British and effectively bring an end to the Revolutionary War in 1781?
Lexington and Concord
Yorktown
Saratoga
Valley Forge
After the Declaration of Independence in 1776, which national government did the Continental Congress establish?
The U.S. Constitution
The Articles of Confederation
The Declaration of Independence
The Government of the United States
What treaty negotiated the final peace settlement between the Americans and the British in 1783?
Treaty of Yorktown
Treaty of London
Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Philadelphia
What was Shay’s Rebellion?
An armed revolt of Boston merchants demanding an end to taxes by the state of Massachusetts.
An armed uprising by farmers in Western Massachusetts in response to a debt crisis and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes.
An armed uprising by former Continental Army soldiers which began in Massachusetts but spread through all the New England states.
An armed revolt by farmers in Virginia demanding tax relief.
Which answer is NOT one of the five major weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
The national government had no power to tax
The national government had no power to regulate trade
The national government had no legislative branch
The national government had no executive branch
Which Enlightenment philosopher had a considerable influence on the U.S. Constitution?
Voltaire
Montesquieu
Rousseau
Hobbes
What influential founding father was absent from the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
George Washington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
Who is regarded as 'The Father of the Constitution'?
George Washington
John Adams
James Madison
Thomas Jefferson
Which plan would New York and Pennsylvania have supported at the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
New Jersey Plan
The Georgia Plan
The Virginia Plan
The Rhode Island Plan
Which plan would Delaware and Connecticut have supported at the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
New Jersey Plan
Georgia Plan
Virginia Plan
Rhode Island Plan
What compromise plan did Roger Sherman of Connecticut propose that was eventually agreed to at the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
Three-Fifths Compromise
The Great Compromise
The New England Compromise
The Compromise of 1787
What was the central tenet of Roger Sherman's plan that was eventually agreed to at the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
A bicameral legislature with both Houses based on the population of the states
A unicameral legislature based on the population of the states
A bicameral legislature with one house based on population and one house based on equal representation
A unicameral legislature based on equal representation
What was the foundation of the new U.S. Constitution agreed to at the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
A new national government which maintained superior state governments
A new national government with three distinct branches and constitutional checks and balances
A new national government with two distinct branches
A new national government which dismantled the 13 state governments
Which group would have agreed with the following statement? "This new Constitution is flawed! It has no protections for individual liberties!"
Anti-Federalists
Federalists
Nationalists
States Rights Advocates
Once the new Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, how many states needed to ratify it before it could go into effect?
Thirteen
Seven
Nine
Twelve
What were the two sides in the fight for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution after it was signed on September 17, 1787?
Loyalists/Patriots
Nationalists/Anti-Nationalists
Federalists/Anti-Federalists
Federalists/States' Rights Advocates
Which group would have agreed with the following statement? "We need a strong central government if the new nation is going to survive."
Anti-Federalists
Federalists
Nationalists
States Rights Advocates
What did the Federalists promise would be added to the Constitution following ratification?
A Fourth Branch for State Governments
A Bill of Rights
An American Compact of Rights
12 Amendments to Protect Liberties
The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 has many accolades (recognitions). Which of the following is not true?
It was the first constitution in the history of the world.
It was the first constitution written by a constitutional convention.
It is the oldest constitution still in use today.
It was a precursor to the 1787 U.S. Constitution.
The Northwest Ordinance, passed by the Articles of Confederation government, did which of these?
abolished slavery in the territories
all of these
organized the territories and gave a clear path to statehood
granted freedom of religion and the right to trial by jury to settlers
