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Roots of American Democracy Practice Quiz

Total questions: 25

Worksheet time: 13mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

The American system of government most closely resembles that of which ancient culture?

a)

Athenians

b)

Romans

c)

Egyptians

d)

Inca

2.

What document first established limited government in 1215?

a)

Mayflower Compact

b)

Hammurabi's Code

c)

Declaration of Independence

d)

Magna Carta

3.

The Magna Carta guaranteed:

a)

Protection from illegal imprisonment

b)

Equal treatment under the law

c)

Limits on taxation

d)

All of the above

4.

Which document transferred a large portion of British monarchical authority to Parliament?

a)

The Constitution

b)

The Petition of Right

c)

The English Bill of Rights

d)

The Mayflower Compact

5.

What right is guaranteed by the English Bill of Rights?

a)

The right to a fair bail

b)

The right to due process of law

c)

The right to petition the king

d)

All of the above

6.

What is the term for the European cultural movement that attempted to apply logic and reason to critically analyze and improve social, political, and cultural ideas?

a)

Industrial Revolution

b)

Enlightenment

c)

Dark Ages

d)

Glorious Revolution

7.

What is the term for the hypothetical agreement between a citizenry and its government whereby the individual exchanges freedoms for protection?

a)

Liberty agreement

b)

Social contract

c)

Ipso facto laws

d)

Freedom compact

8.

Which Enlightenment thinker is credited with having first posited the "natural" rights of life, liberty, and property?

a)

Voltaire

b)

Thomas Hobbes

c)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

d)

John Locke

9.

Which Enlightenment thinker famously advocated the separation of a government's powers?

a)

Thomas Hobbes

b)

Baron de Montesquieu

c)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

d)

Francois-Marie Arouet

10.

Francois-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, advocated for which freedom?

a)

Speech

b)

Religion

c)

Trade

d)

All of the above

11.

Which is considered the first representative government in the Thirteen Colonies?

a)

Habeas corpus

b)

Mayflower Compact

c)

House of Burgesses

d)

American federal system

12.

The Mayflower Compact established what form of government?

a)

Representative democracy

b)

Direct democracy

c)

Dictatorship

d)

Oligarchy

13.

Which of the Thirteen Colonies was first to establish a written constitution?

a)

Massachusetts

b)

Pennsylvania

c)

Connecticut

d)

Virginia

14.

How did the British government rule in its North American colonies?

a)

Parliament passed laws to control trade.

b)

Parliament appointed governors.

c)

British military personnel were quartered in the Thirteen Colonies.

d)

All of the above

15.

What was the main complaint from the Thirteen Colonies about British rule?

a)

Although many colonies had democratic institutions, they seldom served the interests of the citizens.

b)

Colonists were not represented in British Parliament.

c)

The king was a tyrant.

d)

Colonists were not kept informed of events in England.

16.

The British government raised taxes in the Thirteen Colonies during the 1760s and 1770s in order to:

a)

Pay off debt accumulated during the Seven Years' War.

b)

Suppress a colonial revolt.

c)

Exert pressure on the colonies to disband.

d)

Abolish taxation on English citizens.

17.

How did the Thirteen Colonies respond to the Royal Proclamation of 1763 that forbade British colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains?

a)

Colonists were appreciative for the extra protection from the Native Americans to the west.

b)

Colonists were uninterested.

c)

Colonists were upset by restrictions on new settlements.

d)

None of the above

18.

How did colonists resist British (mis)rule?

a)

Boycotts of British goods

b)

Written protests

c)

Willful disobedience of British laws

d)

All of the above

19.

What name was given to colonists who remained loyal to the British government despite rising discontentment?

a)

Rebels

b)

Union Jacks

c)

Loyalists

d)

Kingsmen

20.

What was the goal of the First Continental Congress?

a)

Establish laws for the united Thirteen Colonies

b)

Coordinate a colonial response to the British government's unfair policies

c)

Draft the Declaration of Independence

d)

Discuss separation from Great Britain

21.

What was an accomplishment of the Second Continental Congress?

a)

Established the Continental Army as a defense against British aggression

b)

Drafted and adopted the Declaration of Independence

c)

Debated and adopted the Articles of Confederation

d)

All of the above

22.

The Articles of Confederation placed the majority of governing power:

a)

In the hands of the federal government

b)

In the hands of the state governments

c)

In the hands of the people through a direct democracy

d)

Balanced equally between the state governments and the confederation government

23.

What political group favored a strong, national government over a collection of strong, individual state governments?

a)

Democrats

b)

Republicans

c)

Federalists

d)

Anti-Federalists

24.

Which document replaced the Articles of Confederation as the law of the land in America in March of 1789?

a)

The United States Bill of Rights

b)

The United States Declaration of Independence

c)

The United States Congress

d)

None of the above

25.

Which part of the Constitution was added largely as a concession to the Anti-Federalists, who were wary of a strong national government?

a)

The Preamble

b)

Articles I-IV

c)

The Bill of Rights

d)

All of the above