Font size
WorksheetsFoundations of Government and Rights
Total questions: 123
Worksheet time: 1hrs 2mins
What is the primary purpose of government?
To control citizens
To enforce religion
To maintain order and provide services
To eliminate state governments
Which structure of government gives all power to a central authority?
Federal
Confederal
Unitary
Democratic
In which system do states hold most of the power?
Federal
Unitary
Parliamentary
Confederal
Which government structure shares power between national and state governments?
Unitary
Federal
Confederal
Autocratic
Which type of government is ruled by one individual?
Oligarchy
Democracy
Autocracy
Theocracy
Which type of government is ruled by a small elite group?
Democracy
Oligarchy
Autocracy
Anarchy
Which type of government is based on religious authority?
Democracy
Anarchy
Theocracy
Republic
Which system has no government at all?
Autocracy
Anarchy
Democracy
Oligarchy
In which system do citizens hold ultimate power?
Autocracy
Democracy
Theocracy
Oligarchy
In a presidential system, the executive branch is:
Controlled by the legislature
Separate from the legislature
Appointed by monarchs
Eliminated entirely
In a parliamentary system, the executive branch is:
Independent of the legislature
Elected separately by citizens
Part of the legislature
Headed by judges
In a direct democracy, citizens:
Elect representatives
Vote directly on laws
Have no voting rights
Vote only for presidents
In a representative democracy, citizens:
Vote on every law
Give power to monarchs
Elect officials to make laws
Are ruled by courts
A republic is best defined as a democracy where:
Laws are religious
Power is inherited
Representatives are elected by citizens
Citizens vote on all policies directly
Which philosopher wrote Leviathan and believed people need strong government for order?
John Locke
Rousseau
Montesquieu
Thomas Hobbes
Who argued that government exists to protect natural rights?
Hobbes
Locke
Montesquieu
Rousseau
Who supported separation of powers?
Locke
Hobbes
Montesquieu
Rousseau
Who believed the general will of the people should guide government?
Hobbes
Locke
Rousseau
Madison
What does limited government mean?
Government has unlimited power
Government power is restricted by law
Citizens have no rights
Courts control all power
Which document limited the power of the English king in 1215?
Petition of Right
English Bill of Rights
Magna Carta
Declaration of Independence
The Petition of Right protected citizens from:
Taxes without consent and unlawful imprisonment
Religious persecution
Slavery
Voting restrictions
The English Bill of Rights guaranteed:
Absolute monarchy
Rights of Parliament and individuals
Colonial independence
Trial by jury only in colonies
The main purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to:
Create the Constitution
Declare war
Justify independence from Britain
Establish a monarchy
Which idea is shared by Natural Rights Philosophy and Social Contract Theory?
Absolute monarchy
Government exists to protect people’s rights
Citizens give up all freedoms
Religion controls government
The Declaration of Independence is considered persuasive because it:
Uses emotional language and logical arguments
Lists tax laws
Creates courts
Defines federalism
The Articles of Confederation created a government that was:
Strong and centralized
Unitary
Weak at the national level
Controlled by courts
A major weakness of the Articles was the inability to:
Declare war
Tax states
Admit new states
Run elections
The Philadelphia Convention was significant because it:
Ended the war
Created the Constitution
Passed the Bill of Rights
Elected the president
Who is known as the Father of the Constitution?
Washington
Hamilton
Madison
Jefferson
The Virginia Plan favored:
Equal state representation
Representation based on population
One-house legislature
No national government
The New Jersey Plan supported:
Population-based representation
Equal state representation
One-house legislature
No national government
The Connecticut Compromise created:
A single legislature
Two executive leaders
A bicameral legislature
Judicial supremacy
The 3/5 Compromise determined:
Voting age
Slave trade limits
How enslaved people were counted for representation
Presidential terms
The Federalists supported:
A weak national government
The Articles of Confederation
Ratifying the Constitution
No Bill of Rights
Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution mainly because it:
Was too short
Lacked a Bill of Rights
Created states
Abolished courts
The Federalist Papers were written to:
Oppose ratification
Explain and support the Constitution
End slavery
Replace state governments
Rule of Law means:
Only citizens must follow laws
No one is above the law
Judges make all laws
Laws apply only to states
Popular Sovereignty means:
Power comes from the people
Power comes from kings
Power comes from courts
Power comes from religion
Separation of Powers divides government into:
Two branches
Three branches
Four branches
One branch
Checks and Balances prevent:
Judicial review
Abuse of power by one branch
Federalism
Voting
Judicial Review allows courts to:
Create laws
Enforce treaties
Declare laws unconstitutional
Appoint presidents
The Preamble states the:
Laws of Congress
Rights of citizens
Purpose of the Constitution
Powers of states
How many articles are in the Constitution?
5
7
10
27
Article I establishes the:
Executive branch
Judicial branch
Legislative branch
State governments
How many amendments are in the Constitution?
10
20
27
30
To amend the Constitution, approval is needed from:
1/2 of Congress and states
2/3 propose, 3/4 ratify
The president alone
The Supreme Court
The Supremacy Clause establishes that:
State law is highest
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land
Courts control Congress
States can ignore federal law
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) confirmed:
State supremacy
National supremacy and implied powers
Judicial nullification
Direct democracy
Reserved powers belong to:
The federal government
The president
The states
Courts
Delegated powers are:
Shared powers
Powers denied to government
Powers given to the federal government
Inherent powers
Concurrent powers are:
Only federal
Only state
Shared by state and federal governments
Denied powers
The Necessary and Proper Clause allows Congress to:
Ignore the Constitution
Expand powers to carry out duties
Eliminate states
Control elections
The 10th Amendment reinforces:
Federal supremacy
Reserved powers of states
Judicial review
Executive authority
The Full Faith and Credit Clause requires states to:
Extradite criminals
Honor laws and court decisions of other states
Provide equal taxes
Share governors
The Privileges and Immunities Clause prevents states from:
Enforcing laws
Treating out-of-state citizens unfairly
Taxing residents
Holding elections
The Extradition Clause requires states to:
Return escaped criminals to the state where the crime occurred
Try criminals locally
Ignore other states’ requests
What is the main purpose of the activity shown in the image?
To explain the Constitution line by line
To compare federalism with other forms of government
To describe political parties
To explain voting rights
The image compares federalism to which two other forms of government?
Democracy and autocracy
Parliamentary and presidential
Confederal and unitary
Monarchy and oligarchy
In a federal system, power is:
Held only by states
Held only by the national government
Split between independent states and a central government
Held by courts
In federalism, both state and national governments get their authority from:
The military
The president
The people through a governing document
Congress
Which document is given as an example of a governing document in a federal system?
Articles of Confederation
Magna Carta
Declaration of Independence
U.S. Constitution
The “set of chairs around a table” analogy represents:
States competing for power
Power sitting in one place
Shared and balanced power between governments
Elimination of state governments
Which is an “advantage” of federalism?
Services are duplicated
Disputes between states and national government
People have more opportunities to be heard
No local governments
Which is a “disadvantage” of federalism?
National unity
Local governments can act independently
Disputes between national power and states’ rights
Citizen participation
Which statement best reflects federalism?
Local governments have no authority
All power rests in one place
National unity exists while local governments can act as well
Laws are always uniform
Which issue may occur because multiple levels of government exist in federalism?
Elimination of services
Services can be duplicated
No public participation
Loss of national authority
A confederal system is best described as:
A strong central government
An association of independent states
A government run by one leader
A government without states
In a confederation, the central government gets its authority from:
The Constitution
The military
The people of the independent states
The courts
Where does most power rest in a confederal system?
National legislature
Courts
Individual states
The executive
Why did the U.S. confederal system fail under the Articles of Confederation?
States had too much power
Citizens had no rights
The central government was too weak to do its job
Congress was too powerful
Which example shows a weakness of a confederal system?
Strong national defense
Uniform laws
Difficulty paying soldiers during the Revolutionary War
Too much taxation
Which is an “advantage” of a confederal system?
Central government is powerful
Laws are uniform
Keeps power at the local level
Eliminates state independence
Which is a “disadvantage” of a confederal system?
States cooperate
States keep independence
Laws may differ from state to state
Local control exists
The “many different chairs” analogy means that states:
Sit under one authority
Hold power independently but work together
Have no shared goals
Are controlled by the central government
In a unitary system, all power rests with:
The states
Local governments
The central government
The courts
In a unitary system, sub-units like states:
Share power equally
Have independent authority
Have no power of their own
Can override national law
Which country is given as an example of a unitary system?
United States
France
England
Canada
In England’s unitary system, laws are created and enforced by:
The Prime Minister
State governments
Parliament
The courts
The Prime Minister in England:
Has absolute power
Is more powerful than Parliament
Is a member of Parliament with no more power than others
Controls the courts
The “one big chair” analogy represents:
Shared power
Independent states
All government power in one place
Citizen control
Which is an “advantage” of a unitary system?
Local control
Uniform laws, policies, and enforcement across the country
Strong state governments
Multiple governing authorities
Which is a disadvantage of a unitary system?
Uniformity
Little conflict between governments
Government may be slow to meet local problems
Clear authority
Why might a unitary system struggle to meet citizens’ needs?
Too many governments
Too much local control
Difficulty meeting the needs of all citizens
Too much state power
Which system gives the most power to local governments?
Unitary
Federal
Confederal
Parliamentary
Which system creates the least conflict between state and national governments?
Federal
Confederal
Unitary
Republic
Which system best balances national unity and local authority?
Unitary
Confederal
Federal
Autocratic
Which system of government would you prefer if you want the central government to have the most power?
Federal
Confederal
Unitary
Parliamentary
Which system of government is best if you want laws to be the same throughout the entire country?
Federal
Confederal
Unitary
Republic
Which system of government would you choose if you want the central government to have the least power?
Federal
Confederal
Unitary
Parliamentary
If you want individual states to keep as much independence as possible, which system would you support?
Federal
Confederal
Unitary
Autocratic
Which system of government allows both national laws and state laws to exist at the same time?
Federal
Confederal
Unitary
Parliamentary
Which system of government fits best if you don’t care whether individual states have any power?
Federal
Confederal
Unitary
Republic
Which system of government is designed to balance power between the states and the central government?
Federal
Confederal
Unitary
Monarchy
If you want there to be few, if any, national laws, which system of government would you choose?
Federal
Confederal
Unitary
Parliamentary
Which statement best defines a monarchy?
A government ruled by elected officials
A government ruled by a monarch whose power is inherited through family lines
A government ruled by religious leaders
A government with no central authority
In most monarchies, leadership is passed down:
By popular vote
Through military power
From generation to generation within a family
By appointment from parliament
Which type of monarchy gives the monarch no real political or economic power?
Absolute monarchy
Autocratic monarchy
Symbolic monarchy
Federal monarchy
Which is an example of a country with a symbolic monarchy?
Saudi Arabia
United Kingdom
China
Cuba
Which is a major disadvantage of a monarchy?
Lack of national identity
Leaders may be unsuitable because they inherit power
Too much citizen participation
No centralized authority
Which statement best defines socialism?
A system where private businesses control the economy
A system where workers may own property but the government controls distribution of goods and services
A system with no social classes and no government
A system ruled by monarchs
What is the main goal of socialism?
To maximize profit
To ensure equal distribution of goods and services
To eliminate government
To promote competition
Which countries are examples of socialist states?
United States and Canada
China and Cuba
Japan and Sweden
Spain and Saudi Arabia
Why is socialism often criticized?
Too much private ownership
Too many social classes
Lack of incentives to work harder
Weak central government
Which statement best defines a democracy?
Power is held by one ruler
Power is held by a small elite
Citizens are the supreme rulers of the nation
Power is inherited
In a democracy, leaders and laws are determined through:
Family lineage
Religious authority
Majority vote by the people
Military control
Which principle is strongly protected in a democracy?
Absolute authority
Fundamental human rights
Government secrecy
Centralized control
What is a major disadvantage of democracy?
Lack of elections
Too much executive power
Instability due to frequent leadership changes
No citizen involvement
Which statement best defines an autocracy?
A government ruled by elected representatives
A government where one person or ruling party holds absolute power
A government with no leader
A government ruled by workers
In an autocracy, decisions made by the ruler are:
Reviewed by courts
Limited by citizens
Absolute and unquestioned
Voted on by the public
How do citizens participate in an autocracy?
Through elections
Through representatives
Through referendums
They have no say in national affairs
Which is a major risk of autocracy?
Too much equality
Economic competition
Abuse of power by the ruler
Weak military
Which statement best defines a federal government?
All power rests in one central authority
Power is divided between a central government and regional governments
States are fully independent nations
Government has no constitution
Why do federal governments decentralize power?
To weaken the nation
To promote efficiency, especially in large countries
To eliminate state laws
To remove local leadership
Which country is a common example of a federal government?
Japan
United States of America
Cuba
North Korea
Which is a drawback of federalism?
No local control
Too much national unity
Economic inequality between regions
No state governments
Which statement best defines an oligarchy?
Rule by one monarch
Rule by the people
Rule by a small group of powerful individuals
Rule by the military
Oligarchs typically gain power through:
Voting
Religion
Financial or military influence
Birthright
Why are oligarchies often criticized?
Too many leaders
Economic and social inequality
Weak governments
Too much democracy
Which statement best defines a republic?
A government owned by monarchs
A government where the state belongs to the people and leaders represent them
A government without elections
A government ruled by one party
In a republic, leaders are chosen through:
Inheritance
Military control
The will of the people
Religious authority
How does a republic differ from a pure democracy?
Citizens have no power
Leaders are not elected
The people own the state in a republic
Laws are not voted on
Which country is both a republic and a democracy?
Canada
United Kingdom
Philippines
Japan
Which statement best defines communism?
Private ownership is encouraged
The state controls all resources to achieve a classless society
Power is divided among states
Government does not exist
