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Chapter 2: The Constitution

Multiple Choice

Multiple Choice


This activity contains 20 questions.

	A major purpose of the economic provisions in the Constitution was to   guarantee the states a significant economic role. preserve and strengthen the farm economy to the disadvantage of manufacturing. create a strong national government so as to bring stability out of economic chaos. develop economic equality by protecting property.

	According to John Locke   natural law was considered superior to human law. natural law was less important than human law. human law and natural law were unimportant after revolution. human law protected property rights, making human law equal to natural law.

	At the top of the political agenda during the period of the Articles of Confederation were   military issues. social-equality issues. economic issues. voting rights issues.

	During the colonial period   Americans experienced less freedom than citizens of most European nations. Britain was involved in all aspects of American politics. the king and Parliament generally confined themselves to governing the colonies' foreign and trade policies Americans were burdened with cumbersome feudal and hierarchical restraints.

	Opposition to ratification of the Constitution was based on the belief that it would   give too much power to the states. promote pluralism, which would threaten liberty. produce more democratic elements than desirable for a strong central government. provide for elite control, endanger liberty, and weaken the states.

	Politically, the Declaration of Independence was primarily   a polemic, announcing and justifying a revolution. a philosophical treatise on politics. an outline for a new government. a treaty with France for war against Britain.

	Regarding voter eligibility, the Constitution   set strict guidelines. left it to Congress to decide. has been amended several times to expand the electorate. limited voting to white adult males with property.

	The Constitutional Convention dealt with slavery by   prohibiting it after twenty years. recognizing it by requiring the return of escaped slaves. counting the slaves as a full part of the population for the purposes of representation in the House. leaving the subject out of the Constitution so that the states could decide the issue.

	The founding fathers believed that the primary source of political conflict was the   unequal distribution of property. absence of majority rule. racial and social inequalities. religious differences in society.

	The Madisonian requirement that each branch of government acquire the consent of the others for many of its actions created a system of   separation of powers. checks and balances. constitutional republic. confederated government.

	The most important effect of the constitutional amendments has been to   strengthen the capitalist economy. expand liberty and equality. expand the powers of the states. reinforce elite control of government.

	The presidency has increased in significance and power as a result of   judicial review. increased demands for new policies. the diminished role of the electoral college. checks and balances.

	The primary goal of the American Revolution was to   establish a new political system based on democracy. create a new economic order. institutionalize new social values based on equality. restore rights the colonists felt were already theirs as British subjects.

	The separation of powers and the checks and balances established by the Constitution   create so many obstacles that groups have no place for their policy demands to be heard. allow almost all groups some place in the political system where their demands for public policy can be heard. are basically undemocratic since only elites can formulate policies within the system. have acted to discourage the growth of groups in American society.

	The U.S. Constitution   is one of the longest constitutions in the world. gives particular detail to the function of the judiciary. does not prescribe the function and structure of government in detail. lists the executive departments that are required to advise the president.

	The Virginia and New Jersey Plans introduced at the Constitutional Convention differed mainly over whether   slavery should be permitted in the country. there should be a legislative branch at the national level. the states or the national government should regulate interstate commerce. the legislative branch should represent the population or the states.

	Two key elements of the Madisonian model were to   keep as much of the government as possible beyond the control of a popular majority and extend the right to vote to everyone. promote state power while separating the powers of different national institutions. require a system of checks and balances and extend political equality. place most of the government beyond the control of a popular majority and separate the powers of different institutions.

	Under the Articles of Confederation, most authority rested with the   state legislatures. Continental Congress. president. U.S. Senate.

	Under the Articles of Confederation, power in the states began to shift to the hands of   elite merchants and lawyers. low-income landowners. middle-class farmers and craftworkers. new industrialists.

	Which of the following would NOT be considered an informal constitutional change?   the two-party system the income tax legal abortions members of the electoral college honor-bound to vote for their state's preference

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