question

While the ________ can make decisions about how to use armed forces, only the ________ can make decisions about funding such actions.

answer

president; Congress

question

Which branch of government did NOT initially have a negative power over the other branches of government?

answer

judicial

question

Which of the following slavery issues was dealt with via logrolling?

answer

importing slaves from other nations and dealing with runaway slaves

question

Which of the following powers is NOT exclusive to the legislative branch?

answer

the ability to send troops into armed conflict

question

Which of the following was NOT a part of the lead-up to the Revolutionary War?

answer

Shays's Rebellion

question

Which of the following methods of political compromise were used at the Constitutional Convention?

answer

splitting the difference and logrolling (vote trading)

question

Despite significant agreement on the need for a ________ national government at the Constitutional Convention, there was serious division about ________.

answer

stronger; how much stronger the federal government should be

question

The main reaction to the failure of the Articles of Confederation was to:

answer

make the national government stronger.

question

The separation of powers in U.S. government refers to:

answer

the division of governing authority among the presidency, the Congress, and the Supreme Court.

question

Which of the following was NOT a principal concern the Antifederalists had about the Constitution prior to ratification?

answer

the bicameral legislature

question

Which of the following was NOT an idea discussed by John Locke?

answer

the need for rule by a strong monarch

question

Modern-day interest groups such as the National Rifle Association and Emily's List are examples of what concept?

answer

factions

question

What are the three branches of the federal government?

answer

executive, judicial, and legislative

question

Slave states wanted slaves counted for the purposes of ________ but did not want slaves counted when it came to the issue of ________.

answer

representation; determining taxes

question

The Antifederalists argued that the power of ________ was \"a political error of the greatest magnitude.\"

answer

the veto

question

The idea of reserved powers is found in which amendment?

answer

Tenth

question

The concept of shared powers means that:

answer

in some areas of governmental action no branch has exclusive control.

question

Who had executive power under the Articles of Confederation?

answer

the legislature

question

Which key part of the government was formed under the Articles of Confederation?

answer

a weak national government

question

While ________ powers are not held exclusively by any branch of government, ________ powers are those that one branch can exercise over the other.

answer

shared; negative

question

According to the text, what has allowed the Constitution to remain so relevant today?

answer

its ability to change with the times and reflect its citizens' values

question

Which of the following is an exclusive power of the legislative branch?

answer

the power to declare war

question

Which three principles stated in the Declaration of Independence were generally agreed upon by the Constitution's framers?

answer

equality under the law, self-rule, and natural rights

question

Which of the following concepts applies most directly to the balance of power between state and national governments?

answer

supremacy clause

question

How did the framers design the Constitution to protect minority rights?

answer

separation of powers and checks and balances

question

The Federalists generally:

answer

supported increasing the authority of the national government.

question

Which of the following is NOT a reason that the framers of the Constitution chose the electoral college as the method for selecting the president?

answer

It was a system that had worked well in other democracies.

question

Which article of the Constitution describes the procedures for ratification?

answer

Article VII

question

When the interests of the people are represented through their elected leaders, it is an example of what kind of government?

answer

republic

question

Which of the following was NOT a tactic used by the Federalists to refute Antifederalist claims during the ratification debate?

answer

They agreed to public debates with the Antifederalists.

question

The Three-Fifths Compromise referred to:

answer

counting slaves as three-fifths of a person when determining state population.

question

Who authored the influential pamphlet Common Sense in 1776?

answer

Thomas Paine

question

The elastic clause refers to:

answer

the power of Congress to make laws necessary for executing its members' enumerated powers.

question

What is a serious technical error of the Constitution, according to the authors?

answer

It accords electors two votes each.

question

Which of the following is NOT a reason that the Constitution continues to be a \"living document\"?

answer

There is a consensus among Americans that the Constitution should be strictly followed.

question

The balanced perspective of the Constitution reflects all BUT:

answer

the political ideas and economic interests of average citizens.

question

What modern political philosophy is based in part on James Madison's \"size principle\"?

answer

pluralism

question

Which of the following concepts best describes the problems associated with the Articles of Confederation?

answer

tyranny of the minority

question

The ability to remove someone because of corruption or abuse of power is called:

answer

impeachment

question

The war powers held by the president and Congress are best an example of:

answer

shared powers.

question

The most significant economic differences among the framers of the Constitution were:

answer

grounded in regional differences, with the South favoring free trade and the North preferring tariffs on foreign goods to protect domestic industries.

question

Which of the following was true about the Antifederalists?

answer

They generally favored relatively strong state governments.

question

According to some legal scholars, why is the living document argument problematic for interpreting the Constitution today?

answer

Ignoring the framers' intent can allow for arbitrary law based on the individual preferences and biases of judges.

question

The executive power of the United States is given by the Constitution to:

answer

the president.

question

What were the two parts of the \"double protection\" that James Madison believed would protect against minority and majority tyranny?

answer

federalism and separation of powers

question

Which of the following events exposed discontent with the new government and led to the Annapolis Convention?

answer

Shays's Rebellion

question

Which group pushed for the concept of reserved powers?

answer

Antifederalists

question

Which of the following is a check that the president holds over the judicial branch?

answer

the ability to nominate judges for the federal courts

question

Which of the following concepts reflects the need to balance the principle of self-government against the rights of specific groups?

answer

providing for majority rule while protecting minority rights

question

How many states were needed to ratify the Constitution?

answer

nine out of thirteen

question

How did the Articles of Confederation limit government?

answer

Federal power was given to the legislative branch, where each state had one vote.

question

The authors of the Federalist Papers included:

answer

James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.

question

People who share a common political interest are best known as:

answer

faction

question

What does the \"size principle\" refer to?

answer

a natural limit on majority tyranny where a large, diverse public would be more divided than unified

question

Which of the following was NOT a source of significant conflict at the Constitutional Convention?

answer

whether to throw out or amend the Declaration of Independence

question

Why did the New Jersey Plan contain a proposal for a legislature with equal representation per state?

answer

New Jersey had relatively little population and would therefore gain more representation under an equal system.

question

Those colonists who remained supportive of the British monarchy during the Revolutionary War were called:

answer

Tories

question

To deal with the problem of factions, James Madison proposed:

answer

controlling them through checks and balances.

question

Which of the following is a power the president can use to check the legislative branch?

answer

veto

question

Which part of the national government was formed under the Articles of Confederation?

answer

special panels of judges to resolve disputes between states

question

Which influential thinker's writings led many of the Constitution's framers to reject monarchy as a method of self-rule?

answer

Thomas Paine

question

Which agreement gave the legislature two houses?

answer

Great Compromise

question

Which branch of government has the longest and most specific list of powers?

answer

legislative

question

What are two important negative checks that Congress can exercise over both the executive and the judicial branches?

answer

impeachment and the power of the purse

question

Which of the following was NOT a contentious issue in the debate over the executive branch?

answer

whether or not the president should be allowed to serve more than two terms

question

When Congress authorizes an agency to spend money it is using its:

answer

power of the purse.

question

How can Congress use its power of the purse as a check over the other two branches?

answer

By freezing judges' salaries or cutting funding for federal agencies, Congress can then give the money directly to the states.

question

For James Madison, the problem associated with a tyranny of the majority was that:

answer

large factions might capture control of the government and ignore the rights of those in the minority.

question

Which political thinker argued that in order to preserve liberty, one branch of government should be able to check the excesses of the other branches?

answer

Baron de Montesquieu

question

A faction is a group of ________ that seek to control government power to ________.

answer

minority or majority interests; pursue their own interests

question

Which of the following is NOT part of an acceptable process for amending the Constitution?

answer

proposal; approval by three-fourths of Congress

question

Which of the following addressed Antifederalist concerns about the absence of limits on national governing power?

answer

Tenth Amendment

question

Which part of government was considered the weakest because it did not have \"power of the purse or sword\"?

answer

judicial branch

question

Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?

answer

The document placed too many limits on governmental power.

question

A form of government in which the leader is chosen by the legislature is called:

answer

a parliamentary system.

question

Which of the following is the main argument behind the Tea Party movement?

answer

The expansion of the federal government has grown beyond what the founding fathers intended.

question

Which of the following best describes the context in which the Constitution was created?

answer

quarrels among the states and the growing perception of the collapse of the rule of law

question

Which of the following was implemented in order to protect minorities from majority tyranny?

answer

separation of powers between three branches of government

The Constitution and the Founding

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