American Political Institutions Quiz 1

Question 1

A unitary form of government is defined as:

A system in which states and other governmental units have supreme authority over themselves

A system in which states and other governmental units are completely controlled by and under the authority of a central government

A system in which the people have supreme authority over themselves

A system in which governmental units and states share power with a central government

 

Question 2

At the time of the founding of the new nation, Britain had what form of government?

State-based form of government

Direct democracy

Unitary form of government

Central form of government

 

Question 3

Based on the 1790 U.S. Census, the National Archives estimates that only 20.7 percent of the U.S. population were White males 16 years and older. What percentage of the U.S. population does the National Archive estimate was eligible for participation in the political system by way of being White male property owners?

18 percent

2 percent

14 percent

6 percent

 

Question 4

Concurrent Resolution 331, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1988, recognized the influence of the ____________ on the _____________ and the ____________.

Iroquois Confederacy; Articles of Confederation; Bill of Rights

Iroquois Constitution; U.S. Constitution; Bill of Rights

Algonquin Confederacy; Articles of Confederation; Bill of Rights

Iroquois Constitution; Articles of Confederation; U.S. Constitution

 

Question 5

Democracy is:

A system of government in which religious leaders control the political process

A system of government in which the people exercise political power

A system of government in which the people control their economic well-being

A system of government in which political leaders make all social and economic decisions

 

Question 6

Do contemporary conservatives fully adhere to classical republican theories?

Yes, contemporary conservatives support using the government to solve social problems

No, contemporary conservatives believe in a limited role for government for solving social problems

Yes, contemporary conservatives value individual liberty over the public good

No, contemporary conservatives believe the government has a role to play in individual lives

 

Question 7

For the Constitution to become the new national government after the Continental Congress passed it, __________ of the states had to ratify it.

All

Two-thirds

Three-fourths

One-half

 

Question 8

Government provides security for its citizens by:

Protecting them from unfair business practices

Protecting them from discrimination

Maintaining armed forces

All of the above

 

Question 9

Lemuel Haynes argued that slavery directly violated classical republican theory. Which of the following arguments would not fit into this argument?

People cannot be classified as property

Denying liberty to slaves undermines the intrinsic virtue of the citizenry

Given that slaves are individuals, their rights should be protected under the law

Because liberty is a natural right, slavery is unlawful

 

Question 10

Rule of law is defined as:

The idea that laws only applies to the people and not to the politicians

The idea that although laws are important, general government decisions are supreme

The idea that laws should take precedence over arbitrary governance

The idea that laws should be based on biblical authority

 

Question 11

The Articles of Confederation established a _____________, in which the legislative body consisted of only one house.

Government with three branches

Unicameral form of government

Bicameral form of government

Government run solely through Congress

 

Question 12

The Articles of Confederation failed due to:

The inability of the government to declare war and make peace

A lack of will among the states to maintain alliances

The inability of the government to make decisions

The inability of the government to exert any real power in the running of the nation

 

Question 13

The body of political philosophy concerned with the idea that rule by the people should be indirect through representatives is known as:

Classical egalitarianism

Classical liberalism

Classical republicanism

Inegalitarianism

 

Question 14

The creation of a weak central government under the Articles of Confederation was a logical step for the new nation given that:

The colonists did not think government was useful

The colonists had rebelled against overbearing religious dogma

The colonists had rebelled against the absolutism of the British government

The colonists knew nothing of political philosophy

 

Question 15

The existence of the Internal Revenue Service is an example of Congress’s:

legislative powers

implied powers

stated powers

enumerated powers

 

Question 16

The Framers of the Constitution worked to find a balance between:

The authority of the states and the authority of the central government

The authority of religion and the authority of government

The authority of the rich and the authority of the poor

The authority of monarch and the authority of the legislature

 

Question 17

The main overarching mechanism for controlling people’s behavior and managing their conflicts is:

Government

Religion

Military action

Naure

 

Question 18

The official resolutions adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in 2008 and 2009 concerning the historical relationship between the government and African Americans included all of the following EXCEPT:

A resolution to provide reparations for descendants of slaves

A formal apology for slavery

An acknowledgment of harmful government action against African Americans via Jim Crow laws

An acknowledgment that past government actions have influenced the current position of African Americans

 

Question 19

The social construction of race is defined as:

The construction of a group of people based on skin color to fit religious norms

The construction of a group of people of various phenotypes, skin colors, and physical characteristics for political and social purposes

The codification of the reality that some groups of people are innately different from others

The understanding that race is innately biological and free from governmental influences

 

Question 20

The sociopolitical philosophical tradition supporting the exclusion of large segments of the American population from participation in the political system is known as:

Inegalitarianism

Classical liberalism

Classical egalitarianism

Classical republicanism

 

Question 21

The U.S. Congress provided an apology and reparations to which of the following groups?

Native Hawaiians for the seizure of their land

Japanese Americans interned during World War II

African American descendants of slaves

Jewish Americans in European concentration camps during World War II

 

Question 22

The U.S. Congress’ Naturalization Act of 1790 pronounced that:

Only free persons born in the United States were eligible for citizenship

Only free White persons were eligible for citizenship

Only free White males were eligible for citizenship

All persons born in the United States were eligible for citizenship

 

Question 23

The U.S. government is an example of which type(s) of democracy?

Representative democracy

Direct democracy

Constitutional democracy

B and C

 

Question 24

To control the behavior of its people, government:

All of the above

Devises rules and regulations

Manages conflict

Establishes order

 

Question 25

To protest the Tea Act in 1773, colonists disguised as ____________ boarded ships in Boston Harbor and threw tea chests overboard.

Runaway slaves

Women

American Indians

British royals

 

Question 26

To provide for the public good, governments must:

None of the above

Place the needs of groups with the most resources over groups with few resources

Occasionally encroach on individual liberty

Regularly encroach on the national security of society

 

Question 27

Under the Constitution, the amendment ratification process:

Allows one state to veto any changes

Allows two states to veto any changes

Is difficult and allows a small minority of states to veto any changes

Is easy in that it does not take a majority of states to veto any changes

 

Question 28

What are enumerated powers?

Powers of the state governments specifically stated in the Constitution

Powers of the state governments that are inferred from the powers expressly stated in the Constitution

Powers of the federal government specifically stated in the Constitution

Powers of the federal government that are inferred from the powers expressly stated in the Constitution

 

Question 29

Which of the following are to be considered natural rights?

Those rights that exist only in nature

Those rights to which every person is entitled and that are independent of government

Those rights that are based on social, economic, and political status

Those rights that are clearly delineated in a constitution

 

Question 30

What factors contributed to the broad-scale institution of slavery in Virginia by 1661?

Increase in the supply of African slaves

Difficulty with Indian servitude

Lack of sufficient White indentured servitude

All of the above

 

Question 31

What is a confederation?

A system in which states and other governmental units relinquish all political power, and no economic power, to the central government

A system in which states and other governmental units are completely controlled by and under the authority of a central government

A system in which states and other governmental units organize a weak central government while maintaining ultimate power for themselves

A system in which there is only a central government

 

Question 32

What is the main point of the supremacy clause?

It establishes that the Constitution and the laws of the United States are the law of the land and supreme to all laws passed by the state and local governments

It establishes that the national, state, and local governments have equal amounts of power

It establishes that the Articles of Confederation and the laws of the United States are the law of the land and supreme to all laws passed by the state and local governments

It establishes that the laws of the state and local governments are the law of the land and supreme to all laws passed by the national governments

 

Question 33

When a government provides for the public good, it:

Makes decisions that reflect a narrow set of social interests

Ensures that discrimination only applies to a few specific groups

Creates policies that benefit individuals, rather than society as a whole

Creates policies that benefit society as a whole, rather than specific individuals

 

Question 34

When did the first Africans arrive in the American colonies?

1607

1641

1683

1619

 

Question 35

Which central questions fueled the American Revolution?

Monarchical autonomy and autocratic freedom

British freedom and colonial rule

Colonial government and autocratic freedom

Colonial autonomy and monarchical rule

 

Question 36

Which characteristics do all classical liberal theories share?

Pessimism about individual behavior, group favored over the individual, heavily regulated economy, reason before religious faith

Pessimism about individual behavior, group favored over the individual, free-market economy, religious dogma over scientific reason

Optimism about individual behavior, individual favored over the group, free-market economy, reason before religious faith

Optimism about individual behavior, individual favored over the group, heavily regulated economy, religious dogma over scientific reason

 

Question 37

Which clause gives Congress the authority to make essential and appropriate laws to carry out its enumerated responsibilities?

Supremacy clause

Equal protection clause

Due process clause

Necessary and proper clause

 

Question 38

Which compromise resolved the issue of how to count slaves for representational purposes?

Three-Fifths Compromise

New Jersey Compromise

Virginia Compromise

Two-Thirds Compromise

 

Question 39

Which group was in favor of the ratification of the Constitution?

Anti-Constitutionalists

Antifederalists

Federalists

Constitutionalists

 

Question 40

Which of the following is an example of direct democracy?

Referendums

Congressional elections

Initiatives

A and C

 

Question 41

Which of the following doctrines aided in the justification of the exclusion of women from the political system?

Racial inequality

Protestantism

Coverture

Civilization

 

Question 42

Which of the following was not a power of the Congress under the Articles of Confederation?

Power to enact taxes

Power to coin money

Power to make treaties

Power to declare war

 

Question 43

Which of the following helped to expose the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?

Bacon’s Rebellion

None of the above

Shays’s Rebellion

Revere’s Rebellion

 

Question 44

Which of the following plans proposed a system of government with a strong central government with three branches, and a legislature with proportional representation?

Virginia Plan

Massachusetts Plan

Rhode Island Plan

New Jersey Plan

 

Question 45

Which of the following plans proposed a system of government that maintained a confederation with a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state?

Rhode Island Plan

New Jersey Plan

Virginia Plan

Massachusetts Plan

 

Question 46

Which of the following was a direct effect of the Three-Fifths Compromise?

Small states had significantly more representation in the House than they would have if slaves were not counted

Slaveholding states had significantly more representation in the House than they would have if slaves were not counted

None of the above

All non-White individuals in the United States were counted as three-fifths of a person for representation purposes

 

Question 47

Which of the Founders posited the belief that Blacks were innately inferior to Whites and called on science to demonstrate this inferiority?

Adams

Jefferson

Madison

Franklin

 

Question 48

Which Parliamentary act was the first to impose a direct tax on the colonists?

Quartering Act

Stamp Act

Sugar Act

Declaratory Act

 

Question 49

Which Supreme Court ruling resulted in a broad interpretation of the necessary and proper clause?

McCulloch v. Maryland [1819]

Barron v. Baltimore [1833]

Dred Scott v. Sandford [1857]

Hurtado v. California [1884]

 

Question 50

Why were the Antifederalists opposed to the Constitution?

All of the above

They feared a consolidated government

They opposed unlimited taxing power

It lacked a bill of rights

 

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