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Interactive Quiz for Modern-1e, Chapter 2
Chapter 2 — Constitutional Law
1.
Immediately after the Revolutionary War ended, what form of government was
established in the United States?
a. Communist.
b. Confederal.
c. Federal.
d. Syndicalist.
Answers:
a. Incorrect. The founders did not create a Communist form of government—they
believed in the important role private property plays in protecting liberty.
b. Correct. A confederal government is confederation of states with a relatively
weak central government.
c. Incorrect. A federal government was created by the U.S. Constitution after the
confederal government failed to meet the needs of the new nation. In a federal
form of government, powers are shared by the states and the central
government.
d. Incorrect. Italian fascists in the 1920s and 1930s attempted to create a
government based on syndicalism, which is a way of ordering an economy.
2.
The commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution authorizes:
a. the judicial branch to regulate commerce.
b. the executive branch to regulate commerce.
c. Congress to regulate commerce.
d. The states to regulate commerce and foreign trade.
Answers:
a. Incorrect. The commerce clause does not authorize the judicial branch to
regulate commerce.
b. Incorrect. The commerce clause does not authorize the executive branch to
regulate commerce
c. Correct. The commerce clause authorizes Congress to regulate commerce
“with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian
Tribes.”
d. Incorrect. The commerce clause says nothing about the states’ authority to
regulate commerce (although as part of their reserved powers, states have the
authority to regulate commerce within their borders).
3.
The supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution states that:
a. state constitutions are the supreme law of the land.
b. the U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
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c. state constitutions and the U.S. Constitution are equally authoritative.
d. the executive branch has supreme power in the federal government.
Answers:
a. Incorrect. The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
b. Correct. The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
c. Incorrect. If there is a conflict between a state constitution and the federal
Constitution, the federal document is supreme.
d. Incorrect. The supremacy clause does not deal with the separation of powers
within the federal government but with the federal government’s powers with
respect to the states.
4.
If a federal law takes precedence over a conflicting state law, which part of the
U.S. Constitution will be invoked?
a. The supremacy clause.
b. The inequities clause.
c. The equal protection clause.
d. The First Amendment.
Answers:
a.
b.
c.
d.
5.
Correct. The supremacy clause governs such conflicts.
Incorrect. There is no such thing as an “inequities clause.”
Incorrect. The equal protection clause does not resolve such conflicts.
Incorrect. The First Amendment deals with freedom of religion, speech, and
other issues.
If it chooses, Congress may spend U.S. taxpayers’ money:
a. only for purposes outlined in Article I, Section 8.
b. only to promote the national defense.
c. to promote particular religions in the interests of diversity.
d. to promote any objective that Congress deems worthwhile, so long as it does
not violate the Bill of Rights.
Answers:
a. Incorrect. Congress’ spending power is broader than this.
b. Incorrect. Congress may spend taxpayers’ money for more than defense.
c. Incorrect. The First Amendment prohibits the government from promoting
particular religions.
d. Correct. Congress may spend taxpayers’ money to promote any objective
Congress deems worthwhile, so long as it does not violate the Bill of Rights.
6.
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution are known as:
a. the Declaration of Man’s Rights.
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b. the Bill of Rejoinder.
c. the Bill of Rights.
d. the Magna Carta.
Answers:
a. Incorrect. This is a reference to the declaration made during the eighteenthcentury French Revolution.
b. Incorrect. This is not what we call the amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
c. Correct. This is what the first ten amendments to the Constitution are called.
d. Incorrect. This refers to the thirteenth-century English document that limited
the powers of the king.
7.
As originally intended, the Bill of Rights limited:
a. the power of foreign citizens only.
b. the power of state officials only.
c. the power of Commerce Department officials only.
d. the power of the federal government only.
Answers:
a. Incorrect. The Bill of Rights did not originally limit the power of foreign citizens.
b. Incorrect. The Bill of Rights did not originally limit the power of state officials.
c. Incorrect. The Bill of Rights did not originally limit the power of Commerce
Department officials.
d. Correct. As originally intended, the Bill of Rights limited the power of the
federal government only.
8.
Courts traditionally give the rights guaranteed in the First Amendment:
a. narrow protection.
b. no protection.
c. the fullest possible protection.
d. protection only in certain cases.
Answers:
a. Incorrect. Courts extend very broad protection to these rights.
b. Incorrect. Courts find these rights extremely important and give them great
protection.
c. Correct. Courts regard these rights as central to our democracy and grant
them the fullest possible protection.
d. Incorrect. Courts extend very broad protection to these rights.
9.
Speech consisting of a false statement that harms someone’s good reputation
will:
a. receive the fullest constitutional protection possible.
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b. not be protected under the Constitution.
c. be protected as commercial speech.
d. be protected as political speech.
Answers:
a. Incorrect. This kind of harmful speech, called defamatory speech, will not be
protected.
b. Correct. Speech that wrongfully harms someone else’s good reputation is not
protected by the Constitution.
c. Incorrect. This kind of speech is not protected commercial speech.
d. Incorrect. This kind of speech is not protected political speech.
10.
The establishment clause:
a. prohibits the government from creating a state-sponsored religion.
b. prohibits the establishment of Buddhist monasteries.
c. guarantees that no person can be compelled to do something contrary to his
or her religious belief.
d. guarantees that churches may not request tithing from their members.
Answers:
a. Correct. The establishment clause prohibits the establishment of an official
religion.
b. Incorrect. The establishment clause does not prohibit the establishment of
Buddhist monasteries.
c. Incorrect. This guarantee is not contained in the establishment clause, but it is
a part of the First Amendment and is known as the free exercise clause.
d. Incorrect. This guarantee is not contained in the establishment clause.