BE SURE TO WRITE YOUR NAME ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET!!
IMPORTANT: MAKE ALL ERASURES COMPLETELY - IT IS YOUR
RESPONSIBILITY TO CLEARLY INDICATE YOUR CHOSEN
ANSWER. RESPONSES THAT ARE NOT COMPLETELY ERASED
WILL BE COUNTED AS INCORRECT. THIS EXAM IS WORTH 100
POINTS.
Temple College
Government 2302 – Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Spring 2000
Exam #1
MULTIPLE CHOICE. INSTRUCTIONS: Answer each of the following
multiple choice questions by marking the letter on your scan-tron form that
corresponds to the BEST response. 50 questions/2 points each/100 points total.
1. Which of the following does John Winkle see as an important contextual limit on the
rights and liberties of the individual?
1. conflicts with order
2. conflicts with equality
3. federalism
4. the projected harm of denying the right (the more substantial the penalty, the
more significant the safeguards)
5. conflicts with other rights (i.e., the freedom of the press vis-a-vis the right to a
fair and impartial trial)
a. 1, 2, and 5 b. 3 and 4 c. 1, 2, 4, and 5 d. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
2. In the article “Constitutional Interpretation,” Leif Carter argues that
a. the Constitution ought to provide clear answers for all of our political and legal
disputes.
b. conservatives are more likely than progressives to view the Constitution as a
“living” document that can be applied flexibly to changing conditions and
circumstances.
c. The Constitution provides us a framework with which we can resolve conflicts
rather than attempting resolving the conflicts itself.
d. None of these.
3. In class, we argued that there were several features of the Declaration of
Independence that complicated the task of constitution-making for Americans during
the early national period. Which of the following was NOT one of the features we
discussed?
a. embracing of natural rights theory
b. distrust of executive authority
c. fear of a uniform national currency
d. creation of plural, rather than a single nation
4. In searching for an argument that could be used to defy Parliament, the Americans
developed all of the following arguments except which of the following?
a. The natural law argument: God imbues all men with “right reason” (a knowledge
of what is right and just and of what is wrong and unjust) – implying Parliament
could not pass a law that was contrary to God’s natural law.
b. The rights of Englishmen argument: The colonists, as faithful subjects of the
Crown, were entitled to all the inherent rights and liberties of natural-born subjects
in Great Britain.
c. The constitutional argument: Parliament’s powers were limited by the unwritten,
but traditional English constitution
d. The Americans in opposition to Parliamentary controls developed all of these
arguments.
5. Who is credited with developing the “constitutional argument” indicated in the
previous question?
a. John Dickinson
b. Thomas Jefferson
c. Patrick Henry
d. James Otis
6. The “Crown-in-Parliament” view
a. suggested that the king, the House of Commons, and the House of Lords during
the mid to late 1700s had come to function together under the king’s ministers.
b. was consistent with Montesquieu’s separation of power’s arguments.
c. Was used by the American colonists to justify their opposition to Parliament’s
authority.
d. was never accepted as legitimate in England.
7. Which of the assigned authors is best characterized as an anarchist?
a. John Stuart Mill.
b. Emma Goldman.
c. Hanna Pitkin.
d. Herbert Croly.
8. Which of the following is consistent with John Rawls' principles of justice?
a. fundamental liberties of everyone
b. conditions of equal opportunity
c. efforts to improve the lot of the least well-off member of society
d. all of these
9. In his article “Equality of Opportunity,” Michael Levin argues that equality should be
identified with opportunity rather than outcomes because the latter
a. would require “drastic curtailment of freedom.”
b. “denies the diversity of human talents.”
c. ignores the “distinction between an opportunity and what one makes of it.”
d. all of the above.
10. The idea that government originates as an implied contract among individuals who
agree to obey laws in exchange for protection of their rights is known as the
a. social design. b. social contract. c. inherent contract. d. government contract.
11. The non-violent violation of laws that people believe to be unjust is known as
a.
b.
c.
d.
violent disobedience.
civil disobedience.
criminal disobedience.
civil compliance.
12. The type of activity indicated by question #11 is suggested by the writings of
a. Thomas Hobbes and Isaiah Berlin.
b. Henry David Thoreau and John Rawls.
c. John Stuart Mill and Emma Goldman.
d. John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
13. One objective of the type of activity suggested by question #11 is to
a. reveal the corruption within a local police force.
b. Address the support of locally elected officials.
c. Bankrupt an oppressive government.
d. Stir the conscience of an apathetic majority.
14. Thomas Hobbes argued that government derived its power from the
a. power of the states.
b. Power of the military.
c. God.
d. Consent of the governed.
15. The pessimistic view of human nature and life without government (in a state of
nature) is “nasty, brutish, and short” is most closely associated with
a. Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
b. John Rawls.
c. Thomas Hobbes.
d. Thomas Jefferson.
16. The Declaration of Independence expressed the belief that the rights of life, liberty,
and pursuit of happiness (property) are not granted by government. Rather, they
a. are implied in the U.S. Constitution.
b. Are the results of positive (man-made) law.
c. Are possessed by the individual by virtue of the laws of nature.
d. Are rights given to those who are recognized by the sovereign power as citizens.
17. Which of the following political philosophers had the greatest single influence on the
principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence by the founders of the
American republic?
a. Thomas Hobbes
b. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
c. Thomas Aquinas
d. John Locke.
18. John Locke’s philosophy, which endorsed the moral right of people to dissolve a
government that violates their fundamental rights, is known as the theory of
a. civil disobedience.
b. the nation-state.
c. the universal community.
d. the social contract.
19. The framers of the U.S. Constitution embraced the principle that a government
should itself be restrained by law. This is known as the principle of
a. ineffective government.
b. Confederal government.
c. Popular government
d. Limited government.
20. Written or unwritten rules by which government operates, including limits on
governmental power is
a. A contract.
b. A legislative act.
c. A constitution.
d. Positive law.
21. Most Americans in the early national period believed that the liberties of individuals
and restraints on governmental powers should be set forth in
a. a declaration of principles.
b. Judicial decisions.
c. Legislative actions.
d. Constitutions.
22. The philosopher who argued that the laws of nature guarantee every person “certain
inalienable Rights” was
a. Thomas Hobbes.
b. John Locke.
c. Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
d. Adam Smith.
23. Implicit in the theory of the social contract (as understood by the American founders)
is the belief that
a. governmental processes should be open to public scrutiny.
b. There should be strict separation of church and state.
c. There should be an elite governing body to guide the uneducated masses.
d. Governmental powers and restrictions on the individual should be kept to a
minimum.
24. The ability to make of oneself what one can, to develop one’s talents and abilities,
and to be rewarded for hard work, initiative, and achievements is characterized by
Michael Levin as
a. equality of opportunity.
b. True political equality.
c. Equality of results.
d. The “origins of inequality.”
25. The notion that everyone starts and finishes the race together, regardless of ability,
talent, initiative, or work effort, is known as
a. equality of opportunity.
b. True political equality.
c. Equality of results.
d. The “origins of inequality.”
26. Which American document is identified as the “supreme law of the land”?
a. the Declaration of Independence
b. the Articles of Confederation
c. the Mayflower Compact
d. the Constitution
27. Which of the following documents represent an important contribution to the
American covenanting tradition?
1. The Magna Carta, 1215
2. The Mayflower Compact, 1620
3. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, 1639
4. The Writ of Habeas Corpus, 1754
5. The United States Constitution, 1787
a. 1, 2, and 3
b. 2, 3, and 4
c. 2, 3, and 5
d. 1, 2, 3, and 5
28. Only in Connecticut and Rhode Island did the colonists draw up their charters and
present them to the king, thereby setting the precedent in the American experience
for which of the following principles?
a. direct democracy
b. the right to petition the government
c. republican form of government
d. written constitutions
29. In writing the Declaration of Independence (1776), Thomas Jefferson lifted several
phrases directly from
a. Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1765
b. Hume’s, Of the Original Social Contract, 1752
c. Montesquieu’s, Spirit of the Laws, 1752
d. Locke’s, Second Treatise of Civil Government, 1694
30. Under the Articles of Confederation, the United States was really a
a. single, integrated nation.
b. commonwealth.
c. confederation of nations.
d. autonomous group of colonies united in a single goal – independence.
31. One of the major problems of the Articles of Confederation was that Congress had
no power to
a. tax the people directly.
b. send envoys to foreign countries.
c. engage in diplomacy.
d. requisition materials and revenues from the states.
32. Under the Articles of Confederation, the national government could not protect
merchants from heavy tariffs because the national government did not have the
power to
a. tax exports.
b. regulate interstate commerce.
c. tax imports.
d. a and c.
33. The event that galvanized property owners more than any other to support the
creation of a strong central government capable of dealing with democratic “mob
rule” was
a. the Whiskey Rebellion.
b. The Charter Oak Affair.
c. The Colonial Indian Uprising.
d. Shays’ Rebellion.
34. In 1787, Congress called for a convention to meet in Philadelphia for the “sole
purpose” of
a. putting down the French and Indian Wars.
b. revising the Articles of Confederation.
c. rewriting the Mayflower Compact.
d. amending the Declaration of Independence.
35. On which principle did the framers of the Constitution fundamentally agree?
a. that the states should form regional alliances
b. the protection of individual liberty and property
c. creation of a national judiciary
d. recognition of the Constitution as the “supreme law of the land”
36. On which principle did the framers rest their belief in the legitimacy of government?
a. the epistle of the apostle Paul to the Romans, Chapter 13
b. Paine’s view that the social contract is an agreement among individuals in
society
c. Rousseau’s view of the origins of property
d. Locke’s notion of the consent of the governed
37. In addition to their belief in a written constitution, the framers believed in dividing
power within government by creating separate branches able to check and balance
one another’s powers. This reflected the views of
a. David Hume.
b. Thomas Gordon.
c. Algernon Sidney.
d. The Baron of Montesquieu.
38. Many of the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention were nationalists and believed
that the flaws of the Articles of Confederation could only be corrected through the
creation of a
a. strong national government.
b. confederation of independent states.
c. dissolution of the union among the states.
d. abolition of the states.
39. The forces that opposed the creation of a strong national government were called
a. Radicals.
b. Federal Extremists.
c. Federalists.
d. Anti-Federalists.
40. The plan introduced at the Convention favoring large states that proposed a two
chamber Congress with the lower house chosen by the people with representation
based on population
a. the New York Plan.
b. The Virginia Plan.
c. The New Jersey Plan.
d. The Connecticut Compromise.
41. The plan introduced at the Convention providing for each state to be represented
with one vote in Congress regardless of its size and population was known as
a. the New York Plan.
b. The Virginia Plan.
c. The New Jersey Plan.
d. The Connecticut Compromise.
42. The proposal that established two chambers of Congress, a Senate with two
members from each state and a House of Representatives with members
representing population was known as
a. the New York Plan.
b. The Virginia Plan.
c. The New Jersey Plan.
d. The Connecticut Compromise.
43. The series of essays written in defense of the Constitution of 1787 were entitled
a. Common Sense.
b. The Two Treatises of Civil Government.
c. The Federalist Papers.
d. Of the Original Contract.
44. Which of the following was NOT a contributor to the series of essays indicated by
the previous question?
a. James Madison
b. Thomas Jefferson
c. John Jay
d. Alexander Hamilton
45. The man most responsible for drafting the first ten amendments to the U.S.
Constitution – the Bill of Rights – was
a. Thomas Jefferson.
b. Thomas Paine.
c. Alexander Hamilton.
d. James Madison.
46. The most effective argument of the Anti-Federalists against ratification of the
Constitution was that it
a. would create an aristocratic tyranny.
b. Posed a threat to republican government.
c. Lacked a Bill of Rights.
d. Would lead to a president with the powers of a monarch.
47. The Bill of Rights was originally designed to limit the powers of the
a. rebellious southern states.
b. New national government.
c. The government of the Northwest Territory.
d. The slave states.
48. Which of the following proposed during the Constitutional Convention that a
committee be created to draft a Bill of Rights for inclusion in the Constitution?
a. Jefferson and Madison.
b. Madison and Hamilton.
c. Gerry and Mason.
d. Pickney and Rutledge.
49. During the early national period (1776-1789) when Americans wrote their state
constitutions, the commitment to republican government was expressed primarily by
a. efforts to establish monarchies in several of the states.
b. vesting extensive authority in the hands of the governors of the states.
c. vesting the bulk of the power in the hands of the state legislatures.
d. establishing voting rights for all free me without respect to property qualifications.
50. Which state was the first in 1780 to adopt a constitution that was written by a body
elected specifically for that purpose and then ratified by the towns?
a. Virginia
b. Rhode Island
c. Massachusetts
d. New York