Unit 2 Test Bank – The Constitution
Constitutional Convention:
1) Delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 adopted the Great Compromise to
settle differences over
(1) slavery
(2) representation in Congress
(3) interstate trade
(4) taxation
2) To address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, delegates at the
Constitutional Convention agreed to
(1) eliminate the slave trade
(2) increase the powers of the central government
(3) decrease the number of states
(4) allow states to set tariff rates
3) During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the plans for Congress proposed by
delegates from New Jersey and Virginia differed mainly over the issue of
(1) life terms of office or short terms of office
(2) appointed legislators or elected legislators
(3) equal state representation or proportionate state representation
(4) power to check other branches or power limited to lawmaking
4) “New Congress to Have Two Houses”
“Slaves to Count as Three-Fifths of a Person”
“President to be Chosen by Electoral Vote”
Which conclusion about the Constitutional Convention is best supported by these
headlines?
(1) The framers of the Constitution were able to compromise on important issues.
(2) States that were small in area would lose power in the new Constitution.
(3) States with large populations controlled the outcome of the convention.
(4) The president and Congress would have equal power under the new
constitution.
5) During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the Great Compromise resolved a
conflict over
(1) presidential power
(2) the issue of nullification
(3) representation in Congress
(4) taxes on imports
6) At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the Great Compromise resolved the issue of
(1) representation
(2) taxation
(3) slavery
(4) control of trade
7) The Great Compromise at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was important
because it
(1) established suffrage for all males over the age of twenty-one
(2) ended the controversy over slavery
(3) created a single-house national legislature
(4) balanced the interests of states with large and small populations
8) During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the major disagreement between the
large and small states occurred over the issue of
(1) continuation of slavery
(2) guaranteeing States rights
(3) representation in Congress
(4) control of interstate commerce
9) Delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 agreed to the Three-Fifths
Compromise as a solution to the problem of how to determine the
(1) number of representatives in the House from each state
(2) qualifications of Supreme Court justices
(3) tariff rates on exports
(4) length of the president’s term
Base your answers to questions 10 and 11 on the statements below and on your
knowledge of social studies.
Speaker A: We favor the Virginia Plan, in which representation is based on population.
States with more people should have more representation.
Speaker B: Slaves should be counted because they are an important part of our state
populations, and Congress should not be able to stop us from importing slaves to
work on our plantations.
Speaker C: We delegates from the small states insist upon a legislature in which each
state receives equal representation.
Speaker D: Congress should tax imports so that foreign goods will not be cheaper than
our manufactured products.
10) Which document addressed the concerns of all of these speakers?
(1) Declaration of Independence
(2) Articles of Confederation
(3) United States Constitution
(4) Missouri Compromise
11) The conflict between the statements of Speakers A and C was resolved by
(1) creating a two-house legislature
(2) delegating most governing power to the states
(3) maintaining a balance in Congress between the slave states and the free states
(4) passing a group of constitutional amendments to protect individual rights
12) Which heading best completes the partial outline below?
I.____________________________________
A. Representation
B. Slave trade
C. Taxation
D. Election of the president
(1) Causes of the Revolutionary War
(2) Provisions of the Treaty of Paris, 1783
(3) Protections under the 10th Amendment
(4) Compromises at the Constitutional Convention
13) A significant compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was the
agreement to
(1) exclude slaves from census counts
(2) forbid tariffs on imports
(3) establish a bicameral legislature
(4) limit the number of terms a president could serve
14) Delegates at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 agreed to create a bicameral
legislature as a way to
(1) insure speedy passage of legislation
(2) assure the right to vote to all adult males
(3) address the issue of population differences among the states
(4) satisfy the different interests of the rich and poor citizens
Answer Key to the Constitutional Convention Questions:
1) 2 2) 2 3) 3 4) 1 5) 3 6) 1 7) 4 8) 3 9) 1
12) 4 13) 3 14) 3
10) 3 11) 1
Constitutional Principles:
1) A system of checks and balances was included in the United States Constitution
because the authors were concerned about
(1) one branch of government becoming too strong
(2) the states having too much power
(3) the people having a voice in government
(4) the military gaining control of the United States
• Congress proposes an amendment legalizing an income tax.
• The Supreme Court rules that the income tax is unconstitutional.
These events illustrate the use of
(1) delegated powers
(2) checks and balances
(3) judicial legislation
(4) the unwritten constitution
2)
3) To avoid having too much power concentrated in one branch of government, the
framers of the Constitution established
(1) a bicameral national legislature
(2) division of power among different levels of government
(3) the system of two political parties
(4) the system of checks and balances
4) To provide for change, the authors of the United States Constitution included the
amendment process and the
(1) commerce clause
(2) elastic clause
(3) supremacy clause
(4) naturalization clause
5) Judicial review, as practiced by the federal courts, resulted directly from
(1) the decisions of colonial governors
(2) the Articles of Confederation
(3) the Bill of Rights
(4) a Supreme Court decision
6) Federalism is a term used to define the division of power between the
(1) president and the vice president
(2) Senate and the House of Representatives
(3) national and state levels of government
(4) three branches of the federal government
7) In the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, popular
sovereignty was proposed as a way to
(1) allow northern states the power to ban slavery
(2) deny southern states the legal right to own slaves
(3) allow settlers in new territories to vote on the issue of slavery
(4) overturn previous Supreme Court decisions on slavery
8) The writers of the United States Constitution created a federal form of government
primarily to
(1) limit the powers of the Senate
(2) develop a criminal justice system
(3) provide for civilian control over the military
(4) divide power between levels of government
9) Which statement is an example of the system of federalism?
(1) Cabinet members are appointed by the president.
(2) Revenue bills must begin in the House of Representatives.
(3) The national government coins money, but states cannot.
(4) The president can negotiate treaties, but the Senate has the power to ratify
them.
10) Judicial review gives the United States Supreme Court the power to
(1) declare state laws unconstitutional
(2) override a congressional veto
(3) impeach and remove the president from office
(4) approve treaties with foreign nations
11) The necessary and proper clause, the amendment process, and the unwritten
constitution are evidence that our constitutional system of government provides for
(1) popular sovereignty
(2) equal representation
(3) flexibility
(4) ratification
12) Which newspaper headline shows the operation of the system of checks and
balances?
(1) “Senate Rejects President’s Choice of Supreme Court Justice”
(2) “Florida to Gain Two Seats in the United States House of
Representatives”
(3) “Albany County Receives $4 Million from Congress for Transportation
Development”
(4) “New York State Rejects Federal Regulations on Drug Testing”
13) The framers of the United States Constitution included the concepts of federalism,
checks and balances, and separation of powers in the document because they
(1) feared a government with unlimited power
(2) favored the poor over the rich
(3) wanted to increase the powers of the states
(4) hoped to expand the democratic process
14) The Preamble of the United States Constitution states the purposes of government
and is based on the belief that
(1) the states have ultimate authority
(2) members of Congress should be appointed
(3) Supreme Court Justices should be elected
(4) the people are sovereign
Base your answers to questions 15 and 16 on the statements below and on your
knowledge of social studies.
Speaker A: A leader is not ultimately responsible to the people but to God, from whom
the leader derives the right to govern.
Speaker B: Each citizen is entitled to a voice in government. Therefore, government
should be run by those representatives elected directly by the citizens so that the
will of the citizens is expressed.
Speaker C: History has taught us that the concentration of political power leads to the
abuse of that power. Therefore, power should be divided among national, state,
and local governments.
Speaker D: Life is a struggle. Those who seize and maintain political power represent the
strongest and most competent of that society and earn the right to govern.
15) The principle of federalism contained in the Constitution of the United States is most
consistent with the ideas of Speaker
(1) A
(2) B
(3) C
(4) D
16) Over the course of its history, the United States has advanced the goal of Speaker B
by
(1) upholding the separation of church and state
(2) adding constitutional amendments to expand voting rights
(3) expanding the role of the Supreme Court in government
(4) providing for the direct election of the president
17) The power of judicial review allows the Supreme Court to
(1) repeal amendments to the Constitution
(2) determine the constitutionality of a law
(3) break tie votes in the electoral college
(4) impeach the president and other high-level officials
18) New York State and the United States have republican forms of government because
both have
(1) a bill of rights
(2) a written constitution
(3) an elected legislature
(4) three branches of government
19) The amendment process was included in the United States Constitution in order to
(1) remove government officials from political office
(2) check the power of the Supreme Court
(3) allow government to meet the changing needs of society
(4) preserve the federal system of government
20) “. . . it is the opinion of this committee that a national government ought to be
established consisting of a Supreme Legislature, Judiciary, and Executive. . . .”
— Resolution submitted by Edmund Randolph,
delegate to the Constitutional Convention, 1787
In adopting this resolution, the framers of the Constitution showed their belief in the idea
of
(1) judicial review
(2) an elastic clause
(3) States rights
(4) separation of powers
21) Which governmental action illustrates the system of checks and balances?
(1) a senator helping a governor solve a state problem
(2) the president negotiating a trade agreement with foreign diplomats
(3) the Senate ratifying a peace treaty
(4) Congress raising taxes to pay for federal programs
22) Which constitutional principle is best illustrated by the cartoon?
(1) federalism
(2) popular sovereignty
(3) judicial review
(4) checks and balances
23) One reason the United States Constitution is considered a flexible document is that it
(1) can be rewritten every ten years
(2) allows for the creation of a multiparty political system
(3) gives the states the power to change federal laws
(4) includes the elastic clause
Answer Key to the Constitutional Principles Questions:
1) 1 2) 2 3) 4 4) 2 5) 4 6) 3 7) 3 8) 4 9) 3 10) 1 11) 3 12) 1
13) 1 14) 4 15) 3 16) 2 17) 2 18) 3 19) 3 20) 4 21) 3 22) 4 23) 4
Constitutional Powers:
1) Which power is shared by the federal government and the New York State
government?
(1) enacting immigration laws
(2) levying taxes
(3) granting patents and copyrights
(4) issuing passports
2) The implied powers suggested by the United States Constitution show that the writers
recognized the
(1) powers of government needed to be able to adapt to change
(2) rights of the states had to be protected
(3) powers of the Supreme Court needed to be checked
(4) rights of the citizens were the first concern of government
3) “The Congress shall have Power . . . To make all Laws which shall be necessary and
proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested
[granted] by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any
Department or Officer thereof. . . .”
This section of the United States Constitution was frequently used during the 20th
century to
(1) expand federal control of interstate commerce
(2) reduce the number of federal courts
(3) overturn decisions of the electoral college
(4) impeach the president
4) Which statement from the United States Constitution is referred to as the elastic
clause?
(1) “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the
United States. . . . ”
(2) “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. . . . ”
(3) “All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives…”
(4) “Congress shall have power . . . to make all laws which shall be necessary and
proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers. . . . ”
5) Under the United States Constitution, state governments have the power to
(1) coin money
(2) license teachers
(3) regulate interstate commerce
(4) establish term limits for members of Congress
6) Congress established a minimum wage for workers and regulations on radio broadcasts
by combining its delegated power to regulate interstate commerce with the
(1) sanctity of contract clause
(2) due process clause
(3) elastic clause
(4) writ of habeas corpus clause
7) “. . . Congress shall have power . . . to make all Laws which shall be necessary and
proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by
this Constitution in the Government of the United States. . . .”
This statement from the United States Constitution is the source of
(1) veto power
(2) judicial review
(3) implied powers
(4) states’ rights
Answer Key to the Constitutional Powers Questions:
1) 2 2) 1 3) 1 4) 4 5) 2 6) 3 7) 3
Legislative Branch:
1) Which statement describes a characteristic of democracy that is provided for in the
United States Constitution?
(1) Political power in Congress is held by the ranking political party.
(2) All bills passed by Congress are reviewed by the Supreme Court.
(3) Citizens choose their congressional representatives.
(4) The president can require Congress to submit legislation for the cabinet’s
approval.
2) The requirement to conduct a census was included in the United States Constitution to
(1) control the numbers of immigrants
(2) determine income tax rates
(3) determine the number of members from each state in the House of
Representatives
(4) record the birth and death rates of the population
3) Population data from the census of 2000 was used to determine the number of
(1) states in the Union
(2) senators from each state
(3) electoral college votes from each state
(4) Supreme Court justices
4) The Constitution assigns the power to ratify treaties exclusively to the
(1) Supreme Court
(2) United States Senate
(3) House of Representatives
(4) president
5) Which change within the federal government results from the census that is taken
every ten years?
(1) The Supreme Court gains new justices.
(2) Members of Congress face new term limits.
(3) Large states gain additional seats in the Senate.
(4) Some states lose or gain members in the House of Representatives.
6) The United States Constitution requires that a national census be taken every ten years
to
(1) provide the government with information about voter registration
(2) establish a standard for setting income tax rates
(3) determine the number of members each state has in the House of
Representatives
(4) decide who can vote in presidential elections
7) What was a direct result of the census of 2000?
(1) Personal income tax rates were changed.
(2) New United States District Courts were created.
(3) Seats in the House of Representatives were reapportioned.
(4) The number of United States Senators was increased.
8) Which feature of the federal government is specifically described in the United States
Constitution?
(1) president’s cabinet
(2) two-party political system
(3) congressional committee system
(4) Senate approval of nominations to the Supreme Court
9) “. . . Congress shall have power . . . to make all Laws which shall be necessary and
proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by
this Constitution in the Government of the United States. . . .”
This statement from the United States Constitution is the source of
(1) veto power
(2) judicial review
(3) implied powers
(4) states’ rights
10) The writers of the United States Constitution included the requirement for a census
every ten years primarily to
(1) regulate numbers of immigrants
(2) determine representation in Congress
(3) decide when new states were needed
(4) set goals for population growth
11) Filibusters were used by United States Senators from the South in the 1950s and
1960s to
(1) block passage of civil rights bills
(2) protest United States involvement in Vietnam
(3) override presidential vetoes of environmental bills
(4) gain approval of presidential appointments to the Supreme Court
Answer Key to the Legislative Branch Questions:
1) 3 2) 3 3) 3 4) 2 5) 4 6) 3 7) 3 8) 4
9) 3
10) 2 11) 1
Executive Branch:
1) Which action illustrates the president’s power as commander in chief ?
(1) ordering American troops into a foreign country
(2) appointing the secretary of state
(3) entertaining a foreign leader at the White House
(4) delivering the State of the Union address
2) A major criticism of the electoral college system has been that
(1) party loyalty is weakened after a presidential election
(2) electors frequently fail to vote for a candidate
(3) members of the electoral college are appointed for life terms
(4) a president may be elected without receiving the majority of the popular vote
3) According to the United States Constitution, the president has the power to
(1) nominate federal judges
(2) declare war
(3) grant titles of nobility
(4) reverse Supreme Court decisions
4) In the 2000 presidential election, which aspect of the electoral college system caused
the most controversy?
(1) A state can divide its electoral votes among different candidates.
(2) States with few electoral votes have no influence on election outcomes.
(3) The selection of electors varies among states.
(4) The winner of the popular vote might not get the majority of the electoral vote.
5) Which criticism of the electoral college system is illustrated by the information in the
table?
(1) Presidential electors frequently do not vote for the person they were pledged
to support.
(2) A person can win the presidency without winning the most popular votes.
(3) The vote of the people in each state has little relationship to the election
outcome.
(4) Minor-party candidates often receive too many electoral votes.
6) Which change is most often proposed to correct the problem shown by the table?
(1) adopt a constitutional amendment to elect the president by popular vote
(2) pass a law requiring state electors to vote for the candidate with the most
popular votes
(3) place limits on the number of political parties allowed in presidential elections
(4) allow the elected members of Congress to select the president
Answer Key to the Executive Branch Questions:
1) 1 2) 4 3) 1 4) 4 5) 2 6) 1
Judicial Branch:
1) The Supreme Court has the power to
(1) control the federal budget
(2) vote to end a tie in the Senate
(3) approve presidential appointments
(4) interpret the Constitution
2) The power of judicial review allows the Supreme Court to
(1) repeal amendments to the Constitution
(2) determine the constitutionality of a law
(3) break tie votes in the electoral college
(4) impeach the president and other high-level officials
3) Judicial review gives the United States Supreme Court the power to
(1) declare state laws unconstitutional
(2) override a congressional veto
(3) impeach and remove the president from office
(4) approve treaties with foreign nations
4) Which headline illustrates the use of judicial review?
(1) “Congress Passes a Civil Rights Bill”
(2) “Conference Committee Meets to Finalize Budget”
(3) “New York State’s Reapportionment Plan Ruled Unconstitutional”
(4) “President Signs SALT Agreement with Russia”
Answer Key to the Judicial Branch Questions:
1) 4 2) 2 3) 1 4) 3
Comparisons – the Constitution compared to …
1) One similarity between the Articles of Confederation and the United States
Constitution is that both documents provide for
(1) a national legislature to make laws
(2) federal control of commerce between the states
(3) federal power to impose and collect taxes
(4) the abolition of slavery
2) The Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights are similar in that both
(1) support a federal system of government
(2) maintain the importance of a strong chief executive
(3) provide for a system of checks and balances
(4) support limitations on governmental power
3) The United States Constitution corrected a weakness of the Articles of Confederation
by
(1) creating three branches of government
(2) giving greater power to state governments
(3) providing a clear definition of states’ rights
(4) granting the right to vote to all white males
4) Which group had the most influence on the ideas stated in the Declaration of
Independence and United States Constitution?
(1) political leaders of Spain and Portugal
(2) religious leaders of the medieval period
(3) writers of the Renaissance
(4) philosophers of the Enlightenment
5) One similarity between the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights is that
both documents
(1) provide for a government with three separate branches
(2) discuss colonial grievances against the monarchy
(3) stress the importance of individual liberty
(4) criticize the practice of slavery
Answer Key to the Comparisons – the Constitution compared to …
Questions:
1) 1 2) 4 3) 1 4) 4 5) 3
Ratification Process:
Base your answers to questions 1 and 2 on the statements below and on your knowledge
of social studies.
Speaker A: We want a strong national government to provide order and protect the rights
of the people.
Speaker B: We want a weak national government so that it will not threaten the rights of
the people or the powers of the states.
Speaker C: We want to add a bill of rights to the Constitution to protect the people
against abuses of power.
Speaker D: A bill of rights is unnecessary because the new government’s powers are
limited by the Constitution.
1) A common theme in the statements is a concern about
(1) excessive state power
(2) the Land Ordinance of 1785
(3) the rights of the individual
(4) creation of the Articles of Confederation
2) These statements represent points of view that differ between
(1) pro-independence Patriots and pro-British Tories
(2) leaders of the North and the West
(3) supporters of Congress and the president
(4) Federalists and Antifederalists
3) The Federalist Papers were a series of newspaper articles published in 1787 and 1788
to win support for the
(1) right of the colonies to rebel against Great Britain
(2) right of a state to secede from the Union
(3) ratification of the United States Constitution
(4) construction of an interstate canal system
4) The Federalist Papers were published in 1787 and 1788 to help gain support for
(1) a bill of rights
(2) the ratification of the Constitution
(3) a weaker central government
(4) the abolition of slavery and the slave trade
5) In 1788 and 1789, a major controversy between the Federalists and the Antifederalists
focused on
(1) expansion of slavery into the territories
(2) the wisdom of creating a two-house legislature
(3) division of power among different levels of government
(4) the issue of allowing women the right to vote
6) Antifederalist objections to the ratification of the Constitution led to the
(1) addition of a Bill of Rights
(2) seven-year delay in the ratification of the Constitution
(3) rewriting of major parts of the Constitution
(4) elimination of states’ rights
7) To address the concerns of many Antifederalists during the debate over ratification of
the Constitution, the Federalists agreed that
(1) political parties would be formed
(2) states would retain control of interstate commerce
(3) slavery would be eliminated by an amendment
(4) a bill of rights would be added
Answer Key to the Ratification Process Questions:
1) 3 2) 4 3) 3 4) 2 5) 3 6) 1 7) 4