- The Magna Carta is considered the foundation of English freedom because it
Your answer:
abolished capital punishment
established the principle of representative democracy
guaranteed equal treatment under the law for all Britons
limited royal power
- The English Bill of Rights includes all of the following EXCEPT the right
Your answer:
to a fair and speedy trial
of the monarch to print money
of free speech and debate in Parliament
of certain subjects to bear arms
- English law is based on
Your answer:
parliamentary statutes
Church law and religious doctrines
royal commands
precedent and common law
- Which of the following best describes what the Mayflower Compact did?
Your answer:
It granted a royal charter to the founders of Massachusetts Bay Colony.
It helped set up a social contract for the founders of Plymouth Colony.
It set up the first bicameral legislature in the colonies.
It granted religious freedom to the people of Rhode Island.
- The Declaration of Independence
Your answer:
explains the colonists' efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement of their grievances.
lists the colonists' charges against King George III.
declares that all bonds between America and Britain are dissolved.
all of these
- Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress had the power to do which of the following?
Your answer:
levy and collect taxes
enforce its own laws
declare war
control foreign and interstate commerce
- The plan at the Constitutional Convention that proposed a plural executive and a unicameral legislature was known as the
Your answer:
Virginia Plan.
New Jersey Plan.
Connecticut Compromise.
Great Compromise.
- Which of the following issues was NOT debated at the Constitutional Convention?
Your answer:
how many executives there should be
how often elections should be held for members of Congress
how representation in the national legislature should be distributed
who should be allowed to vote in federal elections
- The "three-fifths compromise" settled the question of
Your answer:
whether Congress should have the power to regulate interstate commerce.
how the Constitution should be amended.
how the slave population should be counted in apportioning representatives and levying taxes.
whether men who did not own property should be allowed to vote.
- To ensure the Constitution would be ratified by the states, the Federalists at the Constitutional Convention insisted that it should be ratified by
Your answer:
popular vote.
the state legislatures.
the Congress.
special ratifying conventions in each of the states.
- Which of the following was NOT an argument of the Federalists at the Constitutional Convention?
Your answer:
The Constitution could remedy the defects of the Confederation government.
The Articles of Confederation were not functioning well, at all.
The national government under the Articles of Confederation had too little real power.
A bill of rights was necessary to protect the people from the power of their rulers.
- The documents upon which the United States government was founded include which of the following?
Your answer:
the Articles of Confederation
the Declaration of Independence
the U.S. Constitution
all of these
- The evolution of British democracy before its North American colonies were settled made which of the following possible?
Your answer:
people began to accept the concept of limiting the powers of governments
representative government became popular among British citizens
people insisting that their government protect their individual rights
all of these
- After the Constitution was written and signed by the delegates to the Convention in 1787, which of the following occurred?
Your answer:
a debate began within the Convention over the issues of states rights, representation, and taxation
the three-fifths compromise was worked out
the British and their colonists fought the War for American Independence
a battle for ratification took place between those who wanted the new Constitution and those who were opposed to it
- Which of the following best describes a major weakness of our national government under the Articles of Confederation?
Your answer:
it had a bicameral legislature with a strong president
it included a bill of rights
the nation's government under the Articles had little unity and even less real power to solve problems
there were only 13 states in the whole nation
- In order for the delegates to the Constitutional Convention to complete their work,
Your answer:
they had to re-write the Declaration of Independence.
a second Constitutional Convention was held the next year in New York, to finish the work begun in Philadelphia.
the Declaration of Independence had to be finished by Thomas Jefferson.
many compromises had to be made over issues of great importance to the delegates.
- Which of the following best describes a purpose of the Declaration of Independence?
Your answer:
it explained the reasons behind the move toward independence, then outlined the principles of government that the new country would practice.
it established new rules for international trade among the British North American colonies.
under this important document, the British were forced to allow royal charters for all of their North American colonies.
it was designed to force Britain to allow British North Americans the freedom to practice their own religion.
- Delegates to the First Continental Congress agreed on all of the following measures EXCEPT a
Your answer:
boycott of British goods.
second meeting the following year.
declaration of independence from Britain.
declaration of colonists' rights.
- Which of the following factors did NOT lead to an increased desire among North American colonists for independence from Britain?
Your answer:
the argument of those colonists loyal to Britain
fighting between British and American troops
Thomas Paine's "Common Sense"
the increasing numbers of respected colonial leaders who supported such a move
- In a debate over political philosophy, Thomas Paine would have agreed with which of the following?
Your answer:
all of these
the mistrust of government expressed by the Antifederalists
the proposals of the Federalists to increase the powers of national government at the expense of the states
the belief that governments can be trusted to protect the natural rights of their citizens