Constitution practice quiz Federal Government 2305

1. Colonial protesters of the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act rallied around which
slogan?
a. “No taxation without representation”

b. “Give me liberty or give me death”

c. “A house divided against itself cannot stand”

d. “Don’t tread on me”

2. The United States’ first written constitution was called the

a. Magna Carta.

b. Bill of Rights.

c. Articles of Confederation.

d. Declaration of Independence.

3. The three branches of government created by the Constitution are

a. constitutional, elected, and appointed.

b. executive, legislative, and judicial.

c. federal, state, and local.

d. military, courts, and bureaucracy.

4. The system of shared powers, divided between a central government and

the state governments, is called
a. the electoral college.

b. federalism.
 c. checks and balances.

d. the separation of powers.

5. What is the term length of a federal judge?

a. two years

b. four years

c. six years

d. for life

6. What does the supremacy clause assert?

a. Congress is the most powerful branch of the government.

b. The Constitution and all laws made under it are superior to any
state laws.

c. State laws are superior to any federal laws.

d. No European powers shall interfere in North America.

7. Which of the following is the best definition of the elastic clause?

a. a part of the Constitution that empowers Congress to make all
laws “necessary and proper” to carry out its enumerated powers

b. a part of the Constitution that empowers the Supreme Court to

review actions by the legislative or executive branches and
determine their constitutionality

c. a part of the Constitution that says laws passed by the national

government are supreme to any conflicting laws adopted by the
states

d. a mechanism that gives each branch of government influence

over the other branches of government
 8. The Three-Fifths Compromise
a. determined that three out of every five enslaved people would be
counted for purposes of representation.

b. determined the ratio between free states and slave states.

c. declared that the states would pay three-fifths of the

Revolutionary War debt and the federal government would pay
the rest.

d. determined that all American citizens would pay three-fifths of

their incomes to the federal government in taxes every year.

9. The electoral college is

a. an expression of direct democracy.

b. designed to select the president of the United States.

c. the institution that originally selected U.S. senators.

d. the federal organization that oversees the operation of all

elections held in the United States.

10. New England merchants hoped to accomplish which of the following by

supporting the radicals who staged the Boston Tea Party?
a. the end of the French and Indian War

b. complete independence from Britain

c. revocation of the Tea Act

d. elimination of the British monarchy

11. The Boston Tea Party was largely a response to the

a. British government’s decision to eliminate the lucrative colonial
tea trade.

b. British government’s decision to remove all of its soldiers from

the colonies.
 c. British government’s decision to tax the colonists’ personal
incomes.

d. British government’s actions in carrying out the Boston

Massacre.

12. Who orchestrated the Boston Tea Party?

a. John Adams

b. Samuel Adams

c. John Hancock

d. Paul Revere

13. Which of the following was NOT one of the reprisals enacted by the British
in response to the Boston Tea Party?
a. restricting movement of the colonists to the West

b. removing accused persons from the colonies to Britain for trial

c. execution of the leaders of the Boston Tea Party

d. closing the port of Boston to commerce

14. The Articles of Confederation were ratified by all of the states in

a. 1720.

b. 1773

c. 1781.

d. 1812.
15. Which of the following documents summarized its philosophy toward the
national government by stating “each state retains its sovereignty, freedom,
and independence”?
a. the Emancipation Proclamation

b. the Magna Carta

c. the United States Constitution

d. the Articles of Confederation

16. Which of the following is an example of a confederation?

a. A group of states agree to create a new government over them,
which they will allow to manage some issues of common
interest, but otherwise the states will remain independent.

b. Several countries concede territory so that a new country can be

formed that better reflects the ethnic and national makeup of the
people living there.

c. A central government abolishes several territories that have

proven unruly in the past, instead merging them with nearby
territories that they believe are more loyal to the central
government.

d. A revolutionary movement overthrows the government of their

country and replaces them with a new government that they
believe will better reflect what they want to see done.

17. Under the Articles of Confederation, it was left to the ________ to execute
laws passed by the Continental Congress.
a. states

b. council of presidents

c. courts

d. president
18. In response to which of the following events did George Washington say, “I
am mortified beyond expression that in the moment of our acknowledged
independence we should by our conduct verify the predictions of our
transatlantic foe, and render ourselves ridiculous and contemptible in the
eyes of all Europe.”
a. the Boston Tea Party

b. Shays’s Rebellion

c. the Boston Massacre

d. the Constitutional Convention

19. Which of the following statements about national defense under the Articles
of Confederation is most accurate?
a. The president served as commander in chief of the nation’s
armed forces.

b. The Articles of Confederation required that at least 50% of the

national government’s budget be devoted to military
expenditures.

c. There was no national army and the armed forces were

composed entirely of state militias.

d. The Supreme Court was given the power to veto all declarations
of war.

20. Daniel Shays was

a. the governor of New York and one of the authors of the
Federalist Papers.

b. a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and the primary

architect of the New Jersey Plan.

c. a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and the primary

architect of the Virginia Plan.
 d. a former army captain who led a rebellion against the
Massachusetts government.

21. The Virginia Plan proposed a system of representation in the national

legislature that was based on
a. equal representation between the states.

b. the population of each state in one house and equal

representation in the other.

c. the population of each state or the proportion of each state’s

revenue contribution, or both.

d. the strength of each state’s militia, with the size of the militia
being proportional to their seats in the legislature.

22. The issue of representation was addressed in the Great Compromise by

giving each state
a. the opportunity to elect its own governors and state legislatures.

b. an equal number of senators and a number of representatives

based on the state’s population.

c. an equal number of votes in the Electoral College but votes in

the Senate based on population.

d. a veto over constitutional amendments and the right to propose

their own constitutional amendments.

23. What led British officials to raise taxes on the American colonists during the
1760s?
a. the debts incurred as a result of the French and Indian War

b. the cost of war against Napoleon in Europe

c. the expenses incurred in colonizing South Africa

 d. the extensive roads and canals built by the British in North
America

24. One of the most important differences between the legislative branch under
the Articles and under the Constitution was that
a. the legislature was separate from the executive under the
Articles but not under the Constitution.

b. the legislature could form an army under the Articles but not
under the Constitution.

c. the legislature was selected by the states under the Articles and
directly elected by the people under the Constitution.

d. the legislature was unicameral under the Articles and bicameral

under the Constitution.

25. The Federalists believed that the powers of government could be limited by
a. decreasing the powers of the executive branch, especially those
of the vice president.

b. confining the powers of the federal government to certain

narrowly defined areas and by adding a bill of rights to the
Constitution.

c. creating an internal system of checks and controls within

government.

d. preventing government from collecting revenue through taxation.

26. Which of the following statements best summarizes the Federalists’ view on
representation?
a. Citizens are too apathetic and uninformed to be given the right to
vote and so the aristocracy must do what they think best.
 b. Representative democracy can never provide good
representation for its citizens, and direct democracy is the best
way to achieve popular sovereignty.

c. In order to provide good representation, the represented must be

a “true picture of the people” and this can only be achieved in
small, relatively homogeneous republics.

d. The best system of representation allows citizens to elect

individuals possessing ability, experience, and talent superior to
their own.

27. On the subject of representation, Antifederalists wanted

a. representative bodies that accurately resembled those being
represented.

b. representatives who would reflect commercial interests.

c. as few representatives as possible.

d. representatives who were significantly more educated and

wealthier than the majority of the public.

Answer Key

1. Answer: A

2. Answer: C

3. Answer: B

4. Answer: B

5. Answer: D

6. Answer: B
7. Answer: A

8. Answer: A

9. Answer: B

10. Answer: C

11. Answer: A

12. Answer: B

13. Answer: C

14. Answer: C

15. Answer: D

16. Answer: A

17. Answer: A

18. Answer: B

19. Answer: C

20. Answer: D

21. Answer: C

22. Answer: B

23. Answer: A

24. Answer: D

25. Answer: C

26. Answer: D

27. Answer: A