Forming a Government

Name:

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

The Magna Carta was a document that

a.	shifted the power from the monarchs to the people in Britain.
b.	required British royalty to obey the same laws as other English people.
c.	limited the power of the people in the British government.
d.	gave the power in the British government to members of Parliament.

How did the Magna Carta influence American leaders when they were considering the structure of their government?

a.	It showed that the powers of government should be balanced with another governing body.
b.	It showed that it was best to give the government a wide range of powers.
c.	It showed that a monarchy was the best form of government.
d.	It showed that it was important to limit the powers of government.

Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom declared that

a.	governments could punish those who tried to control the religion of citizens.
b.	it was the government’s responsibility to provide funding for churches.
c.	church and state should not be separated when it came to matters of religion.
d.	no person could be forced to attend church or to pay for a church with taxes.

How did the ideas in Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom differ from previous ideas held by the government?

a.	Thomas Jefferson felt that the government had no right to control religious choice.
b.	Thomas Jefferson felt that state governments should create “official” churches.
c.	Thomas Jefferson felt that the national government should determine the religions that could be practiced.
d.	Thomas Jefferson felt that all American citizens should practice the same religion.

How did the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 affect education in the Northwest Territory?

a.	It provided education for wealthy citizens by creating private schools.
b.	It created the first public university system in the United States.
c.	It made education a basic right by providing public education for all citizens.
d.	It made education available to slaves for the first time in the United States.

What was the significance of the changes that the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 made to slavery?

a.	It empowered slaves by granting them the basic right of a public education in the territories.
b.	It illustrated the fact that members of Congress were strong advocates of slavery in territories.
c.	It settled the disputes over slavery in the territories of the United States.
d.	It established a standard for slavery in future territories of the United States.

Under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, a territory could apply to become a state when it had

a.	a governor that had been approved by the national government.
b.	60,000 settlers and a drafted constitution.
c.	met all of the conditions established by the ordinance.
d.	assembled a governing body that had been elected by the people.

What was the purpose of the Land Ordinance of 1785?

a.	to set up a system for surveying and dividing territory
b.	to form a political system for the Northwest Territory
c.	to create new states out of the Northwest Territory
d.	to give away property to deserving citizens

Which of these was a reason why Congress decided to pass the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787?

a.	Congress wanted to create a region where slavery was banned.
b.	Americans were forcing Congress to divide up western land.
c.	Congress had to decide what to do with the western lands under its control.
d.	Land was needed for the homeless population of the U.S.

10.

How were western lands divided by the Land Ordinance of 1785?

a.	The land was divided into counties, each under the control of the national government.
b.	The land was split into two sections, one section banning slavery and the other permitting slavery.
c.	The land was divided into five states, and then the governor of each state divided it into smaller portions.
d.	The land was split into townships and then each township was divided into a smaller lot.

11.

The banning of slavery in some state constitutions was significant because it marked the beginnings of

a.	the declaration of citizenship for African Americans.
b.	the abolition movement.
c.	the civil rights movement.
d.	equal treatment for African Americans.

12.

What characteristic of most state constitutions created during the American Revolution strongly influenced the ideas behind the American government?

a.	the laws that protected freedom of religion
b.	the laws that protected the rights of government leaders
c.	the inclusion of a clause banning slavery
d.	the creation of governments with limited power

13.

How did the Declaration of Independence influence the Articles of Confederation?

a.	The Declaration of Independence stated that when a government becomes controlling it should be destroyed, which was a law included in the Articles.
b.	The Declaration of Independence declared that all men were created equal, which was reflected in laws that gave equal opportunities to all citizens in the Articles.
c.	The Declaration of Independence condemned the power of the British king over the colonies, which was reflected in the creation of a limited government in the Articles.
d.	The Declaration of Independence stated that a state should have the power to make treaties with other countries, which was a law established in the Articles.

14.

What was the significance of the Articles of Confederation?

a.	They created the first national court system in the United States.
b.	They established the first national government of the United States.
c.	They created a government for the U.S. that was very similar to Great Britain’s.
d.	They established America’s independence from Great Britain.

15.

How did the national government eventually respond to Shays’s Rebellion?

a.	It announced a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation to better meet the nation’s needs.
b.	It sentenced the rebels to death and followed through in the executions of those who participated in the rebellion.
c.	It overturned the Articles of Confederation and gave the Confederation Congress supreme power in the U.S.
d.	It forced states to provide soldiers for a national army to prevent future uprisings in the U.S.

16.

Which of these was the main cause of Shays’s Rebellion?

a.	the depression that followed the severing of trade ties with Britain
b.	the Massachusetts policy that forced farmers to pay taxes on land
c.	the period of inflation in the United States after the war
d.	the inability of the national government to regulate trade

17.

Following Shays’s Rebellion, most Americans called for establishing

a.	laws to prevent rebellious behavior.	c.	a national army.
b.	a national court system.	d.	a stronger central government.

18.

What was the significance of Shays’s Rebellion?

a.	It showed Americans that defiance would lead to change in the government.
b.	It marked the beginning of legislation to improve the rights of farmers.
c.	It showed Americans the weaknesses of the Confederation government.
d.	It marked the beginning of a period of civil unrest in the United States.

19.

Why did the Articles of Confederation make it hard for Congress to protect its land or citizens against foreign threats?

a.	The Articles were established on the basis of peace and did not allow Congress to create a national army.
b.	The Articles gave sole power to army leaders to make decisions about relations with foreign countries.
c.	There was no army and the Articles did not allow Congress to force states to provide soldiers for an army.
d.	There were no laws about protecting the country against foreign threats so there was little that Congress could do.

20.

How did the Articles of Confederation contribute to the economic problems of the United States in the late 1700s?

a.	The Articles gave Congress little power to pass or enforce nationwide laws and tariffs, which ultimately led to increased U.S. debt.
b.	The Articles banned trade with foreign nations, which caused a great deal of American businesses to suffer.
c.	The Articles gave Congress the power to print limitless amounts of paper money, which caused inflation in the U.S.
d.	The Articles included a clause stating that the U.S. would pay back all debts owed to Britain, which increased the U.S. debt.

21.

Why were the Articles of Confederation ineffective in solving internal problems that existed in the United States?

a.	The Articles established a strong national army that was more concerned with settling foreign disputes than internal problems.
b.	The Articles created a governing body with excessive power that did not concern itself with the problems of individual states.
c.	The Articles established strong and independent state governments, which led to numerous disputes.
d.	The Articles created a weak central government that had little control over the actions of individual state governments.

22.

How did the Articles of Confederation fail to implement the ideas set forth in the Declaration of Independence?

a.	They failed to enforce tariffs with other countries.
b.	They failed to provide an executive branch of government.
c.	They failed to protect the ideals of individual liberty.
d.	They failed to create strong state governments.

23.

Which of these best summarizes the trade relationship between Britain and America in the late 1700s?

a.	Britain placed a high tariff on imports and exports, which forced Americans to pay a higher price for goods.
b.	Britain allowed American ships to continue trading with the British West Indies, which boosted America’s economy.
c.	Britain opened many of its ports to American ships, which allowed Americans to increase trade with other European nations.
d.	Britain refused to participate in trade with America, which severely affected the American economy.

24.

In 1784 Spain closed which important trade route to the U.S. that was used to send goods to eastern markets?

a.	the Chesapeake Bay	c.	the Gulf of Mexico
b.	the lower Mississippi River	d.	the upper Missouri River

25.

What change to the structure of government did the Virginia Plan suggest?

a.	creating a unicameral, or one house, legislative branch of government
b.	giving the federal government supreme power and dividing the government into three branches
c.	giving both large and small states equal power in the government process
d.	creating a presidential office where the leader would have sole control of the nation

26.

How did the Great Compromise resolve the debate over state representation in the federal government?

a.	It created a bicameral legislature, where the population of each individual state in the nation would determine the number of representatives in each house.
b.	It created a unicameral legislature, where the number of representatives in the house would be based on the population of a state.
c.	It created a bicameral legislature, where in one house state population determined the number of representatives and in the other the number of representatives were equal.
d.	It created a unicameral legislature, where the number of representatives in the house would be equal regardless of the size of the state.

27.

In what way did northerners and southerners disagree about the issue of slavery at the Constitutional Convention?

a.	Northerners wanted slavery to be abolished under the constitution.
b.	Southerners wanted slaves to be counted as part of their state populations.
c.	Northerners wanted slaves to be included in the voting process.
d.	Southerners wanted slavery to extend into the western territories.

28.

How did the delegates resolve the debate over how slaves should factor into representation in government?

a.	They decided that each individual slave should count as one person when determining representation.
b.	They decided that slaves were not citizens and should not be counted when determining representation.
c.	They reached a compromise that allowed every ten slaves to be counted as one person.
d.	They reached a compromise that allowed each individual slave to be counted as three-fifths of a person.

29.

What is federalism?

a.	a system of government in which the central government has all the powers of government
b.	a system of government that keeps each branch of government from having too much power
c.	a system of government in which powers of government are shared between the national and state governments
d.	a system of government in which the state governments have all the powers of government

30.

In what way did the Constitution attempt to implement the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence?

a.	The Constitution adopted a system of checks and balances within the federal government.
b.	The Constitution protected popular sovereignty, the idea that political power belongs to the people.
c.	The Constitution called for a single leader of the country in the form of a president.
d.	The Constitution gave supreme power to the two houses of Congress in the United States.

31.

Under the Constitution, only the national government of the U.S. has the power to

a.	establish foreign policy.	c.	create marriage laws.
b.	maintain law and order.	d.	establish local governments.

32.

Both the federal and state governments share the power to

a.	establish post offices.	c.	declare war.
b.	maintain armed forces.	d.	establish courts.

33.

Which of the following is a power reserved only to the states?

a.	to establish and maintain schools	c.	to regulate foreign trade
b.	to borrow money	d.	to declare war

34.

Why did the framers of the Constitution create a system of checks and balances?

a.	to outline the powers held by each branch of government
b.	to keep any one branch of government from becoming too powerful
c.	to give the people an opportunity to control the branches of government
d.	to strengthen the powers held by each branch of government

35.

The Constitution delegated the power to coin money to the federal government. Which of these is an advantage of this decision?

a.	The federal government could control the distribution of money to each state.
b.	A single currency would be used and accepted everywhere in the United States.
c.	The federal government could prevent the nation from going into debt.
d.	It ensured that there would never be another depression in the U.S.

36.

While taking part in the writing of the Constitution, whose views did Gouverneur Morris of New York strongly support and fight for?

a.	northerners	c.	slaves
b.	women	d.	farmers

37.

What problem did Anti-Federalists have with the Constitution?

a.	They felt that the central government had been given too much power.
b.	They felt that too many rights were guaranteed to individual citizens.
c.	They felt that merchants were not provided with enough protection.
d.	They felt that the nation should return to the Articles of Confederation.

38.

How did the Federalist Papers try to assure Americans about the new federal government created under the Constitution?

a.	by saying that the government would be more like Great Britain’s
b.	by saying that the government would not overpower the states
c.	by saying that the government would one day abolish slavery
d.	by saying that the government would protect the rights of citizens

39.

How did the Bill of Rights, added to the Constitution in 1791, use the ideas introduced in the Declaration of Independence?

a.	It included all of the rights that the Declaration of Independence stated were essential to the success of a nation.
b.	It served to further limit the rights and powers of the federal government, an idea included in the Declaration of Independence.
c.	It provided a new list of ways to maintain American independence based on ideas presented in the Declaration of Independence.
d.	It ensured the protection of individual rights so that the abuses listed in the Declaration of Independence would be illegal.

40.

What was the Bill of Rights?

a.	a document added to the Constitution to protect the rights of individual citizens
b.	a document used to limit the powers of state governments
c.	a document outlining the rights of the federal government
d.	a document stating the ways in which citizens can participate in government

41.

What is one reason the U.S. Constitution has survived for more than 200 years?

a.	the Bill of Rights
b.	the flexibility of the Constitution to meet the needs of a changing nation
c.	the Federalists and their arguments supporting the Constitution
d.	the Antifederalists and their arguments against the Constitution