Question 1

Fourteen states actually adopted the Equal Rights Amendment, which was never ratified at the federal level.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

Special-interest groups are more likely to oppose reform than voters in general.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

How does the text characterize state constitutions?

Accepted Answer

A) As the best examples of democratic government 
B) As straightjackets 
C) As nothing more than shorter versions of the U.S.Constitution 
D) As umbrellas 
E) As proof of effective republican processes 
A) As the best examples of democratic government 
B) As straightjackets 
C) As nothing more than shorter versions of the U.S.Constitution 
D) As umbrellas 
E) As proof of effective republican processes

Question 4

__________________ is the state with the shortest state Constitution.

Accepted Answer

A) Tennessee 
B) New Hampshire 
C) Georgia 
D) Pennsylvania 
E) Alabama 
A) Tennessee 
B) New Hampshire 
C) Georgia 
D) Pennsylvania 
E) Alabama

Question 5

Until 2006, on average about 75% of voters had ratified proposed amendments to state constitutions.In 2006, that percentage changed to

Accepted Answer

A) 70%. 
B) 50%. 
C) 60%. 
D) 85%. 
E) 90%. 
A) 70%. 
B) 50%. 
C) 60%. 
D) 85%. 
E) 90%.

Question 6

Rhode Island's constitution calls for voters to be asked if they want to convene a constitutional convention

Accepted Answer

A) every year. 
B) every ten years. 
C) at no set time; the legislature may call one when it wishes. 
D) every two years. 
E) every eight years. 
A) every year. 
B) every ten years. 
C) at no set time; the legislature may call one when it wishes. 
D) every two years. 
E) every eight years.

Question 7

Historically, how often has a revision commission been used by the various states?

Accepted Answer

A) Infrequently 
B) Somewhat often 
C) Very often 
D) At any given time, about 60% of states have a sitting revision commission. 
E) There have only ever been two. 
A) Infrequently 
B) Somewhat often 
C) Very often 
D) At any given time, about 60% of states have a sitting revision commission. 
E) There have only ever been two.

Question 8

How many states allow constitutional amendments to be proposed by initiative petitions?

Accepted Answer

A) 3 
B) 12 
C) 18 
D) 35 
E) All 50 
A) 3 
B) 12 
C) 18 
D) 35 
E) All 50

Question 9

Thirty-seven states still have their original constitutions in effect.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

Utah is the only state that has a permanent revision commission to make recommendations for state constitutional change.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

How many of the proposed 34 amendments to the Hawaiian constitution were approved in the 1978 vote?

Accepted Answer

A) All of them 
B) 24 
C) 33 
D) 14 
E) 3 
A) All of them 
B) 24 
C) 33 
D) 14 
E) 3

Question 12

So far in the twenty-first century, how many state constitutional conventions have been held?

Accepted Answer

A) 1 
B) 144 
C) 63 
D) 97 
E) zero 
A) 1 
B) 144 
C) 63 
D) 97 
E) zero

Question 13

Almost no state constitutions include a bill of rights.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

What nineteenth-century event or situation does the text cite as the source of the diminished prestige of state governments?

Accepted Answer

A) The Jacksonian Era 
B) Evidence of corruption 
C) Reconstruction (following the Civil War) 
D) The Spanish-American War 
E) The Pendleton Act 
A) The Jacksonian Era 
B) Evidence of corruption 
C) Reconstruction (following the Civil War) 
D) The Spanish-American War 
E) The Pendleton Act

Question 15

How many amendments have Texans approved since the vote on the 1975 proposed amendments?

Accepted Answer

A) 143 
B) 33 
C) 16 
D) 156 
E) 4 
A) 143 
B) 33 
C) 16 
D) 156 
E) 4

Question 16

In 2004, an amendment to eliminate language in Alabama's constitution that requires segregated schools and a poll tax was

Accepted Answer

A) narrowly defeated. 
B) overwhelmingly defeated. 
C) narrowly approved. 
D) overwhelmingly approved. 
E) never put on the ballot; it did not make it through the legislature. 
A) narrowly defeated. 
B) overwhelmingly defeated. 
C) narrowly approved. 
D) overwhelmingly approved. 
E) never put on the ballot; it did not make it through the legislature.

Question 17

Which states' charters, still in effect, are actually older than the U.S.Constitution?

Accepted Answer

A) Virginia and Maryland 
B) New York and Massachusetts 
C) Massachusetts and New Hampshire 
D) Maryland and New York 
E) New York and New Hampshire 
A) Virginia and Maryland 
B) New York and Massachusetts 
C) Massachusetts and New Hampshire 
D) Maryland and New York 
E) New York and New Hampshire

Question 18

A method by which judges modify the force of a constitutional provision by reinterpreting its meaning is known as judicial interpretation.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

Massachusetts has had more constitutions than any other American state.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

Which state allows initiatives to appear on primary as well as general election ballots?

Accepted Answer

A) California 
B) Massachusetts 
C) Wyoming 
D) Utah 
E) Florida 
A) California 
B) Massachusetts 
C) Wyoming 
D) Utah 
E) Florida

Exam 22: State Constitutions

Fourteen states actually adopted the Equal Rights Amendment, which was never ratified at the federal level.

Special-interest groups are more likely to oppose reform than voters in general.

How does the text characterize state constitutions?

__________________ is the state with the shortest state Constitution.

Until 2006, on average about 75% of voters had ratified proposed amendments to state constitutions.In 2006, that percentage changed to

Rhode Island's constitution calls for voters to be asked if they want to convene a constitutional convention

Historically, how often has a revision commission been used by the various states?

How many states allow constitutional amendments to be proposed by initiative petitions?

Thirty-seven states still have their original constitutions in effect.

Utah is the only state that has a permanent revision commission to make recommendations for state constitutional change.

How many of the proposed 34 amendments to the Hawaiian constitution were approved in the 1978 vote?

So far in the twenty-first century, how many state constitutional conventions have been held?

Almost no state constitutions include a bill of rights.

What nineteenth-century event or situation does the text cite as the source of the diminished prestige of state governments?

How many amendments have Texans approved since the vote on the 1975 proposed amendments?

In 2004, an amendment to eliminate language in Alabama's constitution that requires segregated schools and a poll tax was

Which states' charters, still in effect, are actually older than the U.S.Constitution?

A method by which judges modify the force of a constitutional provision by reinterpreting its meaning is known as judicial interpretation.

Massachusetts has had more constitutions than any other American state.

Which state allows initiatives to appear on primary as well as general election ballots?

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