Question 1

Which institution created by the U.S. Constitution is most clearly related to resolving the coordination problems presented by selecting someone to serve as president?

Accepted Answer

A)   Senate
B)   House of Representatives
C)   Supreme Court
D)   electoral college
E)   federalism D

Question 2

Compared to the Constitution, federalism under the Articles of Confederation assigned ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   greater authority to local governments at the expense of states
B)   equal authority to states and local governments
C)   greater authority to states at the expense of the national government
D)   equal authority to the national government and the states
E)   greater authority to international organizations at the expense of the United States government C

Question 3

What was the primary issue in the debates between the Federalists and the Antifederalists over the U.S. Constitution? What was the Federalist perspective? What was the Antifederalist perspective? What major set of concessions were the Antifederalists able to extract from the Federalists during and after the ratification debates?

Accepted Answer

A thorough answer may include the following:
•Primary issue: adoption of the Constitution as written
•Federalists: nationalists, supported strong national/federal government; essential for protecting states from foreign threats, preventing war between states; strong national government with separation of powers essential to avoid factions; and important powers were reserved to states
•Antifederalists: Constitution disregarded sovereignty of the states, particularly against elastic clause and supremacy clause; system favored British government; Constitution did not have a list of individual rights to be protected against government intrusion
•Major concessions: inclusion of the Bill of Rights, which list the limits of government intrusion (e.g., freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religious practice; and the right to bear arms)

Question 4

Which provision of the U.S. Constitution is most clearly related to resolving collective action problems among the states?

Accepted Answer

A)   the supremacy clause
B)   the free exercise clause
C)   the elastic clause
D)   the sanity clause
E)   the due process clause

Question 5

For purposes of apportioning representation and tax obligations to the states, slaves were counted as ________ of free persons.

Accepted Answer

A)   one-third
B)   one-half
C)   three-fifths
D)   two-thirds
E)   three-quarters

Question 6

The national government ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   would be stronger without the Bill of Rights
B)   would be weaker without the Bill of Rights
C)   is designed to solve the states' collective dilemmas
D)   is designed to solve the states' collective dilemmas and would be stronger without the Bill of Rights
E)   is designed to solve the states' collective dilemmas and would be weaker without the Bill of Rights

Question 7

Under the Articles of Confederation, many states failed to pay the full amount of money "requisitioned" by the national government to support the nation's military forces. This is most clearly an example of a/an ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   collective action problem
B)   political institution
C)   unstable coalition
D)   prisoner's dilemma
E)   path dependent outcome

Question 8

________ law is the collection of fundamental rules and procedures for creating ________ laws and regulations.

Accepted Answer

A)   Constitutional; statutory
B)   Statutory; commercial
C)   Tort; constitutional
D)   Statutory; tort
E)   Commercial; statutory

Question 9

Sonal is eating dinner with her family when the police enter and begin to search her home. The police do not have a warrant and will not tell Sonal what they are looking for. In this instance, Sonal is primarily protected by _______________.

Accepted Answer

A)   the Bill of Rights, which protects private property unless the government can obtain a warrant
B)   the Bill of Rights, which protects a right to privacy
C)   the Bill of Rights, which requires that government officials disclose their intentions prior to a search
D)   Miranda rights, which the Supreme Court has derived from the Bill of Rights
E)   the Supreme Court, which can determine whether this search was legal

Question 10

How did the Constitution deal with the issue of slavery? How were slaves treated in the apportionment of representation in the House of Representatives and taxes? What powers did Congress have to regulate or eliminate slavery or the slave trade?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How did the Constitution deal with the...

Question 11

The Federalist Papers argue ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   for a declaration of independence from Great Britain
B)   for ratification of the U.S. Constitution
C)   against a declaration of independence from Great Britain
D)   against ratification of the U.S. Constitution
E)   against the New Jersey Plan

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT included in the Bill of Rights?

Accepted Answer

A)   the right to vote
B)   the right to free speech
C)   freedom of assembly
D)   the right to bear arms
E)   the right to counsel for criminal defendants

Question 13

The Declaration of Independence is widely regarded around the world primarily because it ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   claims that individuals are able and willing to popularly elect public officials to govern
B)   was written by Thomas Jefferson and John Adams
C)   cites John Locke, a famous English philosopher
D)   claims that individuals have natural rights that permit them the privilege to self-govern
E)   deems King George III a tyrant and horrendous leader

Question 14

What proportion of the states' votes was required to amend the Articles of Confederation?

Accepted Answer

A)   a simple majority
B)   three-fifths
C)   two-thirds
D)   three-quarters
E)   unanimous consent

Question 15

A unicameral legislature is composed of ________ houses or chambers.

Accepted Answer

A)   one
B)   two
C)   three
D)   four
E)   five

Question 16

A bicameral legislature is composed of ________ houses or chambers.

Accepted Answer

A)   one
B)   two
C)   three
D)   four
E)   five

Question 17

Shays's Rebellion highlighted weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, most notably ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   that only a simple majority of states paid into federal funds through the requisition system
B)   the dangers of vesting too much power in a single executive
C)   the coordination problems inherent in a bicameral system
D)   the difficulty of maintaining security when states could not be forced to coordinate action
E)   the lack of attention representatives paid to the needs of the everyman

Question 18

Compared to Congress's war powers, the president's powers are _________.

Accepted Answer

A)   limited and summarized briefly in Article II
B)   expansive and outlined in Article II
C)   explicitly delineated throughout the Constitution
D)   far more expansive
E)   equal

Question 19

What proportion of votes cast in each house of Congress is necessary to send a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution to the states for possible ratification?

Accepted Answer

A)   simple majority
B)   three-fifths
C)   two-thirds
D)   three-quarters
E)   unanimous consent

Question 20

Why was the Bill of Rights an important part of the constitutional ratification process?

Accepted Answer

A)   Large states, including Virginia and New York, refused to ratify the Constitution until the Bill of Rights was added to it.
B)   It addressed the concerns of Federalists, who believed that the Bill of Rights would help enumerate the powers of government.
C)   It addressed the concerns of Federalists, who believed that a strong central government also needed to be flexible.
D)   It addressed the concerns of Antifederalists, who were concerned that the Constitution delegated too much power to state governments.
E)   It addressed the concerns of Antifederalists, who were concerned that the Constitution did not protect individual rights against the intrusion of the federal government.

Exam 2: The Constitution