Test Questions & Answers The United States’ Founding Ch.2

Chapter 2: The United States’ Founding

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Americans largely accepted the political ideas of which philosopher, whose ideas of political change challenged British ideology?

a. Thomas Hobbes

b. Patrick Henry

c. John Calvin

d. John Locke

Answer Location: 2.2: The Social Contract

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.2: Understand the new view of the origin and legitimacy of political power the American founders developed to justify the separation

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

2. The Declaration of Independence was first and foremost a ______.

a. philosophical treatise

b. political document

c. declaration of war

d. list of grievances

Answer Location: 2.3: The Declaration of Independence

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.3: Understand the Declaration of Independence itself

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

3. Who authored the Declaration of Independence?

a. John Locke

b. James Madison

c. George Washington

d. Thomas Jefferson

Answer Location: 2.3: The Declaration of Independence

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.3: Understand the Declaration of Independence itself

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

4. Why did the colonists find the philosophical work of John Locke the most appealing?

a. It laid the groundwork for a completely anarchical society, which is what the founding fathers ultimately wanted.

b. It introduced the idea that a social contract was conditional on the protection of rights and could be revoked if the government failed to protect those rights.

c. It upheld the morality of slavery as a necessary evil to successful economics in a country that would struggle otherwise.

d. Another country had previously based their structure of government on his ideas and it worked out well for them.

Answer Location: 2.2: The Social Contract

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.2: Understand the new view of the origin and legitimacy of political power the American founders developed to justify the separation

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

5. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was unable to ______.

a. declare war

b. tax citizens

c. make treaties

d. direct soldiers

Answer Location: 2.4: The Articles of Confederation

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.4: Understand the first constitution that followed independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the reasons it failed

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

6. One of the biggest differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution was that ______.

a. the Articles of Confederation utilized a bicameral legislature, while the Constitution had a unicameral legislature

b. there were two executives in charge under the Articles of Confederation and only one in charge under the Constitution

c. states retained their sovereignty under the Articles of Confederation, whereas the Constitution instituted popular sovereignty

d. Congress had the power to tax under the Articles of Confederation but did not under the Constitution

Answer Location: 2.5: The Constitutional Convention

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.5: Understand the arguments, debates, and compromises at the Constitutional Convention that led to the new U.S. Constitution

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

7. Shays’s Rebellion demonstrated the ______.

a. opposition to the Revolutionary War

b. need for stricter laws to control the economy

c. failure and dysfunction of the Articles of Confederation

d. strong opposition to the Declaration of Independence

Answer Location: 2.4: The Articles of Confederation

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.4: Understand the first constitution that followed independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the reasons it failed

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

8. The central goal of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention was to ______.

a. create a brand new form of government

b. create a plan to cede land back to Britain

c. change the economic policy to stop Shays’s Rebellion

d. fix the existing Articles of Confederation

Answer Location: 2.4: The Articles of Confederation

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.4: Understand the first constitution that followed independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the reasons it failed

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

9. Which is a key difference between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan?

a. The Virginia Plan favored a unicameral legislature; the New Jersey Plan favored a bicameral legislature.

b. The Virginia Plan upheld that states maintained their sovereignty; the New Jersey Plan favored popular sovereignty.

c. The Virginia Plan proposed a single executive; the New Jersey Plan proposed multiple executives.

d. The Virginia Plan would have weakened the national government; the New Jersey Plan would have strengthened the national government.

Answer Location: 2.5: The Constitutional Convention

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.5: Understand the arguments, debates, and compromises at the Constitutional Convention that led to the new U.S. Constitution

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

10. In drafting the Constitution, the founders ______.

a. adopted the Virginia Plan completely

b. adopted the New Jersey Plan completely

c. rejected totally both the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan and started over

d. reached a compromise that included characteristics of both the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan

Answer Location: 2.5: The Constitutional Convention

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.5: Understand the arguments, debates, and compromises at the Constitutional Convention that led to the new U.S. Constitution

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

11. Under the Three-Fifths Compromise, ______.

a. three-fifths of the states would have to agree to constitutional amendments

b. three-fifths of the states would have to ratify the Constitution for it to take effect

c. a three-fifths majority of the Senate would be required to adopt a treaty

d. each slave would count as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation in the legislature

Answer Location: 2.5: The Constitutional Convention

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.5: Understand the arguments, debates, and compromises at the Constitutional Convention that led to the new U.S. Constitution

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

12. Which group supported the proposed Constitution and favored a stronger national government?

a. Loyalists

b. Anti-Federalists

c. Federalists

d. Democrats

Answer Location: 2.5: The Constitutional Convention

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.5: Understand the arguments, debates, and compromises at the Constitutional Convention that led to the new U.S. Constitution

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

13. The Anti-Federalists feared the adoption of the Constitution would lead to ______.

a. bigger states overruling the interests of smaller states

b. a weaker and more ineffective national government

c. increased attacks on property rights

d. a tyranny similar to that experienced under British rule

Answer Location: 2.5: The Constitutional Convention

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.5: Understand the arguments, debates, and compromises at the Constitutional Convention that led to the new U.S. Constitution

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

14. Which is a characteristic of The Federalist Papers?

a. They were published as editorials in opposition to the proposed Constitution.

b. They proposed ways to fix the Articles of Confederation.

c. They were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.

d. They were largely ineffective with regard to the ratification of the Constitution.

Answer Location: 2.6: Ratification

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.6: Understand the process of ratifying, or adopting, the new constitution

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

15. Groups that are united by some common passion or interest opposed to the rights of other citizens, or the interests of the community as a whole, are known as ______.

a. factions

b. political parties

c. minority groups

d. special interest groups

Answer Location: 2.6: Ratification

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.6: Understand the process of ratifying, or adopting, the new constitution

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

16. The purpose of Federalist No. 10 was to ______.

a. convince Americans of the dangers of anarchy

b. make a case for abolishing slavery

c. warn Americans against the dangers of factions

d. provide more information on the separation of powers

Answer Location: 2.6: Ratification

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.6: Understand the process of ratifying, or adopting, the new constitution

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

17. James Madison laid out his arguments for a separation of powers, which would provide necessary checks and balances on the government, in ______.

a. Federalist No. 10

b. Federalist No. 84

c. Federalist No. 20

d. Federalist No. 51

Answer Location: 2.6: Ratification

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.6: Understand the process of ratifying, or adopting, the new constitution

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

18. In Federalist No. 84, Alexander Hamilton argues against the inclusion of a bill of rights in the Constitution because ______.

a. it would end up limiting rights, not protecting them

b. it is highly unlikely any form of government would infringe on rights

c. including a bill of rights would only weaken the national government

d. the list of rights to be protected was so small it did not really matter

Answer Location: 2.6: Ratification

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.6: Understand the process of ratifying, or adopting, the new constitution

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

19. The establishment of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches is an example of ______.

a. federalism

b. checks and balances

c. separation of power

d. popular sovereignty

Answer Location: 2.7: Basic Constitutional Principles

Cognitive Domain: Application

Learning Objective: 2.7: Understand the basic constitutional principles: separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

20. The ability of the judicial branch to determine the constitutionality of a law passed by Congress is an example of ______.

a. federalism

b. democracy

c. checks and balances

d. popular sovereignty

Answer Location: 2.7: Basic Constitutional Principles

Cognitive Domain: Application

Learning Objective: 2.7: Understand the basic constitutional principles: separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

21. Which is the BEST example of a system of federalism, as proposed by James Madison?

a. the establishment of three branches of government

b. ensuring that no one branch may become too powerful

c. giving states the bulk of the power in the government

d. dividing power between the federal government and the state government

Answer Location: 2.7: Basic Constitutional Principles

Cognitive Domain: Application

Learning Objective: 2.7: Understand the basic constitutional principles: separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

22. Which branch is responsible for creating new laws and policies?

a. legislative branch

b. judicial branch

c. parliamentary branch

d. executive branch

Answer Location: 2.8: Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.7: Understand the basic constitutional principles: separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

23. The executive branch of the government is classified as ______.

a. the lawmaking branch

b. the law-enforcing branch

c. the law-interpreting branch

d. the law-consideration branch

Answer Location: 2.8: Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.7: Understand the basic constitutional principles: separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

24. What is the main purpose of the judicial branch?

a. to make and pass laws and policies

b. to enforce existing laws

c. to interpret laws

d. to keep the president in check

Answer Location: 2.8: Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.7: Understand the basic constitutional principles: separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

25. The bicameral legislature is established in ______.

a. Article I

b. Article II

c. Article III

d. Article IV

Answer Location: 2.8: Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.7: Understand the basic constitutional principles: separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

26. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, which is an example of ______.

a. an exclusive power

b. a concurrent power

c. an enumerated power

d. a congressional power

Answer Location: 2.9: Federalism and Checks and Balances

Cognitive Domain: Application

Learning Objective: 2.8: Understand the evolution of federalism from the founding to today

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

27. What is the purpose of the Tenth Amendment?

a. to establish the powers of Congress

b. to extend the right to vote to African Americans

c. to give states the powers that are not given to the national government

d. to create the system of federalism in America

Answer Location: 2.9: Federalism and Checks and Balances

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.8: Understand the evolution of federalism from the founding to today

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

28. Congress is permitted to expand its reach to carry out its enumerated powers through the ______.

a. supremacy clause

b. Tenth Amendment

c. enumerated powers clause

d. necessary and proper clause

Answer Location: 2.9: Federalism and Checks and Balances

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.8: Understand the evolution of federalism from the founding to today

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

29. The power of judicial review was established in ______.

a. the Constitution

b. Marbury v. Madison

c. McCulloch v. Maryland

d. the supremacy clause

Answer Location: 2.10: Changes in Federalism over Time

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.8: Understand the evolution of federalism from the founding to today

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

30. What was the significance of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)?

a. It gave states more power to make decisions.

b. It established the power of judicial review.

c. It limited the power given to states by the Tenth Amendment.

d. It removed limitations of federal regulation on interstate commerce.

Answer Location: 2.10: Changes in Federalism over Time

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.8: Understand the evolution of federalism from the founding to today

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

31. Which Supreme Court case expanded federal power to regulate interstate commerce?

a. Marbury v. Madison (1803)

b. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

c. Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

d. Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Answer Location: 2.10: Changes in Federalism over Time

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.8: Understand the evolution of federalism from the founding to today

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

32. Over time, power has largely shifted ______.

a. from states to the people

b. from the national government to the states

c. from states to the national government

d. from the executive branch to the judicial branch

Answer Location: 2.10: Changes in Federalism over Time

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.8: Understand the evolution of federalism from the founding to today

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

33. A block grant can be defined as ______.

a. funds that come with flexibility for the states to spend the money as they wish within broad parameters

b. grants of money with specific instructions on how it is to be spent

c. a scholarship provided to underprivileged youths for the purpose of education

d. money that is provided to corporations to assist them during times of duress

Answer Location: 2.11: Federalism Today

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.8: Understand the evolution of federalism from the founding to today

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

34. If the federal government provides states with funds specifically to implement a policy, it will provide ______.

a. a block grant

b. an unfunded mandate

c. a scholarship

d. a categorical grant

Answer Location: 2.11: Federalism Today

Cognitive Domain: Application

Learning Objective: 2.8: Understand the evolution of federalism from the founding to today

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

35. Which is an example of an unfunded mandate?

a. Congress telling states that they must make all public buildings wheelchair accessible, without providing the funds to do so.

b. Congress telling states that they must establish a scholarship for underprivileged students and providing the funds to do so.

c. Congress advising states to implement a policy, but not enforcing the policy or providing funds to do so.

d. Congress directing states to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas and providing funds to do that and only that.

Answer Location: 2.11: Federalism Today

Cognitive Domain: Application

Learning Objective: 2.8: Understand the evolution of federalism from the founding to today

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

36. How many amendments total have been ratified in the history of the Constitution?

a. ten

b. seventeen

c. twenty-six

d. twenty-seven

Answer Location: 2.12: Amending the Constitution

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.9: Understand the process of amending the Constitution

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

37. Why did the founding fathers make it difficult for the Constitution to be amended?

a. They did not think that people would want to amend it in the first place.

b. They believed that the Constitution should be amended only in the most dire of times.

c. They did not want the integrity of the Constitution weakened.

d. They thought the Constitution was fine as-is and would never need to be amended.

Answer Location: 2.12: Amending the Constitution

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.9: Understand the process of amending the Constitution

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

38. Which is a way that an amendment may be proposed?

a. American citizens may bring a proposed amendment to Washington, D.C.

b. A national convention may be convened by Congress.

c. The states may call their representatives to ask for an amendment convention.

d. Congress must approve of the proposed amendment with a simple majority.

Answer Location: 2.12: Amending the Constitution

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.9: Understand the process of amending the Constitution

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

39. An amendment must be ratified by ______.

a. the president

b. half of the states

c. three-fourths of the states

d. a simple majority in Congress

Answer Location: 2.12: Amending the Constitution

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.9: Understand the process of amending the Constitution

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

40. The Constitution has been changed slightly over time due to ______.

a. the supremacy clause

b. the easy amendment process

c. the process of judicial review

d. the necessary and proper clause

Answer Location: 2.12: Amending the Constitution

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.9: Understand the process of amending the Constitution

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

True/False

1. Mercantilism describes the economy under the Articles of Confederation.

Answer Location: 2.1: Introduction to the Founding

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.1: Understand the background to the colonists’ declaration of independence from their mother country, the colonial power of Great Britain

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

2. The American founders based their ideas for a new form of government on the philosophies of John Locke.

Answer Location: 2.2: The Social Contract

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.2: Understand the new view of the origin and legitimacy of political power the American founders developed to justify the separation

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

3. The Declaration of Independence was first and foremost a religious document.

Answer Location: 2.3: The Declaration of Independence

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.3: Understand the Declaration of Independence itself

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

4. James Madison was responsible for authoring the Declaration of Independence.

Answer Location: 2.3: The Declaration of Independence

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.3: Understand the Declaration of Independence itself

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

5. Under the Articles of Confederation, the states retained most of the power.

Answer Location: 2.4: The Articles of Confederation

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.4: Understand the first constitution that followed independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the reasons it failed

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

6. Shays’s Rebellion was a grassroots uprising during the confederation period by armed Massachusetts farmers demanding debt relief.

Answer Location: 2.4: The Articles of Confederation

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.4: Understand the first constitution that followed independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the reasons it failed

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

7. The Federalists were largely opposed to the proposed Constitution.

Answer Location: 2.5: The Constitutional Convention

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.5: Understand the arguments, debates, and compromises at the Constitutional Convention that led to the new U.S. Constitution

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

8. The Virginia Plan proposed a bicameral legislature and popular sovereignty.

Answer Location: 2.5: The Constitutional Convention

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.5: Understand the arguments, debates, and compromises at the Constitutional Convention that led to the new U.S. Constitution

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

9. The issue of factions is discussed in Federalist No. 51.

Answer Location: 2.6: Ratification

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.6: Understand the process of ratifying, or adopting, the new constitution

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

10. Concurrent powers are powers that are shared by both the state and federal governments.

Answer Location: 2.9: Federalism and Checks and Balances

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.8: Understand the evolution of federalism from the founding to today

Difficulty Level: Easy

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

Short Answer

1. Briefly describe the ruling on Marbury v. Madison (1803) and how it impacted federalism.

Answer Location: 2.10: Changes in Federalism over Time

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.8: Understand the evolution of federalism from the founding to today

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

2. Why did the founders adopt a federal system of government?

Answer Location: 2.7: Basic Constitutional Principles

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.7: Understand the basic constitutional principles: separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

3. What is the main purpose of the separation of powers?

Answer Location: 2.7: Basic Constitutional Principles

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.7: Understand the basic constitutional principles: separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

4. List three characteristics of the Virginia Plan.

Answer Location: 2.5: The Constitutional Convention

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Learning Objective: 2.5: Understand the arguments, debates, and compromises at the Constitutional Convention that led to the new U.S. Constitution

Difficulty Level: Medium

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

5. Briefly explain the function of the Tenth Amendment.

Answer Location: 2.9: Federalism and Checks and Balances

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Learning Objective: 2.8: Understand the evolution of federalism from the founding to today

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

Essay

1. Enlightenment philosophers, such as John Locke, had a new vision about the relationship of government to its citizens. How did Locke’s vision differ from the views of government and citizenship up until that time? In what ways did his writings influence the founding fathers?

Answer Location: 2.2: The Social Contract | 2.3: The Declaration of Independence

Cognitive Domain: Application

Learning Objective: 2.2: Understand the new view of the origin and legitimacy of political power the American founders developed to justify the separation

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

2. Why did the Articles of Confederation ultimately fail?

Answer Location: 2.4: The Articles of Confederation

Cognitive Domain: Application

Learning Objective: 2.4: Understand the first constitution that followed independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the reasons it failed

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

3. Identify and discuss the three major compromises adopted at the Constitutional Convention. What issue did each compromise address? What were the concerns of each side? How was the compromise achieved? How well do you think each of the compromises has worked?

Answer Location: 2.5: The Constitutional Convention | 2.7: Basic Constitutional Principles

Cognitive Domain: Application

Learning Objective: 2.5: Understand the arguments, debates, and compromises at the Constitutional Convention that led to the new U.S. Constitution

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

4. Explain the position of the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists with regards to the proposed Constitution. Which plans did each side favor? Although the Federalists won, were there any credible Anti-Federalist points?

Answer Location: 2.5: The Constitutional Convention

Cognitive Domain: Application

Learning Objective: 2.5: Understand the arguments, debates, and compromises at the Constitutional Convention that led to the new U.S. Constitution

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.

5. Summarize the arguments made by James Madison in Federalist No. 10.

Answer Location: 2.6: Ratification

Cognitive Domain: Application

Learning Objective: 2.6: Understand the process of ratifying, or adopting, the new constitution

Difficulty Level: Hard

SAGE Course Outcome: Articulate the foundations of American government, including its history, critical concepts, and important documents and achievements.