The Constitution limits the power of government because the Founders viewed government as 15.. Which of the following ideas made the elite principles of the United States’ government di
Trang 1CHAPTER 2: The Elite Consensus of the Founding Fathers: U.S Political Principles
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1 The preeminent elite in the early United States is best described by which of the following?
2 Which power was reserved for the states in the Articles of Confederation?
a Regulation of commerce
b Providing for the common defense
c Promoting the general welfare
d Making treaties with other countries
3 Which was not an elite preference for the new Constitution?
4 Delegates to the Constitutional Convention were selected
a through an election by the people
b by property ownership
c through appointment by state legislatures
d None of the above is true
5 What was the reason the Constitutional Convention met behind closed doors?
a To avoid interruptions
b To have more effective negotiations
c A belief that secrecy helped hide their conspiracy to destroy freedom
d To keep the masses out
6 The majority of the Founders at the Constitutional Convention had training in which professional field?
7 Which of the following best describes the men who wrote the Constitution?
a All were educated at elite institutions
b Each of them was experienced at government
c All maintained a national point of view
d All of the above are true
Trang 28 The text describes nationalism as which of the following?
a The belief in the supremacy of one’s country over all others
b The belief that it is necessary to submit to national power over individual values
c The belief that a strong national government is a good approach to government
d The belief that George Washington should be king
9 Elite consensus among the Founders included
a a belief in the protection of individual liberty
b a belief in equal levels of wealth
c a belief in the need to maintain slavery
d a belief that government was a natural part of human life
10 Leveling away inequalities in wealth was seen by the Founders as
a a dangerous violation of property rights
b an important step toward equality in society
c a basic human right
d a matter to be left for the states
11 The idea of government as a contract suggests that people give their allegiance or obedience to
government in exchange for
12 The Founders believed that political authority rested with
13 The Constitution sets up a system where the role of the masses is
14 The Constitution limits the power of government because the Founders viewed government as
15 Which of the following ideas made the elite principles of the United States’ government different from most other countries in 1787?
Trang 316 The Constitutional proposal that each state should have one vote and that the national government should have three separate branches of government was presented by delegates from
17 Slavery was protected in the Constitution by the
a Three-fifths Compromise
b agreement to not end the slave trade until after 1808
c requirement of returning of runaway slaves
d All of the above are true
18 The Constitution does not have a property qualification for voting or holding office because the Founders
a could not agree on what the qualifications might be
b believed it to be undemocratic
c wanted to include all people in the political process
d were more concerned with deliberating on the issue of slavery
19 The powers granted the federal government under the Constitution that had been lacking under the Articles of Confederation were
20 Under the Constitution, taxation of the states by the national government was based on
21 The debtors’ rebellion in Massachusetts in 1786 was known as
22 Military power before the Constitution was ineffective largely because it was
a made up of paid mercenaries
b dependent on using state militias
c made up of immigrants who did not believe in America
d low on ammunition
23 A strong navy was seen as essential for
Trang 424 The checks and balances system is designed to make majority rule
a nearly impossible
b a smooth democratic process
c safe from unjust and self-seeking minorities
d work at both the state and federal levels
25 Republican government is based on the delegation of powers by the people to a small number who
26 As originally mandated by the Constitution, which of the following parts of the federal government is elected directly by the people?
a The members of the Senate
b The justices of the Supreme Court
c The members of the House of Representatives
d The President
27 The President can check the power of the Congress through which of the following Constitutional powers?
a Declaring Congressional acts unconstitutional
b Refusing to appear before the Congress
c Vetoing bills passed by Congress
d Signing statements challenging Congress
28 The Constitution became law when it was approved by
29 The Anti-Federalists were an elite who believed that
a the national government was likely to infringe upon individual liberties
b the masses should rule not the elites
c Federalists were secretly working for the British
d the President should have more authority
30 During the Constitutional Convention, one of the reasons for why there was no need for a federal Bill
of Rights was that
a all of the states already had Bills of Rights
b the national government was a benign entity
c the federal government did not have the power to interfere with freedom, making it
unnecessary
d none of the above is true
Trang 51 A was a small-scale farmer working his own land
ANS: freeholder
REF: 22
2 Before the Constitution, the document through which the states worked together was called the
ANS: Articles of Confederation
REF: 22
3 was chosen to preside over the writing of the Constitution
ANS: George Washington
REF: 24
4 The economic interests of the Founders meant that besides political freedom, _
prosperity and _ were major goals of the new Constitution
ANS: economic; stability
REF: 26
5 Classical liberal theory holds that society is created by a
ANS: social contract
REF: 28
6 _ is a legal system built up over generations and even centuries of precedents ANS: Common law
REF: 28
7 concerns the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property
ANS: Natural law
REF: 31
8 The negotiation that resulted in a proposed two house legislature, with one based on population and the other equal by state was called the
ANS: Connecticut Compromise
REF: 31
Trang 69 The notion that slaves should count as only a fraction of a human being for Congressional
representation is known as the
ANS: Three-fifths Compromise
REF: 32
10 The Constitution used the federal power to regulate commerce as a means to promote
between the states
ANS: free trade
REF: 33
11 The federalist papers were written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and ANS: James Madison
REF: 34
12 Coining money, fighting counterfeiting, and enforcing copyrights are all Constitutional powers of the government to protect
ANS: property
REF: 36
13 Communications and transportation infrastructure were encouraged by the Constitutional right of Congress to build
ANS: post offices and post roads
REF: 36
14 Western land speculation was made possible because the protected settlers ANS: army
REF: 37
15 The was created to protect shipping from piracy on the high seas
ANS: navy
REF: 38
16 Southern elites might have desired a central military to protect them from ANS: slave revolt
REF: 38
Trang 717 James Madison stated that “the public voice, pronounced by the representatives of the people, will be more consonant to the public good than is pronounced by .”
ANS: the people themselves
REF: 40
18 The House of Representatives and Senate check and balance each other because
ANS: both must agree on bills
REF: 41
19 The power to appoint members of the Supreme Court is shared by the President and the
_
ANS: Senate
REF: 41
20 The principle that the courts can invalidate laws by states or the Congress is known as
ANS: judicial review
REF: 43
21 The faction that opposed the Constitution as undoing freedom and equality was called the
_
ANS: Anti-Federalists
REF: 45
22 The first ten amendments to the Constitution are collectively known as ANS: the Bill of Rights
REF: 46
23 government sets up different government bodies to check and balance each other
ANS: Divided
REF: 47
TRUE/FALSE
1 The Articles of Confederation allowed only the National Government to regulate trade and tariffs
Trang 82 Farmers, shopkeepers, and artisans formed the middle class in 1787.
3 The Constitutional Convention was quick to discard its congressional mandate to “revise the Articles
of Confederation.”
4 The Founders were distinguished by their vast experience in government
5 Few delegates at the Convention had any legal training or service as a lawyer or a judge
6 Because the government under the Articles of Confederation could not pay off its debt, government bonds lost value
7 At the time of the Convention George Washington was one of the richest men in the country
8 The Founders believed that inequality of wealth and property was a natural result of diversity
9 A republican form of government believes in mass democracy
10 The Constitution limits the corrupting influence of power by balancing representation in the national government
11 The Virginia Plan called for the United States to have a parliamentary system similar to Britain
12 Runaway slaves that made it to non-slave states were declared free by the Constitution
13 Most delegates to the Constitutional Convention were slave owners
14 The original U.S Constitution includes a property qualification for the right to vote
Trang 9ANS: F REF: 34
15 The text argues the Constitution is an elite document because the elites benefited more directly and immediately than did nonelites
16 State-issued paper money helped debtors by becoming worth less over time
17 Very few farmers carried heavy debt in 1787
18 The structure of government created in the Constitution functions to protect freedom from the masses
19 Congress can check the power of the President by overruling the results of the Electoral College
20 The Courts can check the power of Congress by declaring laws to be unconstitutional
21 The system of checks and balances can be seen as a way to frustrate mass movements
22 Madison believed tyranny by the majority could be prevented by having so many factions nobody could get a majority
23 The Bill of Rights was a concession made by the elites in order to secure the ratification of the Constitution
ESSAY
1 Discuss the elements of American social class structure at the time of the Constitution
ANS:
Students’ answers will vary, but should include elites, the wealthy, freeholders, indentured servants, and slaves
2 How was the American Constitution both conservative and radical?
ANS:
Trang 10Students’ answers will vary, but should include preserving power distribution (conservative) and being radically different from other countries (sovereignty with the people)
3 What characteristics of George Washington described in this chapter would make him an elite leader?
ANS:
Students’ answers will vary
4 Is the system of checks and balances dependent on a pluralistic politics of many interest groups (or factions as Madison calls them)?
ANS:
Students’ answers will vary
5 Why would commercial interests have a great interest in a strong federal government?
ANS:
Students’ answers will vary
6 Discuss the different needs for a federal government between debtors and creditors in 1787 How might this relate to present-day concerns about consumer credit card debts?
ANS:
Students’ answers will vary
7 Discuss the implications in creating a government of James Madison’s statement in Federalist #51 that
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”
ANS:
Students’ answers will vary
8 How does examining the founding of the country explain the “irony of democracy”?
ANS:
Students’ answers will vary
9 If a new Constitutional Convention was called today (as allowed in Article V), do you think today’s elites would keep the same structure of government?
ANS:
Students’ answers will vary
10 Has the Constitution fulfilled the purposes of the Founders in the two centuries since it was created? ANS:
Students’ answers will vary