Political Science 1 - Government of the United States and California » Summer 2020 » Constitutional Development Quiz

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Question #1
A constitutional amendment can be ratified by
A.   a majority of the popular vote.
B.   a positive vote in three-fourths of the legislatures of the various states.
C.   approval of the legislatures in two-thirds of the states.
D.   presidential approval.
E.   a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress.
Question #2
A _________ is a voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and abiding by its rules.
A.   unitary govenrment
B.   constitution
C.   confederation
D.   social contract
E.   carte
Question #3
According to the Separatists, the Mayflower Compact was necessary because it
A.   imposed some form of public authority on the colonists.
B.   limited the power of women in the colonies.
C.   protected the colonists from other foreign governments.
D.   imposed religious order on the colonies.
E.   protected the colonists from England.
Question #4
All of the following developments took place in the colonial period EXCEPT
A.   the colonists acquired crucial political experience.
B.   the colonists exercised a large measure of self-government.
C.   the colonists passed the Pennsylvania Frame of Government, which foreshadowed our modern Constitution.
D.   the colonists developed a concept of limited government.
E.   Louisiana was established as the last of the thirteen colonies.
Question #5
All of the following is widely considered to be an informal method of amending the Constitution EXCEPT
A.   Supreme Court decisions.
B.   the formal amendment process.
C.   Presidential action.
D.   Congressional legislation.
E.   interpretation, custom, and usage.
Question #6
Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to
A.   levy income taxes.
B.   regulate the media.
C.   establish a system of courts below the Supreme Court.
D.   limit the power of local governments.
E.   override presidential vetoes.
Question #7
Basically, the New Jersey Plan was
A.   the Constitution.
B.   simply an amendment of the Mayflower Compact.
C.   a way for large states to grab power.
D.   the result of the Great Compromise.
E.   simply an amendment of the Articles of Confederation.
Question #8
In 1803, the Supreme Court claimed the power of ______ for itself in Marbury v. Madison.
A.   constitutional amendment
B.   judicial review
C.   appeal
D.   executive review
E.   legislative ratification
Question #9
Judicial review is
A.   the process of confirmation of federal judges by Congress.
B.   a method by which the president can check the judiciary.
C.   not applicable to actions by state governments.
D.   restricted to the Supreme Court in overturning decisions by lower courts
E.   the power of the courts to declare federal or state laws and other acts of government unconstitutional.
Question #10
Probably the most fundamental weakness of the Articles of Confederation, and the most basic cause of their eventual replacement by the Constitution, was the
A.   lack of ability to conduct foreign policy.
B.   lack of power to raise funds for the militia.
C.   absence of an executive committee.
D.   one-vote-per-state system.
E.   lack of provision for a president of the United States.

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