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

Need help with your exam preparation?

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

Need help with your exam preparation?

Existing Quiz Clients Login here