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

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