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.   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 two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress.
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.   constitution
B.   unitary govenrment
C.   carte
D.   confederation
E.   social contract
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.   imposed some form of public authority on the colonists.
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 developed a concept of limited government.
B.   the colonists passed the Pennsylvania Frame of Government, which foreshadowed our modern Constitution.
C.   the colonists exercised a large measure of self-government.
D.   the colonists acquired crucial political experience.
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.   the formal amendment process.
B.   interpretation, custom, and usage.
C.   Presidential action.
D.   Supreme Court decisions.
E.   Congressional legislation.
Question #6
Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to
A.   regulate the media.
B.   limit the power of local governments.
C.   levy income taxes.
D.   override presidential vetoes.
E.   establish a system of courts below the Supreme Court.
Question #7
Basically, the New Jersey Plan was
A.   simply an amendment of the Mayflower Compact.
B.   simply an amendment of the Articles of Confederation.
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.   judicial review
B.   executive review
C.   constitutional amendment
D.   legislative ratification
E.   appeal
Question #9
Judicial review is
A.   the process of confirmation of federal judges by Congress.
B.   the power of the courts to declare federal or state laws and other acts of government unconstitutional.
C.   restricted to the Supreme Court in overturning decisions by lower courts
D.   a method by which the president can check the judiciary.
E.   not applicable to actions by state governments.
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 power to raise funds for the militia.
B.   absence of an executive committee.
C.   one-vote-per-state system.
D.   lack of provision for a president of the United States.
E.   lack of ability to conduct foreign policy.

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