Been awhile since I've posted one of these, but I'm almost caught up on these. I'm actually going to take the first unit test tomorrow, to ensure that I have 25% of the classwork done before the end date (18JUN04) so I can get my incomplete, and the extra 120 days to finish the coursework.
Here's Chapter 3, The Constitution: Limiting Governmental Power.
Multiple Choice:
1. Constitutionalism means that:
a. elected officials are not allowed to exercise power.
b. those who exercise governmental power are restricted in theri use of it by a higher law.
c. those who exercise governmental power are above the law.
d. those who exercise governmental power are not restricted in their use of it by any higher law.
2. A constitution cannot be changed by:
a. ordinary acts of governmental bodies.
b. a proposal and ratification process that includes a constitutional convention and state conventions.
c. a proposal and ratification process that includes Congress and state legislatures.
d. a complex process requiring general consent.
3. The antecedents of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 include all of the following except:
a. the British Articles of Confederation.
b. the Colonial Charters.
c. the Mayflower Compact.
d. the Magna Carta.
4. Although the confederation was originally proposed to the Continental Congress on July 6, 1776, however the Articles of Confederation were approved by the Continental Congress in:
a. 1781.
b. 1777.
c. 1783.
d. 1787.
5. Under the Articles of Confederation, banks and creditors were threatened by unstable finances and cheap paper money primarily because:
a. the national government did not have the power to regulate interstate commerce.
b. debtors openly revolted against tax collectors.
c. Congress had no power to tax people directly.
d. each state had the power to issue their own currency.
6. The Annapolic Convention of 1786 was a key stepping-stone to the:
a. Declaration of Independence.
b. ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
c. Constitutional Convention.
d. Articles of Confederation.
7. The belief that shared cultural, historical, linguistic, and social characteristics of a people justify the creation of a government encompassing all of them would be called:
a. a limited government.
b. a social contract.
c. republicanism.
d. nationalism.
8. The New Jersey Plan called for a:
a. two-house national legislature based upon population.
b. one-house national legislature based upon population.
c. two-house national legislature based upon equal representation.
d. one-house national legislature based upon equal representation.
9. The Virginia Plan called for a:
a. one-house national legislature based upon population.
b. two-house national legislature with the lower house elected based on state population and the upper house elected by the lower.
c. one-house national legislature based upon equal representation.
d. two-house national legislature based upon equal representation.
10. Universal male suffrage was proposed at the Constitutional Convention by:
a. George Washington.
b. Benjamin Franklin.
c. James Madison.
d. John Adams.
True/False:
1. A central component of the U.S. constitution was to enable the national government to levy its own taxes.
2. Charles Beard wrote _An_Economic_Interpretation_of_the_Constitution_of_the_United_States_ in 1789.
3. Under the U.S. Constitution the president was made "Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navey of the United States" meaning he has the power to declare war.
4. Federalism refers to the division of power between the national and state governments.
5. National supremacy ensures that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and is found in Article VI.
6. The U.S. Constitution limits the President to two terms in office.
7. The U.S. Constitution did not allow U.S. Senators to be elected.
8. The U.S. Constitution determined that a Supreme Court would be established with nine members.
9. The U.S. Constitution allows the American people to vote directly on laws through national referenda.
10. Separation of powers refers to the division of powers between the national government and the states.
Essays (choose one):
Discuss the arguments for and against national referenda in the United States. Why were the founding fathers insistent upon reserving the right to vote to the propertied class? Why do you think that they also create a buffer so that the people could not directly elect U.S. Senators or the President?
Describe the New Jersey Plan, the Virginia Plan, and the Connecticut Compromise. Analyze the resulting U.S. Constitution as a series of solutions to the problems that existed under the Articles of Confederation.
Discuss Charles Beard’s argument in An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States. In what way did the elitist background of delegates to the Constitutional Convention lead to distrust and suspicion of the resulting document? How could the background of the delegates affect the resulting Constitution?
Answers to be posted in comments section, and I actually have the essay done this time!