Download HW #2 Study Guide: U.S. Constitution

Name:__________________________
The Constitution/ Formation of Government
Ventriglia
Regents Review HW #2
What is the basis for the Constitution? What ideas allow it to be
created?
Democracy –
Preamble –
Republic –
Social Contract -
1. Which feature must a nation have to be considered a democracy?
(1) a strong president
(2) citizen participation in government
(3) elected judges to conduct trials
(4) a set of laws
2. The Preamble of the United States Constitution states the purposes of government and is based on the
belief that
(1) the states have ultimate authority
(2) members of Congress should be appointed
(3) Supreme Court Justices should be elected
(4) the people are sovereign
3. New York State and the United States have republican forms of government because both
have
(1) a bill of rights
(3) an elected legislature
(2) a written constitution
(4) three branches of government
4. Which concept found in the United States Constitution was a belief held by the social contract
philosophers of the Enlightenment period?
(1) presidential cabinet
(3) limited monarchy
(2) judicial review
(4) sovereignty of the people
5. A republican form of government is described as one in which
(1) there is a two-party system
(2) representatives are elected by the people
(3) elected officials have limited terms
(4) government power is limited by checks and balances
What happens during the debate over the Constitution at the
constitutional convention?
Great Compromise
Three Fifths Compromise
Presidential Compromise
Commerce Compromise
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
1. During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the plans for Congress proposed by delegates
from New Jersey and Virginia differed mainly over the issue of
(1) life terms of office or short terms of office
(2) appointed legislators or elected legislators
(3) equal state representation or proportionate state representation
(4) power to check other branches or power limited to lawmaking
2.
“New Congress to Have Two Houses”
“Slaves to Count as Three-Fifths of a Person”
“President to be Chosen by Electoral Vote”
Which conclusion about the Constitutional Convention is best supported by these headlines?
(1) The framers of the Constitution were able to compromise on important issues.
(2) States that were small in area would lose power in the new Constitution.
(3) States with large populations controlled the outcome of the convention.
(4) The president and Congress would have equal power under the new constitution.
3. The Federalist Papers were published in 1787 and 1788 to help gain support for
(1) a bill of rights
(2) the ratification of the Constitution
(3) a weaker central government
(4) the abolition of slavery and the slave trade
4. At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the Great Compromise resolved the issue of
(1) representation
(3) slavery
(2) taxation
(4) control of trade
5. A significant compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was the agreement to
(1) exclude slaves from census counts
(3) establish a bicameral legislature
(2) forbid tariffs on imports
(4) limit the number of terms a president could serve
Structure and Function
Branch
Position/Years
Role in Gov’t.
Powers
How elected?
____________
_____________
Executive
Legislative
(Congress)
_____________ ____________
Judicial
1. Filibusters were used by United States Senators from the South in the 1950s and 1960s to
(1) block passage of civil rights bills
(2) protest United States involvement in Vietnam
(3) override presidential vetoes of environmental bills
(4) gain approval of presidential appointments to the Supreme Court
2. The Supreme Court has the power to
(1) control the federal budget
(2) vote to end a tie in the Senate
(3) approve presidential appointments
(4) interpret the Constitution
3. What was a direct result of the census of 2000?
(1) Personal income tax rates were changed.
(2) New United States District Courts were created.
(3) Seats in the House of Representatives were reapportioned.
(4) The number of United States Senators was increased.
4. The power of judicial review allows the Supreme Court to
(1) repeal amendments to the Constitution
(2) determine the constitutionality of a law
(3) break tie votes in the electoral college
(4) impeach the president and other high-level officials
Principles
Federalism
Reserved
Delegated
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
Elastic Clause
Amending Process (Jan’04 Thematic)
Unwritten constitution
1. The framers of the United States Constitution included the concepts of federalism, checks and
balances, and separation of powers in the document because they
(1) feared a government with unlimited power
(2) favored the poor over the rich
(3) wanted to increase the powers of the states
(4) hoped to expand the democratic process
2. The unwritten constitution is best defined as the
(1) amendments to the United States Constitution
(2) powers that the Constitution reserves for the states
(3) powers that the Constitution denies to Congress and to the states
(4) practices of the government that are based on custom and tradition
3. The development of political parties and of the committee system used in Congress illustrates the application of
(1) constitutional amendments
(2) federal legislation
(3) the unwritten constitution
(4) Supreme Court decisions
4. “The Congress shall have Power . . . To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for
carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested [granted] by this Constitution
in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. . . .”
This section of the United States Constitution was frequently used during the 20th century to
(1) expand federal control of interstate commerce
(2) reduce the number of federal courts
(3) overturn decisions of the electoral college
(4) impeach the president
5. Which power is shared by the federal government and the New York State government?
(1) enacting immigration laws
(2) levying taxes
(3) granting patents and copyrights
(4) issuing passports
6. To avoid having too much power concentrated in one branch of government, the framers of the
Constitution established
(1) a bicameral national legislature
(2) division of power among different levels of government
(3) the system of two political parties
(4) the system of checks and balances
7. Congress established a minimum wage for workers and regulations on radio broadcasts by combining
its delegated power to regulate interstate commerce with the
(1) sanctity of contract clause
(3) elastic clause
(2) due process clause
(4) writ of habeas corpus clause
8.
• Congress proposes an amendment legalizing
• The Supreme Court rules that the income tax
These events illustrate the use of
(1) delegated powers
(2) checks and balances
an income tax.
is unconstitutional.
(3) judicial legislation
(4) the unwritten constitution
9. Which newspaper headline shows the operation of the system of checks and balances?
(1) “Senate Rejects President’s Choice of Supreme Court Justice”
(2) “Florida To Gain Two Seats in the United States House of Representatives”
(3) “Albany County Receives $4 Million from Congress for Transportation Development”
(4) “New York State Rejects Federal Regulations on Drug Testing”
10. The change to the direct election of senators, the lowering of the voting age to eighteen, and the
establishment of a two-term limit for presidents are all examples of the use of
(1) judicial review
(3) executive privilege
(2) checks and balances
(4) the amendment process
11. One reason the United States Constitution is considered a flexible document is that it
(1) can be rewritten every ten years
(2) allows for the creation of a multiparty political system
(3) gives the states the power to change federal laws
(4) includes the elastic clause