Chapter 8

Shays's Rebellion of 1786 was the result of a. increased taxes on farmers in Massachusetts b. Samuel Adams inciting farmers in Massachusetts c. commercial and western creditors' harsh payment terms d. debt-strapped farmers in Pennsylvania

The two men who were instrumental in calling for the Philadelphia meeting in May 1787 to discuss revising the Articles of Confederation were a. Washington and Madison b. Washington and Franklin c. Jefferson and Madison d. Madison and Hamilton

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 a. provided for the eventual creation of eight to ten new states b. funded an exploratory party to locate the Northwest Passage. c. prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory d. required compulsory elementary education in each new township.

two-thirds of the Constitutional Convention's delegates were a. lawyers b. farmers from the mid-Atlantic and southern states c. artisans and day laborers d. merchants, shippers, and businessmen

Most of the new states spelled out their citizens' rights and liberties in written contracts because a. the unwritten nature of British political traditions led to Americans being denied liberties they had assumed they possessed b. they wanted to be able to amend their bills of rights annually c. Americans did not trust the federal government to uphold their freedoms d. they hoped to become separate nations in the future and wanted to be able to attract new settlers.

The constitution most clearly shifted the balance of power in favor of a. large over small states b. northern over southern states c. mercantile over agrarian interests d. national over state governments

Virginia's constitution was the first to a. include a bill of rights b. include longer terms for the governor c. abolish the upper house altogether d. give more power to the governor

Anti-federalism in New York centered on a. a feud with Virginia over the new national capital b. the proposed bicameral legislature c. the state's size and power in relation to the new federal government d. the fear that federalism would hurt commercial interests

Pro-Consititution forces called themselves a. federalists b. Pro-Constitutionalists c. the Constitutional party d. Antifederalists

Antifederalists were united mainly by a. their desire to block the constitution b. levels of wealth c. religious backgrounds d. location

The most serous obstacle to settlement in the northwest territory was a. clashes with the Indian tribes that occupied the land b. heavy tree growth that prevented easy farming c. the lack of government policy on slavery in the area, which hindered farmers and caused eruption of violent protests d. heavy taxation imposed by the government on industrial development

Property qualifications for voters and candidates in the new states a. were so liberal that essentially all adult white males could vote b. were replaced by a minimum-age requirement of twenty-two c. disfranchised 25-50 percent of all adult white males d. ensured that free blacks in North would be able to vote

To create a presidency out of the reach of direct democracy, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention a. provided for a popular vote to elect the president b. said that the Senate and House would vote for a president c. said that the state legislatures would choose the president d. devised the electoral college

Between 1776 and 1780, the states attracted the most talented statesmen because a. Robert Morris was a poor superintendent of finance b. the Federalists and Antifederalists couldn't get along c. the states were sovereign and familiar d. the states resented their lack of power

In the Deep South, immediately after the Revolution, a. the largest emancipation of blacks in the country occurred because of their association with the British b. no slaves achieved their freedom c. some states legislated gradual emancipation d. the concept that the ideals of the Revolution applied to slaves began to catch on among people of all classes

When the Constitution was drafted, slavery was a. not named, but its existence was recognized and guaranteed b. explicit named as being a landowner's liberty c. euphemistically outlawed d. the most hotly debated issue

The New Jersey Plan departed from the Articles of Confederation by a. giving the states total control over taxation and regulating trade b. creating a plural presidency to be shared by three men elected by the congress from among its membership c. changing the legislature to a two-house congress d. endowing the presidency with the power to declare war

In land ordinances of 1784 and 1785, Congress a. specified that western lands would be sold first to people who owned no property b. prohibited and involuntary servitude c. set out a rectangular grid system for surveying land and established township perimeters d. established the Southwest Territory in the lands south of the Ohio River

Which state allowed free blacks and women to vote in the early years of the republic? a. New York b. Rhode Island c. New Jersey d. Massachusetts

The major legacy of Shays's Rebellion was a. a series of similar revolts by farmers in other states b. the idea that civil disobedience was an American Liberty c. action by state legislatures to curb the powers of Congress d. the realization that the Articles of Confederation were inadequate and thus a reworking of national government was needed

Robert Morris proposed to increase the revenue of the confederation government by a. expanding the economic base of the confederation b. amending the Articles of Confederation to allow the government taxing powers without state approval c. passing a 5 percent import tax (called an impost) d. taxing all goods that flowed between states

The fight over ratification in Virginia proved to be very close because the influence of George Washington and James Madison was countered by Antifederalist arguments from a. George Mason and Patrick Henry b. George Clinton and Rochard Henry Lee c. The Federalist Papers d. Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry

The core of Antifederalists' opposition to the Constitution centered on a. the power it gave to the common man b. the creation of a stronger chief executive c. the doctrine of separation of powers d. fear that distant power might infringe on people's liberties

As a part of the Great Compromise, delegates at the Philadelphia convention agreed a. on the Supreme Court and a system of lower national courts b. on a lower house whose seats would be apportioned on the basis of population, and an upper house- the senate- that would have two senators per state c. on a procedure for direct election of a chief executive d. that voters would directly elect the members of the upper house, the Senate

Opposition to the Constitution came from substantial majorities in which of the following three most populous states a. North Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania b. Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Georgia c. North Carolina, Virginia, and New York d. Virginia, Massachussets, and New York

At the Constitutional Convention, the proposal to create a two-chamber legislature, with representation in both houses based on each state's population, was known as the a. Virginia Plan b. Three-fifths plan c. New Jersey Plan d. Connecticut Plan

Factors leading to the postwar depression that began in the mid-1780s included a. the fact that each state had its own currency b. the lack of governmental power to issue currency c. huge state and federal war debts, private debt, and rapid expenditure d. wage fixation that had occurred early in the war

In a new distinction between democracy and republicanism, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention a. believed that only the elite should govern b. gave a direct voice to the people only in the House c. believed America should move closer to a pure democracy d. gave a direct voice to the people in both the House and the Senate

Under the Ordinance of 1785's guidelines for land sales in the Northwest Territory, land would be sold a. only with bank loans because confederation money was worth so little b. only to speculators by closed bidding c. only to those persons who pledged to own no slaves or to free their current slaves d. by public auction at a minimum purchase price of a dollar per acre and in minimum parcels of 640 acres each.

Some states were reluctant to include "equality language" in their bills of rights and constitutions because a. it could spark slave rebellions in the North b. they were afraid the words could be construed to apply to slaves c. children as young as twelve might believe they could vote d. women might believe they were equal to men and want the vote

The authors of The Federalist essays originally wrote them a. as a history of the Constitutional Convention b. to provide an authoritative commentary on the Constitution c. as newspaper articles that detailed the failures of the Articles of Confederation d. as a pamphlet promoting the Bill of Rights

At the Philadelphia convention, which one of the following was the compromise reached on the issue of who counted as population for the purpose of deciding representation? a. Slaves were counted under the three-fifths clause b. Slaves were not to be counted as persons. c. Indians were only to be counted if they were assimilated d. No state could reclaim a slave who had taken refuge in a free state

Massachusetts responded to Shay's Rebellion with a a. moratorium on private debt b. dispatch of armed militiamen c. new issue of paper money d. reduction of taxes

The delegated to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 generally a. defended the Articles of Confederation as they stood b. were concerned about the weaknesses in the government under the Articles of Confederation c. though the federal government's powers should be restricted d. were disturbed that Massachusetts had quelled free speech in putting down Shay's Rebellion

Before the Constitution could go into effect, it had to be ratified a. by all thirteen states b. by a simple majority of the states c. in ratifying conventions in in of the thirteen states d. by the state legislatures of twelve states

The major objection to the Virginia Plan by the smaller states at the Constitutional Convention was a. the direct election of the president b. the creation of national judiciary c. the requirement for a council of revision to review legislation d. that the representation of the states in both houses of the congress would be based on population

The New Jersey Plan proposed at the Constitutional Convention a. called for severely limiting the powers of the congress b. called for one-chamber legislature in which each state would have one vote c. reserved control over taxation, revenue, and commerce to individual states d. featured a two chamber legislature elected by voters

Under the Articles of Confederation, the confederation government lacked a. the ability to raise money to finance the war b. an executive and judicial branch as well as the power to levy taxes c. the ability to conduct foreign relations d. a way to amend the articles should that need arise

James Madison emerged from Princeton College in 1771 a. an exceptional scholar with no real plan for his life b. only to return to his family's impoverished farm in Virginia c. an academic failure d. a brillant lawyer destined for greatness

In the quarter century after 1775, legislatures provided for the immediate or gradual abolition of slavery in a. most northern states b. Maryland, Virginia, and most northern states c. Maryland and most northern states d. all of the original thirteen colonies

The fundamental issue raised at the Constitutional Convention was a. whether the new national government should be more powerful or less powerful than the confederation government b. how to balance the conflicting interests of large and small states c. whether or not slavery should be abolished d. whether or nor presidential powers should be increased

The first state to ratify the constitution was a. Virginia b. Massachusetts c. New York d. Deleware

The Articles of Confederation were finally approved in 1781 when all the states agreed to surrender their a. power to regulate trade b. right to levy their own taxes c. claims to western lands d. power to declare war

The Constitutional Convention deadlocked over the issue of a. executive power b. the electoral college c. Congress's authority to levy taxes d. representation

In essay number 10 of The Federalist, James Madison maintained that the constitutional government would a. prevent any one faction from subverting the freedom of other groups b. eliminate the need for political parties c. protect the rights of individual states against incursions by the central government d. bring focus and order to American Foreign policy

A shared feature of all the state constitutions drawn up during the American Revolution was a. a call for a strong centralized government b. a governor with strong powers c. the conviction that government rests on the consent of the governed d. two houses: upper and lower

While Robert Morris's tax proposal didn't take effect and the Bank of North America did not resuscitate the economy in the 1780s, the confederation still had the potential to obtain wealth through a. sale of the huge territory ceded by Virginia, which in 1784 became the national domain b. retiring the war debt c. stabilization of the economy with gold and silver d. borrowing from France and Germany

Writers of the new state constitutions believed that voting requirements should a. be widely debated so that all citizens could have a voice b. be tied to literacy c. open up the political process to a wider group d. reflect colonial property qualifications to prevent women and very poor people from demanding the vote

Under the Articles of Confederation, a. each state had a single vote in congress b. five states had to approve war-making decisions c. all thirteen states had to approve routine decisions d. three-quarters of the states had to vote to approve or amend the articles

In devising their new constitutions, most states a. reduced the powers of the governor b. abolished the lower house c. gave veto power to the governor, who had a four-year term d. gave veto power to the governor and kept an appointed upper house