Political Science, U.S. Constitution Quiz
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Test covering the Articles of Confederation and the U. S. Constitution. The federal system of government, citizenship and Georgia Constitution. 46 questionsmultiple choiceFill in the blank
- 1.
- A.
Raising money through national taxes.
- B.
Calling up national troops in a time of crises.
- C.
Starting and structuring a national military.
- D.
Paying back the loans made to pay for the revolutionary war.
- E.
The printing and distrubuting of a national currency
- 2.Which of the following is not usually a general characteristic of a Constitution?
- A.
Orders the government into a specific structure and form.
- B.
Provides the fundamental law of the society it is to govern.
- C.
Limits the governments power and spells out specific individual powers.
- D.
Protects individuals rights and removes them from the governmental decision process.
- E.
Establishes a set of guidelines that are recommended to be followed by the government
- 3.Loosely bound members with no common commander and a failure to take unified action are common historical traits of what kind of organization?
- A.
A Dynastic Empire
- B.
A Constitutional Republic
- C.
A League of Sovereign States
- D.
A Parliamentary Monarchy
- E.
A Dictatorship
- 4.Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal goverment was:
- A.
Too powerful and and oppressive to the states.
- B.
Too weak in relation to the state governments.
- C.
Considered to be too similar to the British form of government.
- D.
Virtually unlimited in it's ability to control all aspects of goverment.
- E.
Exactly as our federal government is structured today.
- 5.Which of the following was not a challenge faced by the framers of the Constitution?
- A.
Large states wanted more representation than smaller states based on population.
- B.
Smaller states wanted equal representation in Congress without regard to population.
- C.
A strong distrust of a powerful and centralized national government.
- D.
Creating a centralized goverment with enough checks and balances to avoid tyranny.
- E.
Several states wanting to secede and form there own governemnt.
- 6.The Preamble to the Constitution establihed which one of the following:
- A.
People as the rightful source of the power of the government.
- B.
The form and structure of the governemnt.
- C.
A Union where none had existed before.
- D.
The office of the President and Vice President.
- E.
The basic Bill of Rights.
- 7.Which of the following would not be considered an aim of the Constituion:
- A.
War powers and national defense.
- B.
Justice and protection of liberty.
- C.
Common welfare and wel being of citizens.
- D.
Limits of personal freedom
- 8.Which one of the following is not included in Article 1 of the Constitution
- A.
Freedom of Religion and the Press.
- B.
The legislative powers of Congress.
- C.
Procedural rules governing speeches on the floor of Congress.
- D.
Powers unique to the Senate and the House of Representatives.
- E.
None of the Above.
- 9.Which one of the following is laid out in Article 1, Section 1, of the Constitution:
- A.
Aportionment of direct taxes and representation based on population.
- B.
Elections and Electors.
- C.
Term lengths for office.
- D.
Qualifications for office.
- E.
The establisment of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
- 10.Which is the best answer on how Article 1 of the Constituion address slaves in relation to population and representation?
- A.
Each slave was counted as 5/5ths of a person under the one man, one vote philosophy.
- B.
Slaves were not counted at all in an effort to discourage slavery.
- C.
Slaves were counted as 3/5ths of a person as a compromise between free and slave states.
- D.
Article 1 did not specifically address slaves, but instead counted all free persons and 3/5ths of all others, excluding Indians.
- E.
Each slave, Indian and indentured servant was counted a 3/5ths of a person as a compromise between free and slave states.
- 11.Which one of the following is not included in Article II of the Constitution:
- A.
Authority to convene both houses of Congress.
- B.
The right to keep and bear arms.
- C.
Civilian power over the military.
- D.
Authority for nominating and appointing judges and other officers.
- E.
Authority for granting pardons
- 12.Article II of the Constituion which of the following:
- A.
The Unitary Office of the President.
- B.
The Electoral College
- C.
Qualifications for the Office of President
- D.
The Oath of Office of the President
- E.
All of the above
- 13.A constitutional ammendment is passed and becomes part of the Constitution upon which of the following:
- A.
When voted on and passed by 2/3rds majority of both houses of Congress.
- B.
When voted on and passed by 2/3rds majority of the legislatures of all the States.
- C.
When ratified by a 3/4ths majority of all the States legislatures.
- D.
When ratified by 3/4ths of the members of a constitutional convention.
- E.
Either C or D
- 14.According to the Constitution, a bill becomes law once each of the following happens, except:
- A.
It is passed by a majority in both houses of Congress.
- B.
It is passed by both houses of Congress and it is signed by the President
- C.
Ten days have elapsed after it is passed by a majority of both houses of Congress, if Congress is in session.
- D.
It is vetoed by the President, but is subsequently passed by a super majority of both houses of Congress,
- E.
None of the above, they would all become law
- 15.Which one of the following is not stated in Article VI of the Constitution:
- A.
Laws must be consistent with the Constituion.
- B.
Treaties between the United States and other nations, once ratified by a 2/3rds majority of the Senate, hold the same force of law as the Constitution.
- C.
All office holders must take an oath on the Holy Bible to uphold and support the Constitution
- D.
Expressely forbids a religious test for qualification to any office.
- E.
The Constitution is the "Supreme Law of the Land".
- 16.The 1st ammendment to the Constitution:
- A.
Forbids an official establishment of religion
- B.
Gaurantees Freedom of Speech
- C.
Gaurantees Freedom of the Press
- D.
Gaurantees Freedom to Assemble and Petition
- E.
All of the above
- 17.Which one of the following statements about warrants is not true:
- A.
Warrants are court orders or commands that must be followed.
- B.
The warrent does not need to identify specific items to be siezed.
- C.
There must be probable cause for a warrant to be issued.
- D.
Someone must swear an oath stating there is probable cause.
- E.
The Warrant must specifically describe the place to be searched.
- 18.Ammendments V and VI, are commonly referred to as:
- A.
The "Due Process Clause".
- B.
The "Miranda Rights".
- C.
The "Rights of the Accused".
- D.
The "Civil Rights Act".
- E.
The "Bill of Rights".
- 19.Which one of the following is a right is established in the 5th Ammendment to the Constitution:
- A.
To be informed of the accusation.
- B.
Trial by a jury.
- C.
Right to an attorney.
- D.
To not be forced to testify against oneself.
- E.
To be confronted by the witnesses against themself.
- 20.Which one of the following ammendments was not passed within the first five years after the Civil War?
- A.
The 12 ammendment
- B.
The 13th ammendment
- C.
The 14th ammendment
- D.
The 15th ammendment
- 21.The __ ammendment abloished slavery
- 22.The __ ammendment provided the first clear definition of citizenship and the rights therof.
- 23.The __ ammendment removed race as a barrier to voting rights.
- 24.The __ ammendment provided for the direct election of Senators via a popular vote.
- 25.The __ ammendment provided for Women's suffrage.
- 26.The __ ammendment oulawed poll taxes
- 27.The __ ammendment set the voting age at 18.
- 28.Taken together, the 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th ammendments caused what effect on overall democracy:
- A.
Contraction
- B.
Extension
- C.
Conversion
- D.
Explosion
- E.
Retraction
- 29.Which one of the following is true regarding the 1800 presidential campaign between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams:
- A.
Was a spirited but cordial contest between two friends and co-writers of the declaration of Independence.
- B.
Was an acrimonious and bitter fight between two rivals with frequent and sharp personal attacks.
- C.
Split the government, with the Republicans winning the Presidency, but the Federalists gaining Congress.
- D.
Produced the smallest Electoral College margin of victory ever, with Jefferson winning by one electoral vote.
- 30.Jefferson's inaugural address had a theme of:
- A.
Reconciliation, tolerance, and understanding.
- B.
Arrogance, intolerance, and swift justice.
- C.
Unity, peace, and hope.
- D.
Change, tranquility, and fiscal responsibility.
- E.
Benevolence, indignation, and frugality.
- 31.Wich one of the following was not a belief of Jefferson in in regards to a citizen-goverment relationship.
- A.
Government should restrain men from injuring one another.
- B.
Governemnt should generally leave men free to regulate their own pursuits.
- C.
Citizens should be allowed the acquisitionsof their own industry.
- D.
Citizens should be free from any goverment restrictios.
- E.
Maximum liberty and a limited governent
- 32.Which one of the following is true regarding the 1860 Presidential election:
- A.
Linclon won a mojority of the Electoral College votes.
- B.
Lincoln won a majority of the popular votes.
- C.
The Democrats fielded two candidates for President.
- D.
Lincoln was the most popular politician at the time.
- E.
The southern states did not send Electors to vote
- 33.Which one of the following did Lincoln not discuss In his 1st inaugural address:
- A.
His intent to abolish slavery
- B.
Issues not decided or resolved in the Constitution.
- C.
Majority acquiessence to the minority.
- D.
Majority Rule
- E.
Secession
- 34.Which one of the following countries would not be considered to have a federal system of government:
- A.
United States of America
- B.
France
- C.
Germany
- D.
Mexico
- E.
India
- 35.Which one of the following is not a feature of a federal system of government:
- A.
Uniform laws across a nation.
- B.
A national government.
- C.
National, state, and local governments overlapping functions
- D.
Shared power between federal and state governments.
- 36.Which of the following would not be considered and advantage of a federal system of government:
- A.
Diversity and a diffusion of power.
- B.
Local goverments can handle local problems
- C.
State goverments may resist national policies
- D.
Experimentation and Innovation
- E.
More access for political participation.
- 37.Which one of the following is not correct in how the Constitution establishes our federal form of goverment.
- A.
Article I - Seats in Congress are allotted to the states.
- B.
Article II - Electors are allotted to the states.
- C.
Article III - The reserved power of the states.
- D.
Article IV - Defines relations between the states and how to create new states.
- E.
Articles V, VI - Process for the states to ammend and ratify the Constitution.
- 38.Which one of the following resulted from Reagan's view of federalism.
- A.
Huge cuts in federal spending during Reagan's administration.
- B.
Large reductions in domestic spending for welfare and social programs.
- C.
A reduction in the national debt.
- D.
Increased funding for education
- E.
Cuts in military spending.
- 39.Based on federal funding to the states, which one of the following would not be considered a nationally or federally controlled issue
- A.
Medicaid
- B.
Agriculture
- C.
Education
- D.
Transportation
- E.
Housing
- 40.Between 1776 and 1983, Georgia has had how may different constitutions?
- A.
1
- B.
13
- C.
5
- D.
10
- E.
2
- 41.An ammendment to the Consitutuion of the State of Georgia is not valid until passed by:
- A.
A majority of voters in a state election
- B.
A 2/3rds majority in the state legislature
- C.
A majority of the qualified voters in a state election
- D.
A roll call vote in the state legislature
- E.
A 2/3rds majority of voters in a state election
- 42.The Georgia legislature is comprised of 56 state senators and ____ state representatives
- 43.Which one of the following is not an elected office in the state of Georgia:
- A.
Commissioner of Agriculture
- B.
Commissioner of Labor
- C.
State School Superintendent
- D.
Commissioner of Public Safety
- E.
Commissioner of Insurance
- 44.As of 2009, Georgia has a final count of ___ counties and 528 cities.
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