2012-01-22 14:49:37 UTC
In 1776, this recent immigrant to America and largely failed entrepreneur wrote Common Sense, a document that energized American opposition to English colonial rule.
Choose one answer.
a. Charles Beard
b. Thomas Jefferson
c. Benjamin Franklin
d. Thomas Paine
e. John Locke
Question 2
Common Sense was noteworthy in that it:
Choose one answer.
a. Chastised colonial for attacks on British property, like the Boston Tea Party, and suggested that government officials should not be subject to popular consent.
b. Shifted the blame for 'tyranny' away from the monarchy and onto Parliament.
c. Shifted the blame for 'tyranny' away from Parliament and onto King George III and also adopted a much more harsh rhetoric in criticizing English policies.
d. Suggested that further cooperation with England was possible, unlike the Declaration Independence.
e. Adopted a much more reasoned approach to protest and appealed to colonial Americans to be more respectful of English governance.
Question 3
All of the following are CORRECT statements concerning the Declaration of Independence EXCEPT:
Choose one answer.
a. Like Common Sense, it shifted the blame for many colonial policies from Parliament onto the English monarchy.
b. It incorporated the ideas of John Locke.
c. It listed a series of grievances and violations of American rights.
d. It won the immediate approval and widespread support of people outside the British Empire.
e. It included aspects of Continental Congress discussions and prior proclamations of independence issued by colonial governments.
Question 4
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson outlined all of the following 'self-evident' natural rights EXCEPT that:
Choose one answer.
a. They are endowed by their Creator with the right to Liberty.
b. They are endowed by their Creator with a right to Life.
c. All men are created equal.
d. They are endowed by their Creator with the right to Property.
e. They are endowed by their Creator with the right to Happiness.
Question 5
In the mid-1750s, Benjamin Franklin authored a document that laid the groundwork for republican government in what became the United States. That document was:
Choose one answer.
a. The Albany Plan of Union.
b. The Iroquois Confederacy.
c. The Articles of Confederation.
d. The Declaration of Independence.
e. Two Treatises of Civil Government.
Question 6
The Articles of Confederation provided the basis for government during the American Revolution, creating a central government that:
Choose one answer.
a. Gave Congress extensive powers to enforce legislation, making many Americans fearful of that Congress had too much power.
b. Lacked the ability to levy taxes, to regulate commerce, and to resolve economic disputes and territorial conflicts between states.
c. Gave the unicameral national legislature greater power than state legislatures.
d. Made it easy both to approve legislation at the national level and to amend the Articles of Confederation as necessary.
e. Was finally able to raise a national army by compelling states to provide troops and money.
Question 7
Although the central government created had some weaknesses, it did produce several significant outcomes, including ALL of the following EXCEPT:
Choose one answer.
a. A victory against England in the War for Independence.
b. Passage of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
c. Providing the colonies with a greater sense of national identity.
d. Providing an early, somewhat successful, attempt in national governance upon which the new nation could build a stronger, more effective central government.
e. A successful response to Shays's Rebellion.
Question 8
The ideas of the French aristocrat Baron Montesqueiu that can be found in early state constitutions included:
Choose one answer.
a. The elimination of religious qualifications for holding office and liberalization of voting requirements.
b. The inclusion of female suffrage (women's right to vote).
c. Separate branches of government and the concept of 'checks and balances' in government.
d. Universal male suffrage (all men could vote).
e. Inclusion of a bill of rights similar to the British model.
Question 9
The issues that affected most Americans, and that plagued both the national government and state governments, both during the American Revolution and the decades immediately following the war were primarily:
Choose one answer.
a. Economic in nature (debt, taxation, government funding).
b. Philosophical in nature (the desire for a monarchy over a republic).
c. Those dealing with the right to vote (suffrage).
d. Those dealing with the belief that no central government was necessary (the desire to have no government beyond the state level).
e. Those dealing with slavery (the desire