US A Narrative History 8th Edition By James West Davidson -Test Bank
Chapter 08
Crisis and Constitution 1776-1789
Multiple Choice Questions
1. The chapter introduction discusses the dilemma of citizens identifying with state and nation after the Revolution to make the point that
A. immediately after the Revolution, no one had a sense of identity or loyalty toward the nation, so it was predictable that the new United States would be politically decentralized.
B. because of the Revolution, most felt a sense of identity and loyalty with the united cause, but political jealousies prevented a strong governmental structure until the crises of the 1780s forced the politicians to act.
C. Americans created one kind of united government with the Declaration of Independence; needing a better union, they overwhelmingly supported the new Constitution.
D. Americans had to experiment to find a way to create a united republic that confronted the realities of separate identities and inequalities.
Answer: D
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
2. The Constitution represented the triumph of compromise, and Americans who accepted the Constitution had to change many of their basic beliefs about government. These included all of the following EXCEPT
A. the assumption that republics were best suited to small geographic areas.
B. the preoccupation with severely limiting executive power.
C. the instinct to give ultimate loyalty and sovereignty to one’s own state.
D. the ability of free citizens to govern themselves through disinterested representatives.
Answer: D
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
3. The constitutions written by the states provided several important precedents for the later federal system created by the Constitution of 1787. One of the most important was the principle of
A. a weak executive.
B. county divisions within a state structure.
C. direct popular rule.
D. creating a written document as supreme law.
Answer: D
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
4. When peace was restored in the 1780s, Americans were forced to face some unanswered questions raised by their revolution. Which of the following was NOT among their questions?
A. Could the individual states establish treaties and agreements with foreign countries, excluding the other states?
B. Would the lands in the West eventually become part of the United States, and how would this take place?
C. Would factions and self-interest groups pull the states apart and make union impossible?
D. What tax system would be installed by the newly elected government?
Answer: D
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
5. Following the revolution, while most states did not alter the basic structure of their governments, they did alter the balance of power among the different branches of government. Which of the following did they NOT do?
A. severely restricted the power of the governor or abolished the office completely
B. significantly strengthened the powers of the state legislatures
C. insisted on written state constitutions
D. abolished the state legislative assemblies
Answer: D
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
6. The first state constitutions tried to make the government accountable to the people through
A. annual elections and representation by district.
B. elections by secret ballot and representation of each social group.
C. restricting executive power and requiring a popular referendum for tax bills.
D. itemizing rights and prescribing virtual representation.
Answer: A
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
7. America’s first governing document was called the
A. Articles of Confederation.
B. Constitution.
C. Bill of Rights.
D. Jefferson Doctrine.
Answer: A
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
8. The Articles of Confederation provided for a government by
A. national legislature.
B. national executive.
C. judicial authority.
D. All of these answers are correct.
Answer: A
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
9. What is the best description of the United States of America under the Articles of Confederation?
A. an integrated republic with a decentralized structure of national government
B. thirteen independent state republics loosely joined together under a virtually powerless representative body
C. a political system functioning like a corporate conglomerate with thirteen wholly-owned subsidiary companies
D. thirteen independent nations affiliated in a defensive alliance, like today’s NATO
Answer: B
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
10. Which of the following was a weakness of Congress under the Articles of Confederation?
A. It could only levy taxes.
B. It could not declare war or regulate Indian affairs.
C. It could only regulate trade.
D. Its structure meant that national leadership was marked by weakness and discontinuity.
Answer: D
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
11. The two most pressing problems for the new nation, which neither the states nor the Confederation Congress could solve, were
A. divisions between the states, and border disputes with Britain and Spain.
B. slavery, and the Indian question.
C. republicanism and federalism.
D. political ineffectiveness, and the need to industrialize.
Answer: A
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
12. The young United States confronted strong challenges from which foreign power(s) at its borders?
A. the Spanish and British
B. the French to the west
C. the Dutch to the north
D. the French in the West Indies
Answer: A
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
13. Immediately after the Revolution, the United States began to have difficulties with Spain. The disputes were related to the boundaries of Florida and
A. ownership of Cuba.
B. the boundaries of Texas.
C. navigation rights on the Mississippi.
D. illegal trade with Spanish colonies.
Answer: C
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
14. One of the chief controversies that delayed initial ratification of the Articles of Confederation turned out to be the one area of substantial achievement by the Confederation Congress. This related to
A. Indian policy.
B. slavery.
C. western lands.
D. the location of the national capital.
Answer: C
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
15. The Northwest Ordinance, which established a basis for territorial government for lands between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes, included all of the following provisions EXCEPT
A. freedom of religion.
B. protection of civil and political rights for Indians.
C. encouragement of education.
D. the eventual creation of three to five new states.
Answer: B
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
16. Which of the following is a true statement concerning African Americans following the Revolution?
A. The number of blacks in slavery quickly declined dramatically.
B. Communities of free blacks faded in numbers and health.
C. Most northern states abolished slavery by law either immediately or gradually.
D. Most African Americans were forced to flee to Canada.
Answer: C
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
17. In American society after the Revolution, people believed more and more in _______, while in reality many parts of society were becoming _______.
A. religion; secular
B. capitalism; neo-feudal
C. equality; unequal
D. reforming society; complacent about the Republic’s future
Answer: C
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
18. One result of the harsh treatment of loyalists during and following the Revolution was that
A. most of the urban merchant class was lost.
B. revolutionary governments demonstrated their commitment to justice even for those who disagreed.
C. the British army shrank in numbers.
D. new opportunities were created for enterprising Americans to move up the ladder of wealth and influence.
Answer: D
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Identify and discuss important features of early republican society and culture.
Topic: Republican Society
19. The state of New Jersey created legislation in 1807 to close what loophole?
A. “aristocracy of merit”
B. the three-fifths compromise
C. landowning women’s suffrage
D. “democratic excess”
Answer: C
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Identify and discuss important features of early republican society and culture.
Topic: Republican Society
20. “Seduction literature” sent the unmistakable message that young women must preserve their
A. wholesome nature.
B. self-control.
C. independence from the passions and impulsiveness of men.
D. sexual purity.
Answer: D
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Identify and discuss important features of early republican society and culture.
Topic: Republican Society
21. Republican ideology viewed what as the key to independence and power?
A. liberty
B. equality
C. representative democracy
D. property
Answer: D
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
22. The Society of Cincinnati, a veterans’ club for former Continental Army officers, attracted criticism because it
A. advocated the education of women in the West.
B. was perceived as aristocratic.
C. advocated abolishing slavery.
D. constituted a federal standing army in the Ohio valley.
Answer: B
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Identify and discuss important features of early republican society and culture.
Topic: Republican Society
23. What was the most important result of the uprising of western Massachusetts debtor farmers led by Daniel Shays?
A. It supported the belief that the people should take the law into their own hands.
B. It proved that the country’s revolutionary spirit was still alive.
C. It gave crucial momentum to the growing movement to strengthen the national government.
D. It prompted the Massachusetts legislature to ratify the Constitution.
Answer: C
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Understand the process and identify key events that led from the Confederation to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
Topic: From Confederation to Constitution
24. The most significant reform of the republican campaign against artificial privilege was the
A. dismantling of state-supported churches.
B. elimination of inheritance taxes.
C. elimination of inherited political privilege.
D. None of these answers is correct.
Answer: A
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Identify and discuss important features of early republican society and culture.
Topic: Republican Society
25. Which of the following leaders shaped the framing of the federal Constitution more than anyone else?
A. George Washington
B. James Madison
C. Thomas Jefferson
D. Alexander Hamilton
Answer: B
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Understand the process and identify key events that led from the Confederation to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
Topic: From Confederation to Constitution
26. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention, though from twelve different states, had two important things in common. These were that
A. they were men with a great deal of political experience, and they all favored weakening the central government.
B. they were all relatively inexperienced politically, and they favored establishing a constitutional monarchy.
C. they were all former loyalists, and they all favored establishing strong ties with Great Britain.
D. they were all men of considerable political experience, and they all recognized the need for a stronger national union.
Answer: D
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Understand the process and identify key events that led from the Confederation to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
Topic: From Confederation to Constitution
27. The Constitutional Convention deadlocked until it could find a compromise solution to the issue of
A. whether to keep or discard the Articles.
B. whether there was truly a need for a stronger national government.
C. representation in Congress.
D. the powers of the executive.
Answer: C
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Understand the process and identify key events that led from the Confederation to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
Topic: From Confederation to Constitution
28. How did James Madison imagine that a federal republic with a strong central government might work, especially one that governed such a vast land area as that of the United States?
A. He simply believed that a strong central government would lead to tyranny and was therefore against it.
B. He believed that a strong central government would have to be opposed by a well-organized opposition party.
C. He believed that various interests and factions would cancel each other out in a large republic, and that virtuous national leaders would govern on behalf of all the people.
D. He believed that he would be forced to run for president in order to save the union.
Answer: C
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Understand the process and identify key events that led from the Confederation to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
Topic: From Confederation to Constitution
29. The Federalist Papers presented strong and convincing arguments in favor of
A. adopting the Constitution of 1787.
B. keeping the Articles of Confederation.
C. creating a unitary form of government.
D. becoming a federated unit within the British Empire.
Answer: A
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Understand the process and identify key events that led from the Confederation to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
Topic: From Confederation to Constitution
30. In the debates over ratification, a major fear of the Anti-Federalists was that
A. the most powerful groups in society would dominate and eventually rule in a corrupt and arbitrary fashion.
B. the common people would have too much control over the government.
C. elected officials would be too narrowly and directly concerned with the interests of their own constituents, rather than those of the nation as a whole.
D. poorer groups would be favored over the more substantial citizens in society.
Answer: A
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Understand the process and identify key events that led from the Confederation to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
Topic: From Confederation to Constitution
31. In the debates over ratification, the Federalists argued that the Constitution
A. would solve the immigration problems of the nation.
B. was merely a temporary means to regain stability.
C. would protect the nation from itself by providing a system of checks and balances.
D. safeguarded individual freedoms through its built-in Bill of Rights.
Answer: C
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Understand the process and identify key events that led from the Confederation to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
Topic: From Confederation to Constitution
Fill in the Blank Questions
32. From most theorists of republicanism, Americans learned that republican governments were best suited to ________ territories.
Answer: small
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
33. The ________ branch of government gained most of the power in the governments created by the initial state constitutions.
Answer: legislative
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
34. The first framing of government for the whole nation was known as the Articles of _______.
Answer: Confederation
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
35. For Americans after the Revolution, the greatest problems and greatest opportunities beckoned in the rapidly developing _______.
Answer: West
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
36. The term that refers to an arrangement of government that divides power between the state and national governments is _______.
Answer: federalism
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
37. Due to the expansion of rice culture and the spread of cotton production to the interior, slavery continued to grow in the Lower _______.
Answer: South
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
38. In the new republic, the new image of women as the upholders of private virtue was known as “________” and inspired many educational reformers in the revolutionary generation.
Answer: republican motherhood
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Identify and discuss important features of early republican society and culture.
Topic: Republican Society
39. State legislators gradually abolished state support for ________ as a reform against artificial privilege.
Answer: churches
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Identify and discuss important features of early republican society and culture.
Topic: Republican Society
40. The rejected Jay-Gardoqui Treaty and a rebellion in Massachusetts led by Daniel ________ were the two crisis events that gave momentum to calls for strengthening the central government.
Answer: Shays
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Understand the process and identify key events that led from the Confederation to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
Topic: From Confederation to Constitution
41. More than anyone else, future president James ________ was the architect of the Constitution.
Answer: Madison
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Understand the process and identify key events that led from the Confederation to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
Topic: From Confederation to Constitution
42. The core of Anti-Federalist opposition to the Constitution of 1787 was its lack of a(n) _______.
Answer: bill of rights
Bloom’s: Remember
Learning Objective: Understand the process and identify key events that led from the Confederation to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
Topic: From Confederation to Constitution
Essay Questions
43. Discuss the ways in which the frontier influenced national politics during the Confederation period.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
44. Describe the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, and discuss the reasons why Americans created a weak national government.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
45. In what ways was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 a failure? In what ways was it a success?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
46. Describe the impact of the Revolution on the lives of African Americans.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
47. Why did the more democratic West clash with the East in political battles in state legislatures?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
48. How did the Jay-Gardoqui Treaty and Shays’s Rebellion contribute to the convening of the Constitutional Convention?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Understand the process and identify key events that led from the Confederation to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
Topic: From Confederation to Constitution
49. Compare the New Jersey and the Virginia plans at the Constitutional Convention. What caused each state to favor the plan it proposed?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Understand the process and identify key events that led from the Confederation to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
Topic: From Confederation to Constitution
50. Describe the new state constitutions, and discuss the ways in which they reflected the fears and concerns among Americans that had been fostered by the controversy with Britain.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Explain the significant features of early republican experiments such as state constitutions and the Confederation.
Topic: Republican Experiments
51. The historian Frederick Jackson Turner argued that the American frontier was a “safety valve” that, by siphoning off surplus population from settled areas and providing families with land and employment, reduced social and political conflict. Does the history of the West during the Confederation period confirm or disconfirm Turner’s “frontier thesis”?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Discuss the role of western temptations, foreign intrigues, and state disputes in postwar America.
Topic: Threats to the New United States
52. To what extent did the American Revolution effect a fundamental change in American society? How far had Americans gone by 1790 in fulfilling the ideal of equality? What limited the pursuit of full equality in the new nation?
Answer: Answers will vary.
Bloom’s: Understand
Learning Objective: Identify and discuss important features of early republican society and culture.
Topic: Republican Society
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