Settlement, Colonization, and Ratification of the U.S. Constitution Practice Test

Settlement, Colonization, and Ratification of the U.S. Constitution Practice Test

1. What do James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay all have in common?

A. They all signed the Declaration of Independence.

B. They are all authors of the Federalist Papers.

C. They all served in President Washington’s cabinet.

D. They were all presidents of the United States.

2. Which was the first nation to establish settled colonies in North America?

A. England

B. France

C. Germany

D. Spain

3. Church officials considered Jonathan Edwards’s teachings unorthodox and dangerous because he suggested that _______________________

A. salvation was predetermined before a person’s birth.

B. Christians should confess their sins and repent publicly.

C. an individual could play an active role in his or her own salvation.

D. people needed to attend church only when the spirit moved them.

4. In the months following the Battle of Brooklyn (1776), the American army ______________________

A. steadily retreated north through Connecticut and Massachusetts.

B. steadily retreated south through New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

C. drove the British south into Virginia.

D. drove the British west into the Ohio River Valley.

5. What was the basic purpose of the Intolerable Acts?

A. to establish a standing army in the colonies

B. to punish Massachusetts for acts of civil disobedience

C. to establish a state of war between Britain and the colonies

D. to tax the colonies without their consent

6. What was the purpose of the Three-Fifths Compromise?

A. to determine each state’s population

B. to decide how many states must ratify the Constitution

C. to determine the number of representatives per state

D. to decide how many new states could join the United States

7. Thomas Hooker’s stance on ____________________ made him leave New England to found the colony of New Haven.

A. economic opportunity

B. slavery

C. women’s rights

D. the separation of church and state

8. _________________ organized the Boston Tea Party.

A. The First Continental Congress

B. The Sons of Liberty

C. The Boston merchants

D. The royal governor of Massachusetts

9. Which was not a factor in the states’ decision to include the right of religious self-determination in their constitutions?

A. The population of each state already represented several religions and sects.

B. The lesson of the Salem witch trials had proved the need for the separation of church and state.

C. Few of the American political leaders were religiously observant.

D. The desire for independence, including religious independence, was very strong throughout the colonies.

10. The Preamble to the Constitution embodies which principle?

A. checks and balances

B. majority rule

C. taxation without representation

D. government by the consent of the governed

11. The first human beings to settle the North America emigrated from_________________

A. Africa.

B. Asia.

C. Europe.

D. the Pacific islands.

12. The Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress demanded all these things except _________________

A. that the British army of occupation return to England.

B. that Parliament recognize the legitimacy of the local Colonial governments.

C. that each colony establish its own militia for purposes of self-defense.

D. that Britain recognize Colonial independence.

13. Why did the colonists feel free to ignore the Navigation Acts of 1650?

A. They did not understand what the acts required.

B. They had had no say in the wording or passage of the acts.

C. They denied Britain’s authority to regulate Colonial trade.

D. They could export American goods only to certain nations.

14. Britain and France went to war in North America over conflicting claims to ____________________

A. the Ohio River Valley area.

B. the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

C. territory west of the Mississippi River.

D. the colonies along the Atlantic coast.

15. In The Spirit of Laws, was the first person to outline a government of multiple branches with checks and balances.

A. John Locke

B. the Baron de Montesquieu

C. Thomas Jefferson

D. James Madison

16. _________________ is an important historical fi gure because he wrote the influential pamphlet Common Sense.

A. Thomas Jefferson

B. Thomas Paine

C. Benjamin Franklin

D. John Dickinson

17. ___________________ suggested that the colonies establish their own branch of Parliament, whose president would be appointed by the British monarch.

A. The Galloway Plan of Union

B. The Declaration and Resolves

C. The Articles of Confederation

D. The Bill of Rights

18. __________________ is a common factor in all American Indian cultures.

A. Respect for the natural environment

B. A migratory lifestyle

C. Distrust of strangers to the tribe

D. Active intertribal trade

19. Why did the British government believe that the colonists would purchase British tea imported from India?

A. It was not covered by the Townshend Acts.

B. It was brought into the colonies legally.

C. It was the least expensive tea available in the colonies.

D. It did not carry any import duty or tax.

20. The Articles of Confederation established which of the following?

A. a strong central government

B. a national judiciary

C. a chief executive officer for the nation

D. a legislative assembly

21. All these people were prominent religious dissenters in Colonial New England except __________________

A. Anne Hutchinson.

B. Thomas Hooker.

C. William Penn.

D. Roger Williams.

22. The First Continental Congress met in order to _____________________

A. discuss declaring American independence from Great Britain.

B. agree on a united response to the Intolerable Acts.

C. appoint a commander in chief and raise an army.

D. choose a delegation to argue the Colonial case before Parliament.

23. The British acquired the colony of New York in 1664, when they _____________________

A. purchased it from the Lenape tribe.

B. invaded it and took it from the Dutch settlers.

C. signed a treaty with the occupying French settlers.

D. sailed the Mayflower into New York Harbor.

24. The United States is most accurately defined as ______________________

A. a democracy.

B. a republic.

C. a union of independent republics.

D. a commonwealth of independent states.

25. Which best describes the primary European motive for seeking new trade routes by sailing west?

A. Europeans were eager to trade in American goods.

B. Europeans were curious to see the New World.

C. Existing overland trade routes were slow and dangerous.

D. Traders were eager to convert Asians to Christianity.

26. Which document first established the British principle of taxation by general consent of the people?

A. the Constitution

B. the Magna Carta

C. the Stamp Act

D. the Articles of Confederation

27. One reason that the fur trade caused long-term problems for the Indians was that __________________

A. it changed their style of warfare.

B. it made them disband the Iroquois Confederacy.

C. it eroded their lifetime habits of self-sufficiency.

D. it gave them access to sophisticated tools and weapons.

28. Common Sense was enthusiastically received throughout the colonies because ___________________

A. it suggested that the colonists should dismiss the British army of occupation.

B. it recommended that the colonies begin an all-out war with Britain.

C. it petitioned the British monarch for a redress of grievances.

D. it criticized any system of government based on birth rather than merit.

29. In the early 1600s, low-church Anglicans left England for Holland primarily because __________________

A. they were socially ostracized in England.

B. they wanted to sail for the New World.

C. they were not permitted to worship as they pleased in England.

D. they preferred Dutch customs and the Dutch culture to their own.

30. The Constitution replaced the __________________

A. Galloway Plan of Union.

B. Articles of Confederation.

C. Declaration and Resolves.

D. Bill of Rights.

31. _______________ was the first major event that united people of different colonies against a common enemy.

A. The Boston Tea Party

B. The publication of Common Sense

C. The French and Indian War

D. The Great Awakening

32. The structure of the federal government is based on the principle of _____________________

A. universal suffrage.

B. inalienable rights.

C. the separation of powers.

D. hereditary rule.

33. What was the purpose of the Federalist Papers?

A. to persuade readers to support ratification of the Constitution

B. to persuade delegates to sign the Declaration of Independence

C. to argue against ratification of the Constitution

D. to argue that the Articles of Confederation should be replaced

34. The primary threat to the earliest British attempts at establishing permanent settlements in North America was ________________

A. the American Indians.

B. the French.

C. the climate.

D. the government.

35. The Fourth through Eighth amendments to the Constitution all address ____________________

A. the rights of suspected or accused criminals.

B. the basic freedoms of the citizens in everyday life.

C. the procedure for electing the president of the United States.

D. the responsibilities of Congress.

36. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention kept their debates secret in order to avoid __________________

A. newspaper coverage.

B. outside political pressure.

C. accusations of treason.

D. foreign spies.

37. Which best describes the purpose of the Mayflower Compact?

A. to create a governing body for Plymouth Colony

B. to list the passengers who sailed on the Mayflower

C. to establish peace between the colonists and the American Indians

D. to declare Plymouth Colony’s independence from British rule

38. The French and Indian War worsened relations between Britain and the colonists because _______________

A. the British army made no effort to win the war.

B. the British army scorned the American soldiers and officers.

C. the Indians refused to fi ght on the British side.

D. the Americans were unable to win a single battle.

39. __________________ was a direct appeal to King George III to mediate between Parliament and the colonies.

A. Common Sense

B. The Spirit of Laws

C. The Olive Branch Petition

D. The Declaration and Resolves

40. Disagreement over the issue of _________________ was the major obstacle to ratification of the Articles of Confederation.

A. slavery

B. territorial claims

C. taxation

D. proportional representation

41. In the decades before the French and Indian War, control of the Mississippi River was key to ______________

A. the British Colonial merchants.

B. the British standing army.

C. the Spanish Catholic missionaries.

D. the French fur trade.

42. As a check on the power of the legislative branch of the federal government, the judicial branch can ______________

A. impeach the president.

B. overturn legislation that it deems unconstitutional.

C. serve for life under good behavior.

D. remove a justice from the Supreme Court.

43. As a result of the French and Indian War, Britain gained __________________

A. the colony of New Orleans.

B. the Louisiana Territory.

C. certain Caribbean islands.

D. Canada.

44. In 1787, Daniel Shays led an armed rebellion over the issue of _____________________

A. political unification.

B. taxation.

C. slavery.

D. food shortages.

45. Which best describes the relationship between Pilgrims and Puritans?

A. Pilgrims were more extreme than other Puritans.

B. Puritans were more extreme than other Pilgrims.

C. Puritans believed in the separation of church and state, but Pilgrims did not.

D. Pilgrims believed in the separation of church and state, but Puritans did not.

46. Which of the following was freely elected by the voters, according to the Constitution as originally written?

A. the president

B. members of the Senate

C. members of the House of Representatives

D. the chief justice of the Supreme Court

47. __________________ caused the French and Indian War.

A. Rival British and French claims to the same territory

B. Hostility between the British colonists and the Indians

C. Hostility between the French traders and the Indians

D. Religious differences between the French and British settlers

48. The Battle of Concord was immediately followed by ___________________

A. the passage of the Declaration of Independence.

B. the withdrawal of the American army to Valley Forge.

C. the siege of the British army in Boston.

D. the Virginia resolution in Congress.

49. The primary purpose of the Albany Plan of Union was __________________

A. to unite the colonies for their mutual defense.

B. to declare independence from Great Britain.

C. to set up a national legislative assembly.

D. to establish a unified national currency.

50. The colony of ________________  was specifically founded as an exercise in religious self-determination and equal rights for all.

A. New Jersey

B. Massachusetts

C. Pennsylvania

D. Plymouth

Answers