Name: ______________________________ H7: Participation in Government
Date: ______________________________ Ms. Butkowski,
Social Studies
MIDTERM
EXAM
Part I: Multiple Choice (30 questions, 2 points each, 60 points total)
1. Which allows the President
to reject any act of Congress?
1.
Unlimited government
2.
Veto
3.
Judicial review
4.
Impeachment
2. The Constitution of
the United States has how many amendments?
1.
Three
2.
Seven
3.
27
4.
50
3. The three branches of
government are tied together by a system of ____________________ whereby each
branch is subject to constitutional restraints by the other
1.
Judicial review
2.
Constitutionalism
3.
Checks and balances
4.
Separation of powers.
4. Which of the
following is NOT one of the six basic principles of the Constitution?
1.
Checks and balances
2.
Federalism
3.
Unlimited government
4.
Separation of powers
5. The principle of
popular sovereignty states that all political power resides with the:
1.
Constitution
2.
Rule of law
3.
Federal government
4.
People
6. A governmental action
found to violate some provision in the Constitution is said to be
1.
Impeachable
2.
Anti-federalist
3.
Partisan
4.
Unconstitutional
7. What principal is
defined as the division of power among a central government and several
regional governments?
1.
Federalism
2.
Democracy
3.
Constitutionalism
4.
Checks and balances
8. The first amendment
of the Constitution deals primarily with
9. In order to win
ratification of the United States Constitution, supporters agreed to
10. Which quotation from
the United States Constitution provides for a Federal system of government?
11. The system of checks
and balances is best illustrated by the power of
12. One
way in which the authors of the Constitution tried to create “limited
government” was by providing for
13. The United States
Government is considered a federal system because
14. To interpret the
meaning of the laws is a function of which branch?
1.
executive
2.
legislative
3.
judicial
4.
constitutional
15. The function of the executive
branch is to?
1.
interpret the law
2.
make the laws
3.
Enforce the laws
4.
Question laws
16. Who is the head of
the Executive Branch?
1.
The mayor
2.
Senators
3.
The president
4.
Ambassadors
17. Conducting trials is
an activity of the branch of government whose function is to?
1.
Make the laws
2.
Interpret the laws
3.
Enforce the laws
4.
Cabinet
18. Who is head of the
Judicial Branch?
1.
The president
2.
The judge
3.
The Supreme Court
4.
Senators
19. Who is head of the
Legislate branch?
1.
The president
2.
Congress
3.
The Supreme Court
4.
The house of Representatives
20. Which branch of
government appoints federal judges?
1.
Legislative
2.
Executive
3.
Judicial
4.
Constitutional
21. Which of the
following is an example of a use of a legislative power?
1.
The President of the United States appointing a new ambassador
2.
The Supreme Court of the United States ruling that a law is
unconstitutional.
3.
Congress passing a law to raise safety standards in new
automobiles
4.
The people of the United States going to the polls to vote
22. Based on the
Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, which of the following is a summary of the
purpose of the government in the United States.
1.
To make the United States the most powerful nation in the world
2.
To preserve the liberty and rights of the people
3.
To stay out of people’s lives as much as possible
4.
To tightly control people’s lives and behavior so that there would
be life, prosperity, and total equality.
23. Which factor has
made the strongest contribution to the development of religious freedom in the
United States?
24. At the
Constitutional Convention of 1787, delegates from the small states most
strongly supported the idea of
25. “The most stringent
protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a
theater and causing a panic.”
-Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
Which interpretation of
the Bill of Rights does this statement illustrate?
26. When the United
States Constitution was written, which compromise was reached by the authors to
gain the support of the states with small populations?
Speaker A:"States must be represented in the national
government solely on the basis of population. It is indeed the only fair
situation."
Speaker B:"The national legislature must be based on equal
representation of the states to protect the interests of the small
states."
Speaker C:"States must accept the supremacy of the national
government on all issues; otherwise, the system will fail."
Speaker D:"The national Congress should consist of two
houses: one in which representation is based on population, and one in which
states are equally represented."
27. Which document was being written when this discussion most likely occurred?
28. The major reason the
Bill of Rights was added to the United States Constitution was to
29. Delegates to the
Constitutional Convention of 1787 agreed to the Three-Fifths Compromise as a
solution to the problem of how to determine the
30. Soon after the
Constitution of the United States was ratified, the first ten amendments were
added because many citizens felt the need for
Part II. ESSAY: (40 points, 20 points each)
1. Why did
the framers of the constitution feel the need to limit government?
Explain two ways the Constitution
limits government.
2. The
Preamble: We the People of the United
States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general
Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do
ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. What is the purpose of the preamble?
Explain two aspects of the preamble
and provide examples of each.