Birth of a Nation
Session 5: Sample Assessment Items (USI.7 a-c)

Asterisk (*) indicates correct answer.

1. The United States is an example of the  form of government called a _______.
A. Dictatorship
B. Direct democracy
C. Representative democracy *
D. Confederation

2. The Articles of Confederation established what could best be described as a ________.
A. strong monarchy
B. weak national government *
C. loose dictatorship
D. strong federal system

3. What was a weakness of the Articles of Confederation?
A. It did not provide for an executive or judicial branch. *
B. It did not allow the states to coin their own money.
C. It was opposed to Great Britain.
D. It was based on the Mayflower Compact.

4. The Virginia Plan for the Constitution of the United States called for a ________
A. new monarchy.
B. government with power held by the states.
C. government in which larger states would have more power. *
D. gmall power of states in Congress.

5. Who drafted the Virginia Plan?
A. James Madison *
B. Thomas Jefferson
C. Patrick Henry
D. George Washington

6. In the Constitution of the United States, the system of separation of powers divides power between ________
A. the national and state governments. *
B. the Democratic and Republican Parties.
C. the United States Senate and the House of Representatives.
D. the three branches of the national government.

7. The main responsibility of Congress is to ________.
A. approve treaties
B. control the armed forces
C. hire government officials
D. make laws *

8. What view did Alexander Hamilton have on the role of national government?
A. Believed in making the Constitution more like the Articles of Confederation
B. Favored a test to see whether the amendment process worked
C. Supported limits on states’ rights *
D. Supported limits on the constitutional powers of the federal government

9. The leader of the Federalists was _________.
A. Thomas Jefferson
B. John Adams
C. Alexander Hamilton *
D. James Monroe

10. What view did Thomas Jefferson have on the role of national government?
A. Favored a weak national government *
B. Supported a national bank
C. Favored large business
D. Believed in the Federalists