Chapter 6: Creating a “More Perfect Union,” 1783–1800
CORE OBJECTIVES
1. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and explain how they
TRUE/FALSE
1. The Articles of Confederation required unanimous approval for amendment.
2. Due to its strong regulation of trade and its power of taxation, the Confederation was able to
reduce the national debt.
3. George Washington’s attitude was typical of the wealthy elite regarding rebellious activity
such as Shays’ Rebellion.
4. Alexander Hamilton presided over the Constitutional Convention.
5. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention sharply debated whether to establish a monarchy
or a republic.
6. The New Jersey Plan proposed a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each
state.
7. The Constitution mentioned the word “slave” (or “slavery”) eighteen times.
8. Under the Constitution, each slave would count as one person for purposes of representation
but as only half a person for taxation.
9. During the Constitutional Convention, Northerners argued that it did not make sense to
count slaves for purposes of political representation when slaves were treated as property
instead of as people.
10. Federalists favored a decentralized system of national government.
11. The Bill of Rights consisted of the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
12. Thomas Jefferson’s supporters were called “Democratic Republicans.”
13. George Washington was appointed president without any kind of election process.
14. Alexander Hamilton believed the U.S. economy should remain predominantly agricultural.
15. Although the French Revolution was, in part, inspired by the American Revolution, the U.S.
government remained neutral in the conflict.
16. The controversy over the concessions favoring Great Britain in Jay’s Treaty resulted in the
most serious crisis of George Washington’s presidency.
17. The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 proved to be the greatest mistake of John Adams’
presidency.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following was true of the Articles of Confederation?
a. They were important in supporting the political concept of “republicanism.”
b. They were successful in that they had the power to regulate trade between states.
c. They called for a government consisting of two parts: the congress and the executive
branch.
d. One of their greatest strengths was that they were easy to amend.
e. They were instrumental in paying off the country’s large Revolutionary War debts,
though little money was left over.
2. One successful achievement that can be attributed to Congress under the Articles of
Confederation is
a. Jay’s Treaty.
b. the Judiciary Act of 1789.
c. the Land Ordinance of 1785.
d. the Louisiana Purchase.
e. the Trade Embargo of 1806.
3. Which of the following was part of the Northwest Territory?
a. Pennsylvania
b. Michigan
c. Connecticut
d. Missouri
e. Washington
4. Which of the following statements about the three land ordinances is accurate?
a. They focused on the distribution of land in the eastern United States after the
Revolutionary War.
b. They specified who would own land in the United States but nothing about the
procedures the landowners would follow.
c. They preceded the Treaty of Paris and gave Great Britain control of much of the land in
the West.
d. They were policies that outlined processes for orderly western expansion, such as land
surveys and the conditions for statehood.
e. They established new colonies in the Caribbean and led to an increase in the number of
enslaved Africans.
5. Under what policy could a territory apply for statehood once its population reached 60,000?
a. Northwest Ordinance
b. Territory Agreement
c. Treaty of 1783
d. Land Ordinance of 1785
e. Missouri Compromise
6. Which of the following was a major foreign policy issue that the United States faced after
the Revolution?
a. France refused to surrender Quebec.
b. England tried to declare the Treaty of Paris void.
c. Holland demanded payment for use of their fleet.
d. Spain closed the port of New Orleans.
e. Mexico refused to recognize the Mississippi River as a legitimate border.
7. For several years after the American Revolution, what happened to the economy of the
United States?
a. It surged to new heights and expanded to new markets.
b. It was devastated because of the loss of British markets.
c. It slowly returned to the prewar levels.
d. It declined but was soon back to where it was during the war.
e. It was boosted by new French markets.
8. When several states engaged in a trade war with Great Britain after the Revolution, which
of the following occurred?
a. Great Britain declared war on the United States.
b. Great Britain simply sent their ships to states with lower tariffs.
c. It was revealed Congress didn’t have the power to make them change.
d. Great Britain placed an embargo on American shipping.
e. The United States declared war on Great Britain.
9. What was the most divisive issue in politics in 1785 in the United States?
a. The capture of Hessian soldiers
b. New lands surrendered by England after the war
c. New governments in the area east of the Mississippi
d. The printing of paper currency
e. Reform to the Articles of Confederation
10. When the Confederation Congress called for a new convention in 1787, they did so with the
stated purpose of
a. revising the Articles of Confederation.
b. printing paper money to ease inflation.
c. replacing the Articles with the Constitution.
d. forcing Rhode Island to ratify the Constitution.
e. authorizing the federal government to use force to put down Shays’ Rebellion.
11. What does the textbook state as the most important political innovation of the Constitution?
a. The creation of the executive branch
b. The idea that all power flows from the people
c. The recognition of God in the document
d. The emphasis on the power of state governments over the national government
e. The placement of limits on the president’s term
12. Which of the following was a reason that some called for strengthening the Federal
government in the 1780s?
a. It would prevent states from making treaties with other nations.
b. It would allow the states to print their own paper currency.
c. It would introduce the ability of the states to levy taxes on imported goods.
d. It would restrain three southern states that were threatening to secede.
e. It would enable the government to derive sovereignty from the states rather than “the
people.”
13. The concept of dividing the authority of a government between two sets of powers that was
unique to the United States is called
a. unitarianism.
b. totalitarianism.
c. federalism.
d. democracy.
e. republicanism.
14. The new Constitution created __________ co-equal branches of government.
a. three
b. four
c. five
d. six
e. seven
15. Which of the following suggested a unicameral legislature be adopted in the United States?
a. Virginia Plan
b. Connecticut Compromise
c. New Jersey Plan
d. Kentucky Resolution
e. Suffolk Resolves
16. If a chief executive committed treason, bribery, or “other high crimes and misdemeanors,”
the House of Representatives could
a. remove him from office.
b. declare him unable to run for another term.
c. impeach him.
d. veto his actions to prevent further harm.
e. abolish the office of the presidency.
17. A significant compromise between those wanting Congress to choose presidents and those
preferring a popular election was the creation of the
a. House of Commons.
b. Electoral College.
c. Twelfth Amendment.
d. judicial branch.
e. state primary system.
18. Which of the following issues that arose during the Constitutional Convention was the most
explosive, causing divisiveness between the North and the South?
a. The political rights of women
b. The federal government’s role in business
c. The size of the military
d. The future of slavery and its political implications
e. How to add new territories to the union
19. Which of the following was a compromise regarding the issue of slavery at the
Constitutional Convention?
a. Slaves were to count as three-fifths of a person for congressional apportionment.
b. Slavery was to be abolished by 1808.
c. Slavery was abolished in the North and retained in the South.
d. Slaves were to be counted the same as whites for congressional apportionment.
e. Southern slave owners were to be limited to no more than 500 slaves.
20. In the new Constitution, women were
a. given the right to own slaves.
b. given the right to vote.
c. not included at all.
d. given the same rights as men.
e. well represented in the delegates of the Constitutional Convention.