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AP US Government and Politics Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy

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Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy

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Question 1

The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution reserves powers 'not delegated to the United States by the Constitution' to the states or the people. This amendment was primarily intended to address Anti-Federalist concerns that the Constitution:

A.Did not give Congress enough power to manage the national economy effectivelyB.Gave the national government broad implied powers that could be used to crowd out state authorityC.Failed to protect the right to bear arms and the right of citizens to form militiasD.Allowed the president to appoint federal judges without adequate Senate confirmation oversight

Question 2

In Brutus No. 1, the Anti-Federalist author argued most strongly that the proposed Constitution would:

A.Fail to provide adequate national defense because Congress could not raise a standing armyB.Inevitably consolidate all power in the national government, destroying state sovereignty and individual libertyC.Create an excessively weak executive that would be dominated by a powerful SenateD.Produce financial instability because the national government lacked adequate revenue-raising powers

Question 3

The Articles of Confederation differed from the Constitution most significantly in that the Articles:

A.Created a bicameral legislature with representation based on state populationB.Gave Congress no power to levy taxes directly on citizens or regulate interstate commerceC.Established a strong executive branch with a separately elected presidentD.Provided for federal courts to resolve disputes between states

Question 4

In Federalist No. 10, James Madison argued that a large republic was preferable to a small democracy primarily because:

A.Large republics would have stronger militaries capable of defending against foreign invasionB.A large republic with diverse factions would prevent any single faction from dominating, while representatives would filter popular passionsC.Only large territories could generate enough tax revenue to fund the national debt and necessary public worksD.Geographic distance between citizens would reduce political passions by keeping people focused on local concerns

Question 5

Federalist No. 51 argues that the best protection against tyranny in a republican government is to:

A.Rely on the virtue and patriotism of elected officials to restrain their own ambitionB.Structure the government so that each branch's officials have personal incentives to check the ambitions of the other branchesC.Hold frequent elections so that voters can rapidly remove any officials who abuse powerD.Concentrate power in the legislature because it is the branch closest to the people and therefore most accountable

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Question 6

The necessary and proper clause (Article I, Section 8) of the Constitution grants Congress the power to 'make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers.' This clause became central to the debate in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) because:

A.Maryland argued the clause gave states the authority to tax federal institutions when those institutions operated within state bordersB.The Court used the clause to uphold Congress's power to charter a bank even though banking is not among the enumerated powersC.Congress claimed the clause gave it unlimited power to pass any law, including laws regulating purely local activitiesD.The case decided whether the necessary and proper clause could be used to override state constitutions directly

Question 7

The concept of judicial review — the power of courts to invalidate laws that violate the Constitution — was established by the Supreme Court in which landmark case?

A.McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), which upheld the constitutionality of the national bankB.Marbury v. Madison (1803), in which Chief Justice Marshall declared a section of the Judiciary Act unconstitutionalC.Fletcher v. Peck (1810), which was the first case invalidating a state law under the ConstitutionD.Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), which broadly interpreted the commerce clause

Question 8

Which of the following best describes the principle of federalism as established by the Constitution?

A.All governmental power is concentrated in the national government, which delegates authority to states at its discretionB.Sovereignty is divided between a national government and state governments, each with constitutionally defined spheres of authorityC.States hold supreme authority over all domestic matters, with the national government limited to foreign affairsD.Local governments are constitutionally coequal with state and national governments in a three-tier system

Question 9

A student argues: 'The Founders chose representative government over direct democracy primarily for practical reasons — the country was simply too large for everyone to meet in one place.' A historian would most likely respond that this explanation is incomplete because it ignores:

A.The Founders' belief that representatives with greater knowledge and virtue would make better decisions than the general publicB.The fact that direct democracy was technically feasible through the postal system even in the eighteenth centuryC.The Founders' intention to expand suffrage to all adults, including women and enslaved people, within a generationD.The fear that representative government would inevitably become an aristocracy without proper term limits

Question 10

The table below shows a comparison between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.

Feature	Articles	Constitution
Tax power	States only	Congress directly
Commerce regulation	None	Congress
Executive branch	None	President
Amendment	13/13 states	2/3 Congress + 3/4 states

Based on this comparison, which conclusion is best supported?

A.The Constitution eliminated state sovereignty and replaced it with full national supremacyB.The Constitution addressed the Articles' central weakness by shifting key governing powers from states to the national governmentC.The Articles were actually more democratic than the Constitution because they required unanimous consent for amendmentsD.The Constitution weakened the executive branch compared to the Articles by placing the president under congressional oversight

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Question 11

The separation of powers doctrine divides the national government into three branches. Which statement best describes how the system of checks and balances reinforces this separation?

A.Each branch operates in complete independence, with no ability to influence or constrain the othersB.Each branch is given specific powers to restrain the other two, preventing any single branch from accumulating too much authorityC.Congress can override any presidential or judicial action by a simple majority voteD.The Supreme Court holds ultimate authority over both Congress and the president in all matters of policy

Question 12

The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution (Article VI) establishes that:

A.The Supreme Court has final authority over all questions of law, including decisions by state courtsB.The Constitution, federal laws, and treaties are the supreme law of the land, binding on state judges even if state law says otherwiseC.Federal executive orders automatically supersede all state statutes in any area where the president has actedD.States may not pass any law that touches on a subject Congress has the power to regulate, even if Congress has not acted

AP US Government and Politics Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy — Free with Answer Explanations | Test Practice Hub