SparkNotes: The Federalist Papers (1787-1789): Review Test

Who are the authors of The Federalist?

(A) George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin

(B) Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, John Jay

(C) James Madison, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton

(D) James Madison, George Washington, James Monroe

In what state was The Federalist originally published?

(A) Virginia

(B) New York

(C) Rhode Island

(D) North Carolina

What was the original purpose of the publication of essays contained in The Federalist?

(A) To propose a new form of government

(B) To defend the Articles of Confederation

(C) To argue for the addition of a bill of rights to the Constitution

(D) To persuade anti-federalists of the necessity of ratifying the Constitution

When did the first Federalist essay appear in the newspaper?

(A) October 1787

(B) July 1776

(C) May 1787

(D) July 1788

What was the name of the newspaper in which the first Federalist essay appeared?

(A) The New York Times

(B) The Independent Journal

(C) The Philadelphia Packet

(D) The New York Packet

Which political group most supported the ideas expressed in The Federalist?

(A) The Whigs

(B) The anti-federalists

(C) The loyalists

(D) the Federalists

Which of the following forms of government did The Federalistsupport?

(A) A strong monarchy

(B) A Confederate Republic

(C) A National Republic

(D) A Confederacy

The Federalist is best described as

(A) persuasive propaganda and political philosophy

(B) a thorough description of human nature

(C) a historical summary of the United States government

(D) a study guide for understanding a citizen's constitutional rights

The Federalist argued in favor of the U.S. Constitution to replace the

(A) Declaration of Independence

(B) Treaty of Paris

(C) Bill of Rights

(D) Articles of Confederation

The Federalist argues that the first United States government was

(A) too weak to effectively defend the union and help it prosper

(B) too strong and it trampled on the rights of individuals

(C) strong enough but it needed a new capital

(D) just fine and it should not be replaced

Delegates met at the Mt. Vernon convention to

(A) write a new plan of government for the southern states

(B) elect George Washington as President

(C) resolve conflicts over navigation

(D) secede from the union

The result of the Annapolis Convention was

(A) a plan to appeal to all states to meet again to discuss broader reforms

(B) a new plan of government for the United States

(C) a formal acknowledgment of support for the U.S. Constitution

(D) choose Washington D.C. as the new capital for the United States

Shays Rebellion served to

(A) discourage Americans from supporting the U.S. Constitution

(B) emphasize the weaknesses with the Articles of Confederation

(C) increase readership of The Federalist

(D) strengthen Alexander Hamilton's relationship with George Washington

The beginning of the Constitutional Convention can be described as

(A) a unified meeting between delegates unwilling to change the confederacy as described by the Articles of Confederation

(B) a unified meeting between delegates eager to throw out the Articles of Confederation and re-design the government

(C) a factious meeting between delegates eager to split up the union

(D) a factious meeting between delegates anxious to establish a weaker central government

Which of the following was responsible for ratifying the U.S. Constitution?

(A) the governors of each state

(B) the legislatures of each state

(C) the people of each state assembled in ratifying conventions

(D) the Confederation Congress

Who is Publius?

(A) the name of James Madison's favorite philosopher

(B) the latin name for anonymous

(C) the founder of republican government in ancient Rome

(D) Alexander Hamilton's favorite name

When did the U.S. Constitution become officially ratified?

(A) When New York ratified it

(B) When New Hampshire, the ninth state, ratified it

(C) When Rhode Island, the thirteenth state, ratified it

(D) When a majority of states ratified it

Which of the authors of The Federalist became President of the United States?

(A) Alexander Hamilton

(B) James Madison

(C) John Jay

(D) None of them were elected president

Which of the following leaders are correctly associated with their views on the U.S. Constitution?

(A) John Jay, Patrick Henry - Federalist

(B) Thomas Jefferson, James Madison - Anti-Federalist

(C) Alexander Hamilton, Robert Yates -- Federalist

(D) Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry -- Anti-Federalist

Which of the following authors is correctly matched with their job?

(A) Alexander Hamilton -- secretary of treasury

(B) John Jay -- President of the United States

(C) James Madison -- Supreme Court Chief Justice

(D) Alexander Hamilton - President of the United States

Who killed Alexander Hamilton?

(A) Thomas Jefferson

(B) John Jay

(C) Aaron Burr

(D) Patrick Henry

What was one of the biggest weakness of the Articles of Confederation as described in The Federalist?

(A) the central government had no bill of rights

(B) the state governments had no authority to enforce their laws

(C) the central government had no authority to enforce its laws

(D) the central government had no legislative branch

According to Publius, which of the following is crucial to the security of liberty?

(A) A decentralized government

(B) A strong energetic government

(C) A monarchy

(D) A Bill of Rights

According the Publius, the minority was subject to the will of the majority in what way under the Articles of Confederation?

(A) One state can prevent the other 12 from passing new legislation to strengthen the confederacy

(B) 9 of 13 states, rather than a majority of the people must agree on policy for foreign affairs

(C) Both of the above

(D) None of the above

According to Publius, what is one thing that Americans have always had in common?

(A) A reliance on unity for the common defense

(B) A belief in a strong central government

(C) A belief in monarchy

(D) A belief in the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

What is the most significant danger of a confederate government?

(A) Different languages will be spoken in each state

(B) Different passports will be issued by each state

(C) Different forms of government will exist in each state

(D) States will compete with each other over commerce and territory

Which type of government will most likely lead to a military dictatorship?

(A) A strong central government with a standing army

(B) A confederacy of competing states

(C) A monarchy that is well protected on all frontiers

(D) A nation that only relies on a militia

What makes the American experiment with republican government better than the Greek and Roman attempts?

(A) Better navigable waterways and ease of communication and transportation

(B) The influence of the English Bill of Rights

(C) Better understanding of political philosophy and government

(D) More puritanical society

Montesquieu argued

(A) in favor of a confederacy because he opposed a strong central government

(B) against a confederate republic because he believed confederacies destroyed the democratic aspect of republics

(C) in favor of a confederate republic because extends the sphere of popular government without reducing its compactness

(D) against a republic because of the failures of the Greeks and Romans

A confederate republic can best be described as

(A) an association of 2 or more states into one state without abolishing the separate organization of each state, but making each state subordinate to the union

(B) an association of 13 states into a loose organization in which each state maintains sovereignty, but does not have to be subject to the laws of the union

(C) a form of democracy in which each state sends a representative to congress, but has no other say in the central government

(D) the association of southern states that opposed the U.S. Constitution

What are the advantages of a strong union under the U.S. Constitution?

(A) lower taxes, fewer foreign wars, less foreign trade

(B) fewer state governments, less meetings of congress, more suffrage for the people

(C) less debt, less territorial dispute, fewer taxes

(D) increased wealth and revenue, more cost-efficient government, decreased likelihood of factions

What are the arguments in support of a standing army?

(A) It supports the executive branch and enforces the laws

(B) It is well trained and disciplined and prepared to defend the country

(C) It forces the states to comply with federal law

(D) It can be used by Congress to reduce the civil rights of citizens

What was wrong with the system of requisitions and quotas under the Articles of Confederation?

(A) It rested on an unfair system of taxation

(B) It could not be enforced by Congress

(C) It did not tax the people directly

(D) All of the above

What is wrong with each state having equal representation in the Confederation Congress?

(A) It violates the concept of representative government because citizens of a populous state received less representation of their needs than citizens of a less populous state

(B) It violates the concept of republican government because states should not be used to determine representation in the legislative body

(C) Slaves were counted as only 3/5 of a person

(D) Some states rarely attended meetings of Congress, and didn't deserve the privilege of representation

On what grounds might the Articles of Confederation be invalid?

(A) They were never officially notarized

(B) Rhode Island never approved of them

(C) Great Britain did not recognize the Confederation Congress as a legitimate nation when negotiating the Treaty of Paris in 1783

(D) Their ratification was performed by the individual states, not by a majority of the people and authority for government rests with the people

What is necessary to ensure the common defense?

(A) Limitations on the power of the national government to wage war

(B) A local militia

(C) Enough power to be able to carry out the responsibility of providing for the common defense

(D) A strong standing army that never has to be approved by Congress

Why is a state like New York more burdened with the national defense than other states?

(A) It has more people, and therefore is more likely to have an uprising

(B) It already had an armed conflict with Vermont, so it is more likely to engage in local fighting again

(C) It borders the frontier and is more likely to have to protect its borders from attacks that would harm the entire union

(D) It was the location of the first U.S. Capital

Which of the following best describes the system of taxation under the U.S. Constitution?

(A) States impose taxes on commerce, no other taxes allowed

(B) Central government imposes taxes on commerce, states impose property taxes

(C) Concurrent powers of taxation, except for taxes on commerce that can only be levied by the national government

(D) Concurrent powers of taxation, except for sales tax which can only be levied by the state governments

What argument does Publius use to sooth fears about a standing army and taxation in the hands of the central government?

(A) The central government will be too weak to enforce its laws

(B) The states are allowed to have standing armies too, so they can fight against the federal government when they don't like a new tax law

(C) The people, as represented in the legislature, are the ones to determine the maintenance of a standing army as well as the passage of tax laws

(D) The taxes will be too low to support a standing army

What argument does Publius use in response to the criticism that the people will be burdened with too many tax collectors?

(A) The state governments will not be allowed to have tax collectors

(B) The national government will use the state tax collectors as much as possible

(C) Since the national government is only allowed to collect taxes on commerce, only the merchants will interact with them

(D) The taxes will be sent via the newly established post office and there will be no tax collectors

Why will the government be composed of merchants, learned professions and landholders?

(A) Because the lower socio-economic classes are not allowed to vote in any state

(B) Because the upper classes have enough money to buy their positions in the government

(C) Because they understand the philosophies of Montesquieu better than other classes, and were more likely to have fought in the American Revolution

(D) Because the lower classes will naturally prefer to vote for someone of the upper class who will do a better job representing their interests

What is the difference between a federal government and a national government?

(A) One describes the state government; the other describes the central government

(B) Although they both describe the central government, a federal government relies on the authority of the states and a national government relies on the authority of the people

(C) One is a republic and the other is a monarchy

(D) One describes the Articles of Confederation and the other describes the U.S. Constitution

Which of the following accurately describes the part of the proposed government that is national and the part that is federal?

(A) executive election process- combination of federal and national

(B) executive election process -- federal

(C) House of Representatives -- federal

(D) Amendment process -- national

On what grounds was the Constitutional Convention justified in throwing out the Articles of Confederation?

(A) The convention was called for by the Confederation Congress for that purpose

(B) The Articles of Confederation expired at the end of 7 years

(C) Resolutions of the Annapolis Convention and the Confederation Congress called for revisions to meet the needs of the nation

(D) The Articles of Confederation were never officially put into effect

What power does the central government gain in regards to slavery under the U.S. Constitution?

(A) The executive branch gains the power to free any slaves

(B) The military can draft slaves into service

(C) The legislative branch prohibits the slave trade after 1808

(D) The judicial branch can judge in cases of runaway slaves

What power does the central government gain in regards to naturalization under the U.S. Constitution?

(A) All people living in the United States at the time of ratification are automatically citizens

(B) The legislative branch can design a citizenship test to administer to all people before declaring them citizens

(C) The executive branch can remove the citizenship status of whomever it pleases

(D) The rules of naturalization will be uniform and not changed by different state

According to Publius, what authority should the central government have over the capital?

(A) None, it will be too distracting to administer affairs for the capital and for the union

(B) Shared with the state in which the seat resides

(C) All authority so that the central government does not become dependent on a subordinate state government

(D) There doesn't need to be a seat of government in a confederacy

What requirements are placed on the governments of the individual states?

(A) None, they can be any form of government as long as they supply troops and taxes to Congress

(B) Individual states must operate as republican governments

(C) None, as a lose confederation they only need to agree to help each other if attacked

(D) Individual states must have a Bill of Rights

In what ways do the state governments benefit from the federal government?

(A) Federal government provides an impartial arbiter to interstate disputes and a stronger defense against invasion

(B) Federal government pays taxes to each state government

(C) Federal government provides troops to each state government to bolster the state militia

(D) Federal government pays for the establishment of roads and ports that only citizens of that state may use

Why is it significant that American citizens have the right to bear arms, and European citizens do not?

(A) American citizens will be more effective at fighting in European wars

(B) American citizens are more violent than Europeans

(C) American citizens have to defend themselves against foreign invasion, and European nations rely on armies and navies

(D) American citizens can defend themselves against an abusive federal government that usurps their rights, and European citizens cannot