EOC Mock Test #1

1. “Thomas Jefferson called the [Declaration of Independence] ‘pure Locke,’” referring to the English philosopher John Locke. Which of the following ideas shows Locke’s influence on the Declaration of Independence?

• a. The king of England has a divine right to rule the colonists, so only God can remove his authority.
• b. By violating the social contract with the colonists, the king has lost his authority to rule.
• c. Without a king, the colonists will be able to return to a state of nature in which all men are free.
• d. The king rules by right of force, so it is just for the colonists to overthrow the king using force.

2. Use the Preamble to the Constitution to answer the question. "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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."—U.S. Constitution, Preamble Which of the following actions is one example of how the American government establishes justice?

• a. keeping the peace within the borders of the United States
• b. creating a set of laws and a court system
• c. protecting the United States from foreign threats
• d. establishing safety regulations to protect the public

3. Use this quote by the French Enlightenment thinker Baron de Montesquieu to answer the question. “In every government there are three sorts of power; the legislative; the executive, in respect to things dependent on the law of nations; and the executive, in regard to things that depend on the civil law.” What principle of government presented by the U.S. Constitution is Montesquieu describing?

• a. federalism
• b. republicanism
• c. separation of power
• d. sovereignty

4. In the United States, the concept of equality means that every individual

• a. must sacrifice his or her interests so the needs of the many can be met.
• b. is born with as much talent and ability as everyone else.
• c. is entitled to receive the same treatment under the law.
• d. should receive the same share of worldly goods as everyone else.

5. Use this quotation to answer the question. "No freeman [person] shall be taken or imprisoned, . . . or outlawed, or banished, or in anyway destroyed, unless by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land. . . .”—Magna Carta, 1215 Which of the following principles does this quotation from the Magna Carta explain?

• a. guarantee of freedom of speech
• b. guarantee of due process
• c. prohibition against excessive fines and bail
• d. protection of the right of the state to organize a militia

6. Which of the following MOST DIRECTLY led to the calling of the First Continental Congress?

• a. the Stamp Act Congress
• b. the Stamp Act
• c. the Intolerable Acts
• d. the Boston Tea Party

7. Read the excerpt and answer the question. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights. . . ”—The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America Which of the following BEST paraphrases this statement?

• a. People must show allegiance to their king and country throughout their lives.
• b. People need to help others understand their basic rights as citizens.
• c. People owe their allegiance first to God, then to the monarch.
• d. People are born with certain rights that no one can take from them.

8. In 1754, Ben Franklin drew this cartoon. For what purpose did he draw it?

• a. to unite the colonists against French and Native American attacks
• b. to urge the colonists to fight the British after the British Tea Party
• c. to warn the colonists about the political oppression of the British
• d. to convince the colonists to unite against British authority

9. The guarantee of religious liberty found in this proposed law is the sort of guarantee of individual rights that Anti-Federalists demanded be added to the Constitution. "We the General Assembly of Virginia do enact, that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious Worship place or Ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened [burdened] in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise[way] diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities." —Virginia General Assembly, 1777 This resulting listing of basic liberties in the Constitution is called

• a. the 1st Amendment.
• b. Article V.
• c. the Bill of Rights.
• d. the Declaration of Independence

10. Use the quotation to answer the question.“...it is expedient that on the second Monday in May next a Convention of delegates who shall have been appointed by the several States be held in Philadelphia for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation...” —The Continental Congress, 1787 This quotation is historically significant because at this meeting, the Framers

• a. planned to write a constitution but were delayed by delegates who would not attend the convention.
• b. debated to resolve the Articles of Confederation, but ended up voting for a new President
• c. organized documents to ratify the Articles of Confederation, but could not resolve the Virginia Plan
• d. met to address the Articles of Confederation but ended up creating a new form of government.