Political Documents

"Small islands not capable of protecting themselves, are the proper objects for kingdoms to take under their care; but there is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island. In no instance hath nature made the satellite larger than its primary planet, and as England and America, with respect to each other, reverses the common order of nature, it is evident that they belong to different systems: England to Europe, America to itself."

- Thomas Paine, Common Sense

The argument presented in this passage was intended to

• urge colonists to accept the Albany Plan of Union

• provide a reason for ratification of the Constitution of the United States

• convince American colonists to declare their independence

• persuade France to aid the United States in the Revolutionary War

One weakness of the Articles of Confederation was the inability of the central government to

• establish a postal system

• collect adequate taxes from the states

• control western lands

• admit new states to the Union

Which heading best completes the partial outline below?

I._______

A. National government unable to levy

direct taxes

B. No single national currency

C. Lack of an elected chief executive

• Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

• Strengths of the Continental Congress

• Provisions of the United States Constitution

• Influence of Treaties with European Governments

The primary purpose of the Articles of Confederation was to

• provide tax revenues for the national government

• establish the basic framework of the national government

• give the national government the power to regulate interstate commerce

• establish the supremacy of the national government over the states

The main reason Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense was to

• urge adoption of the Albany Plan of Union

• gain support for declaring independence from Great Britain

• bring an end to the Revolutionary War

• convince states to ratify the new Constitution

In writing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson was most directly influenced by the social contract theory of

• Benjamin Franklin

• James Madison

• John Locke

• Baron de Montesquieu

One way in which the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the original United States Constitution (1789) are similar is that both documents

• include a specific bill of rights

• guarantee voting rights to all persons

• list grievances against the British monarchy

• state that government receives its power from the people

In the 1780s, the national government under the Articles of Confederation established its authority in the Northwest Territory by

• providing a system for the formation of new states

• settling the border dispute with Mexico

• extending the nation’s border to the Rocky Mountains

• rejecting Native American Indian claims of sovereignty

The social contract theory as applied to the Declaration of Independence most directly reflects the ideas of

• John Locke

• Thomas Hobbes

• Baron de Montesquieu

• Adam Smith

A principal reason for calling the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was to

• strengthen the central government

• settle land disputes with Canada

• increase the power of the states

• weaken the system of checks and balances