PLATO Edmentum US Government End of
Semester Test Questions and Answers
1.What is the primary purpose of most constitutions?
A. to define a moral code for people to follow
B. to provide a substitute for government
C. to prevent a strong central government
D. to define and limit government power
E. to give the government absolute power
Answer D. to define and limit government power
2.Under which type of government would state or provincial
governments have the most sovereignty?
A. parliamentary
B. confederal
C. federal
D. totalitarian
E. dictatorship
Answer B. confederal
3.Imagine you are preparing a speech on social contract theory for your
government class. As part of your speech, you need to focus on the idea
that people have the authority to overthrow a government that has
1/
16
,become tyrannical. Which Enlightenment text would be good source
material?
A. Hobbes's Leviathan
B. Locke's Second Treatise of Government
C. Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws
D. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England
E. Machiavelli's The Prince
Answer B. Locke's Second Treatise of Government
4.What is considered an important Roman contribution to American
govern- ment?
A. the idea of representative government in which people elect officials
to speak for them
B. the idea of a legislature that has more power than any other branch
of government
C. the idea that everyone is judged under the same interpretation of the law
D. the idea that governments are only legitimate if they rule with the
consent of their people
E. the idea that people naturally give up some rights to a government for the
sake of maintaining order in society
Answer A. the idea of representative government in which people elect
officials to speak for them
5.According to the Declaration of Independence, when do the people have
2/
16
, the right to overthrow their government?
A. when the government taxes the people too much
B. when the people as a whole do not agree with the policies of the
govern- ment
C. when they are ruled by a king
D. when the government fails to protect the fundamental rights of the people
E. when the economy fails to create new jobs
Answer D. when the government fails to protect the fundamental rights
of the people
6.What was an important concern for the Founding Fathers when drafting
the Articles of Confederation?
A. avoiding the tyranny of a powerful central government
B. granting only limited powers to the new monarchy
C. providing new powers to the executive branch
D. limiting the power of certain states in the Union
E. preventing states from trading with other nations
Answer A. avoiding the tyranny of a powerful central government
7.The Constitution created a federal system in the United States. Which of
the following best describes a federal government?
A. equal and full sovereignty granted to all states with a weak central
govern- ment
3/
16
Semester Test Questions and Answers
1.What is the primary purpose of most constitutions?
A. to define a moral code for people to follow
B. to provide a substitute for government
C. to prevent a strong central government
D. to define and limit government power
E. to give the government absolute power
Answer D. to define and limit government power
2.Under which type of government would state or provincial
governments have the most sovereignty?
A. parliamentary
B. confederal
C. federal
D. totalitarian
E. dictatorship
Answer B. confederal
3.Imagine you are preparing a speech on social contract theory for your
government class. As part of your speech, you need to focus on the idea
that people have the authority to overthrow a government that has
1/
16
,become tyrannical. Which Enlightenment text would be good source
material?
A. Hobbes's Leviathan
B. Locke's Second Treatise of Government
C. Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws
D. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England
E. Machiavelli's The Prince
Answer B. Locke's Second Treatise of Government
4.What is considered an important Roman contribution to American
govern- ment?
A. the idea of representative government in which people elect officials
to speak for them
B. the idea of a legislature that has more power than any other branch
of government
C. the idea that everyone is judged under the same interpretation of the law
D. the idea that governments are only legitimate if they rule with the
consent of their people
E. the idea that people naturally give up some rights to a government for the
sake of maintaining order in society
Answer A. the idea of representative government in which people elect
officials to speak for them
5.According to the Declaration of Independence, when do the people have
2/
16
, the right to overthrow their government?
A. when the government taxes the people too much
B. when the people as a whole do not agree with the policies of the
govern- ment
C. when they are ruled by a king
D. when the government fails to protect the fundamental rights of the people
E. when the economy fails to create new jobs
Answer D. when the government fails to protect the fundamental rights
of the people
6.What was an important concern for the Founding Fathers when drafting
the Articles of Confederation?
A. avoiding the tyranny of a powerful central government
B. granting only limited powers to the new monarchy
C. providing new powers to the executive branch
D. limiting the power of certain states in the Union
E. preventing states from trading with other nations
Answer A. avoiding the tyranny of a powerful central government
7.The Constitution created a federal system in the United States. Which of
the following best describes a federal government?
A. equal and full sovereignty granted to all states with a weak central
govern- ment
3/
16
