WGU C963Exam Questions and Answers Latest 2023 /2024 | Graded A+

Which of these accurately describes John Locke's view of the state of nature? -The state of nature was peaceful and consisted of rational human beings -Even though John Locke's belief, he also argued that life in the state of nature was "inconvenient" According to John Locke, how much authority should society have over its citizens under the social contract? -Limited Authority -Locke believed that the social contract should provide a society in which the society has no more power than is necessary to regulate the natural rights and co-existence of its citizens. Which natural right was explicitly protected in the Declaration of Independence? -Liberty -Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence based on the ideas of John Locke who argued that one of our most important natural rights is liberty. Which Constitutional principle, suggested by Montesquieu, lessens the potential harm of the national government over the people? -Separation of powers -By separating the legislative, executive, and judicial power and placing each branch into the control of different political actors this would prevent government tyranny over the people by limiting the harm any one branch of government might do on its own. Which Constitutional mechanism, suggested by Montesquieu, balances the national government and prevents any one section of government from having sole/complete power? -checks and balances -The Constitutional principle of checks and balances is meant to prevent any one branch of government from gaining complete power and control over the government by allowing each branch to monitor and influence what happens in other branches of government. Which of the following protects Locke's idea of natural rights and provides Montesquieu's protections known as due process of law? -Bill of Rights -This addition to the Constitution focuses on protecting the liberties or freedoms by protecting such rights as freedom of speech and providing due process of law when citizens must interact with the government over legal matters. How is the unicameral Congress different from a bicameral Congress? -A unicameral Congress has one chamber while a bicameral Congress has two. -Under the Articles of Confederation there was a unicameral Congress, which consisted of one chamber known as the Confederation. Today, Congress is bicameral and consists of two chambers -- the House of Representatives and the Senate. What was the basis of representation in Congress under the Articles of Confederation? -each state had one vote in the congress -all the states were considered to be equal Why were the powers of the national government severely limited under the Articles of Confederation? -To prevent the national government from becoming too powerful or abusing the rights of individual citizens and states. -This was a concern when creating the Articles of Confederation as the U.S. government did not want to create a government similar to the oppressive British government they had just declared independence from. Why was limiting the powers of the national government under the Articles of Confederation a major concern? -It maintained the sovereignty of state governments. -Limiting the powers of the national government meant that the power of the states remained protected and would serve to prevent the national government from becoming too powerful. Which power did the national government have under the Articles of Confederation? -To manage relationships with Indian tribes -The new government was given the power to manage affairs with Indian tribes. Although the national government had the power to declare war under the Articles of Confederation, how was this specific power limited? -There was no national military from which to draw soldiers. -Although the national government had the power to declare war under the Articles of Confederation, there was no national army from which to pull soldiers. The national government had to ask the individual states to send soldiers from their state militias to fight in any war. Why was the national government given power to regulate trade with the Native Americans under the Articles of Confederation? -Because Native Americans were not considered citizens of the United States and were treated as foreign nations. - Native Americans were not granted citizenship in the United States until the 1920s, so under the Articles of Confederation, they were considered foreign nations. Even though the national government had the power to declare war under the Articles of Confederation, why was the power limited and ultimately ineffective? -There was no national army, so the national government had to rely on the individual states to allow their soldiers to participate. -Under the Articles of Confederation, the national government could only request for states to send their soldiers to fight, but states did not have to honor that request. Why did the United States have currency problems under the Articles of Confederation? -The new government had to rely on states to provide funds for backing a currency and paying back loans. - The government could only request contributions from the states, and the states frequently did not provide funds. Why was the inability to regulate trade among the states a weakness of the national government under the Articles of Confederation? -It allowed the states to make their own agreements with countries without the national government knowing. -Because the national government had no authority to regulate trade, countries would make agreements directly with the states without informing the national government. During the Constitutional Convention, how did the Virginia Plan differ from the New Jersey Plan? -The Virginia Plan wanted a legislature in which states received representation in proportion to the size of their population, while the New Jersey plan wanted a legislature that gave each state equal representation, regardless of the size of its population. -The Virginia Plan provided for greater representation, but only for some states, while the New Jersey Plan provided for equal representation for all states. The New Jersey Plan -A unicameral legislature -Smaller states would be given the same amount of power as larger states in the national legislature -A legislature that gave each state one vote regardless of the size of their population The Virginia Plan -A bicameral legislature -Larger States would have more power than smaller states in the national legislature -A legislature in which states receive representation based on their population Which of the following accurately describes the outcome of the Great Compromise? -The Great Compromise created a bicameral legislature. -The Great Compromise created a legislative branch with two chambers: The House of Representatives and the Senate. The Great Compromise sought to balance: -The ideological differences over representation of the people or of the states. -The basic debate here is over whether the people or the states are to be represented in the national government. Under the terms of the original Constitution, what would happen to a slave who escaped and fled to another state? -Runaway slaves could be reclaimed by their owners and taken back. -The Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Clause 3) allows slave owners to reclaim their human property in the states where slaves had fled. Which of these compromises were struck during the Constitutional Convention over how slaves would be counted in a state's population? -The Three-Fifths Compromise -This compromise, made after the Great Compromise, determined that the House of Representatives would be based on a state's population. This compromise allowed for each slave to be counted as 3/5 of a person for the purpose of calculating a state's population. What effect did the Fugitive Slave Clause (Clause 3, Article IV of the Constitution) have? -It allowed slave owners to reclaim their slaves even if they fled to other states. - The Fugitive Slave Clause allowed slave owners to reclaim their slaves even if they crossed state boundaries. What concern did "separation of powers" address during the Constitutional Convention? -The concern was that increasing the power of the national government would allow it to become too powerful. -Separating the government into distinct branches of government and giving each branch its own function to perform limited the ability of the national government to gain too much power. As a "check" on the power of Congress to pass laws, the president was given the power to: -Veto Legislation -The veto power allows presidents to restrain Congress from passing legislation unless they have a large enough majority to override the president's veto. As a "check" on the power of the Supreme Court, Congress has the power to: -Increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court -Congress can add judges to the Supreme Court as a check on their power. The Anti-Federalist insistence on a Bill of Rights resulted from: -The view that the Constitution offered little protection for liberty or natural rights. -Anti-Federalists felt a more positive assertion of individual liberty and rights was necessary. As a compromise to win support for ratification of the Constitution from the AntiFederalists, the Federalists agreed to: -Add a bill of rights to the Constitution. - The Anti-Federalists worried that the Constitution didn't do enough to protect individual rights, and the bill of rights was intended to fix that limitation. Which of these beliefs would have been least likely to be held by a Federalist at the time the Constitution was being developed? -A belief that the Constitution should not be ratified -The Federalists supported ratification of the Constitution. Which of the following groups would have been least likely to support ratification of the Constitution? -Small farmers and planters -Many small farmers and planters worried that taxes from the federal government could be difficult to pay, and that tariffs would make it harder for them to market their agricultural products overseas. Which of the following arguments would be more likely to be advanced by an Anti-Federalist? -In small republics, similarities among members of the community lead them to similar issue positions, making it easier for elected officials to represent the views of their constituents. -This argument for smaller republics (e.g. stronger powers to the states instead of the federal government) is a great example of an Anti-Federalist argument. Which is not a reason James Madison found it necessary to write Federalist, no. 10? -To make states understand that factions did not have to exist under a strong national government -Madison acknowledged that there was no way to stop factions from forming without taking away the liberty of citizens. Since they could not be stopped, he argued that their effects could be controlled through representative government. Which constitutional mechanism discussed in Federalist, no. 51 discusses the powers that each branches of government has in order to impact how the other branches of government operate?