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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the federal ratio?
(a) The number of Congressional delegates needed to override a Presidential veto.
(b) The number of property owners needed to grant statehood to an area of the Western Territory.
(c) The ratio used to determine how many slaves are equivalent to one free white citizen.
(d) The distance needed between the seat of federal government and any state or local government.

2. Why do delegates to the Massachusetts Convention meet in Boston's Brattle Street Church?
(a) The State House is too small.
(b) Samuel Adams wants all meetings to open with prayer.
(c) The governor is an active member of the church.
(d) The church is the foundation of Massachusetts government.

3. Which delegate moves to postpone the vote on ratification?
(a) Rufus King.
(b) James Madison.
(c) Governor Morris.
(d) Elbridge Gerry.

4. How does George Washington show his approval or disapproval of measures discussed at the Convention?
(a) By making short comments.
(b) By sharing his comments with Madison, who presents them to the full Convention.
(c) By delivering long speeches.
(d) By smiling or frowning.

5. What are foreign visitors to America surprised they don't see more frequently?
(a) Forests and trees.
(b) Slaves.
(c) Deer and wild life.
(d) Poverty among white men.

6. What does the term "American" mean to William Priest?
(a) An Indian or one of the New World "aborigines".
(b) Any person living in the New World.
(c) A white man descends from a native of Europe.
(d) Someone who pledges to support the new government.

7. What does Widgery do after the Constitution is ratified by the Massachusetts Convention?
(a) He pledges to continue fighting against the principles outlined in the Constitution.
(b) He pledges to uphold the decision of the Convention and sow seeds of union and peace.
(c) He travels to New York to support the opposition by members of that state.
(d) He writes a series of newspaper articles decrying the result.

8. Who is elected president of the Massachusetts Convention to ratify the Constitution?
(a) Elbridge Gerry.
(b) Alexander Hamilton.
(c) Samuel Adams.
(d) John Hancock.

9. What new phrase does Governor Morris insert in the short preamble to the Constitution?
(a) "We the people of the United States".
(b) "Certain inalienable rights".
(c) "The pursuit of happiness".
(d) "With liberty and justice for all".

10. What motion does Franklin propose on the final day of the Convention?
(a) The Constitution is ratified by Congress as it is written at the Convention.
(b) Representation in Congress is changed from one for every 40,000 to 1 for every 30,000 people.
(c) A Bill of Rights is attached to the Constitution.
(d) The Constitution is unanimously signed by states, not by individual delegates.

11. Which delegate is vehemently against the idea of a standing army?
(a) Ellsworth.
(b) Elbridge Gerry.
(c) Governor Morris.
(d) James Madison.

12. Which is the first state to ratify the Constitution?
(a) New Jersey.
(b) Pennsylvania.
(c) Georgia.
(d) Delaware.

13. Which delegate is president of the Illinois-Wabash Land Company?
(a) James Wilson.
(b) Manasseh Cutler.
(c) George Washington.
(d) Rufus King.

14. Oliver Ellsworth argues that which state should ratify the Constitution or risk being overtaken by New York?
(a) New Jersey.
(b) Delaware.
(c) Connecticut.
(d) Rhode Island.

15. Which article, in the document presented by the Committee of Detail, alarms the Maryland delegates?
(a) The power of Congress to pass navigational acts and regulate commerce among the states.
(b) The power of Congress to levy taxes on property and income.
(c) The power of Congress to override a Presidential veto.
(d) The power of Congress to overturn legislation by individual states.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Edmund Randolph propose on the final day of the Convention?

2. Who is named Chairman of the Committee of Style and Arrangement?

3. Where does the Constitution go after it is signed in Philadelphia?

4. Why does the Convention need to end by September?

5. Which basic proposition is common to the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan, and the Report of the Committee of Detail?

(see the answer keys)

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