WOLL HW CHECK QUESTIONS ON LOCKE, ROCHE, BEARD, FEDERALIST #47, #48, & #51  -  PRINT OUT AND BRING THE COMPLETED ASSIGNMENT TO CLASS ON THE ASSIGNED DUE DATE.

 

CIRCLE THE CORRECT ANSWER

 

1. One of Locke's fundamental principles is:

a) a major goal of government is the pursuit of happiness.

b) governments are established to serve the elite.

c) all persons should be treated equally by government.

d) once established, governments cannot be dissolved.

 

2. In the state of nature described by John Locke:

a) all persons are in a state of war with each other.

b) life is nasty, brutish, and short.

c) liberty is denied to all but the strongest.

d) all persons possess liberty.

 

3. The execution of the law of nature is, in the state of nature:

a) in the hands of the executive.

b) in the hands of the legislature.

c) in the hands of the judiciary.

d) in every person's hands.

 

4. Persons enter into political society and government because:

a) they seek a higher authority to protect their rights against invasion by others.

b) the pursuit of happiness can only be guaranteed by government.

c) they seek equality with each other.

d) the common defense requires a strong government.

 

5. According to John Locke, a primary end of government is:

a) the preservation of equality among all citizens.

b) to guarantee all citizens happiness.

c) economic prosperity.

d) the protection of private property.

 

6. Private property is, according to Locke, inadequately protected in a state of nature because:

a) the law of nature is not plain and intelligible to all rational persons.

b) persons do not agree that the protection of private property is a fundamental right.

c) persons in a state of nature are constantly at war with each other.

d) the state of nature lacks an impartial judge and an executive capable of upholding judicial decisions protecting property rights.

 

7. In a state of nature a person:

a) has no power.

b) exerts whatever powers are necessary to preserve himself, and to punish crimes committed against natural law.

c) is in a state of war.

d) has no respect for property rights.

 

8. According to Locke, the supreme power of the Commonwealth is:

a) the executive.

b) the judiciary.

c) the bureaucracy.

d) the legislature.

 

9. Locke argues that government can only be dissolved when:

a) it fails to protect the Commonwealth against foreign attacks.

b) laws are enacted that fail to protect private property.

c) the judiciary assumes legislative authority.

d) government acts without the consent of the people.

 

10. In John Locke's model of government, the power that each individual gives to society when he or she enters into it:

a) can never revert to the individuals again.

b) cannot revert to the individuals as long as the society lasts.

c) reverts to individuals only with the consent of the government.

d) can be reclaimed by individuals only if the government fails to protect private property.

 

 

11. John P. Roche describes the Founding Fathers as:

a) an economic elite.

b) philosopher kings who followed abstract principles of political theory.

c) practical politicians striving to accommodate state and national interests.

d) believers in an aristocracy of talent.

 

12. According to John P. Roche, the delegations to the Constitutional Convention were dominated by:

a) nationalists.

b) proponents of states' rights.

c) Jeffersonian republicans.

d) conservatives.

 

13. Roche argues that the Virginia Plan:

a) capitulated to state interests.

b) provided for an essentially unitary form of government.

c) embodied the "Madisonian model."

d) would have allowed the large states to dominate the national government.

 

14. Roche concludes that federalism:

a) represented a victory for states' rights.

b) reflected a necessary compromise to gain state support for a national government.

c) originally incorporated the doctrine of state nullification of national laws.

d) gave the states more power than the national government.

 

15. The thesis of Charles A. Beard is that the framers of the Constitution:

a) represented the propertied classes.

b) were a highly talented and elite group.

c) opposed majority rule.

d) all of the above

 

16. Beard states that the revolutionists and radicals:

a) were well represented at the Constitutional Convention.

b) owned no property.

c) were not men of large property interests or practical business experience.

d) were skeptical of equality and democracy.

 

17. Beard concludes that under the state constitutions and the Articles of Confederation:

a) property interests were well protected.

b) every powerful economic class in the nation suffered losses.

c) a strong national government was unnecessary.

d) majority rule was restricted.

 

18. Beard sees the separation of powers in the Constitution primarily as a device:

a) to curb popular majorities and thereby protect property interests.

b) to make government more democratic by forcing compromise among the three branches.

c) to increase the power of the president.

d) to establish conservative domination of Congress.

 

19. A central premise of James Madison in numbers 47, 48, and 51 of The Federalist is that:

a) weak government is the best government.

b) the combination of legislative, executive, and judicial power is the very definition of tyranny.

c) men are not angels and therefore those who exercise political power must be limited.

d) b and c

 

20. According to Madison, the branch of government to be most feared because of its inherent power is:

a) the executive.

b) the judiciary.

c) the legislature.

d) the bureaucracy.

 

21. Madison argues that the separation of powers can only be maintained if:

a) each branch of government is kept entirely separate from coordinate branches.

b) the powers of the three branches of the government overlap.

c) a strong presidency exists.

d) an alert citizenry checks government.

 

 

SHORT ANSWER ESSAY – WRITE OUT YOUR ANSWER IN THE SPACE BELOW EACH QUESTION.

 

 

1. According to Locke, why do people leave the state of nature and join a political society by establishing a government?

 

 

2. What does Roche feel was the role of political theory at the Constitutional Convention?

 

 

3. Aside from describing the delegates as representatives of the propertied classes desiring to protect their interests, what other evidence does Beard present to support his thesis that the principal purpose of the Constitution was to protect most forms of private property (slaves and livestock were excluded from the property to be protected, which mostly included public securities)?

 

 

 

4. How did Madison's view of human nature affect his theory of government?