This activity is part of Module 7: The Legislative Branch: How Congress Works from the Constitution 101 Curriculum.
Complete questions in the following quiz to test your knowledge of basic ideas and concepts covered in this module.
- The structure of the legislative branch, which is outlined in Article I of the Constitution, was the result of which compromise during the Constitutional Convention?
- The Virginia Compromise
- The New Jersey Compromise
- The Connecticut Compromise
- The Great Dissent
- Which of the following can best be described as the primary responsibility of Congress?
- Making laws
- Enforcing laws
- Interpreting laws
- All of the above
- According to Article I of the Constitution, which of these powers belong(s) to Congress?
- Declaring war
- Collecting taxes
- Granting titles of nobility
- Both A and B
- The Constitutional Convention established a two-house legislature, or this term, for the United States government.
- Bicameral
- Unicameral
- Tricameral
- Parliamentary
- How many members currently serve in the U.S. House of Representatives?
- 100
- 270
- 435
- 538
- How many members currently serve in the U.S. Senate?
- 100
- 270
- 435
- 538
- Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution establishes that Congress has the power to make all laws ___________.
- Regardless of the will of the people
- That are approved by the president
- Which are necessary and proper
- That are convenient and expedient
- Which landmark Supreme Court decision focused on whether Congress had the authority to create a national bank?
- McCulloch v. Maryland
- Brown v. Board of Education
- Dred Scott v. Sandford
- Marbury v. Madison
- In the debate over the national bank, ________ believed Congress did have the power to create one, while ____________believed it did not.
- Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson
- Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton
- Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton
- Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr
- In a landmark Supreme Court decision, Chief Justice John Marshall argued that, although there was no specified clause in the Constitution granting Congress the power to create a bank, ______.
- The nation did not need a national bank anyway
- It was clearly unconstitutional for Congress to create a bank
- He had ruled in favor of the bank anyway because he didn’t like Thomas Jefferson
- Congress could create one because it was consistent with other powers listed in the Constitution
- Justice Marshall used the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the Constitution to argue that ___________.
- State law was superior to federal law
- Federal law was superior to state law
- The Constitution was not always the supreme law of the land
- Maryland could tax the national bank
- Which of the following was a significant question about the interpretation of the Commerce Clause in Article I of the Constitution?
- What is the meaning of “commerce”?
- What is the meaning of “among the several states”?
- What is the meaning of “to regulate”?
- All of the above
- What is true about the president’s veto power, established by the Constitution?
- The president can veto laws passed by Congress.
- The president’s veto is absolute.
- Congress can override a president’s veto with a two-thirds vote.
- Both A and C
- During the 1930s, Congress’s power to regulate commerce was contested in several Supreme Court cases concerning the policies of the __________.
- McKinley Tariff
- New Deal
- Northwest Ordinance
- Housing market
- The case of Wickard v. Filburn (1942) dealt with Congress’s authority to do what?
- Declare War
- Change the number of justices on the Supreme Court
- Regulate the amount of wheat that farmers could grow
- Change the prices of oil and gas
- During which era did Congress have the broadest authority to regulate commerce?
- 1800s to 1850s
- 1870s to 1910s
- 1930s to 1990s
- 2000s to today
- In what case did the Supreme Court strike down the Gun Free Schools Act on the grounds that Congress had exceeded its authority to regulate commerce?
- United States v. Lopez
- United States v. Morrison
- Gonzales v. Raich
- NFIB v. Sebelius
- During which time period did the Supreme Court strike down the most federal laws?
- 1803 to 1857
- 1942 to 1995
- 1995 to 2019
- Roughly the same in all three eras
- What has to happen before a bill becomes a law?
- Debate in committees
- House approval or Senate approval
- Sending the bill to the desk of the president
- All of the above
- The formal and enumerated powers of Congress are found in
- Article I, Section 1
- Article I, Section 8
- Article II, Section 4
- The Preamble
Answer Key: C, A, D, A, C, A, C, A, A, D, B, D, D, B, C, C, A, C, D, B
