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Declaration Foundation P.O. Box 1310 Herndon, VA 20172-1310
From the President's Desk
Declaration Foundation By Dr. Richard Ferrier, President
November 11, 2004
Fellow Declarationists,
One of the chief aims of the Foundation is to foster civic education. In addition to the opinion and news pieces on contemporary political controversy bearing on the Declaration and its principles, I post articles on the subject of civics frequently. For example, here is a link to a November 10, 2004 op-ed titled, "Civics and Citizenship."
The internet class using our curriculum is well underway, and about to take its first comprehensive exam. I thought visitors to this site might like to try their own hand at this test, so I am pasting it below.
See how high you can score in competition with our 13-18 year old home schoolers!
I'll give the answers here next week.
For a free and enlightened people,
Dr. Richard Ferrier,
President, Declaration Foundation
On the blank after each number, write the letter of the name or phrase from column two that best fits with the statement from column one.
1. "...has been found a more certain road to despotism" than "zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government", according to Federalist 1.
Answer: ______
A. The British Parliament
2. according to Calvin Coolidge, where Thomas Jefferson secured his best ideas.
Answer: ______
B. Abraham Lincoln
3. said, "Our constitution...favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy."
Answer: ______
C. John Locke
4. said the Civil War was a test to see whether any nation "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" can long endure.
Answer: ______
D. Church meetings
5. was suspended as part of Coercive Acts of 1774.
Answer: ______
E. St. Paul
6. declared in 1766 its right to make laws for the colonies.
Answer: ______
F. "Zeal for the rights of the people"
7. made the British Parliament superior to the King.
Answer: ______
G. The First Continental Congress
8. declared in 1774 that the colonies had never ceded their rights to dispose of life, liberty and property without their consent.
Answer: ______
H. Massachusetts' legislature
9. said that by nature the law is written on the hearts of all men.
Answer: ______
I. The Glorious Revolution of 1688
10. declared that the people have a right to rebel against tyranny.
Answer: ______
J. Pericles, leader of Athens in its glory days,
Test 1, Section II-- Memorization.
Complete the following quotations from the Gettysburg address and the Declaration by filling the in the blanks, one word for each blank.
1. "Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new _______, conceived in _______ and dedicated to the proposition that ___ ___ ___ _______ _____."
2. "...That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, _____ ___, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government __ ___ ______, __ ___ ______, and ___ ___ ______" shall not perish from the earth.
3. "We hold these truths to be ____-_______: That all men are _______ _____; that they are endowed by their _______ with certain unalienable rights; that among these are ____, _______, and ___ _______ __ _________; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their ____ powers from the _______ of the governed...."
4. "We, therefore, the representatives of the United ______ of America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the _______ _____ of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good ______ of these colonies solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT _____...."
Test 1, Section III-- Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer.
1. Federalist 9 cites ALL of the following as improvements in the science of politics that have made republic government more perfect EXCEPT
a. the development of direct voting on important issues by the people.
b. the introduction of legislative checks and balances.
c. the regular distribution of power into distinct departments.
d. the representation of the people in the legislature by deputies of their own election.
2. In Federalist 1, Publius says, "It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from
a. accident and force."
b. zeal for the rights of the people."
c. reflection and choice."
d. party opposition."
3. The First Continental Congress claimed that the Americans' rights to life, liberty and property were founded on ALL of the following EXCEPT
a. the immutable laws of nature.
b. John Locke's philosophy.
c. the principles of the English Constitution.
d. their own colonial charters and compacts.
4. Democratic government in ancient Athens meant
a. that one faction of the people ruled over another.
b. that the people ruled through elected representatives.
c. government of the people, by the people and for the people.
d. government that outlawed slavery.
5. The principle that taxes cannot be imposed on a nation without representative consent was
a. was invented by John Locke.
b. was the basis of the chief complaint leveled against King George by the Declaration of Independence.
c. was stated in the Bible.
d. was embodied in the relationship between Parliament and the King of Great Britain from the Middle Ages.
6. The Declaration refers to God as
a. Father.
b. Divine Providence.
c. Blind Watchmaker.
d. Great Spirit.
7. The Declaration charges King George with ALL of the following EXCEPT
a. refusing to pass laws for the colonies unless they would relinquish their right to representation in the legislature.
b. making judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices.
c. erecting a multitude of new offices to harass the colonists
d. establishing the Church of England as the official religion of the colonies.
8. Calvin Coolidge said that the ideals of the Declaration
a. have their source and roots in religious convictions.
b. were drawn exclusively from Aristotle, Cicero and Locke.
c. were contained in the Magna Charta.
d. were the same as those of the ancient democracies.
9. According to John Locke, governments are formed by
a. consent, that is by each man agreeing with other men to join and unite into a community.
b. the power of punishing unto death.
c. chance and force.
d. nature and nature's God.
10. In the Declaration, Congress asserted that separation from Great Britain was a necessity because
a. all men are created equal
b. governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.
c. prudence dictates that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes.
d. the present King of Great Britain is intending to establish an absolute Tyranny over the American States.
Declaration Foundation
For correspondence: P.O. Box 1310 • Herndon, VA 20172-1310 df@declarationfoundation.com
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