What is the historical effect of midterm elections on the composition of Congress quizlet?

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"The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever."
—Articles of Confederation, Article III

This excerpt indicates that the states entered into the Articles of Confederation for which of these purposes?
a.
to protect the rights of citizens
b.
to ensure uniformity of the laws
c.
to protect each other against attacks
d.
to guarantee republican governance

"Resolved, that the capture and condemnation under the orders of the British government, and adjudications of their courts of Admiralty, of American vessels and their cargoes, on the pretext of their being employed in a trade with the enemies of Great Britain, prohibited in time of peace, is an unprovoked aggression upon the property of the citizens of these United States, a violation of their neutral rights, and an encroachment upon their national independence."
—Thomas Jefferson, February 14, 1806

President Jefferson most likely made this statement in support of which of the following actions?
a.
embargo on trade with Britain
b.
impressment of British soldiers
c.
re-export trade with France
d.
war along the Barbary Coast

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted. That in all that territory ceded by France to the United States, under the name of Louisiana, which lies north of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north latitude, not included within the limits of the state, contemplated by this act, slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the parties shall have been duly convicted, shall be, and is hereby, forever prohibited: Provided always, That any person escaping into the same, from whom labour or service is lawfully claimed, in any state or territory of the United States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labour or service as aforesaid."
—Missouri Compromise, 1820

Based on this excerpt, the authors of the Missouri Compromise mostly sought to
a.
abolish slavery in the nation.
b.
expand slavery into western lands.
c.
leave the question of slavery to citizens.
d.
limit the expansion of slavery.

"I consider, then, the power to annul a law of the United States, assumed by one State, incompatible with the existence of the Union, contradicted expressly by the letter of the Constitution, unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle on which It was founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was formed."
—President Andrew Jackson, December 10, 1832

Which of the following best paraphrases President Jackson's position on South Carolina's response to the "Tariff of Abominations"?
a.
A majority of states must vote together to nullify federal law.
b.
If one state secedes, then the nation itself must dissolve.
c.
States do not have powers of nullification and secession.
d.
States have the power to secede but not to nullify laws.

"[I]f any person shall write, print, utter or publish, or shall cause or procure to be written, printed, uttered or published, or shall knowingly and willingly assist or aid in writing, printing, uttering or publishing any ... malicious writing or writings against the government of the United States ... to stir up sedition within the United States, or to excite any unlawful combinations therein, for opposing or resisting any law of the United States, or any act of the President of the United States, done in pursuance of any such law, or of the powers in him vested by the constitution of the United States, or to resist, oppose, or defeat any such law or act, ... then such person, ... shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars, and by imprisonment not exceeding two years."
—Alien and Sedition Acts, 1798

The excerpt from the Alien and Sedition Acts demonstrates that
a.
Antifederalists opposed government powers at the expense of civil liberties.
b.
Antifederalists were reluctant to support foreign entanglements.
c.
Federalists favored national government over state government powers.
d.
Federalists placed national interests above freedom of speech.

"We consider a neutral flag, on the high seas, as a safeguard to those sailing under it. Great Britain, on the contrary, asserts a right to search for, and seize, her own subjects; and under that cover, as cannot happen, are often seized and taken off, citizens of the United States and citizens or subjects of other neutral countries, navigating the high seas, under the protection of the American flag."
—Secretary of State James Madison, February 5, 1806

The excerpt best describes which of the following activities in the early 1800s?
a.
British impressment of Americans
b.
embargo on trade with Britain
c.
executive action against Barbary pirates
d.
re-export trade with France

The Mexican army was so confident of victory that every preparation had been made to celebrate it; but all their preparations fell into the hands of the Americans. In their flight, many of the Mexicans took to the river, and were drowned in their attempts to swim it. ...
Our little army then rent the air with their huzzas, and rushing shouting upon the enemy, committed the most dreadful havoc among them, taking eight pieces of artillery, 155,000 rounds of cartridge, and 500 packed mules. ...
We took all and every thing they had, four hundred prisoners, and the army baggage. The enemy had between 8,000 and 9,000 troops in the two battles, but we with 1,800 troops completely routed them.
—Mobile Daily Advertiser, May 23, 1846

The report supports the conclusion that the United States won the Mexican-American War because of superior
a.
armaments and supplies.
b.
force of numbers.
c.
moral purpose.
d.
strategy and preparation.

"[W]hen a person held to service or labor in any State or Territory of the United States, has heretofore or shall hereafter escape into another State or Territory of the United States, the person or persons to whom such service or labor may be due... may pursue and reclaim such fugitive person... it shall be the duty of all marshals and deputy marshals to obey and execute all warrants and precepts issued under the provisions of this act, when to them directed... and all good citizens are hereby commanded to aid and assist in the prompt and efficient execution of this law, whenever their services may be required... In no trial or hearing under this act shall the testimony of such alleged fugitive be admitted in evidence; and the certificates in this and the [above] section mentioned, shall be conclusive of the right of the person or persons... to remove such fugitive to the State or Territory from which he escaped, and shall prevent all molestation of such person or persons by any process issued by any court, judge, magistrate, or other person whomsoever."
—Fugitive Slave Act (1850)

Based on this selection from the text of the Fugitive Slave Act, which of the following best explained why it angered many people in the North?
a.
It overturned state laws forbidding the ownership of slaves and outlawing the slave trade.
b.
It required people who may be opposed to slavery to assist in capturing and returning runaway slaves.
c.
It drastically increased the law-enforcement costs of the federal government and resulted in higher taxes.
d.
It resulted in a growth of the government bureaucracy needed to process cases related to runaway slaves.

"But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not hallow - this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion."
—President Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address

This excerpt indicates that President Lincoln is using the Gettysburg Address as an occasion to
a.
make a gesture of reconciliation to the Confederacy.
b.
encourage northerners to remain committed to preserving the Union.
c.
argue for keeping him in a leadership position until the Civil War is over.
d.
remind Americans why they have a moral obligation to oppose slavery.

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal." Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live."
—President Abraham Lincoln, from the Gettysburg Address

This excerpt indicates that President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address in order to do which of the following?
a.
begin outlining his plans for Reconstruction after the end of the war
b.
praise the soldiers who died for what he considered a noble cause
c.
celebrate a Union victory that turned the tide of the war
d.
restate the principles behind the Emancipation Proclamation

"If any apprentice shall leave the employment of his or her master or mistress, without his or her consent, said master or mistress may pursue and recapture said apprentice, and bring him or her before any justice of the peace of the county, whose duty it shall be to remand said apprentice to the service of his or her master or mistress; ... and if the court shall be of opinion that said apprentice left the employment of his or her master or mistress without good cause, to order him or her to be punished, as provided for the punishment of hired freedmen, as may be from time to time provided for by law for desertion ..."
—An Act to Confer Civil Rights on Freedmen, and for other Purposes, Tennessee, 1865

This law is an example of
a.
the black codes.
b.
the Enforcement Acts.
c.
the Reconstruction Acts.
d.
the Ten Percent Plan.

"The inquiry of course here is, Does the amendment as to the particular standard which this heading embraces involve the mere refusal to comply with the commands of the Fifteenth Amendment as previously stated?...The provision is this:

"But no person who was, on January 1, 1866, or at any time prior thereto, entitled to vote under any form of government, or who at that time resided in some foreign nation, and no lineal descendant of such person, shall be denied the right to register and vote because of his inability to so read and write sections of such constitution."

We have difficulty in finding words to more clearly demonstrate the conviction we entertain that this standard has the characteristics which the Government attributes to it than does the mere statement of the text. It is true it contains no express words of an exclusion from the standard which it establishes of any person on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude prohibited by the Fifteenth Amendment, but the standard itself inherently brings that result into existence since it is based purely upon a period of time before the enactment of the Fifteenth Amendment and makes that period the controlling and dominant test of the right of suffrage."
—Guinn v. United States, 1915

Which voting practice did this Supreme Court decision address?
a.
poll tax
b.
white primary
c.
grandfather clause
d.
voter intimidation

"This, then, is held to be the duty of the man of Wealth: First, to set an example of modest, unostentatious living, shunning display or extravagance; to provide moderately for the legitimate wants of those dependent upon him; and after doing so to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, which he is called upon to administer, and strictly bound as a matter of duty to administer in the manner which, in his judgment, is best calculated to produce the most beneficial result for the community—the man of wealth thus becoming the sole agent and trustee for his poorer brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience, and ability to administer—doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves."—Andrew Carnegie, "Wealth," 1889

What is Carnegie's message in the text above?
a.
People who are wealthy deserve the money that they have.
b.
It is the responsibility of wealthy people to give back to society.
c.
Regardless of social class, everyone should accept their place in society.
d.
America is a land of opportunity, where anyone can work to make a fortune.