Which fundamental political idea is expressed in the Declaration of Independence?

A. The government should guarantee every citizen economic security.
Incorrect. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to guarantee economic security.

B. The central government and state governments should have equal power.
Incorrect. The Declaration of Independence doesn’t address federalism.

C. If the government denies its people certain basic rights, that government can be overthrown.
Correct! The Declaration of Independence was a “call to arms!”

D. Rulers derive their right to govern from God and are therefore bound to govern in the nation’s best interest.
Incorrect. The Declaration of Independence was about controlling the power of the king.

What is a valid conclusion that can be drawn from the quotation below?

"The only representatives of the people of these colonies are persons chosen therein by themselves; and that no taxes ever have been, or can be constitutionally imposed on them but by their respective legislatures."

                 -Statement by the Stamp Act Congress, 1765

A. The colonial legislatures should be appointed by the English King with the consent of Parliament.
Incorrect. It implies “no taxation without representation.”

B. Only the colonists’ elected representatives should have the power to levy taxes.
Correct! “No taxation without representation!”

C. The English King should have the right to tax the colonists.
Incorrect. These colonists believed the King had too much power.

D. The colonists should be opposed to all taxation.
Incorrect. Colonists were not opposed to taxation, they believed they should have representation if they were going to be taxed.

A study of revolutions would most likely lead to the conclusion that pre-Revolutionary governments –

A. are easily overthrown
Incorrect. Most revolutions result in a substantial loss of life.

B. refuse to modernize their armed forces with advanced technology
Incorrect. While not having technology is a disadvantage, it is not why people join revolutions.

C. attempt to bring about the separation of government from religion
Incorrect. This might be a cause of a revolution, but was not a cause of all revolutions.

D. fail to meet the political and economic needs of their people
Correct! People want freedom to elect people to represent them and want to be taxed fairly.

Which of the following was a cause of the outbreak of revolution in France in 1789?

A. Peasant revolt in the countryside
Correct! Peasants had endured a famine and were being taxed heavily.

B. The death of Louis XVI
Incorrect. Louis XVI was executed as a result of the French Revolution.

C. The demand of the nobility for greater power and influence
Incorrect. The nobility already had substantial power and influence.

D. The invasion of France by foreign armies
Incorrect. While France had been involved in conflicts that bankrupted them, invasion was not a factor in the revolution.

A major cause of the Russian Revolution of 1917 was the —

A. defeat of Germany in the Russian campaign
Incorrect. Russia withdrew from World War I.

B. marriage of Tzar Nicholas II to a German princess
Incorrect. This is true, but was not a cause for war.

C. existence of sharp economic differences between social classes
Correct! This is usually the cause of revolutions.

D. appeal of Marxism to the Russian nobility
Incorrect. Russian nobles feared Marxism and a distribution of power.