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AP®HistoryCollege BoardUS HistoryExam QuestionsPeriod 3: 1754-1800The Constitutional Convention & Debates over Ratification

The Constitutional Convention & Debates over Ratification (College Board AP® US History): Exam Questions

3 mins3 questions
11 mark

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

First Amendment, U.S. Constitution, 1791

The concerns that led to the passage of the First Amendment were most directly related to which of the following historical experiences? 

  • The Alien and Sedition Acts

  • British restrictions on colonial political and religious expression 

  • The lack of religious diversity among the original thirteen colonies

  • The desire of Federalists to limit the influence of political opposition

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21 mark

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

First Amendment, U.S. Constitution, 1791

The protections included in the First Amendment were most strongly influenced by which of the following political philosophies?

  • The concept of natural rights as developed by Enlightenment thinkers

  • The tradition of religious toleration established by the Maryland Toleration Act

  • The British legal precedent set by the Licensing Act of 1662 restricting the press

  • The colonial opposition to British policies such as the Intolerable Acts 

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31 mark

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

First Amendment, U.S. Constitution, 1791

Which of the following historical developments was the first to directly challenge the principles of the First Amendment?

  • The establishment of religious tests for public office under certain state constitutions

  • The implementation of the Gag Rule

  • The passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts

  • The enforcement of the Postmaster General’s power to censor abolitionist literature 

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