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AP®HistoryCollege BoardUS HistoryExam QuestionsPeriod 4: 1800-1848Expanding Democracy

Expanding Democracy (College Board AP® US History): Exam Questions

5 mins5 questions
11 mark

“The Charter is farther essentially defective in having affixed a certain Representation to each town for all time to come; thus making no provision for the changes that might happen ... The town of Jamestown, for instance, sends one Representative to every 18 freemen … and the city of Providence but one Representative to every 275 freemen ... An inequality of representation like this is too unjust to be much longer tolerated ... This inequality of representation has had the effect of placing the majority of the qualified voters in this State, under the control of the minority ...”

Thomas Dorr, The Dorr War: Thomas W. Dorr Addresses the People of Rhode Island, 1834

Which of the following most directly contributed to the developments mentioned in the extract? 

  • The expansion of voting rights for women and free Black men

  • The resistance of rural elites to expanding suffrage beyond landowners

  • The abolition of property requirements for voting in all U.S. states

  • The federal government’s intervention in state election laws 

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21 mark

“The Charter is farther essentially defective in having affixed a certain Representation to each town for all time to come; thus making no provision for the changes that might happen ... The town of Jamestown, for instance, sends one Representative to every 18 freemen … and the city of Providence but one Representative to every 275 freemen ... An inequality of representation like this is too unjust to be much longer tolerated ... This inequality of representation has had the effect of placing the majority of the qualified voters in this State, under the control of the minority ...”

Thomas Dorr, The Dorr War: Thomas W. Dorr Addresses the People of Rhode Island, 1834

Which of the following was a direct result of the extract? 

  • The Supreme Court ruled that property requirements for voting were unconstitutional

  • The federal government passed a law mandating uniform suffrage across all states

  • Rebellions resulted in widespread violent uprisings in multiple New England states

  • Rhode Island adopted a new state constitution expanding white male suffrage

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31 mark

“The Charter is farther essentially defective in having affixed a certain Representation to each town for all time to come; thus making no provision for the changes that might happen ... The town of Jamestown, for instance, sends one Representative to every 18 freemen … and the city of Providence but one Representative to every 275 freemen ... An inequality of representation like this is too unjust to be much longer tolerated ... This inequality of representation has had the effect of placing the majority of the qualified voters in this State, under the control of the minority ...”

Thomas Dorr, The Dorr War: Thomas W. Dorr Addresses the People of Rhode Island, 1834

What does the extract most directly illustrate about the political climate of the early 19th century?

  • A strong popular demand for a more democratic government

  • The weakening of party loyalties due to regional conflicts

  • The growing animosity of the Northern industrial workers

  •  The end of property requirements for voting across the U.S.

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41 mark

“The Charter is farther essentially defective in having affixed a certain Representation to each town for all time to come; thus making no provision for the changes that might happen ... The town of Jamestown, for instance, sends one Representative to every 18 freemen … and the city of Providence but one Representative to every 275 freemen ... An inequality of representation like this is too unjust to be much longer tolerated ... This inequality of representation has had the effect of placing the majority of the qualified voters in this State, under the control of the minority ...”

Thomas Dorr, The Dorr War: Thomas W. Dorr Addresses the People of Rhode Island, 1834

Which of the following movements in the late 19th and early 20th century had goals most similar to those mentioned in the extract? 

  • The Progressive movement’s push for expanded direct democracy reforms

  • The women’s suffrage movement’s fight for voting rights

  • The labor movement’s demand for better working conditions and fair wages

  • The Populist Movement’s push for voting rights for farmers and workers

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51 mark

“The Charter is farther essentially defective in having affixed a certain Representation to each town for all time to come; thus making no provision for the changes that might happen ... The town of Jamestown, for instance, sends one Representative to every 18 freemen … and the city of Providence but one Representative to every 275 freemen ... An inequality of representation like this is too unjust to be much longer tolerated ... This inequality of representation has had the effect of placing the majority of the qualified voters in this State, under the control of the minority ...”

Thomas Dorr, The Dorr War: Thomas W. Dorr Addresses the People of Rhode Island, 1834

The excerpt from Thomas Dorr’s speech would be most useful to historians studying the 

  • Effects of state-level resistance to federal political influence

  • Relationship between industrialization and voting rights

  • Role of grassroots activism in expanding democracy

  • Influence of Jacksonian Democracy on state-level political reforms 

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