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

Choose your answer

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 

Choose your answer

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 

Choose your answer