The passage summarizes a speech given by John Quincy Adams in 1839, fifty years after the ratification of the U. S Constitution. 1

In explaining the American colonists′ conflict with Great Britain, Adams said, “The struggle was for chartered rights—for English liberties . . . for trial by jury—the Habeas Corpus and Magna Carta. But the English lawyers had decided that Parliament was all-powerful.” So, the colonists issued the Declaration of Independence, announcing their unification and self-rule. They explained that governments rule only with the consent of the governed. They declared that all people have certain rights that governments should not violate.

2

Adams criticized the Articles of Confederation. He explained that the Declaration of Independence represented the will of the American people while the main principle of the Articles of Confederation “was the sovereignty of organized power and the independence of the separate or disunited States.”

3

According to Adams, the Constitution reflects the ideas of the Declaration of Independence. He explained that it would allow the affairs of the nation “to be administered, not by a confederacy, or mere league of friendship between the sovereign states, but by a government, distributed into the three great departments—legislative, judicial, and executive.”

4

Adams explained the role of the federal government, stating that under the Constitution, “the powers of government should be limited to concerns interesting to the whole people, leaving the internal administration of each

state . . . to its own constitution and laws. . . .”

5

Adams concluded by stating that the Constitution had fulfilled its duty by forming a more perfect union. It had established justice and peace and promoted the general welfare. It secured the blessings of liberty for future generations. Adams hoped people would continue to celebrate the Constitution and its many benefits.
Which claim about early American government is not based on the passage?
A. The colonists believed the British were violating their unalienable rights.
B. The U. S. government under the Constitution enforced laws more effectively.
C. The Constitution clearly defined the economic freedoms and opportunities of U. S. citizens.
D. The state governments retained the power to create their own laws and constitutions.