amendments & court cases

Question 1

1st Amendment

Answer 1

Freedom of Religion, Speech, of the Press, Assembly, and Petition

Question 2

2nd Amendment

Answer 2

Protects the people’s right to bear arms

Question 3

3rd Amendment

Answer 3

No soldier can be quartered in a home without the permission of the owner

Question 4

4th Amendment

Answer 4

Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and sets out requirements for search warrants based on probable cause

Question 5

5th Amendment

Answer 5

Protects rights of due process and the right to remain silent (“plead the 5th”), double jeopardy

Question 6

6th Amendment

Answer 6

The right to a fair and speedy trial by a jury of one’s peers; to have witnesses and to give a defense

Question 7

7th Amendment

Answer 7

The right to a trial by jury in civil cases for amounts of $20 or more

Question 8

8th Amendment

Answer 8

Prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments

Question 9

9th Amendment

Answer 9

People have other rights not specifically stated in the Constitution

Question 10

10th Amendment

Answer 10

Gives all powers not specifically given to the United States government in the Constitution, to either the states or to the people

Question 11

11th Amendment

Answer 11

Determines when and if a state can be sued; states cannot be sued by people from other states or by foreigners

Question 12

12th Amendment

Answer 12

The Electoral College must vote for the President and the Vice President separately

Question 13

13th Amendment

Answer 13

Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude

Question 14

14th Amendment

Answer 14

Makes anyone born on US soil a citizen and guarantees equal protection under the law

Question 15

15th Amendment

Answer 15

Gave all men the right to vote regardless of race or color or whether they had been slaves

Question 16

16th Amendment

Answer 16

Created an income tax and gave the Federal government the power to collect it

Question 17

17th Amendment

Answer 17

Creates the direct election by the people of Senators

Question 18

18th Amendment

Answer 18

Prohibition of the drinking, manufacture, and sale of alcohol

Question 19

19th Amendment

Answer 19

Gave women the right to vote

Question 20

20th Amendment

Answer 20

Gives details on the terms of office for Congress and President; shortens “lame duck” period (time between election and inauguration)

Question 21

21st Amendment

Answer 21

Repealed the 18th amendment (prohibition)

Question 22

22nd Amendment

Answer 22

Limits the president to two terms in office (or 10 years)

Question 23

23rd Amendment

Answer 23

Gave Washington, D.C. representatives in the electoral college so that citizens of D.C. could participate in the electoral process, even though it is not an official state

Question 24

24th Amendment

Answer 24

Prohibited the poll tax

Question 25

25th Amendment

Answer 25

Explains what happens when the President dies or is unable to continue in office (Succession)

Question 26

26th Amendment

Answer 26

Sets the national voting age at 18, cannot be set any higher

Question 27

27th Amendment

Answer 27

Any changes in Congressional salaries will take place after the next term starts

Question 28

1832
supreme court declares a Georgia law requiring white residents in Cherokee territory to obtain a license from the governor unconstitutional since it conflicts with a federal treaty. President Andrew Jackson is reported to have said: “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it!”

Answer 28

Worcester vs Georgia

Question 29

1919
World War 1 Espionage Act did not violate the 1st Amendment’s protection of free speech and free press

Answer 29

Schenk vs United States

Question 30

1963
Clarence Gideon was accused of breaking into a pool hall, the court ruled that indigent criminal defendants have a right to legal counsel at taxpayers’ expense

Answer 30

Gideon vs Wainwright

Question 31

1982
the court ruled that states may not deny public education to the children of illegal immigrants

Answer 31

Plyler vs Doe

Question 32

1819
a charter to a private corporation is a contract and that a state government cannot impair a contract by unilateral action

Answer 32

Dartmouth vs Woodward

Question 33

1905
upheld the federal government’s prosecution of the “Beef Trust” under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Answer 33

Swift vs United States

Question 34

1954
ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning the Plessy v Ferguson decision

Answer 34

Brown vs Board of Education

Question 35

1971
denied the government’s request for a court order barring publication of a secret Pentagon history of the Vietnam War. The court said there was insufficient evidence to support a prior restraint on the press

Answer 35

New York Times vs United States

Question 36

1819
upholds the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States and endorses a loose interpretation of the constitution. SCOPE OF CONSTITUTION

Answer 36

McCullough vs Maryland

Question 37

1896
separate but equal

Answer 37

Plessy vs Ferguson

Question 38

1974
orders President Richard Nixon to turn over to a special prosecutor subpoenaed tapes relating to the Watergate break-in

Answer 38

United States vs Nixon

Question 39

1957
reversed the conviction of a labor union official who refused to provide the names of individuals who had been members of the Communist party, holding that the question was not relevant to the committee’s work

Answer 39

Watkins vs United States

Question 40

1803
declares an act of Congress unconstitutional, declaring “a law repugnant to the Constitution is void”

Answer 40

Marbury vs Madison

Question 41

1879
rules that the 14th Amendment prohibits states from excluding people from juries on account of race

Answer 41

Strauder vs West Virginia

Question 42

1973
invalidated a Texas law prohibiting abortion except to save a mother’s life. Justice Harry Blackmun wrote that the 14th Amendment “protects against state action the right to privacy, including a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy”

Answer 42

Roe vs Wade

Question 43

1911
ordered the breakup of the oil giant as a monopoly in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust of 1890. The courts adopts the “rule of reason” that a business combination was illegal only when it was engaged in unreasonable restraint of trade.

Answer 43

Standard Oil of NJ vs United States

Question 44

1831
Supreme Court refuses to issue an injunction against the state of Georgia after if declares the laws of the Cherokee nation null and void. The court rules that it lacks jurisdiction because the Cherokee comprise a “domestic dependent” nation rather than a foreign state

Answer 44

Cherokee Nation vs Georgia

Question 45

1966
Supreme Court ruled that truck driver Ernesto Miranda, who confessed to abducting and raping an 18 y/o girl, should have been informed by the police of his right to remain silent and to consult with an attorney

Answer 45

Miranda vs Arizona

Question 46

1962
court forbids non-denominational prayer in public schools, ruling that the Constitution prohibits government from “endorsing religion in general”

Answer 46

Engel vs Vitale

Question 47

1824
invalidated a monopoly granted by New York State for the operation of steamboats on state waters on the grounds that it conflicts with congressional power under the Constitution’s commerce clause. The court established the principle that when federal and state laws conflict, federal law is supreme

Answer 47

Gibbons vs Ogden

Question 48

1857
rules that African Americans, slave or free, were not citizens of the United States and were not entitled to sue in federal court.

Answer 48

Dred Scott vs Sandford

Question 49

1943
court upheld the relocation and internment of Japanese Americans. In Ex parte Endo, the court held that the government could not detain a person whose loyalty had established.

Answer 49

Korematsu vs United States