Civics 100 Flashcards
- What is the supreme law of the land?
the Constitution
- The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
We the People
- What is an amendment?
★ a change (to the Constitution)
★ an addition (to the Constitution)
- What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
the Bill of Rights
- What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?
★ speech
★ religion
★ assembly
★ press
★ petition the government
- How many amendments does the Constitution have?
twenty-seven (27)
- What did the Declaration of Independence do?
★ announced our independence (from Great Britain)
★ declared our independence (from Great Britain)
★ said that the United States is free
(from Great Britain)
- What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?
★ life
★ liberty
★ pursuit of happiness
- What is freedom of religion?
You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion.
- What is the economic system in the United States?
★ capitalist economy
★ market economy
- What is the “rule of law”?
★ Everyone must follow the law.
★ Leaders must obey the law.
★ Government must obey the law.
★ No one is above the law.
- Name one branch or part of the government.
★ Congress
★ legislative
★ President
★ executive
★ the courts
★ judicial
- What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
★ checks and balances
★ separation of powers
- Who is in charge of the executive branch?
the President
- Who makes federal laws?
★ Congress
★ Senate and House
(of Representatives)
★ (U.S. or national) legislature
- What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
the Senate
and House (of Representatives)
- How many U.S. Senators are there?
one hundred (100)
- We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
six (6)
- Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators now?
Gary Peters
- The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
four hundred thirty-five (435)
- We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?
two (2)
- Name your
U.S. Representative.
Dan Kildee
- Who does a U.S. Senator represent?
all people of the state
- Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?
★ (because of) the state’s population
★ (because) they have more people
★ (because) some states have more people
- We elect a President for how many years?
four (4)
- In what month do we vote for President?
November
- What is the name of the President of the United States now?
Joe Biden
- What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?
Kamala Harris
- If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
the Vice President
- If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
the Speaker of the House
- Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?
the President
- Who signs bills to become laws?
the President
- Who vetoes bills?
the President
- What does the President’s Cabinet do?
advises the President
- What are two Cabinet-level positions?
★ Secretary of Agriculture
★ Secretary of Commerce
★ Secretary of Defense
★ Secretary of Education
★ Secretary of Energy
★ Secretary of Health and Human Services
★ Secretary of Homeland Security
★ Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
★ Secretary of the Interior
★ Secretary of Labor
★ Secretary of State
★ Secretary of Transportation
★ Secretary of the Treasury
★ Secretary of Veterans Affairs
★ Attorney General ★ Vice President
- What does the judicial branch do?
★ reviews laws
★ explains laws
★ resolves disputes (disagreements)
★ decides if a law goes against the Constitution
- What is the highest court in the United States?
the Supreme Court
- How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
9
- Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
John Roberts
- Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
★ to print money
★ to declare war
★ to create an army
★ to make treaties
- Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?
★ provide schooling and education
★ provide protection (police)
★ provide safety (fire departments)
★ give a driver’s license
★ approve zoning and land use
- Who is the Governor of your state now?
Gretchen Whitmer
- What is the capital of your state?
Lansing
- What are the two major political parties in the United States?
Democratic and Republican
- What is the political party of the President now?
Democratic
- What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?
Kevin McCarthy
- There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
★ Citizens eighteen (18) and older (can vote).
★ You don’t have to pay (a poll tax) to vote.
★ Any citizen can vote. (Women and men can vote.)
★ A male citizen of any race (can vote).
- What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?
★ serve on a jury
★ vote in a federal election
- Name one right only for United States citizens.
★ vote in a federal election
★ run for federal office
- What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?
★ freedom of expression
★ freedom of speech
★ freedom of assembly
★ freedom to petition the government
★ freedom of religion
★ the right to bear arms
- What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?
★ the United States
★ the flag
- What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
★ give up loyalty to other countries
★ defend the Constitution and laws of the United States
★ obey the laws of the United States
★ serve in the U.S. military (if needed)
★ serve (do important work for) the nation (if needed)
★ be loyal to the United States
- How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?
eighteen (18) and older
- What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?
★ vote
★ join a political party
★ help with a campaign
★ join a civic group
★ join a community group
★ give an elected official your opinion on an issue
★ call Senators and Representatives
★ publicly support or oppose an issue or policy
★ run for office
★ write to a newspaper
- When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?
April 15
- When must all men register for the Selective Service?
★ at age eighteen (18)
★ between eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26)
- What is one reason colonists came to America?
★ freedom
★ political liberty
★ religious freedom
★ economic opportunity
★ practice their religion
★ escape persecution
- Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
★ American Indians
★ Native Americans
- What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
★ Africans
★ people from Africa
- Why did the colonists fight the British?
★ because of high
taxes (taxation without representation)
★ because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)
★ because they didn’t have self-government
- Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
(Thomas) Jefferson
- When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
July 4, 1776
- There were 13 original states. Name three.
★ New Hampshire
★ Massachusetts
★ Rhode Island
★ Connecticut
★ New York
★ New Jersey
★ Pennsylvania
★ Delaware
★ Maryland
★ Virginia
★ North Carolina
★ South Carolina
★ Georgia
- What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
★ The Constitution was written.
★ The Founding Fathers wrote the
Constitution.
- When was the Constitution written?
1787
- The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
★ (James) Madison
★ (Alexander)
Hamilton
★ (John) Jay
★ Publius
- What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
★ U.S. diplomat
★ oldest member of the
Constitutional Convention
★ first Postmaster General of the United States
★ writer of “Poor Richard’s Almanac”
★ started the first free libraries
- Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
(George) Washington
- Who was the first President?
(George) Washington
- What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
★ the Louisiana Territory
★ Louisiana
- Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
★ War of 1812
★ Mexican-American
War
★ Civil War
★ Spanish-American War
- Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
★ the Civil War
★ the War between the States
- Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
★ slavery
★ economic reasons
★ states’ rights
- What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?
★ freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
★ saved (or preserved) the Union
★ led the United States during the
Civil War
- What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
★ freed the slaves
★ freed slaves in the
Confederacy
★ freed slaves in the Confederate states
★ freed slaves in most Southern states
- What did Susan B. Anthony do?
★ fought for women’s rights
★ fought for civil rights
- Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
★ World War I
★ World War II
★ Korean War
★ Vietnam War
★ (Persian) Gulf War
- Who was President during World War I?
(Woodrow) Wilson
- Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
(Franklin) Roosevelt
- Who did the United States fight in World War II?
Japan, Germany, and Italy
- Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?
World War II
- During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
Communism
- What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
civil rights (movement)
- What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?
★ fought for civil rights
★ worked for equality for all Americans
- What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?
Terrorists attacked the United States.
- Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
★ Cherokee ★ Navajo
★ Sioux ★ Chippewa ★ Choctaw ★ Pueblo ★ Apache ★ Iroquois ★ Creek
★ Blackfeet ★ Seminole ★ Cheyenne
★ Arawak ★ Shawnee ★ Mohegan ★ Huron ★ Oneida ★ Lakota
★ Crow ★ Teton ★ Hopi ★ Inuit
- Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.
★ Missouri (River)
★ Mississippi (River)
- What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?
Pacific (Ocean)
- What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?
Atlantic (Ocean)
- Name one U.S. territory.
★ Puerto Rico
★ U.S. Virgin Islands
★ American Samoa
★ Northern Mariana Islands
★ Guam
- Name one state that borders Canada.
★ Maine
★ New Hampshire ★ Vermont
★ New York
★ Pennsylvania
★ Ohio
★ Michigan
★ Minnesota
★ North Dakota ★ Montana
★ Idaho
★ Washington ★ Alaska
- Name one state that borders Mexico.
★ California ★ New Mexico ★ Arizona ★ Texas
- What is the capital of the United States?
Washington, D.C.
- Where is the Statue of Liberty?
★ New York (Harbor)
★ Liberty Island
- Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
★ because there were 13 original colonies
★ because the stripes represent the original colonies
- Why does the flag have 50 stars?
★ because there is one star for each state
★ because each star represents a state
★ because there are 50 states
- What is the name of the national anthem?
The Star- Spangled Banner
- When do we celebrate Independence Day?
July 4
- Name two national U.S. holidays.
★ New Year’s Day
★ Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
★ Presidents’ Day
★ Memorial Day
★ Juneteenth
★ Independence Day
★ Labor Day
★ Columbus Day
★ Veterans Day
★ Thanksgiving
★ Christmas
- What does the Constitution do?
★ sets up the government
★ defines the government
★ protects basic rights of Americans