Civics Flashcards
Civic Life
the public life of citizens concerned with affairs of the community and nation
Civil Society
refers to the complex network of freely formed voluntary political, social, and economic associations (ex. labor unions, youth organizations, and clubs). It prevents the abuse or excessive concentration of power by government.
Government
the formal institutions and processes of a politically organized society with authority to make, enforce, and interpret laws and other binding rules about matters of common interest and concern. The term “government” also refers to the group of people who exercise decision-making power or enforce laws and regulations.
Politics
is a process by which people reach collective decisions that are generally regarded as binding and enforced as common policy
Marbury vs. Madison 1803
Judicial Review
McCulloch v. Maryland 1819
Federal Government had the right and power to set up a Federal bank and that states did not have the power to tax the Federal Government.
How many articles does the Constitution have? What are they?
Seven.
1. Legislative Branch
2. Executive Branch
3. Judicial Branch
4. Relations Among States
5. Amending the Constitution
6. Supremacy of the Constitution
7. Ratification
Gibbons v. Ogden 1824
federal government has exclusive power over interstate commerce.
Popular Sovereignty
A government based on the consent of the people
Republicanism
A theory of government that emphasizes the participation of citizens for the common good of the community. All citizens are equally subjected to the laws.
Dred Scott v. Standford 1857
Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. The Court also ruled that Congress lacked power to ban slavery in the U.S. territories.
Rule of Law
Rulers aren’t above the law but are subject to it the same as everyone else.
Munn v Illinois 1877
States may regulate the use of private property when such regulation becomes necessary for the public good.
Plessy v. Ferguson 1896
the constitutionality of “separate, but equal facilities” based on race.
English Bill of Rights
Guaranteed rights: The king must get taxes approved. The king cannot stop free speech in parliament. The king cannot maintain an army in time of peace. The king couldn’t require excessive bail or cruel punishment. The king had to support and obey laws.
Lochner v. New York 1905
New York law setting maximum working hours for bakers was unconstitutional.
Schenck v. United States 1919
speech creating a “clear and present danger” is not protected under the First Amendment. This decision shows how the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment sometimes sacrifices individual freedoms in order to preserve social order.
Near v. Minnesota 1931
Court found that a Minnesota law allowing public officials to censor printed news periodicals was unconstitutional
Gettysburg Address
Lincoln defined the Civil War as a way of securing the Declaration of Independence’s promise of equality of all people. The speech transformed the meaning of the Civil War, which had previously
been about preserving the Union, and compelled a rethinking of the meaning of America’s Founding documents.
Korematsu v. United States 1944
allowed the federal government to detain a person based on their race during a wartime situation. (Japanese Americans)
Magna Carta
Stated that governments are agreements between a ruler and people. Two important points: 1. Nobles would obey the king if he protected their rights. 2. Rule of Law/Limited Power
Brown v. Board of Education 1954
No segregation in schools
Mapp v. Ohio 1961
evidence obtained illegally may not be used against someone in a court of law by the Fourth Amendment.
Mayflower Compact
Pilgrims. Two important things: 1. Self-government - ordinary people make laws and govern. 2. Majority rule.
Engel v. Vitale 1962
unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools,
Virginia Bill of Rights
Drafted in 1776 to proclaim the inherent rights of men, including the right to reform or abolish “inadequate” government
Baker v. Carr 1962
established the right of federal courts to review redistricting issues, which had previously been termed “political questions” outside the courts’ jurisdiction.
Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Written after his arrest for participating in a civil rights march. It was written to specifically address eight clergymen who had opposed his protests against racial segregation and his views on civil rights.
Gideon v. Wainwright 1963
Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee a right of legal counsel to anyone accused of a crime.
Miranda v. Arizona 1966
meant to protect an arrested suspect’s Constitutional right against compelled self-incrimination.
Aristotle’s Politics and Ethics
The main idea of Aristotle’s politics is that government exists to promote and foster virtue in a way that leads to the good life of its citizens. Aristotle’s ethics, or study of character, is built around the premise that people should achieve an excellent character.
Tinker v. Des Moines 1968
The court found that the First Amendment applied to public schools, and school officials could not censor student speech unless it disrupted the educational process
New York Times v. United States 1971
defended the First Amendment right of free press against prior restraint by the government
Texas v. Johnson 1989
burning the flag was protected expression under the First Amendment.
Plato’s Republic
All social classes get to perform what they are best fit to do and are unified into a single community by mutual interests. In this sense, although each are different, they are all friends.
United States v. Lopez 1995
Supreme Court that struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 due to its being outside of Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce.
Autocracy
a system of government by one person with absolute power.
Confederacy
political union. a union by compact or treaty between states, provinces, or territories, that creates a central government with limited powers
Constitutional Government
a government by or operating under an authoritative document (constitution) that sets forth the system of fundamental laws and principles that determines the nature, functions, and limits of that government.
Limited Government
limited government is the concept of a government limited in power.
Oligarchy
a government in which control is exercised by a small group of individuals whose authority generally is based on wealth or power.
Parliamentary System
a government in which members of an executive branch are nominated to their positions by a legislature or parliament
Republic
a representative democracy in which the people’s elected deputies (representatives), not the people themselves, vote on legislation.
Socialism
a government in which the means of planning, producing, and distributing goods is controlled by a central government that theoretically seeks a more just and equitable distribution of property and labor
Totalitarianism
a government that seeks to subordinate the individual to the state by controlling not only all political and economic matters, but also the attitudes, values, and beliefs of its population.
Boston Massacre
British sentries guarding the Boston Customs House shot into a crowd of civilians, killing three men and injuring eight, two of them mortally.
Unitary System
a governing system in which a single central government has total power over all of its other political subdivisions
Unlimited Government
Control is placed entirely in the leader’s hands and his/her appointees. No limit is placed on the leader’s power.
Gadsen Purchase
provided the land necessary for a southern transcontinental railroad and attempted to resolve conflicts that lingered after the Mexican-American War.
Mexican American War
also known in the United States as the Mexican War, was an invasion of Mexico by the United States Army from 1846 to 1848.
Opening of the Panama Canal
Considered one of the wonders of the modern world, the Panama Canal linked the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and providing a new route for international trade and military transport.
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that began a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages dropped, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment rose, and pessimism abounded. The panic had both domestic and foreign origins.
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. It spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching and sparked a number of reform movements.
Spanish American War
The Spanish–American War began in the aftermath of the internal explosion of USS Maine in Havana Harbor in Cuba, leading to United States intervention in the Cuban War of Independence.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
his treaty, signed on February 2, 1848, ended the war between the United States and Mexico. By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including the present-day states California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming.
Treaty of Paris 1783
The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States on September 3, 1783, officially ended the American Revolutionary
Vietnam War
While the war was officially fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam, the north was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist states, …
World War I
World War I or the First World War was a global conflict fought between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Fighting took place throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia.
Allies:France, U.K, Russia, U.S, Italy, Japan
Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire
World War II
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world’s countries, including all the great powers, fought as part of two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis.
Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan
Allies: U.S, Britain, Soviet Union
Citizen Test Flash Cards
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/flash-cards/M-623_red_slides.pdf
Liberty Bell
Symbol of freedom from London. It rang to mark the signing of the Constitution, call the Assembly together, and to summon people together for special announcements and events.
Juneteenth National Independence Day
an annual commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States after the Civil War
Qualifications, Number and Terms, Leader:
House of Reps
Qualifications: 25 years old. A citizen for 7 years. State resident. Live in the district you’re representing. Number and Terms: 435 representatives. 2 year terms. Unlimited Terms. Leader: Speaker of the House. Chosen by the House of Reps.
Qualifications, Number and Terms, Leader:
Senate
Qualifications: 30 years old. A citizen for nine years. State Resident. Number and Terms: 100 Senators. 6 year terms. Unlimited terms. ⅓ of them are elected every two years. Leader: President of the Senate. Vice President
Qualifications, Number and Terms, Leader:
Executive Branch
Qualifications: 35 years old. Natural born citizen. 14 years U.S resident. Number and Terms: One president. 4 year terms (created through an amendment). 2 term limit/10 year max. Leader: President Joe Biden.
Qualifications, Number and Terms, Leader:
Supreme Court Justices
Qualifications: Must be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate (majority rule). Number and Terms: 9 total. 1 Chief Justice and 8 Justices. Life term (under good behavior). Leader: Chief Justice. Chosen amongst themselves.
Job of President
Veto Bills (Rejection of a bill). Make Appointments (choose the people) - court justices, cabinet members, ect. Make Treaties. Pardon (federal crimes). Issue Executive Orders. Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
Job of VP
Leader and tie breaker in the Senate, acts as a companion to the president, and takes over as president if needed.
Powers of the Houses
Congress can impose taxes, declare war, organize the court system, and admit new states. The House can start tax bills. The Senate can approve federal appointments and approve treaties.
Judicial Powers
Judicial Review is the power to declare laws unconstitutional. Originally, the Constitution only allowed review of acts passed by states, and not the federal government. Now, it includes acts passed by the federal government as well. Supports the Supremacy Clause.
Clean Air Act
the law that defines EPA’s responsibilities for protecting and improving the nation’s air quality and the stratospheric ozone layer
Civil Rights Act of 1964
prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
Freedom of Information Act
requires the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased or uncirculated information and documents controlled by the U.S. government, state, or other public authority upon request
No Child Left Behind
required schools to demonstrate their success in terms of the academic achievement of every student.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
prohibits racial discrimination in voting