civics unit 1

Question 1

What is the importance of the Magna Carta

Answer 1

giving nobles certain rights, especially over land ownership

Question 2

Explain the Rule of Law

Answer 2

nobody is above the law

Question 3

Who/what is Parliament

Answer 3

legislative/law making body for England or englands government

Question 4

What was the Glorious Revolution

Answer 4

Parliament invited James II’s daughter Mary and her husband William to replace James II as the new king

Question 5

Why is the Glorious Revolution important

Answer 5

Showed Parliament was the true power of England

Question 6

For what does the English Bill of Rights require the monarch to get Parliament’s permission

Answer 6

Impose laws, raise an army, create special courts

Question 7

What four things does the English Bill of Rights guarantee its citizens

Answer 7

free elections, free speech, fair juries, no cruel and unusual punishments

Question 8

What is common law

Answer 8

System of laws based on custom and precedents

Question 9

What is a precedent

Answer 9

a ruling in earlier cases that were similar

Question 10

What is salutary neglect

Answer 10

the time period when the British government left the colonies alone for almost 200 years and American colonists began governing themselves

Question 11

Why are the House of Burgesses and the Mayflower Compact important

Answer 11

it was the beginning of self-government in colonial America

Question 12

What is a bicameral legislature

Answer 12

They had 2 houses

Question 13

Explain mercantilism

Answer 13

economic policy/belief that a country’s power depends on its wealth

Question 14

Who was the King during the American Revolution Era

Answer 14

King George 3

Question 15

England began to heavily tax the colonies after what event

Answer 15

French and Indian war

Question 16

Explain the following acts: Stamp Act, Declaratory Act, Townshend Act, Coercive/Intolerable Acts

Answer 16

Stamp- tax on virtually everything paper
Declaratory- right to tax and make decisions for the colonies in ALL cases
Townshend- tax on tea, glass and paper, and allowed for writs of assistance or general search warrants
Coercive/Intolerable- Allowed quartering of soldiers, Shut down Boston Harbor, Future trials of British officials would take place in England, Allowed soldiers to search homes

Question 17

What were the Committees of Correspondence

Answer 17

keeping colonies informed of what was happening in individual colonies

Question 18

What two events occurred in Boston prior to the Revolutionary War

Answer 18

Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party

Question 19

What group conducted the Boston Tea Party? What two men led the group

Answer 19

Sons of Liberty, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere

Question 20

What two things did the First Continental Congress members agree to not do

Answer 20

ban all trade with England and no longer obey English laws

Question 21

What is a militia

Answer 21

Armys made up of citizens

Question 22

What was the first battle of the Revolutionary War

Answer 22

Lexington and Concord

Question 23

Who was the unofficial government for the colonies during the Revolution

Answer 23

Second Continental Congress

Question 24

What was the Olive Branch Petition and what was the outcome of it

Answer 24

It asked the King to work with the colonies to find a peaceful end to their fighting and to continue being colonies of England, king George 3 never responded

Question 25

What was “Common Sense” and who wrote it

Answer 25

It is only common sense that the colonies be independent, Thomas Paine

Question 26

List three authors that influenced Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence and what their ideas were that Jefferson used

Answer 26

Thomas Paine – reasons for independence
John Locke – Natural Rights to life, liberty and property
Jean Jacques Rousseau – All men are created equal

Question 27

What countries helped the colonists and what made them decide to help

Answer 27

France and spain, after fighting for some time they thought the colonies might have a chance

Question 28

What was the final battle of the Revolution

Answer 28

Yorktown

Question 29

What treaty ended the Revolution

Answer 29

Paris

Question 30

What is a constitution

Answer 30

written plan of government

Question 31

What is the name of the first constitution of the U.S.

Answer 31

Articles of Confederation

Question 32

How was our government described in this first constitution

Answer 32

Written during the American Revolution by members of the Second Continental Congress, each state had one vote, it could make laws, it could Raise military to protect the country, it could Organize treaties

Question 33

.Why was it difficult to change or amend the Articles of Confederation

Answer 33

Because 13 of the 13 colonies had to agree

Question 34

Why is the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 important

Answer 34

Created the rules of how territories would form territorial governments and what was needed in order for them to join the U.S.

Question 35

What are the five major weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

Answer 35

No executive or judicial branches, Set up a weak national government, Each state had one vote, No common currency, Congress couldn’t regulate commerce between the states or tax the states

Question 36

What is the importance of Shay’s Rebellion

Answer 36

a strong central government was needed forcing leaders to call for a meeting to revise the Articles of Confederation to create a stronger national government