Questions 1-50 Flashcards
1
Q
What is the Supreme Law of the land
A
The Constitution
2
Q
What does the constitution do?
A
Sets up the government
Defines the government
Protects the basic rights of Americans
3
Q
The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
A
We the People
4
Q
What is an amendment?
A
★★a change (to the
Constitution)
★★an addition (to
the Constitution)
5
Q
What do we call the first
ten amendments to the
Constitution?
A
the Bill of Rights
6
Q
What is one right or
freedom from the First Amendment?*
A
★★speech ★★ religion ★★assembly ★★press ★★petition the government
7
Q
What is the economic system in the United States?*
A
★★capitalist economy
★★market economy
8
Q
What is the “rule of law”?
A
★★ Everyone must follow the law. ★★ Leaders must obey the law. ★★ Government must obey the law. ★★ No one is above the law.
9
Q
Name one branch or part of
the government.*
A
★★Congress ★★ legislative ★★President ★★executive ★★ the courts ★★ judicial
10
Q
What stops one branch of
government from becoming
too powerful?
A
★★checks and balances
★★separation of powers
11
Q
How many amendments
does the Constitution have?
A
27
12
Q
What did the Declaration of Independence do?
A
★★ announced our independence (from Great Britain)
★★ declared our independence (from Great Britain)
★★ said that the United
States is free (from Great Britain)
13
Q
What are two rights in the
Declaration of Independence?
A
★★ life
★★ liberty
★★pursuit of happiness
14
Q
What is freedom of religion?
A
You can practice any religion, or not practice a
religion.
15
Q
Who is in charge of the
executive branch?
A
the President
16
Q
Who makes federal laws?
A
★★Congress
★★Senate and House
(of Representatives)
★★ (U.S. or national) legislature
17
Q
What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?*
A
the Senate and House (of
Representatives)
18
Q
How many U.S. Senators
are there?
A
one hundred (100)
19
Q
We elect a U.S. Senator for
how many years?
A
six (6)
20
Q
Who is one of your state’s
U.S. Senators now?*
A
Diane Finestein
21
Q
The House of representatives
has how many voting members?
A
four hundred
thirty-five (435)
22
Q
We elect a U.S.
Representative for how
many years?
A
two (2)
23
Q
Name your U.S. Representative
A
Mike Garcia
24
Q
Who does a U.S. Senator
represent?
A
all people of the state
25
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
```
26
We elect a President for how many years?
four (4)
27
In what month do we vote for President?*
November
28
What is the name of the
President of the
United States now?*
Joe Biden
29
What is the name of the
| Vice President of the United States now?
Kamella Harris
30
If the President can no
longer serve, who becomes
President?
the Vice President
31
If both the President and
the Vice President can no
longer serve, who becomes
President?
Speaker of the House
32
Who is the Commander in
| Chief of the military?
The President
33
Who signs bills to become
| laws?
The President
34
Who vetoes bills?
The President
35
What does the President’s
| Cabinet do?
Advises the President
36
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
```
37
What does the judicial
| branch do?
```
★★ reviews laws
★★ explains laws
★★ resolves disputes
(disagreements)
★★ decides if a law goes
against the Constitution
```
38
What is the highest court in
| the United States?
the Supreme Court
39
How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
9
40
Who is the Chief Justice of
| the United States now?
John Roberts Jr
41
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
42
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
```
43
Who is the Governor of your state now?
Governor Gavin Newsome
44
What is the capital of your
| state?*
Sacramento
45
What are the two major
political parties in the
United States?*
Democratic and Republican
46
What is the political party of
| the President now?
Democrat
47
What is the name of the
Speaker of the House of
Representatives now?
Nancy Pelosi
48
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).
```
49
What is one responsibility
| that is only for United States citizens?*
★★serve on a jury
| ★★vote in a federal election
50
Name one right only for
| United States citizens.
★★vote in a federal election
| ★★ run for federal office
51
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
```
52
What do we show loyalty to
when we say the Pledge of
Allegiance?
★★ the United States
| ★★ the flag
53
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 State
54
How old do citizens have to
| be to vote for President?*
18 and older
55
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
```
56
When is the last day you
can send in federal income
tax forms?*
April 15th
57
When must all men register
| for the Selective Service?
★★at age eighteen (18)
★★between eighteen
(18) and twenty-six (26)
58
What is one reason colonists came to America?
```
★★ freedom
★★ political liberty
★★ religious freedom
★★ economic opportunity
★★ practice their religion
★★ escape persecution
```
59
Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
★★American Indians
| ★★Native Americans
60
What group of people was
taken to America and sold
as slaves?
★★Africans
| ★★people from Africa
61
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson
62
When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
July 4th, 1776
63
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
```
64
What happened at the
| Constitutional Convention?
```
★★The Constitution
was written
★★The Founding
Fathers wrote the
Constitution.
```
65
When was the Constitution
| written?
1787
66
The Federalist Papers
supported the passage of
the U.S. Constitution.
Name one of the writers.
★★ (James) Madison
★★ (Alexander) Hamilton
★★ (John) Jay
★★Publius
67
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
```
68
Who is the “Father of Our
| Country”?
George Washington
69
Who was the first
| President?*
George Washington
70
What territory did the United States buy from France in
| 1803?
Louisiana Territory
| Louisiana
71
Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
```
★★War of 1812
★★Mexican-American War
★★Civil War
★★Spanish-American
War
```
72
Name the U.S. war between
| the North and the South.
★★ the Civil War
★★ the War between
the States
73
Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
★★slavery
★★economic reasons
★★states’ rights
74
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
```
75
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
```
76
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
```
77
What did Susan B. Anthony
| do?
★★ fought for women’s rights
| ★★ fought for civil rights
78
Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.*
```
★★World War I
★★World War II
★★Korean War
★★Vietnam War
★★ (Persian) Gulf War
```
79
Who was President during
| World War I?
Woodrow Wilson
80
Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
(Franklin)
| Roosevelt
81
Who did the United States
| fight in World War II?
Japan, Germany, and Italy
82
Before he was President,
Eisenhower was a general.
What war was he in?
World War II
83
During the Cold War, what
| was the main concern of the United States?
Communism
84
What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
civil rights
| movement
85
What did Martin Luther King,
| Jr. do?*
★★ fought for civil
rights
★★worked for equality for all
Americans
86
What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in
| the United States?
Terrorists attacked the
| United States.
87
Name one American Indian
| tribe in the United States.
```
★★ Cherokee
★★ Navajo
★★ Sioux
★★ Chippewa
★★ Choctaw
★★ Pueblo
★★ Arawak
★★ Shawnee
★★Mohegan
★★ Huron
★★ Oneida
★★ Lakota
★★ Apache
★★ Iroquois
★★ Creek
★★ Blackfeet
★★ Seminole
★★ Cheyenne
★★ Crow
★★ Teton
★★ Hopi
★★ Inuit
```
88
Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States
★★Missouri (River)
| ★★Mississippi (River)
89
What ocean is on the West
| Coast of the United States?
Pacific
90
What ocean is on the East
| Coast of the United States?
Atlantic (Ocean)
91
Name one U.S. territory.
```
★★Puerto Rico
★★U.S. Virgin Islands
★★American Samoa
★★Northern Mariana
Islands
★★Guam
```
92
Name one state that borders Canada.
```
★★ Maine
★★ New Hampshire
★★ Vermont
★★ New York
★★ Pennsylvania
★★ Ohio
★★ Michigan
★★ Minnesota
★★ North Dakota
★★ Montana
★★ Idaho
★★ Washington
★★ Alaska
```
93
Name one state that borders Mexico.
★★California
★★Arizona
★★New Mexico
★★Texas
94
What is the capital of the
| United States?*
Washington D.C.
95
Where is the Statue of
| Liberty?*
```
★★New York (Harbor)
★★Liberty Island
[Also acceptable are New
Jersey, near New York City,
and on the Hudson (River).]
```
96
Why does the flag have
| 13 stripes?
★★because there were 13 original colonies
★★because the stripes
represent the
original colonies
97
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
```
98
What is the name of the
| national anthem?
The Star-Spangled Banner
99
When do we celebrate
| Independence Day?*
July 4th
100
Name two national U.S.
| holidays.
```
★★ New Year’s Day
★★Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
★★ Presidents’ Day
★★Memorial Day
★★ Independence Day
★★ Labor Day
★★ Columbus Day
★★ Veterans Day
★★ Thanksgiving
★★ Christmas
```
