Unit 1 Flashcards
Efficacy means…
citizens’ belief that they have the power to achieve something desirable, and that the government will listen to them.
What matches this description? “A quality conferred on government by citizens who believe that its exercise of power is right and proper.”
legitimacy
What is the foundation of the legal structure of the U.S?
the federal Constitution
What rate of income tax is currently in place in the United States?
between 25% and 35% of each dollar earned
Which of these types of government sees power held in the hands of an elite few?
oligarchy
Which of these types of government places supreme power of governance in the hands of citizens?
democracy
Which of these types of governmental structure essentially controls every aspect of citizens’ lives?
totalitarian
Which of these types of governmental structure is limited, or restricted in its actions against citizens’ rights?
Constitutional
What does the Greek term demokratia translate to mean?
people power
A social contract can be defined as
an agreement between people and their leaders in which the people agree to give up some liberties in exchange for their protection of others.
What is another name for indirect democracy, where citizens elect representatives who decide policies on their behalf?
Representative democracy
How many foundational bodies are described by the United States Constitution?
three
What repercussions followed the Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773?
passage of Coercive Acts, closure of the port of Boston, and prohibition of the colonial assembly and town meetings
Which of the following is a central principle of the Declaration of Independence?
All men are equal
According to Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, what was the only option that would ensure American liberty and religious freedom?
war
The Connecticut Compromise (or Great Compromise) produced?
a bicameral Congress
What issues let to the Three-Fifths Compromise?
slavery
Article 3 of the Constitution describes the powers and structure of which of the following?
judicial branch
Marbury vs. Madison is a landmark Supreme Court decision because it
set the precedent for judicial review
How many amendments have actually been ratified by the states since 1789?
27
Which branch of government did the framers of the Constitution seek to restrict in power with the Bill of Rights?
national government
Which means of political expression are guaranteed under the Constitution?
Speech, assembly, petition, and press
Picketing, flag burning, or wearing an armband are all examples of
symbolic speech
False written statements that harm the reputation of another person are known as
libel
Spoken words that are known to be false and harmful to a person’s reputation are an example of?
slander
In 1973 the Supreme Court developed a test by which a book, film, or other form of expression would be considered legally obscene. What was among the measures of the test?
The work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, a form of sexual conduct specifically prohibited by an antiobscenity law.
What do the religion clauses. of the First Amendment achieve?
Bar the government from establishing a national religion, from favoring one group over another, and from interfering with individuals religious practices.
Most Americans believe in what between religious organizations and the government?
some degree of separation
Which four amendments are known together as criminal due process?
4th, 5th, 6th, 8th
The Fifth amendment establishes
protection against compelled self-incrimination.
In 1878, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld what type of capital punishment method in Utah?
firing squad
Which inherent characteristics are currently protected from discrimination under the Constitution?
race, color, religion, sex, and national origin
Using the ordinary scrutiny test, courts have been willing to allow what type of differential treatment?
age-based
What year were women granted the right to vote in the United States?
1920
Laws passed immediately after the Civil War by southern states that limited the rights of “freedmen: or former slaves, were known as
Black Codes
Which of the following tactics were used in the southern states during the Jim Crow era to deny African Americans their voting rights?
white primaries, literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses
Which court ruling created the separate but equal doctrine, which upheld state laws that mandated racial separation in schools and all public accommodations?
Plessy vs. Ferguson
Which aspect of racial discrimination became the primary target of the NAACP in its first decades of existence?
separate but equal laws
Who was the first African American to sit on the U.S Supreme Court?
Thurgood Marshall
What outcomes resulted from most of the 370 treaties entered into between Native American tribes and the federal government between 1778 & 1870?
the federal gov reneged on its promises, and tribes received no land
Which is the largest minority group in the U.S?
Latinos
Which country of origin does the largest percentage of Asian Americans derive from?
China
Which minority group enjoys the highest median income?
Asian Americans
What year saw the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which enhances the federal prohibition of discrimination against people with disabilities?
1990
Which U.S president was the first to define and use the term affirmative action?
John F. Kennedy
Colleges and Universities use affirmative action policies to ensure a student body that is diverse in
race, color, economic status, and place of origin
Electoral politics in the U.S. was much the same in 1990 as it had been in 1890. The advent of
which technologies transformed electoral politics?
personal computers, cell phones, and internet
In which presidential election was voter turnout by 18-24-year-olds the HIGHEST?
2008
Which age group has had the highest turnout rate in recent presidential elections?
65+
Which of the following are actions practiced by individuals who engage in civic life and
public experience?
active communication with representatives and policymakers,
advocating for one’s and others’ self-interest,
accumulation of knowledge about public issues
Why did Martin Luther’s actions spark the Reformation?
He openly criticized harmful practices of the Catholic Church
Who of the following constructed the concept of natural law, which asserts that standard than
govern human behavior are derived from human nature and can be universally applied?
Sir Isaac Newton
In the early years of the American republic, the right to vote was
available to white men only
Which ideology places the greatest emphasis on traditional values?
Conservatism
Which ideology places the greatest emphasis on equality?
Socialism
The key difference between modern liberals, conservatives, and libertarians is their view of
the role of governement
By 2015, the population of the U.S. is about
320 million
Which of the following are effects of changes in the U.S. population’s ethnic makeup?
changes in national and local political culture,
changes in people’s political attitudes,
changes in terms of who governs
The Sugar Act (1764) imposed tax increase on which of these commodities?
molasses
coffee
textile
Bicameral legislatures contain two separate parts, known as:
chambers
How could the Articles of Confederation be amended?
by approval of all 13 state delegations to Congress
Under the Articles of confederation, Congress did NOT have the power to:
levy taxes
This was the main reason why the Constitution was eventually ratified by the states:
the promise that a bill of rights would be added
The “dual sovereignty” of the Constitution refers to its:
sharing of power between the national government and state government
That national laws prevail over conflicting state laws is part of the Constitution’
supremacy clause
Which of the following is NOT a power of Congress?
appointing Supreme Court justices
The Federalist Papers were written by:
Hamilton, Jay, Madison
The freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights are:
broad principles
The Supreme Court has selectively incorporated some of the bill of Rights and applied them
to state action through the
14th amendment
Stand Your Ground laws are MOST prevalent in the:
South
Which of the following protects an individual from being held in custody without the right to
be heard in a court of law?
habeas corpus
Which legal case concerned the burning of the American flag and led to a series of legal
challenges?
Texas vs. Johnson
Which of the following is permissible in public schools?
none of these:
banning the teaching of evolution,
requiring all students to say the Pledge of Allegiance,
official graduation ceremony prayer
Which of the following religious affiliations has the greatest number of adherents in the
U.S.?
Protestant
The right to privacy
is inherent in many of the other constitutional guarantees
The Supreme Court has ruled that the right to refuse further medical treatment that could
prolong a life is:
is available to an individual competent to make such a decision
In which of the following places has the Court ruled that there is no expectation of privacy?
cars and one’s trash, parks and stores
Miranda v. Arizona legally established which of the following personal liberties?
the right to counsel and information on charges against oneself
The practice of transferring custody of suspected terrorists to other nations for imprisonment
and interrogation is known as:
rendition
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits businesses from making discriminatory hiring
decisions based on which inherent characteristics?
race, color, sex, religion, and national origin
Attacks against individuals are considered hate crimes under most state law based on all the
following biases EXCEPT
gender identity of sexual orientation
The active yet nonviolent refusal to comply with morally-objectionable laws, used by
abolitionist organization like the American Anti-Slavery Society and civil rights activists
like Martin Luther King, Jr., is known as what?
civil disobedience
This amendment was passed in 1865 and outlawed slavery
13th amendment
This amendment was passed is 1868 and provided for due process law, equal protection
under the law, and respect for the privileges and immunities of all citizens:
14th amendment
Which civil rights legislation banned discriminatory voter registration practice, and mandated
federal intervention in any county with less than 50% of those eligible registered to vote?
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Where did most of the initial battles for women’s rights take place?
state level
In what year did 18-year-olds get the right to vote?
1971
Of the following groups, which the LOWEST participation rate in the 2012 presidential
election?
Latinos
Critics of affirmative action argue that it:
discriminates against Caucasian Americans
In Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), the Supreme Court ruled that in making admissions decision
universities could consider race
as a factor, but not an overriding factor
Since September 11, 2001, the federal government’s powers of surveillance and observance
have:
grown significantly
The first ___ amendments to the Constitution explicitly limited the power of legislative,
executive, and judicial branch of the national government.
10
Why were the new state constitutions revolutionary?
they were adopted whole at a specific moment in tim
Which of the following chronological sequences of events is correct?
Boston Tea Party; First Continental Congress; Declaration of Independence
In 1770, about how many British soldiers were quartered among the 16,000 civilians living in
Boston?
4,000
The Seven Years’ War was fought between
Britain and France
Which of these countries employs an unwritten constitution
Great Britain
Libertarianism advocates which of the following principles?
rights of property owners
Which of the following phrases best describes the form of government of the U.S.?
constitutional democracy
