Civics Quiz - 09/25/25

What does a legislature do?

Make laws

What is the structure of Congress?

bicameral (two-chamber)

What two “chambers” make up Congress? 

House of Representatives and Senate 

How does the House of Representatives work?

each state receives representation in line with its population (larger population = more representatives)

How does the Senate work? 

each state receives 2 senators regardless of population

What are the two types of selection? 

Direct and Indirect 

What did each state decide concerning selection?

Who was eligible to vote (who had the “franchise”)

In the late 18th century, who did most states restrict voting to?

1) white

2) men (25 yrs)

3) property owners

In most states, only ____% of adults could vote. 

25

What kind of “status” did those who could vote have?

They were considered “elite”

How were Representatives elected?

directly by eligible voters (DIRECT)

How were senators elected? 

by the state legislature (INDIRECT) 

Know the chart that depicts how voting works for the House of Representatives and the Senate:

Which was considered more democratic: The House of Representatives or the Senate?

The House of Representatives

Which was considered to contain the elite people: House of Representatives or the Senate? 

The Senate 

What were the State legislatures considered?

A safety measure

What is a bill?

An idea for a law

Who can propose a law? 

Both the House of Representatives or the Senate

What needs to happen for a bill to “pass” and become a law?

It needs a majority vote from both chambers (50% + 1)

The president has the power to ______ the bill.

veto

What does “veto” mean? 

To reject 

What needs to happen for Congress to have the ability to pass a bill that the president has vetoed? 

They need a supermajority vote (2/3 in both chambers) —> very difficult 

Know the chart that explains how a bill becomes a law:

True or False: Each party “nominates” a candidate for presidency

True

Back in the day, candidates were chosen…. 

in private by each party’s leaders (elite) ; not with regular voters like today

How often are presidential elections held?

Every 4 years in a 2 step process

What are the two different types of votes needed in the election process?

Popular and Electoral vote

Popular Vote

eligible voters cast their ballot for their selected candidate

Electoral Vote

whichever candidate won the state’s popular vote received that state’s electoral votes

Electoral vote formula:

Electoral votes = # of Representatives + # of Senators (at least 2)

States with larger populations are…

Worth more

Know the map that shows the popular vs electoral votes: 

American population west of the Appalachians was _____ rapidly from _____ in 1790 to almost _______ in 1820.

• growing

• 100,000

• 2 million

In 1790, ___% of the population lived west of the Appalachians.

5

In 1820, ___% of the population lived west of the Appalachians. 

25

Since the population of the land west of the Appalachians was growing so rapidly, these lands had to be turned into….

Proper states

What did Article IV of the Constitution say? 

Congress had the authority to oversee the admission of new states to the Union. 

What new states had joined since the Revolution?

Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee

Adding more states in the 1800s would become…

Controversial

Step one in territories becoming states: 

Congress draws the borders of a new territory 

Step two in territories becoming states: 

Once the territory has at least 60,000 inhabitants, the people of the territory could petition Congress to become a state

If ____ agreed, the _____ __ ___ ________ would create a ______ ______ and submit it to Congress for approval.

• Congress

• people of the territory

• state constitution

True or False: Congress didn’t always agree at first.

True ; Tennessee’s first petition for statehood was rejected by Congress in 1785

What support was needed for a territory to become a state? 

A simple majority vote, plus the president’s signature 

After becoming official, each new state would receive…

It’s 2 senators and it’s appropriate number of representatives

Know state and territories map of the US from Dec 4, 1819 to Mar 16, 1820: