Civics Exam Study Guide – Key Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering major people, events, amendments, court cases, and legislation for the upcoming civics exam.

Original Thirteen Colonies

Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island.

Inalienable Rights (Declaration of Independence)

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Agreement that formally ended the American Revolutionary War.

Year the Constitution Was Adopted

1787.

Supreme Law of the Land

The United States Constitution.

Republic

Form of government in which citizens elect representatives to make laws.

Federalism

System that divides power between national and state governments.

Federalist Papers

Essays written to promote ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of Constitution ratification who feared a strong central government and wanted a Bill of Rights.

Northwest Ordinance (1787)

Law, largely drafted by Nathan Dane, that set rules for governing the Northwest Territory, banned slavery there, and set a path to statehood.

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments to the Constitution guaranteeing individual liberties.

Total U.S. Constitutional Amendments

27.

First Amendment

Protects freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.

Tenth Amendment

Reserves powers not given to the federal government to the states or the people.

Concurrent Powers

Powers shared by federal and state governments, e.g., taxing.

Twenty-Sixth Amendment

Lowered the voting age in federal elections to 18.

Bicameral Legislature

A law-making body with two chambers, the Senate and House of Representatives.

Number of U.S. Senators

100 (two per state).

Number in the U.S. House

435 voting members.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Agreement to count enslaved persons as 3/5 of a person for representation and taxation.

U.S. Senator Term Length

Six years.

U.S. Representative Term Length

Two years.

Executive Branch Leader

The President of the United States.

Cabinet

Heads of executive departments who advise the President; appointments require Senate confirmation.

Presidential Term Length

Four years.

Twenty-Second Amendment

Limits a President to two elected terms.

Woodrow Wilson

President who unsuccessfully advocated U.S. entry into the League of Nations after WWI.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

President associated with the New Deal and U.S. leadership during World War II.

Ronald Reagan

President who promoted “trickle-down” or supply-side economics in the 1980s.

Number of Supreme Court Justices

Nine.

Appointer of Federal Judges

The President of the United States.

Body That Confirms Federal Judges

The United States Senate.

Federal Court System Tiers

Three – District Courts, Courts of Appeals, Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Opinion

Written explanation of the majority’s legal reasoning.

Thurgood Marshall

First African American Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

Case that upheld Japanese-American internment during World War II.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Established the “separate but equal” doctrine for segregation.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Struck down racial segregation in public schools as inherently unequal.

Loving v. Virginia (1967)

Invalidated state bans on interracial marriage.

Era of Good Feelings

Period (c. 1815-1825) of national political unity and decline of partisan conflict.

Mexican-American War Outcomes

U.S. gained vast southwestern territory; reignited slavery expansion debate.

Reconstruction Amendments

13th abolished slavery, 14th granted citizenship & equal protection, 15th protected Black male suffrage.

Dawes Act (1887)

Divided tribal lands into individual allotments to encourage assimilation of Native Americans.

Progressive Era Amendments

16th (income tax), 17th (direct election of senators), 18th (Prohibition), 19th (women’s suffrage).

Susan B. Anthony

Prominent leader in the American women’s suffrage movement.

Cold War Adversary

The Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.).

Current U.S. President

Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (as of 2024).

Missouri’s U.S. Senators

Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt.

Governor of Missouri

Mike Parson.

Amendment Protecting Free Speech

First Amendment.

Amendment Protecting Freedom of Religion

First Amendment.

Amendment Protecting Peaceable Assembly

First Amendment.

Amendment Protecting Freedom of the Press

First Amendment.

Amendment Protecting Right to Petition

First Amendment.

Double Jeopardy Protection

Fifth Amendment.

Self-Incrimination Protection

Fifth Amendment.

Takings Clause (Eminent Domain)

Fifth Amendment – requires just compensation.

Speedy Trial Right

Sixth Amendment.

Trial by Jury in Criminal Cases

Sixth Amendment.

Right to Confront Witnesses

Sixth Amendment.

Right to Counsel

Sixth Amendment.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment Ban

Eighth Amendment.

Excessive Bail Ban

Eighth Amendment.

Excessive Fines Ban

Eighth Amendment.

Second Amendment

Protects the right to keep and bear arms.

Third Amendment

Prohibits quartering of soldiers in homes during peacetime without consent.

Fourth Amendment

Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures; requires warrants.

Sixteenth Amendment

Gave Congress power to levy a federal income tax.

Seventeenth Amendment

Established direct popular election of U.S. Senators.

Eighteenth Amendment

Instituted Prohibition of alcoholic beverages.

Nineteenth Amendment

Granted women the right to vote.

Twenty-Fourth Amendment

Abolished the poll tax in federal elections.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Established judicial review for the Supreme Court.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Confirmed federal supremacy; upheld implied powers (Bank of U.S.).

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Strengthened federal power over interstate commerce.

Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Ruled enslaved people were property, not citizens; heightened sectional tensions.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Created “clear and present danger” test limiting speech during wartime.

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Flag burning is protected symbolic speech under the First Amendment.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Recognized a constitutional right to privacy encompassing abortion choice.

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

Held that corporate political spending is protected free speech.

Judiciary Act of 1789

Created the basic federal court structure and jurisdiction.

Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)

Criminalized false, malicious criticism of the federal government.

Morrill Land-Grant Acts (1862 & 1890)

Provided states with land to fund agricultural and mechanical colleges.

Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)

Established merit-based hiring for federal jobs.

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

First federal law prohibiting monopolistic business practices.

Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

First federal regulation of food and drug safety and labeling.

War Powers Resolution (1973)

Limits President’s ability to commit U.S. forces without congressional approval.

USA PATRIOT Act (2001)

Expanded federal surveillance and investigative powers to combat terrorism.