Purdue Civic Literacy Test

Private Life

Relates to a citizen's right to privacy and the pursuit of private and personal interests

Civic Life

The public life of the citizen concerned with the affairs of the community and nation

-example: Campaigning for a school board member

Limited Government

The government has only the powers granted to it in the Constitution, and it can only conduct actions permitted by the Constitution. In other words, there are established and respected restraints on government power

Rule of Law

An essential component of limited government.

-The central notion of a rule of law is that society is governed according to widely known and accepted rules followed not only by the governed but also by those in authority

-"no one is above the law"

Checks and Balances

The Constitutionally granted power for one branch of government to block action by an equal branch of government. The Constitution specifies instances in which one of the three branches can stop action by another. Historical precedents have established others

Separation of Powers

The Constitution keeps the three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) separate. The powers and responsibilities of each is described in a separate Article. Separation makes each Branch the equal of the others

14th Amendment (1868)

Grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the US"; it forbids any state to deny any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of its laws."

-Most important law ever passed besides original Constitution and Bill of Rights.

-It has been the vehicle for the expansion of civil rights, women's rights, gay rights among other movements. It also allowed for the "incorporation doctrine" which means the application of the national Bill of Rights to the states.

15th Amendment (1870)

Granted African American men the right to vote by declaring that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

-Although ratified on February 3, 1870, the promise of the 15th Amendment would not be fully realized for almost a century.

-Through the use of poll taxes, literacy tests and other means, Southern states were able to effectively disenfranchise African Americans. It would take the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 before the majority of African Americans in the South were registered to vote

19th Amendment (1920)

-Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote.

-Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle; victory took decades of agitation and protest.

-Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change of the Constitution

26th Amendment

-Passed by Congress March 23, 1971, and ratified July 1, 1971, the 26th amendment granted the right to vote to American citizens aged eighteen or older.

Branches of the Federal Government

Legislative, Executive, Judicial

Legislative Branch

the branch of government that makes the laws

Executive Branch

the branch of government that carries out laws

Judicial Branch

the branch of government that interprets laws

Examples of Checks and Balances

1) legislature drafts bills

- Executive can veto

- judicial can decide if law is constitutional

2) executive appoint supreme court judges and legislature needs to approve

3) if executive branch vetoes

- legislature can override 2/3;

4) executive can pick cabinet but legislature needs to approve them

Which is the most direct way the wishes of citizens are represented in the United States government?

By the actions of their elected officials

-the citizens vote for who they want to represent them (their state)

Unlimited Government

government structure in which there are no effective limits on government actions

Supreme Law of the Land

The U.S. Constitution's description of its own authority, meaning that all laws made by governments within the United States must be in compliance with the Constitution.

-State and local governments cannot pass laws that conflict with federal laws.

Magna Carta (1215)

An English document draw up by nobles under King John which limited the power of the king.

-It has influenced later constitutional documents in Britain and America.

-"individual liberty is essential"

Republic

A form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and make laws.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution

Which power is held concurrently by the state and national government?

Legislating taxation.

According to the Declaration of Independence, what is the primary purpose of government?

To secure the unalienable rights of its citizens.

-Life , Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Which statement best explains why the framers of the Constitution of the United States adopted a federal system of government?

To distribute the power of government across levels and branches.

What is the major role of political parties in the United States?

To nominate candidates to run in elections.

What would Benjamin Franklin most likely see as a major role of the press?

To investigate and report on government actions.

What do the 14 th, 15 th and 19 th Amendments have in common?

They focus on increasing the participation of citizens in politics

4th Amendment (1791)

Protection against Unreasonable Search and Seizure

5th Amendment (1791)

The Right to Remain Silent/Double Jeopardy, right to due process

6th Amendment (1791)

Right to a fair, speedy trial

3rd Amendment (1791)

No quartering of soldiers

2nd Amendment (1791)

Right to keep and bear arms

7th Amendment (1791)

Right to a trial by jury in civil cases

8th Amendment (1791)

No cruel or unusual punishment

9th Amendment (1791)

Citizens entitled to rights not listed in the Constitution

10th Amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Intolerable Acts

in response to Boston Tea Party, 4 acts passed in 1774, Port of Boston closed, reduced power of assemblies in colonies, permitted royal officers to be tried elsewhere, provided for quartering of troop's in barns and empty houses

Seven Years' War (French and Indian War)

War fought in the colonies from 1754 to 1763 between the English and the French for possession of the Ohio River Valley area. The English won the war and the Peace of Paris was negotiated in 1763. (p. 70)

Boston Tea Party (1773)

Colonial response to the Tea Act; 30-130 colonists - dressed as Mohawk Indians - boarded British ships and dumped the tea into Boston Harbor

Historical Significance:

Led to the Intolerable Acts.

New Jersey Plan

A constitutional proposal that would have given each state one vote in a new congress

-weak national government

Virginia Plan

"Large state" proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress. The plan favored larger states and thus prompted smaller states to come back with their own plan for apportioning representation.

-strong national government

Great Compromise

Compromise (between New Jersey Plan and Virginia Plan) made by Constitutional Convention in which states would have equal representation in one house of the legislature and representation based on population in the other house

Why did the British government look to impose new taxes on the Colonists in the years leading up to the American Revolution?

To help pay costs for defending the colonies during the French and Indian War.

Which of the following was a major cause of the Civil War?

Conflicts regarding the extension of slavery in new states.

How did the Supreme Court’s decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford impact abolitionists in the period before the Civil War?

It gave momentum to the anti-slavery movement in the United States.

Dred Scott v Sandford

in 1857, Supreme Court decision that slaves were property, and not citizens, and that the Congress had no right to ban slavery in the territories

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

Struck down state bans on same sex marriage. The 14th Amendment requires States to license a marriage between two people of the same sex.

States must recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-State. (Roberts Court)

Grandfather Clause

allowed people to vote if their father or grandfather had voted before Reconstruction

poll taxes and literacy tests

How Southern states got around the 15th Amendment, They did not want African-Americans to have the right to vote.

cross burning

- 2003, supreme court ruled that a state consistent with 1st amendment can ban cross burning if there is an intent of intimidation present

- the intimidation must be proven and cannot just be inferred from the cross burnings

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Established judicial review

Judicial Review

The power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional

How is an amendment ratified?

either (1) by the State legislatures of 3/4 of the States or (2) by conventions held in 3/4 of the States

A power the states do NOT have

make treaties

INTERstate commerce

-they have INTRAstate commerce

a power shared with state and local gov

police force

US State senator

-part of the legislative branch, at the federal level

funding for the army is held with who?

Congress

Filibuster

A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue.

oversight function

The power of Congress to review the policies and programs of the executive branch

override

An action taken by Congress to reverse a presidential veto, requiring a two-thirds majority in each chamber.

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

leading figures in the women's rights movement