CIVICS EXAM TEST PREP MODULE 1

-Colonists came to america for: religious freedom, to escape persecution, political freedom, and economic opportunity

    -mayflower compact: established self government in 1960s

-revolutionary war began in 1775

    -fought the british because of the high taxes (taxation without representation)

    -british army stayed in their houses (quartering)

    -wanted self government

-thomas paine wrote common sense - encouraged colonies to fight for egalitarian government and break from british rule

-july 4th, 1776: second continental congress voted to accept the declaration of independence from great britain

    -”we hold that these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal…”

    -have “certain unalienable rights”

-rights in the declaration of independence include rights to: life liberty and the pursuit of happiness

-thomas jefferson was the main author of declaration of independence; john hancock also signed

-articles of confederation: original plan for government of the US but did not have a strong enough national government;

    -established the functions of the national government of the US after declaring     independence from great britain

    -weak central government, most power belonged to the states

    -colonists were afraid to give central (federal) governments too much power

-the supreme law of the land: the constitution

    -written in 1787 at the constitutional convention in philadelphia

    -establishes a representative democracy

    -lists fundamental rights for citizens and people living in the US

        -sets up and defines a federalist government

        -protects basic rights (through the amendments)

-first 3 words “we the people” = self governance

-john adams wrote: our country is a “government of laws, and not of men” no person or group is above the law

-the federalist papers

    -85 essays written to support the passage of the US constitution

    -authors were james madison, alexander hamilton, and john jay

    -written under a pen name “plubius” and published in new york newspapers

-anti federalists opposed the constitution due to: fear of strong government

-federalism: means a balance of power between the states and federal government. Each has its own sets of powers

-constitution: only set up the structure of the government but did not do enough to protect the people - bill of rights was written to add those protections and set limits on government

-amendments are changes or additions; can only be made by 2/3 vote in the senate and house of representatives

    -amendments must then be ratified by ¾ of the states

    -27 total amendments

    -first ten amendments are called: the bill of rights (ratified in 1791)

-1st amendment

    -freedom of expression (speech, religion, assembly, press, petition the government)

    -prohibits congress from setting up an official US religion and protects citizens’ rights to hold     any religious belief, or none at all

    -free exercise clause: freedom to exercise right to religion

-2nd amendment: protects the right to keep and bear arms

-3rd amendment: places the restrictions on the quartering in private homes

-4th amendment: prohibits unreasonable search and seizures and sets out requirements for warrants

-5th amendment: sets out rules for indictment by grand jury and eminent domain, protects the right to due process and prohibits self incrimination and double jeopardy

    -miranda law: requires police to inform a detainee of their rights to silence and legal counsel     before interrogation.

-6th amendment: protects the right to a fair and speedy public trial by jury, including the rights to be notified of the accusations, to confront the accuser, to obtain witnesses and retain counsel

-7th amendment: provides for the right to trial by jury in certain civil cases according to common law

-8th amendment: prohibits excessive fines and excessive bail, as well as cruel and unusual punishment

-9th amendment: protects rights not enumerated in the constitution

-10th amendment: reinforces the principle of federalism by stating that the federal government possesses only those powers delegated to it by the states or the people through the constitution

-11th amendment: makes states immune from suits from suits from out of state citizens and foreigners not living within the state borders

-12th amendment: revises presidential election procedures by having the president and vice president elected together as opposed to the vice president being the runner up in the presidential election

-13th amendment: abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude

-14th amendment: defines citizenship, contains the privileges or immunities clause, the due process clause, the equal protection clause, and deals with post civil war issues

-15th amendment: prohibits the denial of the rights to vote based of race, color, or servitude

-16th amendment: permits congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the various states or basing it on the united states census

-17th amendment: establishes the direct election of united states senators by popular vote

-18th amendment: prohibited the manufacturing or sale of alcohol, also known as Prohibition, which was later repealed by the 21st amendment.

-19th amendment: prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on sex

-20th amendment: changes the date on which the terms of the president and vice president and of members of congress and and begin

-21st amendment: repeals the 18th amendment, thereby ending Prohibition and allowing for the legal manufacturing and sale of alcohol once again.

-22nd amendment: limits number of times that a person can be elected president: person cannot be elected president more than twice

    -only president elected more than twice was FDR

-23rd amendment: grants the district of columbia electors (the number of electors being equal to those of the least populous state) in the electoral college

-24th amendment: prohibits the revocation of voting rights due to the non payment of a poll tax or any other tax

-25th amendment: addresses succession to the presidency and establishes procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the vice president, as well as responding to presidential disabilities

-26th amendment: lowers the voting age to 18 years, ensuring that younger citizens have the right to participate in elections.

-27th amendment: delays laws affecting congressional salary from taking effect until after the next election

-US citizen rights and responsibilities

    -only us citizens can vote in a federal election and serve on a jury, run for the federal office

    -everyone living in the us has rights to freedom of expression/speech, assembly, religion, to     petition the government and the right to bear arms

-us political parties: democratic and republican

-april 15th: last day to file federal income taxes to the IRS

-selective service: all men ages 18-26 must register

-us economic system: capitalist/market economy

       -most businesses are privately owned/ can set our own prices

-louisiana purchase: us bought louisiana territory from france in 1803 for $15 million

-5 us territories: puerto rico, us, virgin islands, american samoa, northern mariana islands and guam

-us capital is in washington dc

-statue of liberty is located in new york harbor

-revolutionary war: gain independence from britain

-civil war: north vs south; union vs confederates

-war of 1812: mexican american war and spanish american war

-ww1: US allies; treaty of versailles

-george washington: father of country, first president

-thomas jefferson: author of declaration of independence

-abraham lincoln: emancipation proclamation

-woodrow wilson: president during ww1

-fdr: president during great depression and ww2

-benjamin franklin: us diplomat, oldest member of the Constitutional Convention, and key figure in early American history.

-susan b anthony: fought for women’s rights against slavery

-martin luther king jr: leader of the civil rights movement

-executive branch: enforces laws that congress passes (president and the cabinet)

    -presidential powers include: ability to sign treaties, set national policies, and     selects ambassadors

    -names top leaders of federal departments and supreme court justices

    -signs bills from congress to become law

    -president is commander in chief of the military (but only congress has power to declare     war)

    -president is elected for a 4 year term

    -vote for president on the tuesday after the first monday in november

    -speaker of the house serves if president and vice cant

    -president cabinet advises the president

    -senate majority must approve nominees to become members of the cabinet

-legislative branch: congress makes laws (congress = house of representatives and senate)

    -2 houses; congress (senate and house of represents)

    -senate: 100 senators (2 per state)

        -elected to 6 year terms

• House of Representatives: 435 members

  • Elected to 2 year terms

-judicial branch: decide if laws and actions follow the constitution (supreme court and other courts)

    -decides if laws and actions follow the constitution

    -reviews laws, explains laws, resolves dispute

    -nine justices on the supreme court

-state vs federal government: constitution divides power between national and state governments; division is called federalism

-federal government powers include the power to : print money, declare war, create an army, make treaties