civics

Current U.S. Government Officials

• Chief Justice of the United States: John Roberts (John G. Roberts, Jr.)

• Governor of Wisconsin: Tony Evers

• Speaker of the House of Representatives: Mike Johnson

U.S. Government Structure

• Capital of Wisconsin: Madison

• One of the two longest rivers in the United States: Missouri River, Mississippi River

• Supreme law of the land: the Constitution

• One Branch or Part of the Government: Congress/Legislative, President/Executive, The Courts/Judicial

• Who is in charge of the executive branch?: the President

• Who makes federal laws?: Congress (Senate and House of Representatives)

• How many U.S. Senators are there?: 100

Constitutional Principles

• What does the Constitution do?: sets up the government

• Voting members in the House of Representatives: 435

• Length of a U.S. Representative's term: 2 years

• Who does a U.S. Senator represent?: all people of the state

• First three words of the Constitution (self-government): We the People

• Next in line if both President and Vice President can no longer serve: Speaker of the House

• Commander in Chief of the military: the President

• Who signs bills to become laws?: the President

• Who vetoes bills?: the President

President's Cabinet

• What does the President’s Cabinet do?: advises the President

• Two Cabinet-level positions: Vice President, Attorney General, Secretaries of various departments (Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services)

Supreme Court

• Number of Justices on the Supreme Court: 9

Amendments and Powers

• What is an amendment?: a change (to the Constitution)

• One power of the federal government: print money, declare war, create an army, make treaties

• One power of the states: provide schooling and education, provide protection (police)

Current U.S. Government Officials

• Chief Justice of the United States: John Roberts (John G. Roberts, Jr.)

• Governor of Wisconsin: Tony Evers

• Speaker of the House of Representatives: Mike Johnson

U.S. Government Structure

• Capital of Wisconsin: Madison

• One of the two longest rivers in the United States: Missouri River, Mississippi River

• Supreme law of the land: the Constitution

• One Branch or Part of the Government: Congress/Legislative, President/Executive, The Courts/Judicial

• Who is in charge of the executive branch?: the President

• Who makes federal laws?: Congress (Senate and House of Representatives)

• How many U.S. Senators are there?: 100

Constitutional Principles

• What does the Constitution do?: sets up the government

• Voting members in the House of Representatives: 435

• Length of a U.S. Representative's term: 2 years

• Who does a U.S. Senator represent?: all people of the state

• First three words of the Constitution (self-government): We the People

• Next in line if both President and Vice President can no longer serve: Speaker of the House

• Commander in Chief of the military: the President

• Who signs bills to become laws?: the President

• Who vetoes bills?: the President

President's Cabinet

• What does the President’s Cabinet do?: advises the President

• Two Cabinet-level positions: Vice President, Attorney General, Secretaries of various departments (Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services)

Supreme Court

• Number of Justices on the Supreme Court: 9

Amendments and Powers

• What is an amendment?: a change (to the Constitution)

• One power of the federal government: print money, declare war, create an army, make treaties

• One power of the states: provide schooling and education, provide protection (police)

Federal Income Tax and Historical Facts

• Last day to send in federal income tax forms: April 15th

• Reason Colonists fought the British: high taxes (taxation without representation)

• Author of the Declaration of Independence: Thomas Jefferson

• Declaration of Independence adopted on: July 4th, 1776

• Three of the 13 original states: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey

• What happened at the Constitutional Convention: The Constitution was written.

• When was the Constitution written: 1787

• Writers of the Federalist Papers: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Publius

• One thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for: U.S. diplomat, oldest member of the Constitutional Convention

• “Father of Our Country”: George Washington

• Territory bought from France in 1803: the Louisiana Territory

• One war fought by the U.S. in the 1800s: War of 1812, Mexican-American War

• U.S. war between the North and the South: the Civil War

• Problem leading to the Civil War: slavery, economic reasons, states' rights

• One important thing Abraham Lincoln did: freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)

• What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?: freed the slaves in the Confederacy

• What did Susan B. Anthony do?: fought for women’s rights

• One war fought by the U.S. in the 1900s: WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, (Persian) Gulf War

• President during World War I: Woodrow Wilson

• President during the Great Depression and World War II: Franklin Roosevelt

• Eisenhower's background before presidency: general in World War II

• Main concern during the Cold War: Communism

• Movement to end racial discrimination: civil rights movement

• What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?: fought for civil rights

• Major event on September 11, 2001: Terrorists attacked the United States.

• One American Indian tribe in the United States: Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, Ho-Chunk Nation, etc.

• Name of the national anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner