American Government Part A:
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- Name one important idea found in the Declaration of Independence.
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A: People are born with natural rights
A: The power of government comes from the people
A: The people can change their government if it hurts their natural rights
A: All people are created equal - What is the supreme law of the land?
- The Constitution.
- What does the Constitution do?
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It sets up the government.
It protects the basic rights of Americans. - What does "We The People" mean in the constitution?
- The power of government comes from the people.
- What do we call changes to the constitution?
- Amendments.
- What is an amendment?
- A change to the constitution.
- What do we call the first 10 amendments to the constitution?
- The Bill of Rights.
- Name one right of freedom from the First Amendment.
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A: Speech
A: Religion
A: Assembly
A: Press
A: Petition the government - How many amendments does the constitution have?
- 27 (Twenty-Seven)
- What does the Declaration of Independence do?
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A: Announce the independence of the United States from Great Britain
A: Say that the U.S. is free from Great Britain - What does freedom or religion mean?
- You can practice any religion you want, or not practice at all.
- What type of economic system does the U.S. have?
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A: Capitalist economy
A: Free market
A: Market economy - What are the three branches or parts of the government?
-
A: Executive, legislative, and judicial
A: Congress, the president, the courts - Name on branch or part of the government.
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A: Congress
A: Legislative
A: President
A: Executive
A: The courts
A: Judicial - Who is in charge of the executive branch?
- The president.
- Who makes federal laws?
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A: Congress
A: The Senate and House (of Representatives)
A: The (U.S. or national) legislature - What are the two parts of the United States Congress?
- The Senate and the House (of Representatives)
- How many United States Senators are there?
- 100
- We elect a U.S. senator for how many years?
- 6 (Six)
- Name your states two Senators.
- Richard Durbin & Barack Obama
- How many U.S. Senators does each state have?
- Two (2)
- The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
- 435
- We elect a U.S. representative for how many years?
- 2 (Two)
- Name your U.S. Representative.
- Bobby Rush
- Who does a U.S. Senator represent?
- All citizens in that senator's state.
- Who does a U.S. representative represent?
- All citizens in that representatives district. (All states are divided into districts)
- What decides each state's number of representatives?
- The population of that state
- How is each state's number of representatives decided?
- By that state's population
- Why do we have three branches of government?
- So no branch is too powerful.
- Name one example of checks and balances.
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A: The president vetoes a bill
A: Congress can confirm or not confirm a president's nomination
A: Congress approves the president's budget
A: The Supreme Court strikes down a law - We elect a president for how many years?
- 4
- How old must a president be?
- Thirty-five years or older.
- The president must be born in what country?
- The United States of America
- Who is the president now?
- George W. Bush
- What is the name of the Vice President of the United States?
- Dick Cheney
- If the president can no longer serve, who becomes president?
- The Vice President.
- Who becomes president if the Vice President and the President can no longer serve?
- The Speaker of the House.
- Who is the Commander-In-Chief of the military?
- The president.
- How many full terms can a president serve?
- 2 Full terms.
- Who signs bills to become laws?
- The president.
- Who vetoes bills?
- The president.
- What is a veto?
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A: The president refuses to sign a bill passed by Congress
A: The president says no to a bill
A: The president rejects a bill - What does the president's cabinet do?
- Advise the president.
- Name Two Cabinet level positions.
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A: Secretary of Agriculture
A: Secretary of Commerce
A: Secretary of Defense
A: Secretary of Education
A: Secretary of Energy
A: Secretary of Health and Human Services
A: Secretary of Homeland Security
A: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
A: Secretary of Interior
A: Secretary of State
A: Secretary of Transportation
A: Secretary of Treasury
A: Secretary of Veterans' Affairs
A: Attorney General - What Cabinet-level agency advises the president on foreign policy?
- The State Department.
- What does the judicial branch do?
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A: Reviews and explains laws
A: Resolves disputes between parties
A: Decides if a law goes against the Constitution - Who confirms the Supreme Court Justices?
- The Senate
- Who is the Chief Justice of the United States?
- John Roberts
- How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
- Nine (9)
- Who nominates justices to the Supreme court?
- The President.
- Name One Thing only the Federal government can do.
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A: Print money
A: Declare war
A: Create an army
A: Make treaties - What is one thing only a state government can do?
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A: Provide schooling and education
A: Provide protection (police)
A: Provide safety (fire departments)
A: Give a driver's license
A: Approve zoning and land use - What does it mean that the U.S. Constitution is a constitution of limited powers?
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A: The federal government has only the powers that the Constitution states that it has
A: The states have all powers that the federal government does not - Who is the governor of your state?
- Ron Blagojevich
- What is the capital of your state?
- Springfield
- What are the two major political parties in the U.S.?
- Democrats and Republicans
- What is the highest court in the U.S.?
- The Supreme court
- What is the majority political party in the House of Representatives now?
- Democrats or Democratic Party
- What is the political party of the majority in the Senate now?
- Democrats or Democratic Party
- What is the political party of the President now?
- Republican or Republican Party
- Who is the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?
- Nancy Pelosi
- Who is the Senate Majority Leader now?
- Harry Reid
- In what month are elections held in the United States?
- November
- What is the current minimum wage in the U.S.?
- $5.15
- When must all males register for the Selective Service?
- At age 18
- Who is the attorney general now?
- Alberto Gonzales
- Who is the secretary of state now?
- Condoleezza Rice
- Is the current president in his first or second term?
- second
- What is self-government?
- Powers come from the people, Government responds to the people
- Who governs the people in a self-governed country?
- The people govern themselves or the government elected by the people.
- What is the "rule of the law"?
- Everyone must obey the law.
- What are inalienable rights?
- Individual rights that people are born with.
- There are four Amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
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A. Any Citizen over 18 can vote.
A. Any citzen of any race can vote.
A. Any female or female citizen can vote.
A. You don't have to pay to vote. - Name one responsibility that is only for United States citizens.
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A. Vote
A. Serve on a jury. - Name two rights that are only for United States citizens.
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A. The right to apply for a federal job
A. The right to vote
A. The right to run for office - Name two rights of everyone living in the U.S.
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A. Freedom of Expression
A. Freedom of Speech
A: Freedom of Assembly
A: Freedom to petition the government
A: Freedom to worship
A: The Right to Bear Arms - What is the Pledge of Allegiance
- The promise of loyalty to the flag and the nation.
- Name one promise you make when you say the Oath of Allegiance.
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A: To give up loyalty to other countries
A: To defend the constituion and laws of the United States
A: To obey the laws of the United States
A: To serve in the military if needed
A: To serve the nation if needed
A: To be loyal to the United States - Who can vote in the U.S.?
- All registered citzens over 18.
- Name two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy.
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A: Vote
A: Join a Political Party
A: Help out with a campaign
A: Join a Civic Group
A: Join a Community Group
A: Tell an elected official your opinion on an issue.
A: Call your senators and representatives
A: Publicly support or oppose an issue or policy
A: Run for Office
A: Write to a newspaper - When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?
- By April 15th of Every year
- Name two of the natural, or inalienable, rights in the Declaration of Independence.
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A: Life
A: Liberty
A: The Pursuit of Hapiness - Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
- Thomas Jefferson
- When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
- July 4th, 1776
- Name one reason why colonists came to Amerca?
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A: Freedom
B: Political Liberty
A: Religious Freedom
A: Economic Opportunity
A: To escape Persecution - What happened at the Constitutional Convention
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A: The Constitution was writted
A: The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution - Why did the colonists fight the British?
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A: They had to pay high taxes but did not have any say about it (Taxation without Representation)
A: The British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)
A: The British denied the colonists self-government - When was the Constitution drafted?
- 1787
- There are 13 original states. Name Three.
- Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia
- What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
- A. Africans or People from Africa
- Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
- The Native Americans or American Indians
- Where did most of America's colonists come from before the Revolution?
- Europe
- Why were the colonists upset with the British government?
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A: Stamp Act
A: They had to pay high taxes but did not have anything to say about it (Taxation without representation)
A: The British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)
A: Intolerable Acts - Name one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for.
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A: U.S. diplomat
A: Oldest member of the Constitutional Convention
A: First Postmaster General of the United States
A: Writer of "Poor Richard's Almanac" - Name one famous battle from the Revolutionary War.
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A: Lexington and Concord
A: Trenton
A: Princeton
A: Saratoga
A: Cowpens
A: Yorktown
A: Bunker Hill - Who is called the "Father of Our Country"?
- George Washington
- Who was the 1st President
- George Washington
- Name one of the writers of the Federalist Papers?
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A: James Madison
A: Alexander Hamilton
A: John Jay - What group of essays supported passage of the U.S. Constitution?
- The Federalist papers
- Name one of the Major American Indian Tribes in the United States
- Cherokee, Seminoles, Creek, Choctaw, Arawak, Iroquois, Shawnee, Mohegan, Chippewa, Huron, Oneida, Sioux, Cheyenne, Lakotas, Crows, Blackfeet, Teton, Navajo, Apaches, Pueblo, Hopi, Inuit
- Name one War Fought by the United States in the 1800s.
- A War of 1812, Mexican American War, Civil War, or Spanish-American War
- What territory dit the United States buy from France in 1803?
- The Louisiana Territory or Louisiana
- What country sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States?
- France
- In 1803, the United States bought a large amount of land from France. Where was that land?
- West of the Mississippi, The Western U.S., or the Louisiana Territory
- Name one of the things that Abraham Lincoln did.
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A: Saved or preserved the Union
A: Freed the Slaves
A: Led the U.S. during the Civil War - Name the U.S. War between the North and the South.
- The Civil War
- Name one problem that led to the Civil War
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A: Slavery
A: Economic rights
A: States' rights - What did the Emancipation procolmation do?
-
A: Freed slaves in the Confederacy
A: Freed slaves in the Confederate states
A: Freed slaves in most Southern states - What did the abolitionists try to end before the Civil War
- Slavery
- What did Susan B. Anthony do?
- Fought for women's rights
- Name one War fought in the United states in the 1900s.
- World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, or Gulf War
- Who was President during World War I?
- Woodrow Wilson
- The United States fought Japan, Germany, and Italy during which war?
- World War II
- What was the main concern of the United States during the Cold War?
- The spread of communism and the Soviet Union (USSR and Russia)
- What major event happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States
- Terrorists attacked the United States
- What international organization was established after World War II to keep the world at peace?
- The United Nations
- What alliance of North American and European countries was created during the Cold War??
- NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
- Who was the President of the Great Depression and World War II?
- Franklin Roosevelt
- Which U.S. World War II general later became president?
- Dwight Eisenhower
- What did Martin Luther King Jr. do?
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He fought for civil rights
He strove for equality for all Americans - Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream for America. What was his dream?
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A: Equality for all Americans
A: Civil rights for all - What movement tried to end racial discrimination
- The Civil Rights Movement
- What is the longest river in the United States?
- The Mississippi River
- What ocean is on the west coast of the United States?
- The Pacific Ocean
- What country is on the northern border of the United States?
- Canada
- Where is the Grand Canyon
- Arizona, The Southwest, Along/on the Colorado river
- Where is the statue of liberty?
- New York Harbor, Liberty Island
- What country is on the Southern border of the United States
- Mexico
- Name one large mountain range in the United States.
- The Rocky Mountains, the Appalachins, the Sierra Nevada, The Cascades
- What is the tallest mountain in the United States
- Mt. McKinley, Denali
- Name one U.S. territory.
- American Samoa, The Commonwelath of Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands
- Name the state that is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
- Hawaii
- Name one state that borders Canada
- Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, or Washington
- Name one State that borders on Mexico.
- Arizona, California, New Mexico, or Texas
- What is the capital of the U.S.
- Washington, D.C.
- Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
- Because there were 13 original colonies.
- Why does the flag have 50 stars?
- One for each state-50 states.
- What is the name of the National Anthem?
- The Star Spangled Banner
- On the Fourth of July, we celebrate independence from what country?
- Great Britian
- When do we celebrate Indepence Day?
- July 4th
- Name two National U.S. Holidays
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A: New Years Day
A: Martin Luther King Day
A: Presidents' Day
A: Memorial Day
A: Independence Day
A: Labor Day
A: Columbus Day
A: Veterans Day
A: Thanksgiving
A: Christmas