Principles of American Democracy
1. What is the supreme law of the land?
▪ the Constitution
13. Name one branch or part of the government.*
Congress ▪ legislative ▪ President ▪ executive ▪ the courts ▪ judicial
54. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?*
▪ eighteen (18) and older
61. Why did the colonists fight the British?
because of high taxes (taxation without representation) ▪ because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering) ▪ because they didn’t have self-government
78. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.*
World War I ▪ World War II ▪ Korean War ▪ Vietnam War ▪ (Persian) Gulf War
3. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
▪ We the People
14. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
▪ checks and balances ▪ separation of powers
50. Name one right only for United States citizens.
▪ vote in a federal election ▪ run for federal office
64. There were 13 original states. Name three.
▪ New Hampshire ▪ Massachusetts ▪ Rhode Island ▪ Connecticut ▪ New York ▪ New Jersey ▪ Pennsylvania ▪ Delaware ▪ Maryland ▪ Virginia ▪ North Carolina ▪ South Carolina ▪ Georgia
85. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?*
▪ fought for civil rights ▪ worked for equality for all Americans
5. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
▪ the Bill of Rights
16. Who makes federal laws?
▪ Congress ▪ Senate and House (of Representatives) ▪ (U.S. or national) legislature
53. What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
▪ give up loyalty to other countries ▪ defend the Constitution and laws of the United States ▪ obey the laws of the United States ▪ serve in the U.S. military (if needed) ▪ serve (do important work for) the nation (if needed) ▪ be loyal to the United States
66. When was the Constitution written?
▪ 1787
87. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
▪ Cherokee ▪ Navajo ▪ Sioux ▪ Chippewa ▪ Choctaw ▪ Pueblo ▪ Apache ▪ Iroquois ▪ Creek ▪ Blackfeet ▪ Seminole ▪ Cheyenne ▪ Arawak ▪ Shawnee ▪ Mohegan ▪ Huron ▪ Oneida ▪ Lakota ▪ Crow ▪ Teton ▪ Hopi ▪ Inuit
6. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?*
speech ▪ religion ▪ assembly ▪ press ▪ petition the government
23. Name your U.S. Representative.
Representative Pramila Jayapal (Seattle)
51. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?
▪ freedom of expression ▪ freedom of speech ▪ freedom of assembly ▪ freedom to petition the government ▪ freedom of religion ▪ the right to bear arms
75. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?*
▪ freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation) ▪ saved (or preserved) the Union ▪ led the United States during the Civil War
79. Who was President during World War I?
▪ (Woodrow) Wilson
What is the “rule of law”?
Everyone must follow the law. ▪ Leaders must obey the law. ▪ Government must obey the law. ▪ No one is above the law
40. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
John G. Roberts, Jr.
56. When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?
▪ April 15
76. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
▪ freed the slaves ▪ freed slaves in the Confederacy ▪ freed slaves in the Confederate states ▪ freed slaves in most Southern states
83. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
▪ Communism