Constitution
The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution in 1787.They wanted a “living document.” This means the Constitution can change with the country. A change to the Constitution is called ___.
What is an amendment?
A change to the Constitution is called an amendment.In 1791, a list of ten amendments was added. Over the years, more amendments were added.Now, the Constitution has 27 amendments.
Federal laws are made by the ____.
What is congress?
He was the the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797.
Who is George Washington?
The two major political parties in the United States are ___ and ____.
What are the Democrats and Republicans? Or the Democratic Party and the Republican Party?
Political parties are groups of people who organize to help candidates win elections and to create public policies. The members of the two major political parties are called the Democrats and the Republicans.
What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?
What is the Pacific Ocean?
The United States added four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Government leaders added the Nineteenth Amendment. It says that any citizen, including____, can vote.
What is women?
What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
What is the system of checks and balances?
The system of checks and balances stops one branch of the federal government from becoming too powerful. The United States government is divided into three separate branches. They are the president, Congress, and the courts. Here is an example of how this works. Congress makes laws. But the president can veto a law. That means the president can refuse to sign it. The law is then sent back to Congress. This is one way the president limits, or checks, the power of Congress.
Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?
What is World War II?
President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a general in World War II. He led the United States Army and its allies in western Europe during World War II. When he came home from World War II, he was a famous war hero. He became president in 1953.
This movement tried to end racial discrimination.
What is the civil rights movement?
Civil rights movement tried to end racial discrimination. Most African Americans in the United States were slaves until the end of the Civil War in 1865. Unfair treatment of African Americans continued into the 1900s. In many places, African Americans were not allowed to vote. They had to go to separate schools, and use separate public spaces. In the 1950s and 1960s, people of all races worked for equal rights for all Americans. People gave speeches. They organized peaceful marches and protests. They demanded that the government change its laws and protect the rights of all Americans.
The United States fought these three(3) countries in World War II.
What are Germany, Italy, and Japan?
The United States fought Germany, Italy, and Japan in World War II. The United States entered World War II because Japan bombed the United States at Pearl Harbor in 1941. Japan was an ally of Germany and Italy. Together they formed the "Axis powers." The United States and its allies won the war in 1945 against Germany, Italy, and Japan.
In 1971, this amendment changed the minimum voting age in the United States to 18.
What is the the Twenty-sixth (26th) Amendment?
Citizens have to be 18 or older to vote for president. In 1971, Congress and the states added the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution. They added this amendment because young people demanded the right to vote.
This many justices serve on the Supreme Court.
What is nine (9)?
There are nine justices on the Supreme Court. The president nominates Supreme Court justices. The Senate votes to confirm them. Supreme Court justices have the job for life or until they decide to retire.
We elect a President for how many years?
What is 4?
We elect a president for a 4-year term. A candidate can run for president as many times as he or she wants. The person can only be elected president for eight years, or two terms of four years each. The Constitution says how many terms a president can serve. For example, President Dwight D. Eisenhower became president for the first time in 1953. Then he ran for president again. He won the election and, in 1957, became president for another four years.
___is the economic system in the United States.
What is capitalism?
Capitalism is the economic system in the United States. It is a market economy. Capitalism means that people, not the government, own most businesses. In the United States, businesses decide what to sell. They decide how much money to charge for products and services. Then people decide what they want to buy. This is called a market economy. The economy is controlled by individual people and businesses, not by the government. The United States has a capitalist, market economy.
This is one of the American Indian tribes originally from the southeastern part of the United States.
What are Cherokees or Choctaws or Chickasaws or Creeks or Seminoles?
The first ten amendments to the Constitution are called ____.
What is the Bill of Rights?
The first ten amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. Members of the Constitutional Convention wrote the Constitution in 1787. The original Constitution did not protect individual rights. Soon after, in 1791, Congress added the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
John G. Roberts, Jr. The Chief Justice of the United States is the leader of the judicial branch. This person is one of nine justices of the Supreme Court.
The Declaration of Independence announced the United States' independence from Britain. He wrote the Declaration of Independence.
Who is Thomas Jefferson?
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809 was an important political leader and thinker. He wanted to create a government for the United States that protected individual rights. Thomas Jefferson wrote that the United States was free from Britain. He wrote that all men are created equal. He wrote that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The ideas in the Declaration helped shape the American government. These ideas are still important today.
Voting in federal elections and ___ are two responsibilities that are only for United States citizens.
What is to serve on juries or jury duty?
United States citizens vote in federal elections and serve on juries. It is the responsibility of United States citizens to vote in federal elections. Voting is important. However, there is no law that says citizens must vote. It is also the responsibility of citizens to serve on a jury when they are asked. If a citizen gets a court letter to serve on a jury, the person must go. A jury is a group of citizens in a courtroom that listen to a trial. The jury decides the outcome of the trial.
The two longest rivers in the United States are the ____ River and the Mississippi River.
What is the Missouri River?
The Missouri River starts in Montana. It joins the Mississippi River in the state of Missouri. The Mississippi River runs through ten U.S. states. It starts in Minnesota near the border we share with Canada. It ends in Louisiana. The rivers have always been important to people living in the United States. American Indians used the rivers for trade, food and water. People still use the rivers to transport products. They are an important source of water.
The five (5) rights or freedoms from the First Amendment are ___, ___, ___, ____, and __.
What are freedom of religion, speech, assembly, press, and petition?
Freedom of Religion—You can practice any religion or you can practice no religion.
Freedom of Speech—You can say what you want about public problems.
Freedom of Assembly—You can meet peacefully to talk about problems and ideas.
Freedom of the Press—The government cannot control what people write in newspapers and the media.
Freedom to Petition the Government—You can ask the government to change laws.
Other amendments in the Bill of Rights protect the rights to a speedy and public trial, the right to bear arms, and the right to fair police searches.
The secretary of state and the secretary of labor are ____-level positions.
What is cabinet-level?
Cabinet-level positions include the secretary of state and the secretary of labor. The secretary of state works with other countries around the world. This person manages the president's foreign policies. The secretary of labor manages working conditions, wages, and unemployment benefits. The secretary of labor advises the president on employment issues.
If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, the person in this position becomes President.
The Speaker of the House is the leader of the House of Representatives. If both the president and the vice president can no longer serve, the Speaker of the House becomes the president of the United States. This has never occurred in American history.
Current speaker of the house is Nancy Pelosi.
We elect a U.S. Representative for this many years.
What is two (2)?
We elect a U.S. representative for two years. Representatives can run for office as many times as they want. Their job is to represent the people who live in their district in the House of Representatives.
____ is a Caribbean island and unincorporated U.S. territory with a landscape of mountains, waterfalls and the El Yunque tropical rainforest. It was devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017.
What is Puerto Rico?
There are five major U.S. territories: Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam. Territories have their own local governments. They also must follow the laws of the U.S. federal government.