The Branches of Government
What branch of the government makes sure that laws are followed and commands the army?
The Executive Branch
Who is in charge of the military? The states, the federal government, or both?
The Federal Government is in charge of the military.
What age do you need to be to drink alcohol in the United States?
You must be 21 years old.
How many states are in the United States? (If you get this wrong, I will cry and subtract 100 pts)
There are 50 states in the United States.
What are the names of the two main political parties in the US?
50 Bonus points for every additional political party you can name.
They are the Democrats and Republicans.
Bonus: Libertarian, Green Party, Wigs, etc...
What branch of government writes laws and impeaches the President?
The Legislative Branch.
Who is allowed to print money? The States, the Federal Government, or both?
The Federal Government prints money. Thank goodness, or we would have to change the type of money we used every time we crossed a state border!
What age do you need to be to buy and smoke tobacco in the United States?
You must be 21 years old.
How many judges are on the Supreme Court? (3, 6, 9, or 12)
There are 9 judges on the Supreme Court.
Which of the two main political parties in the United States wants more gun control laws?
The Democratic Party.
What branch of government can declare laws and actions unconstitutional (meaning illegal)?
The Judicial Branch.
Who is in charge of gun control? The states, the federal government, or both?
The states are in charge of gun control. That means that the laws about who can carry guns and gun permits are different in each state.
What age must you be to vote in the United States?
You must be 18 years old.
What is the minimum age to be President of the United States?
Bonus (100pts): How many times can someone be President of the United States?
Presidents of the United States must be at least 35 years old.
Bonus: You can be president of the United States twice
Which of the two main political parties wants fewer taxes for everyone (impots)?
The Republican Party.
What branch of government has the power to declare war?
The Legislative Branch, meaning congress. The president must be authorized (allowed) by congress to have the military act.
Who can tax the citizens of the United States? The Federal Government, the State Government, or Both?
Both! Everyone pays taxes to their state government, and the federal government, meaning we are taxed twice.
What age must you be to buy shotguns and rifles in the United States?
Bonus 100pts: How old must you be to buy a handgun?
You must be 18 years old.
Bonus: You must be 21 years old.
How many people are in the Senate, and how many people are in the House of Representatives (half points if you get one right and the other wrong).
There are 100 senators (2 for each state) and 435 representatives (divided by population).
Which political party currently supports labor unions?
The Democratic Party
The Legislative Branch is broken up into two parts. What are the two parts called?
100pt bonus: How do we decide how many representatives (people) from each state are in each part?
The two parts are called the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Bonus: Each state has two people in the Senate, and the House of Representatives depends on the population of each state.
Who is responsible for the police and fire departments? The states, the federal government, or both?
The state government is responsible for their police and fire departments.
If there is a big problem, the federal government sometimes will use the national guard to act in the states. Usually they need permission from the state governor to do so, except under special circumstances such as insurrection or armed rebellion.
Fun fact: The title "National Guard" comes from the French National Guard in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette!
What is the minimum age to get a drivers license in the United States?
Bonus: (100pts) What is the youngest age a person can be to get a drivers permit.
You must be at least 16 to get a drivers license in the United States. Some states require that you are at least 18 years old to get a drivers license.
Bonus: The youngest someone can get a drivers permit is age 14. This age is different in different states.
In America, citizens do not vote directly for the president. Instead, they vote for members of an electoral college. Those people then vote for the president. Each state gets to choose a certain number of members based on their population.
How many members are there in the electoral college?
Bonus (200pts): How many electoral votes does Minnesota currently have?
There are 538 members of the electoral college.
Minnesota has 10 electoral votes.
What political party did George Washington belong to?
George Washington did not have a political party! He was the only president in US history to not belong to a political party.