1.3 Influential Documents
Which document allowed for self government and the first instance of a social contract in North America?
A. English Bill of Rights
B. Mayflower Compact
C. Common Sense
D. Declaration of Independence
B. Mayflower Compact
The government is organized into articles, with each branch of government having its own article within the constitution. Ex: Article 1 = Legislative, Article 2 = Executive, Article 3 = Judicial.
In which way has the Constitution limited the power of government by this example?
A. Individual Rights
B. Due Process of Law
C. Checks and Balances
D. Separation of Powers
Which form of government gives the most power to ordinary citizens?
A. Autocracy
B. Oligarchy
C. Theocracy
D. Democracy
The United States is an example of which system of government?
A. Unitary
B. Confederal
C. Federal
D. Republic
C. Federal
Which 3 landmark supreme court cases refer to the rights of the accused?
Gideon V. Wainwright
Plessy V. Ferguson
Brown V. Board of Education
United States V. Nixon
Miranda V. Arizona
In re Gault
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Hazelwood School District V. Kuhlmeier
Marbury V. Madison
Gideon V. Wainwright
Miranda V. Arizona
In re Gault
Which document written by Thomas Paine called for the colonists to seek their independence from Great Britain?
A. English Bill of Rights
B. Declaration of Independence
C. Common Sense
D. Magna Carta
C. Common Sense
Which example illustrates the system of checks and balances?
A. The president vetoes legislation proposed by Congress.
B. the President confers with the members of the Cabinet.
C. The Supreme Court interprets the application of a law passed by Congress.
D. A state sets its own student learning standards while Congress regulates trade between states.
A. The president vetoes legislation proposed by Congress.
Name an example of an autocracy?
1. Dictator
2. Absolute Monarchy
3. Emperor
Which system of government is Europe most closely related to? Where the central government has all the power?
Unitary
What was the significance of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Marbury V. Madison?
A. It gave the court the power to mediate disputes between different states.
B. It gave the court original jurisdiction in disputes involving foreign governments.
C. It established the power of the court to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional.
D. It established the right of the court to advise Congress in advance on the validity of proposed laws.
C. It established the power of the court to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional.
The ________ was the first document to introduce a limited government, institute rule of law, and the right to a jury and speedy trial?
A. Common Sense
B. Mayflower Compact
C. English Bill of Rights
D. Magna Carta
D. Magna Carta
2. The Supreme Court applies an existing law to a new situation.
3. Congress passes a new environmental law.
Which feature of the Constitution do these examples illustrate?
A. Limited Government
B. Due Process of Law
C. Separation of Powers
D. Checks and Balances
C. Separation of Powers
Explain the difference between an absolute monarchy and a constitutional monarchy?
Absolute monarchy has absolute/total power
Constitutional monarchy does not have actual power, more of a figurehead, there power is limited by a written constitution or government.
Why did the authors of the Constitution create a federal system of government rather than a unitary system?
A. They did not trust the state government.
B. They feared a central government that was too powerful.
C. They wanted to limit the role of people in government.
D. They had seen how inefficient a weak central government was under the Articles of Confederation.
B. They feared a central government that was too powerful.
What statement describes the significance of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Miranda V. Arizona (1966)?
A. Southern states could no longer maintain racially segregated public schools.
B. States could no longer have racial quotas as part of their affirmative action programs.
C. Individuals accused of serious crimes unable to pay for an attorney were entitled to a state-sponsored one.
D. Suspects had to be told of their right to have an attorney present or to remain silent during police interrogations.
D. Suspects had to be told of their right to have an attorney present or to remain silent during police interrogations.
Which influential document limited the monarchy, established rule of law, and gave power to a law making body (legislative)?
A. English Bill of Rights
B. Common Sense
C. Magna Carta
D. Mayflower Compact
A. English Bill of Rights
How does the Legislative Branch check the Presidential power of being commander in chief?
Congress has the ultimate authority to declare war
What is one advantage of the American constitutional republic over autocratic nations in safeguarding individual liberties?
A. Its national government has unlimited power over its citizens.
B. The conduct of its government officials is limited by the rule of law.
C. It places power in a single person without any checks and balances.
D. It gives local authorities final authority over the national government.
B. The conduct of its government officials is limited by the rule of law.
Which system of government grants the most sovereignty to the states?
A. Federal
B. Unitary
C. Confederal
D. Democracy
C. Confederal
Which statement identifies the social impact of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown V. Board of Education (1954)?
A. It overturned racial segregation in public schools.
B. It overturned the earlier decision of Gideon V. Wainwright
C. It upheld state laws requiring the payment of poll taxes to vote.
D. It upheld state laws requiring racial segregation on railroad cars.
A. It overturned racial segregation in public schools.
No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or outlawed or exiled or any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor send upon him, except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land.
- Magna Carta 1215
Which right was guaranteed in this excerpt from the Magna Carta?
A. No taxation without representation
B. Freedom of the press
C. Freedom of religion
D. Trial by jury
D. Trial by jury
How does the Judicial Branch check the Legislative Branch's power to make laws?
They can rule a law unconstitutional.
Explain the difference between a direct democracy and a representative democracy/republic?
Will vary.
What is an advantage of the federal system of government in balancing local sovereignty with national unity?
A. In this system, local governments can leave the nation at any time because they are sovereign.
B. In this system, national unity is secure because the national government exercises complete control over local governments.
C. In this system, freedom is protected because local governments have sovereignty over the national government in all matters.
D. In this system, the national government is strong enough to protect the nation but local governments prevent it from becoming authoritarian.
D. In this system, the national government is strong enough to protect the nation but local governments prevent it from becoming authoritarian.
The passage below is from Plessy V. Ferguson (1896).
We consider the underlying fallacy of the plaintiff's argument to consist in the assumption that the enforced separation of the two races stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority. If this be so, it is not by reason of anything found in the act, but solely because the colored race chooses to put that construction upon it....
If the civil and political rights of both races be equal, one cannot be inferior to the other civilly or politically. If one race be inferior to the other socially, the constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane.
What was the impact on society of the reasoning above?
A. Racial segregation remained in place in the South for another half century.
B. Southern state governments were forced to end their practice of racial segregation.
C. State governments had to ensure the economic and social equality of their residents.
D. State governments no longer had to provide equal facilities to members of different races.
A. Racial segregation remained in place in the South for another half century.