The US Constitution

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  • Created by: T Colby
  • Created on: 08-04-17 19:16
How many British colonies existed in North America prior to the US's founding as a nation?
13
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What region exists today which is where the original 13 colonies existed?
North-East
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Can you state 5 or more of the British colonies?
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pensylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Rhode Island etc.
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What did the British view their American colonies as?
As of economic benefit for back home.
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The British ruled and governed without what?
Representation
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What did Bostonia patriot James Otis claim about the British rule?
"Taxation without representation is tyranny!"
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What made it difficult for the British to tighten their rule over their American colonies?
Economic troubles in the 1770s increased the appetite for American independence.
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What was the name of the war which ensured American independence?
The War of Independence 1775-76
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When did the War of Independence start?
1775
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What officially ended the war between the American natives and their British rulers?
The Declaration of Independence (4th July 1776).
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What proceeded the Declaration of Independence partly uniting the free 13 ex-colonies?
The Articles of Confederation
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When did the 13 ex-colonies ratify the Articles of Confederation?
March 1781
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What ended British hostilities to American independence?
The Treaty of Paris (1783)
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When did the war officially end?
1776
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What did the newly independent states not have despite being loosely connected?
A national government.
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Why did the newly independent states not have a national government?
They didn't want to surrender their newly gained sovereignty to a central authority as like under the British.
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Who wanted a national government from the days of the war?
War leaders such as James Alexander and George Washington.
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Who scrapped the Articles of Confederation and why?
A small group of men who feared a British return.
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Where was the first meeting held by the men who scrapped the Articles of Confederation after they did so?
Annapolis, Maryland.
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What was poor about the men's first meeting?
It lacked attendance.
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Where was the next meeting held by the same men?
Philadelphia.
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What was this meeting at Philadelphia famously known as?
The Philadelphia Convention.
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What was devised at the Philadelphia Convention?
The Federal Constitution.
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What were the men who devised the Federal Constitution known as?
The Founding Fathers.
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What two key things were devised at the Philadelphia Convention as part of the Federal Constitution?
The Bill of Rights and checks and balances on the three branches of government.
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What were the three branches of government?
The legislative, executive and judiciary.
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What were the Bill of Rights?
The first 10 amendments to the US Constitution.
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How many amendments have there been to the US Constitution to date?
27
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How many amendments have there been since the Bill of Rights?
17
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What were the Bill of Rights intended to do?
'Sugar coat the pill of swallowing' the idea of a national government as a central authority for states like Rhode Island that were hesitant to be a part of it.
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When were the Bill of Rights proposed to Congress (legislative)?
1789
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When and by what proportion of the 13 states were the Bill of Rights ratified?
Ratified by a 3/4 majority by December 1791
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What amendment of the Bill of Rights is considered the most important?
The first (I) amendment.
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What is the I amendment?
Freedom of speech, press, assembly, petition and religion.
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What is possibly the most famous and controversial amendment?
II amendment: The right to bear arms.
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What is the III amendment?
Prohibits troops from occupying citizens' homes in peacetime.
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What is the IV amendment?
No unreasonable searches and seizures.
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How many plans were proposed at the Philadelphia Convention for the formation of the Constitution?
2
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What were the 2 plans proposed?
The New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan.
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What was the New Jersey Plan?
Favoured by states with smaller populations who wanted states to be represented equally regardless of population size. It aimed to strengthen the Articles of Confederation and was devised in and proposed by New Jersey state.
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What was the Virginia Plan?
Favoured by states with larger populations who wanted states to be represented proportionally to their population size. It was more radical than the New Jersey Plan and was devised in and proposed by Virginia state.
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How many delegates attended the Philadelphia Convention and how many states were they representing out of 13?
55 delegates representing 12/13.
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Which state didn't attend the Philadelphia Convention and for what reason?
Rhode Island as it was hesitant to be a part of a centrally controlled national government.
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What was the 'Connecticut Compromise'?
The issue of the 2 plans of the Philadelphia Convention was settled by combining the 2 plans.
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How were the 2 plans combined in the Connecticut Compromise?
2 chambers were created in the legislature like the UK's Houses of Parliament. The upper house was the Senate and the lower the House of Representatives.
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Which chamber/house supports the New Jersey Plan?
The Senate as it represents states equally regardless of population size.
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Which chamber/house supports the Virginia Plan?
The House of Representatives as it represents states proportionally to their population size.
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When was the formation of the Federal Constitution completed?
17th September 1787
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What did the delegates do once the Federal Constitution was formed?
Emerged from a self-imposed silence in Independence Hall.
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What did a woman ask Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers, when the delegates emerged from Independence Hall?
"Well doctor, do we have a republic or a monarchy?"
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How did Franklin reply to the lady's comment?
"A republic, if you can keep it!"
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What were the two main reasons why a Federal Constitution was created compared to a conferacy or a strong central authority?
A confederacy was structurally flawed and too weak and a strong central authority would crush people's and states' individual rights and responsibilities.
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What was it known as if a central authority was too powerful; like British rule?
Tyranny
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What is the balance allowed by the Federal Constitution?
Sufficiently centrally strong but allows for people's and states' individual rights and responsibilities to be maintained.
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Is the US Federal Constitution codified or uncodified?
Codified.
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What is meant by a codified constitution?
A constitution that consists of a full and authoritative set of rules written down in a single text.
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What did the codified US Federal Constitution initially provide?
VII Articles
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What article stated that the legislative power of the US shall be vested in a Congress?
Article I
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What did Article II state?
"The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America."
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What Article stated that the judicial power of the US shall reside in a Supreme Court and inferior courts?
Article III
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What is Article VII?
Ratification procedure of the Constitution.
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How many times has the Pledge of Allegiance been formed and edited?
3; 1854, 1923 and 1954.
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Where is the Pledge of Allegiance commonly recited everyday?
In schools by students before the start of the school day.
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What is the text of the Pledge of Allegiance?
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
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On what particular day is the Pledge of Allegiance especially important?
Flag Day
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What happens to Flag Day every year?
It is designated every year.
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In which area of the US is the US Flag displayed on buses on Flag Day?
Washington D.C.
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What is a way which US citizens display their patriotism on their property every day?
They raise and lower the US Flag on a pole outside their house every day.
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What 2 things act as totems to unite the hyphenated melting-pot US society?
The Pledge of Allegiance and Flag Day.
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What are the three types of federalism?
Cooperative Federalism, Dual Federalism and New Federalism.
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Discuss Cooperative Federalism.
Term associated with the first 150 years of the nation's history approximately from the 1780s to the 1920s. During this era the state governments exercised most political power limiting the role of the Federal Government to peace and war.
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Discuss Dual Federalism.
Refers to an era from the 1930s-60s, in which the Federal and state governments cooperated to solve the problems facing US society such as poverty, health, education, transport and national security. Federal Government's role increased.
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Discuss New Federalism.
Rise of block grants - money given to the states by the Federal Government to be used at their discretion within broad policy areas.
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When was the first permanent European settlement in North America?
1565
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What was the name of this settlement?
St. Augustine; present day Florida and was founded by the Spanish and was already inhabited by Native Americans but they died out.
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Who was the first US President?
George Washington
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When did George Washington become the first US President?
1789
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What geographical location was formed to celebrate Washington become the first US President?
Washington D.C.
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Is Washington D.C. one of the US's states?
No
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What does D.C. stand for?
District of Columbia
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What is the capital of the US?
Washington D.C.
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When was President Abraham Lincoln assassinated?
1865
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When did the US intervene in WWI?
1917-18
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What amendment gave women the right to vote and when was this ratified?
19th Amendment in 1920.
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When was the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression?
1929-33
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What event spurred the US to enter WWII?
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour.
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When did the US drop 2 atomic bombs on Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki ending the war?
1945
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When was the Korean War?
1950-53
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When was the Cuban Missile Crises?
1962
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When did US troops enter Vietnam?
1965
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When was black civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated?
1968
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What year did the US beat the Soviet Union to the Moon?
1969
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What year did President Nixon resign due to the Watergate Scandal/Affair?
1974
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When did the Challenger space shuttle explode?
1986
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When was the first Gulf War?
1991
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When was the Oklahoma City Bombing?
1995
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When was President Clinton impeached?
1998
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When were the 9/11 terrorist attacks?
September 11th 2001
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When did US troops enter Iraq and Afghanistan?
2003
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When was Hurricane Katrina?
2005
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When was the Credit Crunch?
2008
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When did Barack Obama become the first African-American President?
2009
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What is the 26th Amendment?
The right to all those aged 18 and over to vote.
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What is the 15th Amendment?
The vote cannot be denied on colour or race.
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Which groups/institutions protect the rights and liberties of US citizens?
POTUS, NAACP and pressure groups generally, Congress and SCOTUS.
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What does POTUS stand for?
President of the United States.
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What does the NAACP stand for?
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
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What is it no longer politically correct to say?
Colored
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How does POTUS protect the rights and liberties of US citizens?
Champion of rights of citizens.
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How does the NAACP protect the rights and liberties of US citizens?
Highlights breaches of civil rights and liberties.
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What does SCOTUS stand for?
Supreme Court of the United States
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How does SCOTUS protect the rights and liberties of US citizens?
Defender of the Constitution and lesser courts. Judicial review interprets/updates the US Constitution. E.g. protects gay marriage, abortion (Roe vs. Wade) and banned legal segregation in schools (Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka).
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State another pressure group outside of the NAACP that protects the rights and liberties of US citizens and how so?
The National Rifle Association (NRA) protects the II Amendment: "The right to bear arms".
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What are the 6 reasons why the US Constitution has been so rarely amended?
Interpretative amendments by SCOTUS, veneration of the Constitution, the process is deliberately difficult, a formal amendment is a rare last resort, an amendment has to be popular as it is difficult to pass and the Constitution's wording it vague.
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What is meant by 'veneration of the Constitution'?
Americans are cautious about changing the Constitution as it is a part of their history.
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Why does an amendment have to be popular in order for it to be ratified?
It is difficult to pass it otherwise.
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What is the consequence of the vague wording of the Constitution?
It can therefore evolve over time disregarding the need for amendments.
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How has the US changed since gaining its independence in 1776?
Numerous wars, hyphenated/melting pot society, 27 constitutional amendments, Bible Belt has relaxed since the Civil War and there are now 50 states compared to the original 13.
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State some advantages of the Federal system.
Permits diversity, creates more governmental access points, better protection of individual rights, states become 'policy laboratories' and it is suited to a geographically large nation.
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State some disadvantages of the Federal system.
Can mask economic and racial inequalities, frustrates the 'national will', source of conflict between Federal and state governments and overly bureaucratic making it costly to run.
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Did President George W. Bush expand or retract the Federal Government?
Expanded it due to events like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.
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How did President George W. Bush expand the role of the Federal Government?
Medicare, education and homeland security.
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How did President Obama expand the role of the Federal Government as a Democrat?
The Affordable Care Act increased the role of the Federal Government relating to healthcare.
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Why was Obama's federalism known as Progressive Federalism?
He expanded the role of the Federal Government (e.g. healthcare) but wanted to work with the states by banning federal pre-emption and states were treated as policy laboratories.
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How can political alignment of party membership of a president effect the expansion or retracted of the role of the Federal Government?
Democrats like to expand the role of the Federal Government whereas Republicans like to retract it.
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What drastic events normally expand the role of the Federal Government?
Crises i.e. 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina
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Why did President George W. Bush oppose his Republican Party's political lines by expanding the role of the Federal Government?
He was responding to crises and somewhat pursuing his own agenda.
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What are the 4 consequences of federalism?
Legal consequences, political consequences, economic consequences and regionalism.
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Define legal consequences.
Diversity among state laws such as the age people can marry and drive a car. There are both federal and state courts.
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Define political consequences.
All elections in the US are state-based and run under state law. For instance, the Presidential Election is just elections within states decided by state Electoral College votes.
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Define economic consequences.
Huge federal grants go to the states and there is a complex tax system. Income tax is levied by both the federal government and some state governments, different property taxes are levied by state governments, and sales taxes vary between cities.
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Define regionalism.
The regions of the South, Midwest, the Northeast and the West have distinct cultures and accents, as well as racial, religious and ideological differences.
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How many stages are involved in the process to amend the US Constitution?
2
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What is the 2 stage process to amend the US Constitution?
1. Proposal stage in Congress with a 2/3 majority in both houses. 2. Ratification stage in state legislatures with a 3/4 majority.
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What is another way that an amendment can be passed and what is needed for this to be called?
National Constitutional Convention called by 3/4 of states.
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Give three examples of amendments that have failed to be passed by Congress?
Flag desecration (2000) - Failed 2/3 majority in the Senate. School prayers (1998) - Failed 2/3 majority in the HoR and Balanced Budget (1997) - Failed 2/3 majority in the Senate.
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What is HoR short for?
House of Representatives
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Give an example of an amendment that passed the first stage but no the second.
Equal Rights Amendment (1972) - Passed the proposal stage, but did not reach the 3/4 of state agreement for ratification.
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What are the 3 main components of the executive?
President, Cabinet and the Federal Bureaucracy
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What is a divided government?
The executive (Presidency, etc) is held by a different party to the legislature (Congress).
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What process has never been used to amend the US Constitution despite being in place?
National Constitutional Convention.
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When was the closest instance to the National Constitutional Convention process being employed for amending the US Constitution?
In 1992, 32 state legislatures petitioned Congress for a convention to propose a balanced budget. They were only 2 states short of the 3/4 they needed.
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What is the second process to ratify an amendment besides state legislatures?
State Constitutional Conventions in which 3/4 of states must hold state conventions and vote to ratify the amendment.
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Why has the State Constitutional Conventions process of ratifying amendments never been used?
Was the 21st amendment to reverse the 18th amendment about prohibition of alcohol and liquors.
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What would be a balanced budget amendment?
An amendment to the US Constitution that would ban the Federal Government from spending more money that it brings in every year.
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When was the last time that the US Government was in surplus?
During the Clinton administration.
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What is the only state in which it doesn't have a balanced budget amendment in its state constitution?
Vermont
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What is Marriage Protection/Federal Marriage Amendment - FMA?
Was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would have limited marriage in the United States to unions of one man and one woman. It would have also prevented judicial extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples.
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What is civil marriage governed by in the US?
Governed by state law. Each state is free to set the conditions for a valid marriage, subject to limits set by the state's own constitution and the US Constitution.
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When did SCOTUS rule that same-sex marriage was legal in all states?
June 2015
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What was the School Prayer proposed amendment?
Intended to guarantee people the right to pray and practice their religions on public property including public schools.
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Why did the School Prayer proposed amendment fail?
SCOTUS ruled 8 to 1 in favour of abolishing school prayer and Bible reading in public schools.
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What was the Term Limits for Congress proposed amendment?
Congressional term limits are legal restrictions on the amount of time that a person may serve as a Representative or Senator.
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Why did the Term Limits for Congress proposed amendment fail?
In May 1995, SCOTUS ruled against Term Limits v. Thornton by a 5 to 4 vote because the Justices found that states could not impose term limits on Congress.
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How many amendments get passed the first stage of proposal from 1995-2006?
Congress has voted 23 times on proposed constitutional amendments. The House of Representatives voted 17 times and the Senate voted 6 times.
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How many amendments did the House of Representatives pass on these occassions?
7
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What about the Senate?
Rejected all of the amendments.
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Over how many years have the last 17 amendments to the US Constitution been made since the Bill of Rights?
210
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How many of the 33 amendments passed to the states for ratification have been ratified?
27
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How many have thus failed at the ratification stage?
6
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When was the 27th amendment ratified?
1992
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When was the 27th amendment passed by Congress?
1789
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How many Senators does each state have?
2
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How many Senators are there overall for the 50 states?
100
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How many states are part of the US mainland?
48
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What are the two geographically separate states of the US?
Alaska and Hawaii
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True or false? Only a US citizen can be the President?
True
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Who is the Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces?
President
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What section of Article II states the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces?
Article. II. Section. 2.
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Who speaks to Congress about the state of the union?
President
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True or false? Appointments to SCOTUS are for life depending on good behaviour.
True
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What is Article. V.?
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution [and] ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States.
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What terrorist event in Florida in 2016 challenged the II Amendment?
The shootout in the Orlando gay nightclub Pulse.
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What were the four main problems with the Articles of Confederation in 1781?
Weak government and central institutions, division between states particularly over money and trade, no stron institutions or leadership and no perception of a nation and it was weak against a foreing attack.
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How would a Federal system resolve the problems of a Confederacy militarily?
It would have a single armed forces to defend against military attacks.
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Who put forward the Connecticut Compromise?
Robert Sherman of Connecticut.
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What was the Connecticut Compromise also known as?
Great Compromise
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As Congress has 2 chambers/houses, what type of legislative is it?
Bicameral
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How do Senators gain their positions in the Senate?
Individual state legislators appoint two senators.
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How do Representatives gain their positions in the House of Representatives?
Directly elected by the people.
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In which area did both the New Jersey Plan and Virginia Plan agree?
That political leaders should be voted for by the people; however the New Jersey Plan wanted some appointments.
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What was the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)?
Intended to guarantee equal rights under any Federal, state or local law could not be denied on account of sex.
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Why did some people oppose the ERA?
Far-reaching implications challenging traditional concepts of sex, some women didn't want to serve in the military alongside men and and it would remove laws that protect women such as labour laws in heavy industry.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What region exists today which is where the original 13 colonies existed?

Back

North-East

Card 3

Front

Can you state 5 or more of the British colonies?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What did the British view their American colonies as?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

The British ruled and governed without what?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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