American Government-Ch. 1-4 – Flashcards

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Citizens or subjects of other countries who come to the United States to live or work are known as
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immigrants
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A political system in which the state holds all power over the social order is
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an authoritarian government.
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The role of citizens is limited to choosing among competing leaders in the __________ theory of democracy.
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elite
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______ refers to a particular view of how we ought to live our lives.
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social order
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The key concept of the pluralist theory of democracy is
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groups
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The two competing views of citizenship that exist today in the United States see humans acting out of
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self-interest versus public good.
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When those in government exercise power recognized by citizens as right and proper, they are exercising
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authority
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Compared with the situation found in most countries, the range of the ideological spectrum in the United States is
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narrower because of our shared political culture.
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Individuals coming to the United States seeking asylum are known as
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refugees
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How do rules fit into the concept of "who gets what, and how?"
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Rules can be thought of as the how.
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Power is defined in your text as
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the ability to get other people to do what you want.
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The importance of political culture is that it
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reduces conflict in society.
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A set of beliefs about politics, the economy, and society that helps people make sense of their world is called
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an ideology.
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James Madison thought that average citizens
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were not likely to put the community's interests above their individual interests.
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According to the text, "liberals" are people who believe in the widespread use of government power for
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reducing economic inequality.
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Americans' belief in freedom is defined as
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freedom from restraint by the government.
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Which of the following reflects the type of economic system found in the United States?
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Regulated capitalism, in which business has substantial freedom from government interference, but the government does step in and regulate the economy to guarantee individual rights
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Most Americans acquire U.S. citizenship by
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birth
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Many European countries follow the theory of _____, which is a hybrid system combining a capitalist economy and government that supports equality.
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social democracy
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The central democratic institution of the elite theory of democracy is
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electoral process
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What is the key difference between a citizen and a subject?
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Citizens have rights as well as obligations, but subjects have only obligations.
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According to the social contract, what is the source of government's legitimacy?
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citizen consent
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Individualism means or implies all of the following EXCEPT
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what is good for the individual follows from what is good for society.
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Social conservatives would agree with all of the following EXCEPT
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a significant use of government power to affect the economy.
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Why do many Americans find it difficult to identify themselves as conservatives or liberals?
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Because they consider themselves liberal on some issues and conservative on other issues
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The founders adopted a federal system
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as a compromise between those who wanted a strong central government and those who wanted to retain strong state governments.
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Early colonists came to America
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with a wide range of economic and political agendas as well as religious and philosophical motives.
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In the United States,
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legislative, executive, and judicial powers are handled by separate institutions.
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The founders hoped that the Senate would be ______ the House of Representatives.
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more stable than
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The Supreme Court has interpreted the ______ clause of the Constitution so broadly that there are very few restrictions on what Congress can do.
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necessary and proper
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The authors of your text suggest that Thomas Jefferson might have changed John Locke's argument for government to protect property to protection of "the pursuit of happiness" because
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Jefferson was trying to gain the support of those who had little property to protect.
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Article III of the Constitution
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creates the Supreme Court but allows Congress to establish lower courts.
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According to the Federalists, the advantage of federalism over a confederation was that the former
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divided power between the federal and state governments.
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The Declaration of Independence reflects the political philosophy of
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John Locke
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The significance of the Federalist Papers is that
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without them the states might not have ratified the Constitution.
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In Federalist No. 51, what government structure did James Madison recommend to ensure "ambition...be made to counteract ambition"?
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Separation of powers among the branches of federal government
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The constitutional safeguard that places legislative, executive, and judicial powers in different hands is called
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separation of powers
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The delegate to the Constitutional Convention who had the greatest impact on the document was
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James Madison
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The amendment process for the Constitution
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was designed to allow growth and change but not to be too easy.
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Groups of people motivated by a common interest, but one that differs from the interest of the country as a whole are known as
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factions
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According to James Madison, factions are best controlled by the creation of a large republic because
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no faction will be a majority, which means that no faction will be able to get its way.
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Which of the following states were generally first to ratify the Constitution?
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small states
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The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were
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the most educated, powerful, and wealthy citizens of the new country.
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In declaring all men to be equal, the authors of the Declaration of Independence followed Locke in all of the following EXCEPT
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Locke condemned slavery.
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The ultimate impact of the Revolutionary War on African Americans was that
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many slaves earned freedom during the war, but in the aftermath of the war they did not find their lot greatly improved.
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During the period of time during which the United States was governed by the Articles of Confederation, elites came to fear tyranny by
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the people
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The central goal of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention was to
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increase the power of the national government.
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Under the three-fifths compromise,
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each slave would count as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation.
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The founders intended the people to have influence over public policy through
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the House of Representatives.
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James Madison believed that factions were particularly dangerous to a republic because
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they would likely pit the haves and have-nots against each other.
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The necessary and proper clause of the U.S. Constitution states that
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Congress has the power to pass laws that are necessary and proper for the carrying out of its other powers.
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The theory that defines the state and national governments as essentially separate from each other and carrying out independent functions is
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dual federalism.
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A ______ system is one in which the central government ultimately has all of the power.
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unitary
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Confederal governments are usually found today
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in multinational relationships.
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McCulloch v. Maryland increased the power of the federal government by
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interpreting the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution very broadly.
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Gibbons v. Ogden increased the power of the national government by interpreting the
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commerce clause of the Constitution very broadly.
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In the early years of the New Deal, the Supreme Court ruled that many New Deal programs
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were unconstitutional.
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Federal funds provided to states for a broad purpose and unrestricted by detailed requirements are called
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block grants.
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The federal government has been able to use categorical grants to coerce states into doing what it wants most of the time because
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states have become financially dependent on this aid.
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The New Deal increased the scope of both national and state powers by
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redefining the purpose of American government.
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According to the "Consider the Source" feature in Chapter 3, what is the relationship between newspaper articles, editorials, and columns?
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Newspaper articles are written to avoid bias, whereas editorials and columns make one-sided arguments.
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The rulings of the Supreme Court under John Marshall contributed to enhancement of
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the power of the national government.
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The New Deal increased the power of the federal government in regard to
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business and the economy.
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Congress has been reluctant to use block grants to achieve policy goals because
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they allow states to pursue their own goals rather than the federal government's goals.
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The supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution states that
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the Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
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A major debate between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists concerned the
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balance of power between the federal and state governments.
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Federal orders that require states to operate and pay for programs created at the national level are called
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unfunded mandates
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The fact that the federal government was able to get the states to adopt a uniform drinking age is an example of the
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ability of the national government to use its funding authority to achieve indirectly what it cannot achieve directly.
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The enumerated powers are
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listed in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution.
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The enumerated powers are important because they
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showed the founders' commitment to creating a strong national government.
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One of the great advantages of American federalism over the years has been the
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flexibility it has provided the states when it comes to experimentation with public policy.
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Although the Constitution provides for both national and state powers,
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the balance between state and national powers has shifted considerably since 1787.
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One reason for the growth of the national government's power and influence has been
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heightened expectations and demands placed on the federal government.
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The Supreme Court has interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment to
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strike down racial segregation in the states.
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What is the key difference between categorical grants and block grants?
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Compared with categorical grants, block grants provide states with more leverage and power over how to spend grants-in-aid money.
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The right of an accused to be brought before a judge and informed of the charges and evidence against him or her is known as
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habeas corpus.
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The source of authority cited by the Supreme Court for applying the Bill of Rights to the states is
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the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
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The establishment clause guarantees
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that government will not create and support an official state church.
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According to the Supreme Court, the saying of prayers in public schools
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violates the establishment clause.
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Miranda v. Arizona held that
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police have to advise people of their constitutional rights prior to questioning.
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John Locke's theory of the _____ was based on the notion that people would agree to give up some rights in exchange for the greater common good.
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social contract
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In attempting to decide when speech can be prohibited, the Supreme Court has
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made it harder for the government to suppress speech.
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The idea that language shapes behavior and, therefore, should be regulated to control its social effects is known as
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political correctness.
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The Supreme Court's ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut is significant because it
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opened the door for a variety of claims regarding the right to privacy.
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Reproductive rights would be an example of
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the right to privacy.
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Written defamation of character is known as
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libel
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In 2008 and 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment
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establishes an individual right to bear arms.
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Under the Fourth Amendment, police officers seeking to conduct a search
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can search a car without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe a crime was committed.
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The exclusionary rule is the Supreme Court rule that states that
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evidence seized in violation of a defendant's constitutional rights cannot be used to obtain a conviction.
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_____ describes the process of applying the Bill of Rights to the states on a case-by-case basis.
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Selective incorporation
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The Supreme Court has ruled that the right to refuse medical life-support
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is a matter for individuals to decide for themselves.
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The difference between civil rights and civil liberties is
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that civil rights involve government action to secure rights of citizenship while civil liberties involve individual freedoms that limit the power of government.
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James Madison believed that individual citizens could not always be trusted to make decisions to control government and that the United States should set up a _________, a government in which decisions are made through representatives of the people.
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republic
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The Lemon test established that
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there shall be no excessive entanglement of government and religion.
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The Supreme Court has ruled that
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symbolic speech is not protected when it is most likely to inspire fear of bodily harm.
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The Supreme Court has ruled that
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public figures have less protection from the press than other members of the public.
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An interesting result of the obscenity debate has been
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the alliance of conservatives and radical feminists in opposition to obscenity.
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The Supreme Court has
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generally protected freedom of expression on the Internet.
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The exclusionary rule is an important aspect of due process because it
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serves as a protection against police abuse of power
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Support of capital punishment has been weakening in the United States mostly due to public concern that
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the system might be executing innocent people.
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