Chapters 1-5 American Government – Flashcards

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Civil liberties are ______ that the government cannot take away.
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personal freedoms
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The Bill of rights is made up of the first ____ ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
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ten
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Which clause prevents the national government from sanctioning an official religion?
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free exercise clause
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Which rule bars the use of illegally seized evidence at trial?
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exlusionary
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Which U.S. Supreme Court case found that a woman's right to have an abortion is protected by the implied constitutional right to privacy?
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Roe v. Wade
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In Roth v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court held that material must be utterly without social importance in order to be considered
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obscene
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Selective incorporation makes the protections from the Bill of Rights applicable to the states through which of the following amendments?
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14th amendment
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A false written statement is ____; the same statement spoken aloud is ______.
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libel, slander
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Which amendment protects the right to bear arms?
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2nd amendment
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The Constitution protects against search of and individual's person, home, or vehicle without ______.
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warrent
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What does the Sixth Amendment guarantee to those accused of a crime?
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a jury trial
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Today, the United States is the only western country to sue which of the following to punish crime?
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death penalty
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The free exercise clause guarantees that the national government will not interfere with what practice?
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religion
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Profanity, obscenity, and threats are examples of which of the following?
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fighting words
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According to Table 4.1, How Has Selective Incorporation Made the Bill of Rights Applicable to the States?, which of the constitutional amendments was the first to be incorporated and applied to the states?
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First
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What practice is unconstitutional in school?
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prayer
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According to Justice Blackmun, a woman had which type of right to an abortion in her trimester?
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an arguable right
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The doctrine of prior restraint prevents the government from prohibiting speech or publication _______.
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before the fact
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Miranda rights include the right to which of the following?
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counsel
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The Supreme Court has ruled that states can limit abortions if the regulations do not pose _______.
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an undue burden
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The Supreme Court briefly outlawed what in the 1970s by asserting that is being imposed in an arbitrary manner?
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capital punishment
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What kind of speech is by its very utterance intended to inflict injury or incite and immediate breach of peace?
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fighting words
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New York Times Co. v. Sullivan held that there must be proof of what in order to find libel against a public figure?
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actual malice
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The "right to remain silent" is a citizen's protection against ________
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self-incrination
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If a police officer has a reasonable belief that someone is committing or about to commit a crime, that officer can stop and frisk the suspect without _____.
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warrent
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The double jeopardy clause prevents an individual who is acquitted of a crime from which of the following?
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being tried again
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The prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment come from ______.
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English Common Law
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What branch of government created the right to privacy?
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the judiciary
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Shouting profanities in public is and example of _______ which is not protected speech.
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obscenity
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In recent years, the Supreme Court has struggled to address ______on the Internet in a First Amendment context.
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obscenity
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Who is responsible for determining whether enough evidence exists to support a conviction against a criminal defendant?
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Jury
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The Supreme Court found _____ to be one of the unstated liberties linked to explicitly stated rights
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right to privacy
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During World War I, the Supreme Court upheld the Espionage Act by ruling that Congress has a right to restrict speech that _______.
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creates and clear and present danger.
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The Thirteenth Amendment bans slavery. When was it passed?
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Immediately after the Civil War
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The Fourteenth Amendment attempted to guarantee which of the following to former slaves?
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citizenship rights
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The provision of the Fourteenth Amendment that prohibits any state from denying "any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws" is know as the ____________clause.
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equal protection
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The Fifteenth Amendment guarantees citizens the right to vote regardless of ______.
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race
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What was the objective of the women's suffrage movement?
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the right to vote
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In spite of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women in the early twenty-first century still earn less than men, which led President Barrack Obama to sight which of the following?
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Lilly Ledbetter Act
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The Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans _________ in public accommodations
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discrimination
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In the first civil rights movement, the abolitionist movement and the early women's movement were tied together. Hen did the movement take place?
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In the early 1800s
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What was the primary focus at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention for activists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott?
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Women's Rights
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What did Jim Crow Laws mandate?
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Racial segregaton
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What book led President Abraham Lincoln to describe the author as "the little woman who started the big war" because of the effect the book had on changing public opinion?
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Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
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Women were guaranteed the right to vote by __________.
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19th Amendment
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What were Black Codes?
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laws that denied rights to African Americans
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Rosa Parks was arrested for challenging _______ laws
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Jim Crow
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What is the current legal status of American Indian Tribes?
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The are a sovereign nation
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What did the Supreme Court determine was unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education?
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segregation of schools
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The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. insisted that civil disobedience aimed at ending discrimination in the south should be conducted ______.
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nonviolently
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What provision of the Fourteenth Amendment serves as a cornerstone of our understanding of civil rights?
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the equal protection clause.
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What strategy did the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) use most effectively to advance civil rights for African Americans?
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Boycotts
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What were he Black Codes passed by many of the former Confederate states designed to do?
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deny rights, such as voting and sitting on juries, to newly freed slaves
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What is the source of de facto segregation and discrimination?
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practice
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The Civil Act of 1964 was designed to overturn which of the following?
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Jim Crow Laws
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Jim Crow laws are examples of ______ segregation.
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racial
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If you were a poor, illiterate, white farmer, ___________ would help ensure your ability to vote in the South after the Civil War?
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grandfather clause
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To get around the Fifteenth Amendment southern states enact _____ taxes
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poll
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How does the Preamble to the Constitution begin?
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We the people of the United States
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What was the most common initial reason for the settlement in North America by the first colonists?
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economic
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What is a system of government in which members of the polity meet to discuss all policy decisions and then agree to abide by majority rule?
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direct democracy
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The ancient Greeks considered representative government to be which of the following?
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undemocratic
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Indirect democracy is based on which of the following?
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representation
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what are republics?
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representative democracies
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In an oligarchy, rule is by which of the following?
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Rule by the few in their own interests
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Which function of government provides for police protection?
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Ensuring Domestic Tranquility
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What amendment expanded Americans' conceptions of personal liberty to include some forms of freedom from discrimination?
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14th amendment
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The idea that governments draw legitimacy and power from the governed is referred to as which of the following?
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popular consent
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Which of the following is the doctrine that society should be governed by certain ethical principles that are part of nature and can be understood by reason?
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natural law
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The Framers agreed that the new nation had to be founded on what religious principle?
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Religious freedom
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How many citizens did the Constitution initially mandate that each member of the House of Representatives should represent?
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The Constitution mandated that the # of members of the House of Representatives should not exceed 1 for every 30,000 people and set the size of the first House was at 65 members
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In general, which of the following is true about the U.S. population?
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It is getting older
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When did immigration peak in the United States?
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In the first decade of the 1900s
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One of the most long-standing and dramatic regional differences in the United States is between which of the following?
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between the North and the South
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The percentage of households in the United States consisting of a single person is nearly ______ percent
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30
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Based on the average age of the state's population, which issue would you expect to be least important to voters in Florida?
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public education
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The reason that some pro-choice conservative voters may choose pro-choice liberal candidates over the other conservatives is most closely related to which of the following functions of ideology?
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orientation
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Social conservatives, who now form a large part of the base of the Republican Party, often are also members of what organizations?
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religious orgranizations
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Which of the following is a true statement about liberals?
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The generally favor government intervention to promote equality
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Which of the following is a true statement about moderates?
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The believe that a temperate view is the best approach to politics
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Over time, Americans' expectations of government have generally _______
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increased
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Americans' faith in institutions in the United States has _________
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generally decreased
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Americans have the highest levels of trust in which of the following?
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medicine
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Which of the following would have been expected of the federal government 200 years ago?
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providing national defense
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At the Constitutional Convention,the delegates agreed that slaves would be counted as _____ of a person determining population for representation in the House of Representatives.
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3/5ths
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__________ is an economic theory designed to increase a nation's wealth through the development of commercial industry and a favorable balance of trade.
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Mercantilism
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In what year was the Declaration of Independence signed?
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1776
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How many constitutions has the United States had in its history?
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two
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The U.S. Constitution was adopted in response to the weakness of the Articles of __________
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Confederation
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The colonists rebelled against the unilateral imposition by the British government of which of the following?
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Taxes
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Who was the author of the Declaration of Independence?
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Thomas Jefferson
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Which of the following debated and drafted the Declaration of Independence?
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Continental Congress
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Which clause provides that the Constitutions shall be the supreme law of the land?
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supremacy
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Which of the following generally favored a strong national government and supported the proposed U.S. Constitution?
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Federalists
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The ____________ proposed proportional representation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
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Virginia Plan
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How many amendments have been made to the Constitution since its ratification?
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27
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In what ear was the U.S. Constitution ratified?
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1788
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Which constitutional amendment allowed voting for citizens who were eighteen or older?
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26th
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Which of the following philosophers greatly influenced the colonists' views on the role of government?
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John Locke
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During the colonial era, the colonists retained the right to do which of the following?
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levy taxes
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Which of the following required all paper items in the colonies to carry a stamp of the Crown?
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The Stamp Act
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Which Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence?
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Second
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In what year was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?
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1791
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_______ Rebellion was a protest by Massachusetts farmers to stop foreclosures by state courts
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Shay's
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The Articles of Confederation required _______ consent from the states for ratification.
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unanimous
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Many of the Founders believed that the ______ contract gave the government its legitimacy.
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social
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Under the Constitution, the president is elected by the _________
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Electoral College
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What is the principle that each branch of the federal government has the means to thwart or influence actions by other branches of government?
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checks and balances
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In the United States, the national government derives its power from ______
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laws
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Which plan called for a one-house legislature and multi-person executive?
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The New Jersey Plan
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