TEST I GOVNT – Flashcards

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Members of Congress have frequently proposed a constitutional amendment to make flag burning a crime because
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the only way to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling that flag burning is protected speech is through a constitutional amendment.
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Which of the following would NOT be an example of speech plus?
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assassinating a political leader
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What is the purpose of the Tenth Amendment?
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to limit the powers of the central government by establishing reserved powers for states and individuals
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The federal system can be best defined as
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a system of government in which power is divided between a national government and lower levels of government.
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The Civil Rights Act of 1875 attempted to
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protect African Americans from discrimination in public accommodations such as hotels and theaters.
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________ defended the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre.
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John Adams
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The events that led to the Revolutionary War were triggered by which of the following?
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The British raised revenue by increasing the tax rate of the colonies.
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The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution deals with ________.
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the right to bear arms
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Which of the following statements best describes the number of peaceful civil rights demonstrations during the 1950s and 1960s?
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The number of demonstrations grew in the early 1960s and peaked in 1965.
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The expressed powers of Congress are listed in ________ of the U.S. Constitution.
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Article I, Section 8
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________ is most closely associated with the idea that the First Amendment protects the "marketplace of ideas."
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Oliver Wendell Holmes
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In American political culture, economic freedom means ________.
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capitalism
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Legally enforced segregation in public schools is a form of ________ discrimination.
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de jure
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Why was United States v. Lopez (1995) important?
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It was the first time since the New Deal that the Supreme Court limited the power of Congress outlined under the commerce clause.
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Which of the following was not discussed as a purpose of government in the Constitution's Preamble?
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to guarantee an equal distribution of wealth for all citizens
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The U.S. House of Representatives was designed to
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ensure majority rule.
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________ is the strategy of delegating a policy program to a lower level of government.
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Devolution
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During the Philadelphia Convention, in order to win concessions from large states, representatives from smaller states like Delaware threatened to
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form alliances with foreign nations.
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A state government's authority to regulate the safety, health, and morals of its citizens is called ________ power.
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police
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Which statement best describes the Supreme Court's trend in interpreting federalism since the mid-1990s?
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The Court has limited the power of the national government over the state governments.
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"Marble cake federalism" is associated with
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intergovernmental cooperation blurring the lines between different layers of government.
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Miranda v. Arizona (1966) was important because it produced rules that must be used
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by the police before questioning an arrested criminal suspect
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According to the authors of the text, democracy functions best when
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citizens are informed
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The source of implied powers under the U.S. Constitution is the ________ clause.
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necessary and proper
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Which of the following types of speech receives the greatest level of First Amendment protection?
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political speech that stops short of inciting violence
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Which of the following statements best describes naturalization laws in the United States prior to 1870?
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Only free whites could become naturalized citizens.
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________ compels state officials to obey costly federal regulations, but does not reimburse those costs.
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An unfunded mandate
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Why did the Equal Rights Amendment fail to pass?
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It was not ratified by the necessary 38 states
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What was a major reason that the slogan "states' rights" became tarnished in the 1950s and 1960s?
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It had been used by southern opponents of the civil rights movement to support racial segregation.
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What did the New Jersey Plan propose for Congress?
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Representation would be equal for each state.
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The ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
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established the separate but equal rule.
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The framers employed the separation of powers and federalism in order to
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prevent the new government from abusing its power.
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________ occurs when a state grants a city the ability to govern its own local affairs.
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Home rule
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Prior to the eighteenth century,
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governments rarely sought the support of their people.
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The Bill of Rights was designed to protect ________.
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liberty
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What was the Supreme Court's response to the Civil Rights Act of 1875?
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The justices declared the act unconstitutional because it protected against acts of private discrimination, not state discrimination.
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Which rights do NOT fall under constitutional arguments in favor of the right to privacy?
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right to use pornography
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Which area was NOT covered by the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
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military service
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Which statement best describes American federalism since the 1930s?
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Although the federal government has grown significantly more powerful since the 1930s, the basic framework of American federalism has not been altered and state governments remain important.
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Since 1973, the right to an abortion has been
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upheld but narrowed in scope.
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The National Associated for the Advancement of Colored People had the most success with ________ for combating racism.
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lawsuits
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A ________ vote by both houses of Congress, and a ratification vote of ________ of the states are required to amend the U.S. Constitution.
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two-thirds; three-fourths
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Which of the following statements best describes the discussion of local government found in the U.S. Constitution?
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Local governments are not mentioned in the Constitution.
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On the subject of representation, Antifederalists wanted
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representative bodies that resembled those represented to the highest degree.
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What did the Supreme Court justices rule in Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)?
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There was no constitutional right to privacy for consensual homosexual activity.
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Which of the following is true about the Bill of Rights?
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It includes the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
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How was political power in Congress divided under the Articles of Confederation?
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Each state had an equal vote
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Each of the following was an Antifederalist EXCEPT ________.
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John Jay
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The ________ rule forbids the introduction in trial of any piece of evidence obtained illegally
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exclusionary
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The ________ forbade workplace discrimination based on race.
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Civil Rights Act of 1964
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The ________ was the key group in Europe that pushed for limited government.
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bourgeoisie
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Which of the following was NOT a function of government most commonly performed by state governments during the era of dual federalism?
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patents and copyrights
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Which of the following is true about the Annapolis Convention?
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Delegates from five states attended.
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Who was NOT appointed to help draft the Declaration of Independence?
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George Washington
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How does the U.S. Constitution create a system that underrepresents urban areas?
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It provides each state with two U.S. senators, regardless of population
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________ powers exist when both state and national governments possess a certain level of authority.
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Concurrent
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________ described politics as "who gets what, when, and how."
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Harold Lasswell
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The constitutional basis for the nationalization of the Bill of Rights is the ________.
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Fourteenth Amendment (1868)
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Which of the following statements about freedom of speech is true?
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Free speech can be regulated by government officials.
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During the ratification debates, who were the Antifederalists?
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those who opposed the new Constitution because they wanted a weaker central government
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The American experience with civil rights suggests which of the following things about political change in the United States?
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Legislatures need constitutional authority to act from the courts, and the courts need legislative assistance to implement court orders and focus political support.
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The Supreme Court justices began to change their position on racial discrimination in the ________.
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1930s
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The demand that there be no taxation without representation is a good example of what political reform of the eighteenth century?
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more popular influence on government
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McDonald v. Chicago (2010) was significant because it
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applied the Second Amendment to state governments for the first time.
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How did the traditional system of dual federalism establish a "commercial republic"?
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The function of the federal government was to promote and assist commerce.
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What major changes in Western government led to the establishment of constitutional government?
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legal limits on government and the right of more people to vote
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Montesquieu called ________ the principle of giving each branch of government its own constituency.
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a mixed regime
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How many amendments to the Constitution have been formally proposed in Congress in U.S. history?
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over 11,000
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Title IX of the 1972 Education Act has had its greatest effect on ________.
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university athletic programs
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Political apathy among Americans hurts which core political value the most?
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democracy
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Under the Articles of Confederation, it was left to the ________ to execute the laws passed by Congress.
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states
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________ was the only state NOT to send delegates to the Philadelphia Convention.
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Rhode Island
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During the late nineteenth century, the equal protection clause was
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severely limited in scope by the Supreme Court.
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A federal grant to states to assist in the building of new public schools is an example of a ________ grant.
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categorical
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In their response to Brown v. Board of Education (1954), southern officials did all of the following EXCEPT
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quickly desegregate their schools.
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Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools (1992) is important because it
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asserted that violations of Title IX of the 1972 Education Act could be remedied with monetary damages.
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Which of the following economic policies was the national government allowed to implement during the nineteenth century?
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establishing a series of national banks
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Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) established the right
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to counsel in felony cases.
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The current prohibition on states to criminalize abortion is based on
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the right to privacy.
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Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) was important because it
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established the supremacy of the national government in all matters affecting interstate commerce.
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________ is evidenced when federal officials force state officials to implement more stringent water pollution regulations.
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Preemption
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A government that is not constrained by legal limits and also seeks to eliminate those organized social groups that might challenge or limit its authority is known as a(n) ________ government.
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totalitarian
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It was during the tenure of Chief Justice ________ that the Supreme Court established gender discrimination as a highly visible area of civil rights law.
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Burger
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Colonial protesters of the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act rallied around ________.
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"no taxation without representation"
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Which of the following is the best description of the Supreme Court's first ruling on the issue of the nationalization of the Bill of Rights in 1833?
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The Bill of Rights limits the national government but not state governments.
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Who wrote the Supreme Court opinions in both McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)?
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John Marshall
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Which of the following is true of Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?
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The justices outlawed de jure segregation.
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Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and Roe v. Wade (1973) have been extremely important in the development of
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a constitutional right to privacy
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How did the colonists' victory in the Revolutionary War change the balance of political power in the new states?
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Royal land, office, and patent holders were significantly weakened, and pre-Revolutionary radicals became the controlling forces in many state legislatures.
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What was one effect of dual federalism during the early republic?
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The national government was spared the task of making difficult policy decisions, such as the regulation of slavery, because the states did it themselves.
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The willingness to be restrained by the power of social institutions, but not political or legal institutions, is a hallmark of a(n) ________ regime.
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authoritarian
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The privileges and immunities clause of Article IV is also referred to as the ________.
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comity clause
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Which level of government writes the majority of criminal laws?
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the state governments
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The right to remain silent is guaranteed by the ________ Amendment.
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Fifth
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The first written constitution for the United States was called the ________.
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Articles of Confederation
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When the Alaskan legislature passed a law in the 1970s that gave state residents preference over nonresidents in obtaining work on oil pipelines, this law violated the ________.
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privileges and immunities
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Why was New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) significant?
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The justices ruled that a newspaper had to print false and malicious material deliberately in order to be guilty of libel.
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What led British officials to raise taxes on the American colonists during the 1760s?
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the amount spent on fighting the French and Indian Wars
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"Due process of law" in the United States is generally defined by the ________ amendments.
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Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth
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What was the main reason that Alexander Hamilton did NOT want a bill of rights?
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He believed it was unnecessary for a national government that possessed only specific, delegated powers.
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