1. Which document first gave English nobles basic rights?

1. REVIEWThis is a review for the upcoming benchmark on Jan 7th. Click once to see the question, try to answer it, then click again to see if you were right. So that you don’t get overwhelmed, do about 8-10 questions a day, but do go through them at least twice. If you do this everyday until the day of the benchmark, you’ll do great on the exam!

2. 1. Which document first gave English nobles basic rights? The Magna Carta 2. Which document stated that EVERYONE, even the king, has to obey the law? The English Bill Of Rights 3. Who said we all are born with basic rights and that the government’s job is to protect these rights? John Locke 4. What is the name of America’s first national government? The Articles of Confederation

3. 5. Which document FIRST established the idea of self-government in America? The Mayflower Compact. 6. Who came up with the idea to separate the powers of government into three different “branches?” C.L. Montesquieu 7. What are some of the important features of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 ? The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established rules for how the Northwest Territory was going to be organized and governed. It provided guidelines for admitting new states as well as banning slavery in that territory. 8. What was Shay’s Rebellion so important? Although Shay’s Rebellion was finally stopped, it showed how weak the Articles of Confederation was and how the country needed a stronger federal/national government. This led up to the Constitutional Convention.

4. 9. Who had more power under the Articles of Confederation, the federal/national government or the states? The states had more power under the Articles of Confederation. 10. List some of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation: The federal/national government could only ASK for taxes and men for an army. It had no power to force states to pay taxes, send men for an army, or settle disputes between states. 11. During the debate over the ratification of the Constitution, which group was for ratification (approving the Constitution)? The Federalists were for ratification because they wanted a strong federal/national government. 12. Which group was against the ratification of the Constitution? Why? The Anti-Federalists were against ratification because they wanted the states to have more power; they were afraid that the federal government would abuse it’s powers.

5. The Bill of Rights, which the Anti-Federalists wanted and the Federalists agreed to. 13. What do you call the first 10 amendments to the Constitution? 14. Who wrote the Bill of Rights, along with most of the Constitution? James Madison, who is considered the “Father of the Constitution.” 15. Which branch has the power to make laws? Enforce the law? Interpret the law? The Legislative Branch (Congress) has the power to make the law. The Executive Branch has the power to enforce the law. The Judicial Branch has the power to interpret the law 16. Explain Checks and Balances? It’s a system that prevents any one branch of government from becoming too powerful by purposely dividing or separating the powers. Each branch has a power to “check” or stop the other branches; as a result, the branches have to work together and cooperate.

6. 17. What are the requirements for being a representative? You have to be at least 25 years old, a citizen for at least seven years, and live in the state in that you represent. You serve a two year term. 18. What are the requirements for being a senator? You have to be at least 30 years old, a citizen for at least nine years, and live in the state that you represent. You serve a six year term. 19. What are the requirements for being president? You have to be at least 35 years old, a native born citizen, and live in the country for the past 14 years. You serve a four year term. 20. What are the requirements for being a justice of the Supreme Court? There are no exact requirements! However, you do need to be nominated by the President and receive approval by a majority of the Senate.

7. 21. Who has the power to propose a law (bill)? Congress: either a member of the House of Representatives or Senate can propose a law (bill). 22. Who has the power to approve or disapprove (veto) a proposed law (bill)? The President. 23. Who has the power to declare a law, treaty, or even action of Congress/President unconstitutional? The Judicial Branch (which includes the Supreme Court). 24. Who has the power to tax? Congress (Legislative Branch)

8. 25. If Congress passes a proposed law (bill), what can the other Branches do to stop it? The President can veto the bill while the Judicial Branch can declare it unconstitutional if the court decides that it goes against the Constitution. 26. How are treaties made? The President makes the treaties but the Senate must approve them by a 2/3 vote. The Supreme Court can still declare it unconstitutional if it goes against the Constitution. 27. Who is the “Commander in Chief” of the military? The President controls the military, which he can use to enforce the law. 28. Who has the power to appoint ambassadors, cabinet officials, and justices to the Supreme Court? The President, but the Senate needs to approve the nominations with a majority vote.

9. 29. What types of cases does Supreme Court hear? Cases involving foreign countries or officials, when someone sues the United States, when a state sues another state, or cases from the lower courts. 30. How are federal justices replaced? Federal justices serve for life and can only be replaced if they retire, die, or are removed through impeachment. 31. How do reverse a Supreme Court ruling? There are only two ways to reverse a Supreme Court ruling: 1. If a new amendment is passed OR 2. If a new set of justices come in and decides to reverse a previous ruling.

10. 32. If the President vetoes a bill, does it automatically “die”? No, Congress can override a presidential veto with a 2/3 vote. However, this is difficult. 33. According to Article 4 of the Constitution, are court decisions or licenses recognized by other states if someone goes to that state? Yes, states have to honor the court decisions or licenses of other states. 34. According to Article 6 of the Constitution, what kind of law is “supreme”? According to Article 6, the Constitution and all federal law are “supreme,” meaning that state and city laws can’t go against them. 35. How are amendments added to the Constitution? Either 2/3 of Congress OR 2/3 of the states can propose an amendment. Then, ¾ of the states have to approve of the proposed amendment. The president doesn’t sign it and can’t veto amendments. The Judicial Branch can’t rule an amendment unconstitutional because it’s now part of the Constitution!

11. 36. What is federalism? A form of government in which power is shared between the federal/national government and the states. This means there are things that the federal/national government can do that states can’t, things that the state governments can do that that the federal/national government can’t, and things that both of them can do. 37. The ability to print money is an example of what type of power? Printing money is a form of delegated powers, powers that only the federal/nation government has. 38. The ability to tax, create laws, and enforce laws are examples of what type of power? The ability to tax, create laws, and enforce laws are examples of concurrent powers, powers that both the federal/national and state government have. 39. The ability to issue a driver’s license or create marriage laws are examples of what type of power? Only the states have the power to issue driver’s license and create marriage laws. These are examples of reserved powers.

12. When can the police legally search someone? If they have one of the following: 1) warrant 2) probable cause 3) evidence is in “plain view” 4) the search is made after a legal arrest 5) the person being search gives consent. Even if the police finds 100 pounds of drugs in someone’s house, if they made the search illegally, could they still use the drugs as evidence? No! The Fourth Amendment protects us against unreasonable searches so the police or government needs to meet one of the following requirements mentioned above to do a search. Any evidence found in an illegal search can’t be used in court. This is the known as the “exclusionary rule.” The First Amendment gives us freedom of speech and press, so does it mean we can say or print whatever we want? No! We don’t have unlimited freedom of speech or press. For example, the Constitution doesn’t give us the right to say or print things that we know are lies in order to harm someone’s reputation. Slander, libel, and “hate speech” are forms of speech not protected, as is speech that would create a “clear and present danger,” such as yelling fire in a crowded theater when there is no fire. Articles of Confederation

13. Do we have rights not mentioned in the Constitution? Yes! The Ninth Amendment ensures us that we have rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution. The Framers were smart enough to know that they could not have possibly listed every right or that certain changes in the future would require that we have new rights. For example, public education is guaranteed to everyone in America even though that isn’t specifically mentioned in the Constitution. The Sixth Amendment guarantees that those accused of a crime receive a “speedy trial.” What does this mean and why is it a good thing? Being promised a speedy trial is a good thing because it forces the government to hear your case within a certain amount of time. For example, if someone is accused of robbery the government has to bring that person to trial within a reasonable amount of time, say a few weeks. Otherwise the person is sitting in jail for a long time and may in fact be innocent. Also, a speedy trial is crucial because if it takes too long to trial the accussed, witnesses may forget important information or evidence might get lost or damage.

14. Suspecting that students are bringing gum to school (which is against the rules), a teacher does a random search of 30 student backpacks. Is this legal, why or why not? Which amendment is being challenged? While teachers do have authority to search backpacks if they have “reasonable” cause to believe that something illegal/dangerous (ex. gun) was brought to school, making random searches for gum is not a “reasonable” cause. Gum is not a serious threat that it would justify a “warrantless” search, which would violate the Fourth Amendment. Do students in a journalism class have the write to print any kind of article they wish? Why or why not? Which amendment is being challenged here? The amendment in question is the First, which protects both speech and press. However, in this case, the journalism class doesn’t have unlimited freedom to print articles as they please. First, libel is a form of speech that is not protected by the First Amendment. Second, the journalism class falls under the jurisdiction (authority) of the school since it is a school created and sponsored class. Because it is such, the journalism students have to adhere (obey, follow) to the guidelines set by the school.

15. Joe Green was late to Homeroom again for the fifth time this month. As punishment, Joe was forced to stand in the middle of class and dance in circles as he prayed to the “Tree gods” so that he would learn to leave home earlier in order to be on time for school. After this he was assigned to 8 hours of detention, during which time he had to clean and wash the tables in his Homeroom. Which amendment(s) are being challenged here? Is the punishment a legal one, why or why not? No, the punishment isn’t legal because it violates both the First and Eight Amendments. School officials can’t force students to pray (a religious act) or assign excessive and unreasonable amounts of punishment. Recently, a BIG, well known company by the name of “Cougars” decided they wanted to build a new factory in city of Carmenitams. Unfortunately, there are no lots big enough to hold this new proposed factory so the company had to ask city officials to clear out a number of houses in order to make room for the new factory? Is this legal, why or why not? Which amendment is being challenged? Yes, this is legal. According to the Fifth Amendment, the government has the power of eminent domain. Since the proposed factory is a big one, it would provide jobs for the people of the city, thus creating a “public good.” As a result, this would give the city the right to take a way the houses (they have to pay for it) in order to make room for the new factory.