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Example Questions
Example Question #76 : Civics And Government
What majority of Congress is needed to override a Presidential veto?
Absolute
Two-thirds
Unanimity
Four-fifths
Three-fifths
Two-thirds
As part of the American system of checks and balances, the President can override an action of Congress with a Presidential veto; however with a two-thirds vote, Congress can in turn override the Presidential veto.
Example Question #77 : Civics And Government
The Eighth Amendment to the United States' Constitution protects __________
the right to freedom of assembly.
American citizens from cruel and unusual punishment.
American citizens from forced quartering of soldiers.
the right to a speedy trial by jury.
the right to carry guns.
American citizens from cruel and unusual punishment.
The Eighth Amendment to the United States' Constitution protects Americans from cruel and unusual punishment (including torture) or excessive fines. The Second Amendment protects the right to carry guns; the Third Amendment protects Americans from the forced quartering of soldiers; the First Amendment protects the right to freely assemble; the Sixth Amendment protects the right to a speedy trial, and the Seventh Amendment protects the right to trial by jury.
Example Question #2 : Constitutional Amendments
Which of these is not a freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment?
Freedom of peaceful assembly
Freedom of the press
All of these are guaranteed by the First Amendment.
Freedom of speech
Freedom of religion
All of these are guaranteed by the First Amendment.
The First Amendment to the United States’ Constitution guarantees certain inalienable rights that cannot be infringed upon by the government. They are the freedom of speech, religion, the press, petition, and peaceful assembly. The First Amendment is the first of ten amendments that make up the Bill of Rights.
Example Question #3 : Constitutional Amendments
The __________ Amendment gave women the right to vote.
Twenty-Fourth
Twenty-First
Twenty-Third
Nineteenth
Sixteenth
Nineteenth
The women’s suffrage movement picked up steam during World War One, when many women stepped into the jobs and roles in society vacated by men off fighting in the war. The movement culminated in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of gender. The Amendment was ratified in 1920.
Example Question #81 : Content Areas
The Eighteenth Amendment __________
repealed prohibition.
abolished slavery.
established a two-term limit for the President.
prohibited the sale and consumption of alcohol.
established the line of succession should the President and Vice-President be unable to fulfill the duties of the office.
prohibited the sale and consumption of alcohol.
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited the sale, use, and consumption of alcohol. It represented the culmination of a decades-long temperance movement. The amendment was passed in 1919; however, the prohibition of alcohol led to a rise in organized crime and was repealed fourteen years later, in 1933, by the passage of the Twenty-First Amendment.
Example Question #1 : Constitutional Amendments
This picture depicts a problem colloquially referred to as "political graft." The 17th Amendment attempted to solve this problem by changing the election of Senators how?
It provides that they shall be elected by their respective state legislatures
None of these
It provides that the Governor of their respective state shall appoint them
It provides that they shall be directly elected
It provides that they shall be directly elected
The correct answer is that the 17th Amendment provides for the direct election of Senators. Prior to the ratification of the 17th Amendment, Senators were elected indirectly. In other words, you (and your co-citizens) did not elect Senators. In fact, Senators were elected by state legislatures (which, of course, were elected by the voting public in each respective state). The 17th Amendment was, in large part, a response to the Progressive movement, which accused the indirect election system of being plagued by graft (political corruption, essentially).
This cartoon reflects that view (note the large gentlemen looming over the senators in the back). The large folks in the back are the purported "bosses" of individual states (e.g. Boss Tweed) who supposedly could thus buy state legislatures (or at least heavily influence them) and promote the election of the senator they wanted.
Example Question #1 : Constitutional Amendments
The 18th Amendment is colloquially called ________________ because it outlawed ________________?
direct election . . . states electing their own senators
prohibition . . . alcohol
civil rights . . . discrimination
succession . . . the election of the VP
prohibition . . . alcohol
The correct answer is “prohibition . . . alcohol." Hopefully this question was relatively easy. The 18th Amendment, similar to the 17th, was adopted in large part in response to the Progressive movement (although, technically, it was the “Temperance” movement which gave birth to it). Women were a large driving force behind Prohibition, and it is no coincidence that women gained the right to vote soon after.
Example Question #2 : Constitutional Amendments
"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."
This "Declaration of Rights and Sentiments" led directly (if some time later) to the passage of which Amendment?
17th
19th
20th
21st
19th
The 19th Amendment is the correct answer. The "Declaration of Rights and Sentiments" was the women's rights analog to the Declaration of Independence. It was read at the Seneca Falls Convention, the first formal agitation of equal rights among the sexes, which eventually leads to the passage of the 19th Amendment.
Although some—many, actually—states granted women the right to vote prior to the 19th Amendment, it took an amendment to force the noncompliant states to allow women to vote. Do you know why that is?
Remember: controlling the franchise (that is, who gets to vote) belongs to the states alone! That’s why it took an amendment to change the laws in the states which did not allow women to vote.
Example Question #2 : Constitutional Amendments
Could women vote prior to the ratification of the 19th Amendment?
Yes. All women could vote, and the amendment was superfluous.
None of these
No, of course not. Why else would there have been an amendment?
Some women could. In fact, most states and territories west of the Mississippi allowed women to vote
Some women could. In fact, most states and territories west of the Mississippi allowed women to vote
The correct answer is “Some women could . . .” Interestingly, many states west of the Mississippi allowed women to vote, with the Wyoming Territory (later the state) leading the charge. Do you know why this is? The answer is somewhat nuanced (and there are several theories as to why), but one plausible reason is that women were critical in settling the West, so the men “rewarded” them by extending the franchise. In other words, and likely a little more accurately, western women, unlike their eastern counterparts, were not simply homemakers and child-raisers. They actively participated in almost every aspect of life.
Example Question #82 : Content Areas
New York Times Headline, July 18, 1940: ROOSEVELT WINS THIRD TERM!
Which Amendment was passed (in large part) in response to this momentous event?
22nd Amendment
19th Amendment
20th Amendment
21st Amendment
22nd Amendment
The 22nd Amendment limited the number of terms to which a President could be elected to 2. That said, it’s still possible for a President to be President for slightly less than 10 years. We’ll use names to make it easier. Billary Clownton and McDonald Grump are elected President and Vice President respectively. Clownton suffers an embarrassing political debacle halfway through her term, and is impeached and removed from office. Grump becomes President, and serves the remainder of Clownton’s term (a little less than two years). Grump goes on to be elected for two terms (8 years). Grump has been in office for (almost) 10 years, but only elected to 8. Pretty cool stuff!
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