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67 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Melting Pot Theory |
camp of immigration in the United States; says that you must give a part of yourself or your culture to become part of the whole; everyone comes together to be a new, better creation; feeling of assimilation |
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Civic Responsibilities |
for the whole; U.S. society depends on you |
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Personal Responsibilities |
for yourself or a select few (ex: family); can include fiscal (related to government revenue, taxes) responsibilities, such as saving for college and paying for bills |
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What are the differences between responsibilities and duties? |
responsibilities are socially stressed positive behaviors to perform (ex: voting in elections, signing up for military) while duties are required by law (ex: paying taxes, jury duty) |
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What is arguably the most basic right as an American and is a civic responsibility? |
voting |
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What minority group is now the largest in the U.S.? |
hispanics and latinos |
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Naturalization |
the process by which U.S. citizenship is granted after someone fulfills requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act |
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What are the requirements to get U.S. citizenship? |
you must be 18 years or older, live in the U.S. for 5 consecutive years, pass a citizenship test, and take the Oath of Allegiance |
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What is the Latin term used heavily by the government? |
"E Pluribus Unum" (out of many, one) |
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Characteristics of effective citizenship |
a citizenship that builds up American society, one that allows the U.S. political/judicial systems to function constitutionally; voluntary compliance (ex: obey laws) |
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Questions that arise with taxation |
who should be taxed? how much? |
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Baby Boomers |
those born right after WWII; there was a huge explosion of births right after |
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What was the impact of the Baby Boomers? |
a very large portion of U.S. society is now elderly; healthcare will have high demand and more medicine would be focused on the elderly |
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What is the relationship between education and earning capacity? |
The more education one receives the more earning capacity they get |
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Social Contract Theory |
says that the state only exists to serve the will of the people and they are the source of all political power enjoyed by the state; however, they have the power to give or withhold this power |
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How did Hobbes view the Social Contract theory? |
believed that people who were stronger could take over/use their power at any time; eventually, people would come together to form a state giving it enough power to protect their well-being; power would be given up by people |
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How did Locke view the Social Contract theory? |
believed that it was based off of popular sovereignty; will of people would direct state power; stressed the role and power of the individual |
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The town hall meetings used in the early colonies represent what style of government? |
First representative government; direct democracy |
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What was the result of the French and Indian war? What was Britain left with? |
The British/colonists won and gained more control; however, left with huge debt; led to taxing the colonies |
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Quartering Act |
required colonists to house/feed British soldiers for any reason |
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Stamp Act |
imposed a tax on any paper product |
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What two events happened in Boston to stir the pot of revolution? |
Boston tea party and Boston Massacre |
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Articles of Confederation |
first official document that governed the U.S.; central government had little power while states did; gave Congress no right to levy taxes, increasing debt |
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Shay's Rebellion |
a farmer named Daniel Shays was upset because the local government raised taxes on land; he started an uprising of several farmers and attempted to steal weapons; failed; showed how weak the Articles of Confederation were |
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Virginia Plan |
proposed that there would be two houses, both based on population |
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New Jersey Plan |
proposed for there to be one house with an equal number of representatives for each state |
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Great Compromise/Connecticut Plan |
combined the Virginia and New Jersey Plans; two houses, one based on population and one with equal representation per state |
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3/5 Compromise |
stated that slaves were worth 3/5 of a normal person; used for voting, representation, etc. |
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Federalists |
supported ratification of the Constitution; wanted a powerful central government, little states rights; important figures: George Washington, John Adams, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton |
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Antifederalists |
opposed ratification of the Constitution until a Bill of Rights was added; wanted powerful states; important figures: Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry |
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Strict Interpretation of the Constitution |
the government can only do what is explicitly stated in the Constitution |
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Loose Interpretation of the Constitution |
if something isn't written in the Constitution, it is allowed |
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5th Amendment |
no double jeopardy, due process of law, self-incrimination, and the government must compensate citizens when taking money |
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Republic |
the majority can't take away certain inalienable rights; constitutionally limited |
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Democracy |
all power rests on people; majority rules |
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Popular Sovereignty |
the government is ruled by the consent of the governed; U.S. loses a lot of power to the people |
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Preamble |
opening stanza to the U.S. Constitution |
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Delegated Powers |
powers given to the federal government by the Constitution (ex: coining/printing money, regulating trade, raising/supporting armies, declaring war) |
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Reserved Powers |
powers not given specifically to the federal government that are left to the states (ex: establishing local governments, establishing public school systems, conducting elections) |
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Concurrent Powers |
powers that are shared between the state and federal governments (ex: enforcing laws, borrowing money, collecting taxes) |
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What are the House of Representatives and Senate based on and how long do people serve? |
house of representatives- based on population (2 year terms) senate- equal representation (6 year terms) |
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What amendment tells us presidential succession? |
25th |
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Presidential Succession |
President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, President pro Tempore, Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General |
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How can the federal government branches check each other? |
Legislative: impeach President and appointment of judges Executive: veto legislation, appoint judges Judicial: declare laws or presidential actions unconstitutional |
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8th Amendment |
forbids excessive bail, cruel/unjust punishment, and high fines |
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Budget Deficit |
when the government has more money going out than in; means the government is not spending money efficiently |
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Budget Surplus |
when the government has more money coming in than going out; means the government is not spending enough money |
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Balanced Budget |
when the government has equal money coming in/out; best situation |
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Regressive Tax |
takes a larger percentage of income on those who earn less |
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Progressive Tax |
takes a larger percentage of income from those who earn more |
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Proportional Tax |
also called a "flat" tax; takes same percentage of income from everyone |
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FBI |
Federal Bureau of Investigation; nation's top law enforcement agency; focuses on federal crimes |
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When a President is impeached, who brings charges and who holds the trial? How does a President become impeached? |
House of Reps brings charges and Senate holds trial; 2/3 of vote needed |
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Grand Jury |
decides if there is enough information to move forward in case; ex: Ferguson |
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Petit Jury |
classic, 12 person jury who decide guilt or innocence |
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Plea Bargain |
when the defendant admits guilt, but takes a lesser punishment; saves time, money, and effort; win by default for the government |
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What is the judge (occasionally jury) looking for to reach a verdict? |
a "preponderance of evidence," or convincing, thorough evidence |
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Impact of Hammurabi's Code |
gave the idea of retribution/punishing people for crimes; "eye for an eye; tooth for a tooth" |
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Chief of Police |
highest-ranking law enforcement official at city level; jurisdiction ends at city limits |
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What is the main function of the state highway patrol? |
to make the highways as safe as possible |
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What must the police have to make an arrest? |
arrest warrant |
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Indictment |
a formal, written representation of all charges |
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Retribution |
punishing people for crimes |
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Deterrence |
making punishments so severe that criminals become afraid to commit crimes |
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Rehabilitation |
transforming criminals into law abiding citizens, such as through educational programs or job training |
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What are the positives and negatives of jury duty? |
positives: learning a lot about the legal system; possible new friends on the jury; more respect because of lots of power negatives: time, money, fear of sequestering (isolation from rest of society), emotional toll |
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Civics |
the study of the rights, responsibilities, and duties of citizenship; leads to a person becoming a better citizen; shows how influential political life can be |
