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97 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?
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Thomas Jefferson
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In what city was the Declaration of Independence written and later signed?
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Philadelphia
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What date was the Declaration of Independence formally approved?
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July 4, 1776
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According to the Declaration of Independence, government exist for what purposes?
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Government exist to insure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
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What is another term for the word liberty?
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Freedom
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What is another term for the word jutice?
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Fairness
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What form of government does the United States have?
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The United States has a republic form of government.
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What document was the first to describe the national government of the United States of America?
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The Articles of Confederation
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What were the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
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1) The national government could not raise taxes.
2) The national government could not enforce laws. 3) The national government could not regulate trade among the states. 4) Required 100% approval states to make changes. |
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What was the main issue blocking the ratification of the Articles of Confederation?
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Whether the states or the national government would control the lands west of the Appalachians.
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Define the term preamble in one word.
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introduction
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This system gives each branch of government the ability to limit the power of the others.
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Checks and Balances
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This system provides for the national government to have some powers and the states to have others.
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Federalism
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This idea was the basis for dividing the national government into three branches.
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Separation of Powers
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What are the parts of the United States Constitution?
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1) The Preamble
2) Seven Articles 3) Twenty-seven Amendments |
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"We the people", starts which part of the United States Constitution?
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The Preamble
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In this form of government, citizens elect representatives to make laws and run the government.
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Republic
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In which city was the United States Constitution drafted and later approved?
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Philadelphia
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What are the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution called?
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The Bill of Rights
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These are protected by the Bill of Rights.
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Individual Rights
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The phrase "form a more perfect union" in the preamble means...
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Create a nation in which states work together.
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The phrase "establish justice" in the preamble means...
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Make laws and set up courts that are fair.
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The phrase "insure domestic tranquility" in the preamble means...
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Keep peace within the country.
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The phrase "provide for the common defense" in the preamble means...
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Safeguard (protect) the country from attack.
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The phrase "promote the general welfare" in the preamble means...
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Contribute to the happiness and well-being of all the people.
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The phrase "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity" in the preamble means...
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Make sure future citizens remain free.
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Article 1 of the United States Constitution describes...
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The Legislature
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Article 2 of the United States Constitution describes...
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The Executive
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Article 3 of the United States Constitution describes...
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The Judiciary
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The preamble describes the ...
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purpose of government and the purpose of the Constitution
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Article 4 of the United States Constitution describes the...
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Relationships Among States
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Article 5 of the United States Constitution deals with...
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Amending the Constitution
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Article 6 of the United States Constitution establishes...
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The Supremacy of the National Government. This article also establishes the Constitution as the Supreme Law of the country
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Article 7 of the United States Constitution deals with...
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The Ratification of the Constitution.
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According to Article 7 of the United States Constitution ____ of the states had to ratify it before it took effect.
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Nine of the 13 states had to ratify the Constitution before it would take effect.
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What are three branches of the United States Government?
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The Legistative Branch (Legislature), the Executive Branch, the Judical Branch (Judiciary).
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The legislative branch is also known as the ________.
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Congress
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What five rights does the First Amendment protect?
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Speech, Religion, Press, Assembly, and Petition
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Define the term veto.
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Veto is the power of the President to stop/reject a bill from becoming a law.
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Which two bodies make up the legislative branch?
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The legislative branch is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate
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Which branch of the government makes laws, declares war, and raise armies?
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Only the Legistative Branch (Congress) can make laws, declare war and raise armies.
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How many members are in the House of Representatives?
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The House of Respresentatives has 435 members.
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The number of Representatives a state gets is based on ____________.
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the state's populaiton
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Who serves as the head of the House of Representatives?
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The Speaker of the House
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Who serves as the head of the Senate?
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The Vice-President of the United States is the President of the Senate.
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How many members are in the Senate?
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There are 100 members in the Senate (two from each state).
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In case of a tie in the Senate, _______ casts the tie-breakng vote.
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Vice-President
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The two groups that make up the Congress are _________ and the __________.
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House of Representatives in the Senate make up the Congress.
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What are the requirements to be a member of the House of Representatives?
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25 years of age,
7 years a citizen, resident of state representing |
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What are the requirements to be a member of the Senate?
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30 years of age,
9 years a citizen, resident of state representing |
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It takes ________ vote in Congress to override a presidental veto.
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2/3
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Congress exercises checks and balances on the ________ and _________ branches of government.
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executive and judical
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___________ can bring charges of impeachment on the President and other government officals and ________ tries the charges.
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The House of Representatives brings the charges and the Senate tries the charges.
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The supreme law of the United States is _________.
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the Constitution of the United States
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__________ has the power to make treaties with foreign governments.
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The President
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The ________ with a ________ vote can approve teaties with foreign governments
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The Senate with a 2/3 vote can approve teaties with froeign governments.
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Which offical can call a special session of Congress?
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The President can call a special session of Congress.
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The main duty of the executive branch is to...
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enforce and carry out laws.
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____________ is the head of the executive branch.
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The president
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__________ is the head of the Supreme Court.
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The Chief Justice
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What are the qualification to be President of the United States?
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35 years of age,
natural born citizen, lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years |
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How is the President of the United States elected?
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The President of the United States is elected by the electoral college.
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It takes ________ electoral college votes to win a presidental election.
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270
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The number of votes each state has in the electoral college is equal to _________.
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a state's number of Representatives and Senators.
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Knowing Illinois has 21 electoral college votes when then know Illinois has ____ members in the House of Representatives.
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19
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If a president approves a bill it is signed and becomes a _____, if the president wants to reject a bill it is ___.
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When a bill is signed it becomes a law.
To reject a bill the president vetoes it. |
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Each term of office for the president is ____ years.
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4
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A person can on be elected to ____ terms as president.
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2
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Which two governmental groups may propose amendmetns to the Constitution?
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Congress and state legislatures may propose amendments to the Constitution.
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To introduce a constitutional amendments it requires ____ vote in both houses of Congress.
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2/3
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For an amendment to be ratified it requires ____ of the the states to approve it.
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3/4
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Members of the Supreme Court are appointed _________ and confirmed ________.
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by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
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The main duty of the judical branch is to ......
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interpret laws.
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How many judges are on the Supreme Court?
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9
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What is the term of office for a federal court judge?
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life
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The Supreme Court (Judical Branch) can check the power of the legislative branch by...
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declaring a law unconstitutional
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The highest court in our land is _________.
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the Supreme Court
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The judical branch of government forms a check on the executive branch by...
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declaring executive acts unconstitutional.
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To prevent a person from committing a crime in one state and fleeing to another, the process of extradition is followed. This means...
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a court order is made returning the accused person back to the state the crime was committed.
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Impeachment means to ...
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formally acuse of wrong doing.
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What office in tne national government requires a person to be a natural born citizen?
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President of the United States
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_______ means to make an offical count of the population. This is done in the U.S. every _____ years.
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census, 10
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________ allows a prisoner to be brought before a judge to make sure he/she is being held lawfully.
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Habeas-corpus
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Which branch of government has the power to establish federal courts?
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The legistative branch.
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According to Amendment 26 the voting age in the United States is ____________
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18 years of age.
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According to Amendment 23, which territory of the country has electoral votes, but is not a state?
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The District of Columbia (the nation's capital) has three electoral votes.
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Can a candidate win the Presidency by winning 10 or fewer states?
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No, because the candidate would not have enough electoral votes.
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What is a bill?
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A bill is a proposed law.
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Define unconstitutional.
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Means something goes against the Constitution.
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What is our written plan of government?
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The Constitution is our written plan of government.
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What is the term of office for a Representative?
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A Repesentative's term of office is two (2) years.
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What is the term of office for a Senator?
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A Senator's term of office is six (6) years.
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What is main duty of the legislative branch?
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The main duty of the legislative branch is to make and write laws.
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What is an amendment?
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An amendment is a change or addition to the Constitution.
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When was the Constituion ratified?
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The U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1787.
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What year did the first president take office?
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The first president's first term of office started in 1789.
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Who was the first president of the United States of America?
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George Washington was the first president of the United States of America.
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