Principles of American Democracy

1. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, it:

a. Sets up the government
b. Defines the government
c. Protects the rights of Americans
2. The Constitution starts with We the people and
shows the idea of self-government
3. An Amendment is to change or add to the
constitution
a. The first 10 are known as the bill of rights
(1st: religion, speech, press, assembly,
petition)
b. 27 amendments total
4. The Declaration of Independence:
a. Declared and announced our independence
from Britain
b. The U.S. is free
c. Rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness
5. The U.S. economic system is:
a. Capitalist economy
b. Market economy
6. The rule of law:
a. Everyone must follow the law
b. Leaders must obey the law
c. Government must obey the law
d. No one is above the law

System of Government
1. Branches of the government:
a. Legislative: congress (senate and house of
rep), who makes the laws
b. Executive: presidential, who carries out the
laws
c. Judicial: the courts, who reviews and
explain the laws, resolve disputes, and
decides if a law goes against the constitution
2. Checks and balances, with separation of powers,
stops one branch of the government from becoming
too powerful
3. 100 U.S. senators, elected for 6 years. They represent
the people of the state
a. Orrin Hatch
b. Mike Lee
4. 435 House of Representatives, elected for 2 years
a. Rob Bishop
5. Presidents are elected every 4 years in November
a. Barack Obama (pres and Democrat)
b. Commander and chief of military
c. Signs bills to become laws
d. Vetoes bills
6. Vice President becomes President if the President can
no longer serve. Next is the Speaker of the House
a. Joe Biden (VP)
b. John Boehner (Speaker of the House)
7. The presidents cabinet advises the president
a. Secretary of Agriculture
b. Secretary of Commerce

c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

8.

9.

10.

11.
12.
13.

Secretary of Defense
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretary of Homeland Security
Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development
i. Secretary of Interior
j. Secretary of Labor
k. Secretary of State
l. Secretary of Transportation
m. Secretary of the Treasury
n. Secretary of Veteran Affairs
o. Attorney General
p. Vice President
The highest supreme court in the U.S. is the Supreme
Court
a. 9 total
b. Chief Justice: John Roberts
The federal government has power to:
a. Print money
b. Declare war
c. Create an army
d. Make treaties
The states have power to
a. Provide school and education
b. Protection (police)
c. Provide safety (fire departments)
d. Give a drivers license
e. Approve zoning and land use
Utahs Governor is Gary Herbert
The capital of Utah is Salt Lake City
2 major political parties: Democratic and Republican

Rights and Responsibilities

1. Who can vote
a. Citizens 18 and older
b. You dont have to pay a poll tax to vote
c. Any citizen can vote
d. Any race can vote
2. Responsibilities of citizens
a. Serve on a jury duty
b. Vote in a federal election
3. Rights for citizens
a. Vote in a federal election
b. Run for federal office
c. Freedom of expression, speech, assembly,
petition, religion, bear arms
4. To show loyalty to the Pledge of Allegiance we are
showing loyalty to the U.S. and the flag
5. Promises when you become a U.S. citizen
a. Give up loyalty to other countries
b. Defend the constitution and laws of the U.S.
c. Obey the laws of the U.S.
d. Serve in the military if needed
e. Serve the nation if needed
f. Be loyal to the U.S.
6. How to participate in democracy

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

7.
8.

Vote
Join a political party
Help with campaign
Join a civic group
Join a community group
Share your opinions with elected officials
Call senators and representatives
Publicly support or oppose and issue or
policy
i. Run for office
j. Write to a newspaper
Taxes are due April 15
Men must register for Selective Service
a. At age 18 to 29

Colonial Period and Independence

1. Colonists came to America for:
a. Freedom
b. Political liberty
c. Religious freedoms
d. Economic opportunity
e. Escape persecution
2. Native Americans lived in America before Europeans
arrived
3. Africans were taken to America and sold as slaves
4. Colonists fought Britain because of
a. High taxation without representation
b. British armies stayed in their houses
c. They didnt have self-government
5. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of
Independence
6. The Declaration of Independence was adopted
July 4, 1776
7. The original states were
a. New Hampshire
b. Massachusetts
c. Rhode Island
d. Connecticut
e. New York
f. New Jersey
g. Pennsylvania
h. Delaware
i. Maryland
j. Virginia
k. North Carolina
l. South Caronia
m. Georgia
8. At the Constitutional Convention the Constitution
was written by the Founding Fathers in 1787
9. Writers of the Federalist papers:
a. James Madison

b. Alexander Hamilton
c. John Jay
d. Publius
10. Benjamin Franklin is famous for
a. U.S. diplomat
b. Oldest member of the Constitutional
Convention
c. First Postmaster General of the U.S.
d. Writer of Poor Richards Almanac
e. Started the first free libraries
11. The father of our country and first president was
George Washington
1800s
1. In 1803 the U.S. bought the Louisiana Territory from
France
2. Wars in the 1800s
a. War of 1812
b. Mexican-American War
c. Civil War (between the north and south
states)
d. Spanish American War
3. Causes of the Civil War
a. Slavery
b. Economic reasons
c. States rights
4. Abraham Lincoln did
a. Freed the slaves (Emancipation
Proclamation)
b. Saved/preserved the Union
c. Led the U.S. during the Civil War
5. Susan B. Anthony
a. Fought for womens rights
b. Fought for civil rights
Recent and Important historical information
1. U.S. wars in the 1900s
a. WWI (pres Woodrow Wilson)
b. WWII (pres Franklin Roosevelt)
c. Korean War
d. Vietnam War
e. Persian Gulf War
2. The President during the Great Depression was
Franklin Roosevelt
3. WWII was against Japan, Germany, and Italy
4. President Eisenhower was a general in WWII
5. The main concern for the U.S. in the Cold War was
communism
6. The civil rights movement tried to end racial
discrimination
7. Martin Luther King, Jr.
a. Fought for civil rights
b. Worked for equality for all Americans
8. September 11, 2001 was when terrorists attack the
U.S.
9. Native American tribes in the U.S.
a. Cherokee
b. Navajo
c. Sioux
d. Chippewa

e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.
m.
n.
o.
p.
q.
r.
s.
t.
u.
v.

Choctaw
Pueblo
Apache
Iroquois
Creek
Blackfeet
Seminole
Cheyenne
Arawak
Shawnee
Mohegan
Huron
Oneida
Lakota
Crow
Teton
Hopi
Inuit

Geography
1. Longest rivers in the U.S.
a. Missouri
b. Mississippi
2. The ocean to the West of the U.S. is the Pacific
3. The ocean to the East of the U.S. is the Atlantic
4. The U.S. territories
a. Puerto Rico
b. U.S. Virgin Islands
c. American Samoa
d. Northern Mariana Islands
e. Guam
5. States that border Canada
a. Maine
b. New Hampshire
c. Vermont
d. New York
e. Pennsylvania
f. Ohio
g. Michigan

6.

7.
8.

h. Minnesota
i. North Dakota
j. Montana
k. Idaho
l. Washington
m. Alaska
States that border Mexico
a. California
b. Arizona
c. New Mexico
d. Texas
The capital of the U.S. is Washington DC
The statue of liberty is in the New York Harbor on
Liberty Island

Symbols

1. The 13 stipes on the flag represent the

original 13 colonies
2. The 50 stars on the flag represents the states
3. The national anthem is The Star Spangled
Banner
Holidays
1. U.S. holidays
a. New Years Day
b. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
c. Presidents Day
d. Memorial Day
e. Independence Day (July 4th)
f. Labor Day
g. Columbus Day
h. Veterans Day
i. Thanksgiving
j. Christmas