7th Grade Civics EOC Review, Exam prep. 100% Coverage, rated A

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7th Grade Civics EOC Review, Exam prep. 100% Coverage, rated A Baron De Montesquieu - ✔✔-View "separation of power" Founding Fathers used his views when writing the Constitution. He describe... d the separation of political power among a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary John Locke - ✔✔-He wrote that government is morally obligated to serve people, namely by protecting their natural rights of life, liberty, and property. Think-Declaration of Independence John Locke "Social Contract" - ✔✔-A social contract is the belief that the state only exists to serve the will of the people. He believed when government violates individual rights, people were obligated to rebel. Think - Declaration of Independence/American Revolution Magna Carta (1215) - ✔✔-First document to limit the powers of the king - signed in 1215. Citizens could not be deprived of life, liberty or property without a lawful judgment of their peers or by law of the land. Represented by the fifth amendment. English Bill of Rights (1689) - ✔✔-Established freedom from taxation without representation, outlawed cruel and unusual punishment, guaranteed the right to bear arms, and many other rights. Many of these same rights are included in the U.S. Constitution. Mayflower Compact (1620) - ✔✔-First document to establish self-government in the colonies. Signed before the passengers left the ship, The Mayflower, to settle in Plymouth Colony. Common Sense (Thomas Paine) - ✔✔-Pamphlet encouraging colonists to demand their rights as citizens and support independence for the colonies. Ideas are echoed in the Declaration of Independence. Self-Government - ✔✔-Government or control of a country by its own members rather than by members of a different country. Declaration of Independence - ✔✔-Statement of American ideals -role of government is to protect their natural rights (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness) - adopted July 4, 1776. Also listed grievances against the king. Colonists were angry over being taxed without their consent (no taxation without representation). Assent - ✔✔-Official approval or agreement Tyranny - ✔✔-Cruel and oppressive government or rule. Shay's Rebellion (1787) - ✔✔-Protests by Massachusetts farmers over tax collections and judgments for debt. State militia crushed the rebels. Alarmed politicians - cited as a reason to revise or replace the Articles of Confederation. Articles of Confederation - ✔✔-First form of government for America. Many Weaknesses: Only had a Congress where 9 out of the 13 states had to agree. No executive or judicial branch (power to enforce or interpret laws). States had the majority of the power. Country in debt - no way to raise money. Preamble to the Constitution - ✔✔-Introduction to the U.S. Constitution, establishing the goals and purposes of government. "We the People" = government depends on the people for its power and exists to serve them. Sets up the six goals of government. Constitutional Government - ✔✔-Any government whose authority and construction are defined by a constitution. Separation of Powers - ✔✔-Powers of government are divided among three branches of government: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. Limits the power of government. Montesquieu (French philosopher) believed this was a way to ensure liberty. Checks and Balances - ✔✔-Each governmental branch has powers to limit (check) the other branches. Keeps the balance of power relatively equal between the branches. Montesquieu (French philosopher) believed this was a way to ensure liberty. Federalists - ✔✔-Supporters of the Constitution who believe a strong national government is needed to keep the country united. Published the Federalist Papers to gain support for the Constitution. AntiFederalists - ✔✔-Feared a strong federal government as created by the Constitution. Did not believe it would protect states' rights nor people's freedom. As the Constitution is ratified, they push for a "Bill of Rights" to protect individual liberties. Bill of Rights - ✔✔-First 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution - details the specific freedoms that belong to each American citizen. Rule of Law - ✔✔-No one is above the law. Foundation of liberty in the United States and it protects us from tyranny; Constitution = limited government. Civil Law - ✔✔-Group of laws that refer to disputes among people or organizations. Criminal Law - ✔✔-Group of laws that define what acts/activities are crimes. Describes how a person accused of a crime should be tried in court and how crimes should be punished. Constitutional Law - ✔✔-Based on the Constitution and on Supreme Court decisions interpreting the Constitution Statutory Law - ✔✔-Laws that are passed by a law-making body (such as Congress). Most criminal and many civil laws are also these types of laws. Military Law - ✔✔-Governs the behavior of men and women in all branches of the U.S. armed forces. Common Law - ✔✔-Type of law that develops from judges previous decisions and is followed in situations not covered by statutory law. Sometimes, also called case law. Juvenile Law - ✔✔-An area of the law that deals with the actions and well-being of persons who are not yet adults. Citizenship - ✔✔-As defined by the 14th Amendment: all who are born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States and of the state they reside in. Naturalization - ✔✔-Legal process through which immigrants become U.S. citizens. Must be at least 18 years old, have a background check showing "good moral character", be fingerprinted, and pass tests on civics, U.S. history, and English Must take Oath of Allegiance to the United States. Law of Blood - ✔✔-Idea that a person's nationality at birth is the same as that of his natural parents. For example, if a child's parents are American citizens travelling through France when they give birth to that child, the child is American. Law of Soil - ✔✔-Idea that the country of citizenship of a child is determined by its country of birth. For example, in most cases if a child was born on U.S. land, but his parents are not U.S. citizens, the child is still a U.S. citizen. Civic Responsibility - ✔✔-Something that you should do as a citizen. This can include participating in the democratic process (voting), recycling, volunteering, or helping other citizens. Civic Duty - ✔✔-A civic duty is something that each citizen owes their nation, whether it's serving on a jury, abiding the law, registering for selective service, or paying taxes. Selective Service - ✔✔-A system for calling up people for compulsory (required) military service. First Amendment - ✔✔-Protects five freedoms: religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. Second Amendment - ✔✔-Protects the right to bear arms. Third Amendment - ✔✔-No soldiers will be quartered (housed) without the consent of the owners during times of peace. Also protects home-owners during times of war (unless required by law). Fourth Amendment - ✔✔-Protects against unreasonable search and seizures without a warrant or probable cause. Fifth Amendment - ✔✔-1. Before being tried for a serious crime a grand jury must indict (formally accuse) the person of the crime. 2. Protects against being tried for the same criminal offense twice. 3. Protects against self-incrimination. 4. Cannot be deprived of rights without due process of the law. 5. Allows for eminent domain. Sixth Amendment - ✔✔-Right to a prompt and public trial decided by a jury. A person must be informed of the charges against them. Can hear and question all witnesses, and have their own witnesses. Right to legal counsel (attorney). (Supreme Court interpreted this to mean the government will provide one if you cannot afford it). Seventh Amendment - ✔✔-In cases involving money or property over $20, the right to a trial by jury is preserved. Eighth Amendment - ✔✔-Protects against excessive bail and fines. Protects against cruel and unusual punishments. Ninth Amendment - ✔✔-There are rights reserved to the people that are not listed in the Constitution. Refers to the natural rights of people. Also called unenumerated rights - those not spelled out in the Constitution. Tenth Amendment - ✔✔-Powers that are not reserved to the federal government nor prohibited to the states belong to the states or the people. Limits the power of the federal government. Suffrage - ✔✔-The right of voting. Double Jeopardy - ✔✔-The act of putting a person through a second trial for an offense for which he or she has already been prosecuted or convicted. Prohibited by the Fifth Amendment. Due Process - ✔✔-The government has to follow rules and established procedures in everything it does. This protection helps to ensure justice. Contained in the Fifth Amendment. Eminent Domain - ✔✔-Government power to take private property for public use without the owner's consent. The Fifth Amendment requires the payment of just compensation to the owner. "Pleading the Fifth" - ✔✔-A person's refusal to answer a question on the ground that the answer might incriminate the person. The right to this refusal is protected by the Fifth Amendment. Appellate Process - ✔✔-The process to have a higher court review the result of a trial court or lower court. The Supreme Court is mainly an Appeals Court Ex Post Facto - ✔✔-Latin for "after the fact." Laws adopted after an act is committed making it illegal although it was legal when done, or increases the penalty for a crime after it is committed. Such laws are specifically prohibited by the U.S. Constitution. Habeas Corpus - ✔✔-Court order that requires the government to bring a prisoner to court and explain why he or she is being held. Independent Judiciary - ✔✔-A justice system that is not influenced by either the legislative or executive branch. Free to make decisions based upon law, not upon men or pressure from other groups. Created to guarantee equal justice to all. Precedent - ✔✔-A previous case or legal decision that may be or must be followed in future similar cases. Summary Judgment - ✔✔-A procedural device used during civil cases to promptly dispose of a case without a trial. It is used when there is no dispute as to the material facts of the case and a party is entitled to judgment. The purpose of summary judgment is to avoid unnecessary trials. Civil Disobedience - ✔✔-Refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective (group) way of forcing the government to do or change something Economic Freedom - ✔✔-The freedoms to choose how to produce, sell, and use your own resources, while respecting others' rights to do the same. Internment - ✔✔-The imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. Property Rights - ✔✔-Authority to determine how a resource is used, whether that resource is owned by government or by individuals. Civil Rights Act of 1964 - ✔✔-Prohibits discrimination (on the basis of race, religion, gender, or national origin) in public accommodations, facilities, and schools. Prohibits discrimination in federally funded projects. Civil Rights Act of 1968 - ✔✔-This act provided for equal housing opportunities regardless of race, religion, gender, or national origin. Also known as the Fair Housing Act. 13th Amendment - ✔✔-Outlaws slavery in all states and all lands governed by the United States. 14th Amendment - ✔✔-Granted full citizenship to African Americans. States, again, citizens cannot be deprived of rights without due process of the law. Guarantees equal protection under the law. 15th Amendment - ✔✔-States that no one can be denied suffrage (right to vote) based on race or color. 19th Amendment - ✔✔-Prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of gender. 24th Amendment - ✔✔-Bans the use of poll taxes as a requirement for voting in national elections. Supreme Court interpretation later expands this to cover state elections as well. 26th Amendment - ✔✔-Lowered the voting age in all elections to 18. Equal Rights Amendment - ✔✔-A proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for women. Originally proposed in 1923. The amendment has been reintroduced in every session of Congress since 1982. States' Rights - ✔✔-Political powers reserved for the state governments and not the federal government. Voting Rights Act of 1965 - ✔✔-Designed to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Prohibits discrimination in voting. It is considered one of the most effective pieces of civil rights legislation ever enacted in the U.S. Marbury v. Madison - ✔✔-Establishes the Supreme Court's power of judicial review (deciding whether laws passed by Congress are constitutional). Plessy v. Ferguson - ✔✔-"Separate, but equal" was constitutional. Upholds state laws requiring segregation. Brown v. Board of Education - ✔✔-Segregation in the public schools is unconstitutional. Reverses the Court's earlier position on segregation set by Plessy v. Ferguson. Gideon v. Wainwright - ✔✔-Established free legal help for those who cannot otherwise afford representation in court. Miranda v. Arizona - ✔✔-Ruled that a person's Fifth Amendment rights begin at the time of arrest. The name "Miranda Rights" come from this case. [Show More]

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