Third Marking Period: Quarterly Assessment Civics
Third Marking Period
Quarterly Assessment Study Guide
Important Vocabulary
1. Constituent - The citizens that a member of Congress represents from his/her district or state
2. Floor Leader - Guides bills through Congress and is chief officer of his/her party in the House or Senate
3. Segregation - Separation of one racial group from another
4. Lame Duck - An elected official who was not re-elected and is waiting to leave office
5. Separate but Equal – the doctrine justifying giving different groups of people separate facilities or services with the idea that those facilities remain equal (they rarely were however)
6. Abolition - To do away with slavery
7. President Pro Tempore - presides over the Senate when the Vice President is not present
8. Filibuster - the use of long speeches to prevent a Senate vote
9. Census - an official population count made every ten years; the number of representatives a state has can change after a census
10. Pocket Veto - a way the President can prevent a bill from becoming law by keeping it for 10 days until Congress ends its session
11. Cloture - the Senate has agreed to end debate on a bill
12. Speaker of the House - presides over House, decides who may speak, what bills are discussed, and appoints committee members
Our Living Constitution (Chapter 7)
Amendments 11-27
§ Amendment 15 - Provides all male citizens, especially recently freed slaves, the right to vote.
§ Amendment 18 - Made the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages illegal
§ Amendment 19 - Gives women the right to vote.
§ Amendment 21 - Repeals the Eighteenth Amendment and allows the sale of alcohol.
§ Amendment 22 - Limits the president from serving more than 2 terms (8 years) or a total of 10 years.
□ Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only President to serve more than 2 terms as President
§ Amendment 24 - Prohibits payment of a tax as a qualification for voting (eliminated the poll tax)
§ Amendment 26 - Lowers the voting age from 21 to 18.
Important Supreme Court Cases
§ Brown v. Topeka Board of Education - Declared all segregation laws unconstitutional
□ Thurgood Marshall - was the lawyer for Linda Brown, and would later become the first African American Supreme Court Justice
§ University of California v. Bakke - Said that discriminating against whites, such as in college admission programs, only because of their race is unconstitutional.
§ Dred Scott v. Sanford - Declared that slavery may exist anywhere in the United States
§ Plessy v. Ferguson - Upheld the separate but equal doctrine
§ Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corporation - Declared that hiring practices must be the same for men and women
The Legislative Branch (Chapter 8)
Your Representatives
§ Your U.S. Senators: Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez (serves the entire state of NJ)
§ Your U.S. House Representative: Scott Garrett (serves the 5th Congressional district of NJ)
Bills of Congress
§ Be able to read and identify important parts of a bill, such as: What house of Congress the Bill was introduced in; Who sponsored the bill; When was the bill introduced; The title of the bill; Where was the bill sent after it was introduced; What happened to the bill
Political Parties
§ Democratic Party
ü More likely to favor social programs that benefit low income and poor families
ü Believe that the government should take an active role in people’s lives
ü Symbol is the Donkey
ü Understand the views and stances of many Democrats:
□ Are critical of US military involvement in other countries
□ Favor allowing a woman’s right to choose
□ Believe it should be more difficult to get a gun
□ Believe teachers should be paid more and many are against school vouchers
□ Favor same sex marriages
§ Republican Party
ü More likely to favor lower taxes
ü Believe that the national government should stay out of people’s lives; parents, schools, and local officials should make decisions that affect the lives of U.S. citizens
ü Symbol is the Elephant
ü Understand the views and stances of many Republicans:
□ Support the Iraq War & Afghanistan
□ Are against abortion
□ Believe it’s the right of all Americans to own a gun (believe in the 2nd Amendment)
□ Believe parents and students should be allowed to choose where they attend school (they favor school vouchers)
□ Are against same sex marriages
Third Marking Period: Quarterly Assessment Civics
House vs. Senate
§ House of Representatives:
ü 435 members
ü Must be 25 years old to be a member
ü Must be a U.S. citizen for 7 years
ü Must live in the State and district you represent
ü 2 year terms
§ Senate:
ü 100 members
ü Must be 30 years old to be a member
ü Must be a U.S. citizen for 9 years
ü Must live in the State you represent
ü 6 year terms
§ Responsibilities of All Congressmen: serve their constituents, help their political party, help interest groups they support, and try to get themselves reelected during the next election
How a Bill Becomes A Law
§ Understand the steps in the lawmaking process:
1. The bill is introduced and assigned a number
2. The bill is refereed to House or Senate committee
3. The bill is referred to a House or Senate sub committee for hearings and debate
4. The bill is sent to the floor of the House or Senate to be debated and voted on
5. The bill goes to the other House and goes through the same process again
6. Similar bills are sent to the conference committee to work out the differences and create one bill
7. The bill is sent to the President for his/her approval or veto