GED Soc. Studies 2025 - Civil Liberties/Rights n the Federal Bra

Civic and Government | 
Civil Liberties/Rights and Organization of the Federal Branches (the longer article)

By Adesti Komalasari

Word Cloud

Who do you think has the most power in the federal government?

(Congress, The President, or The Supreme Court)

Open Ended

What are the qualifications to be president of the United States?

Multiple Choice

What is the length of a president’s term?

• 2 years

• 4 years

• 6 years

• Lifetime

Multiple Choice

How many Senators are there in the United States Senate?

• 50

• 435

• 100

• 200

Multiple Choice

How many voting members are there in the House of Representatives?

• 100

• 435

• 50

• 300

​Let's Have Scenario-Based Questions

Open Ended

A bill is passed by both houses of Congress, but the president ignores it for 10 days. Congress is still in session. What happens to the bill?

Write your explanation!

Open Ended

Congress passes a bill taxing only one religious group. Is this constitutional?

Open Ended

What do you understand about constitutional and unconstitutional mean?

give example please

Open Ended

A president issues an executive order that goes beyond what Congress authorized. What can limit this action?

Analyzing quote(s)

Multiple Choice

“The Founders gave Congress the most powers under the Constitution, including the power to make laws, collect taxes, and declare war.”

What was the most likely reason the Founders gave these powers to Congress rather than the President or the Courts?

• Congress had fewer members to reach decisions faster

• They trusted the courts more than the executive

• They wanted power to be held by the people’s representatives

• The president was meant to be stronger than Congress

Multiple Choice

“In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court established the power of judicial review, allowing the Court to strike down laws and actions that violate the Constitution. Although not explicitly stated in the Constitution, this power has become a cornerstone of the Court’s authority. It ensures that the legislative and executive branches remain within constitutional boundaries.”

What is the author’s primary purpose in including this information about Marbury v. Madison?

• To highlight the role of Congress in creating laws

• To explain how judicial power evolved over time

• To argue that courts should not interfere with other branches

• To emphasize the limits of executive authority

Multiple Choice

“While civil liberties limit what the government can do to individuals, such as censoring speech or restricting religion, civil rights ensure that individuals are not unfairly treated by others, especially in public life. Laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protect against discrimination in areas like employment, education, and housing. Together, civil liberties and civil rights provide a framework for individual freedom and equal treatment.”

Which sentence best summarizes the central idea of this passage?

• Civil liberties and civil rights work together to protect individual freedom and equality.

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the only important rights law.

• Civil liberties are more important than civil rights.

• Government power should be expanded to regulate all discrimination.

Multiple Choice

“Presidents can issue executive orders to quickly implement policies, but these orders must still conform to the Constitution and existing law. Critics argue that this practice allows the executive branch to bypass Congress. Supporters claim it is necessary for fast action, especially in emergencies. The courts have occasionally struck down executive orders that overreach, showing that the power is not unlimited.”

What assumption is central to the debate over executive orders?

• That Congress has no real power

• That executive orders are always unconstitutional

• That the president can act without limit in all situations

• That executive action must still be checked by other branches

Multiple Choice

“The Founders created a legislative branch with two chambers: one based on population and one with equal representation for each state. This design, known as the Great Compromise, reflected the tension between large and small states during the drafting of the Constitution. It was intended to ensure that no single group of states could dominate the lawmaking process.”

What reasoning did the Founders most likely use in creating this legislative structure?

• To make the lawmaking process faster and more efficient

• To allow the president to influence both chambers equally

• To ensure both the people and the states had balanced representation

• To concentrate power in the hands of the Senate

Multiple Choice

“The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution to limit the powers of the federal government and protect the natural rights of citizens. These rights, including freedom of speech, religion, and the press, were seen as essential to a functioning democracy. The Founders feared that without these explicit protections, the new government could easily become as tyrannical as the British monarchy they had just overthrown.”

What conclusion can best be drawn about the purpose of the Bill of Rights?

• It was created to define how elections would be run

• It was designed to increase federal control over speech

• It reflected concern about protecting individual freedoms

• It gave states more authority over civil liberties

Analyzing speech(es)

Multiple Choice

(Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream,” 1963):

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

What is the primary appeal King uses in this sentence to persuade his audience?

• Fear of future injustice

• Moral and emotional reasoning

• Logical statistics on racial equality

• Reference to Supreme Court rulings

Multiple Choice

(John F. Kennedy, “Report to the American People on Civil Rights,” June 11, 1963):

“We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it … but are we to say to the world, and, much more importantly to each other, that this is the land of the free except for the Negroes?”

What conclusion does JFK urge his audience to draw from this statement?

• Abroad freedom is important; at home it is optional

• The U.S. must address domestic racial injustice to uphold its global reputation

• Civil rights have nothing to do with foreign policy

• Equality is only conditional for certain populations

Multiple Choice

(Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fireside Chat, April 14, 1938):

“Use of power by any group, however situated, to force its interest or to use its strategic position in order to receive more from the common fund than its contribution to the common fund justifies, is an attack against and not an aid to our national life.”   

What broader purpose is FDR conveying with this statement?

• That minorities deserved special economic protections

• That unchecked power by any group undermines national unity

• That only large corporations threaten democracy

• That government should remain out of economic affairs

Multiple Choice

(MLK, “Give Us the Ballot,” 1957):

“Give us the ballot and we will no longer plead to the federal government for passage of an anti-lynching law … Give us the ballot and we will place judges on the benches of the South who will do justly and love mercy … and we will quietly and nonviolently, without rancor or bitterness, implement the Supreme Court’s decision of May 17, 1954.”

Which sentence best summarizes the central idea of this excerpt?

• Voting rights will end federal involvement in civil rights

• Political participation empowers oppressed communities to enforce justice peacefully

• The Supreme Court is too slow in enforcing laws

• Anti-lynching laws should be prioritized over voting rights

Multiple Choice

(FDR, March 9, 1937 Fireside Chat about Court‐Packing):

“The Court has more and more often and more and more boldly asserted a power to veto laws passed by the Congress … the sound rule of giving statutes the benefit of all reasonable doubt has been cast aside… The Court has been acting not as a judicial body, but as a policy‐making body.”   

What assumption about the judiciary underlies FDR’s criticism?

• That the Court should veto laws frequently

• That judicial authority should be subordinate to congressional intent

• That only the president should interpret laws

• That judicial interpretations are more valid than legislative ones

Analyzing two charts

Let's discuss the charts by answering the following questions

Multiple Choice

Which category received the highest number of Title IX complaints in FY 2023?

• Sexual/gender harassment/violence

• Different treatment/denial of benefits

• Athletics

• Employment

Multiple Choice

What can be inferred about the nature of “Other” complaints in the first graph?

• They relate to age discrimination only

• They combine multiple issues not captured by specific categories

• They are only housing-related

• They represent resolved complaints

Multiple Choice

Which of the following BEST explains why “Athletics” might have a high number of Title IX complaints?

• Schools do not regulate athletic programs

• Sports are not protected by civil rights law

• Athletics often involve sex-based access and funding disparities

• Most students focus on athletics more than education

Multiple Choice

In the pie chart, what percentage of discrimination complaints in 2023 involved disability?

• 42.5%

• 18.4%

• 3.3%

• 35.1%

Multiple Choice

According to the pie chart, which three types of discrimination made up the overwhelming majority of complaints?

• Race, religion, and ethnicity

• Age, disability, and other

• Race, sex, and disability

• Pregnancy, housing, and discipline

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes a key difference between the two charts?

• One focuses on causes of crime, the other on school attendance

• One breaks down complaint issues by topic, the other by type of discrimination

• Both deal only with STEM access

• One shows complaints about courts, the other about Congress

Multiple Choice

What is the likely relationship between the high number of complaints in “Athletics” and the dominance of sex-based discrimination in the pie chart?

• Most athletic complaints are about housing

• Athletic complaints likely reflect unequal treatment based on sex

• Athletic complaints are mostly about age

• No connection; these are separate systems

Multiple Choice

Which of the following would be a justified policy priority based on this data?

• Reducing financial aid access

• Expanding awareness of gender equality in school athletics

• Eliminating all sports programs

• Increasing STEM testing