EOC Review

According to John Locke, political society is created when individuals voluntarily form a government to create and enforce laws, thereby protecting the people who form that government. In this social contract, people give up some of their power to the government, which then rules in their interest. This is the basis of which of the following concepts?

• separation of powers

• government by consent

• common law

• absolute monarchy

Use the excerpt to answer the question.

...whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." —The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America

To what concept of government does this excerpt refer?

• the divine right of kings

• the social contract

• unalienable rights

• absolute rule

“All men are created equal” reflects the Founders’ commitment to which principle?

• majority rule

• individual worth

• rule of law

• citizen participation

Many delegates to the Constitutional Convention believed that a bill of rights was unnecessary because they thought that

• the government would be unable to enforce a bill of rights.

• state constitutions and a separation of powers were enough to protect Americans’ rights.

• it was obvious that the English Bill of Rights had done little to protect people’s rights

• few people would care whether the Constitution included a bill of rights.

The first three Articles of the Constitution establish the Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch, and the Judicial Branch. Which Constitutional principle does this demonstrate?

• checks and balances

• federalism

• rule of law

• separation of powers

Read this famous quotation from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. Which is the best interpretation of Holmes' meaning?

"The most stringent [strict] protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic."—Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, opinion of the Court, Schenck v. United States (1919)

• The right to free speech is absolute and cannot be infringed upon

• The right to free speech depends upon how the Constitution is interpreted

• The right to free speech differs from State to State and circumstance to circumstance

• The right to free speech does not apply when it infringes upon the rights and safety of others

What is the general rule used by the Supreme Court when deciding if civil disobedience is a constitutionally protected right?

• If the protest is nonviolent, then civil disobedience is protected by the First Amendment right to free assembly.

• Civil disobedience is not protected by the First Amendment and so protesters may be charged if they break any laws.

• When the laws being protested are unconstitutional, then civil disobedience is protected by the First Amendment.

• Acts of civil disobedience are not protected if carried out on public property, but have First Amendment protection on private property.

Of the phrases below, which is the best explanation of why rights are limited and not absolute?

• when a person waives his rights

• when a person has lost his rights

• when a person does not know his rights

• when a person exercises a right that may harm another person

The text says “The Civil Rights Act of 1964 continued the pattern set in earlier [civil rights] laws.” In what way did it continue this pattern?

• It depended on judicial action to correct racial inequalities.

• It relied on civil rights protestors to confront racial inequalities.

• It let constitutional amendments address racial inequalities.

• It trusted the President to act in matters of racial inequality.

One concern related to internet polls is that:

• they are easier to access than regular polls

• they reach many more respondents

• they use too small of a sample size group

• their questions are usually poorly worded