In 1952, the U.S. Supreme Court had five cases on its docket regarding school segregation. In 1954, the following cases were combined and heard before the Supreme Court as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka:

-Boiling v. Sharpe, with nine plaintiffs in the District of Columbia

-Belton v. Gebhart, with 12 plaintiffs in Delaware

-Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, with 13 plaintiffs in Kansas

-Briggs et al. v. Elliott with 20 plaintiffs in South Carolina

-Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, with 163 plaintiffs in Virginia

Which graph correctly expresses quantitative information from the passage?

The passage summarizes a speech given by John Quincy Adams in 1839, fifty years after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

1. In explaining the American colonists' conflict with Great Britain, Adams said, "The struggle was for chartered rights--for English liberties....for trial by jury--the Habeas Corpus and Magna Carta. But the English lawyers had decided that Parliament was all-powerful." So the colonists issued the Declaration of Independence, announcing their unification and self-rule. They explained that governments rule only with consent of the governed. They declared that all people have certain rights that governments should not violate.

2. Adams criticized the Articles of Confederation. He explained that the Declaration of Independence represented the will of the American people while the main principle of the Articles of Confederation "was the sovereignty of organized power and the independence of the separate or disunited States".

3. According to Adams, the Constitution reflect the ideas of the Declaration of Independence. He explained that it would allow the affairs of the nation "to be administered, not by a confederacy, or mere league of friendship between the sovereign states, but by a government, distributed into the three great departments--legislative, judicial, and executive."

4. Adams explained the role of the federal government, stating that under the Constitution, "the powers of government should be limited to concerns interesting to the whole people, leaving the internal administration of each state....to its own constitution and laws....

5. Adams concluded by stating that the Constitution had fulfilled its duty by forming a more perfect union. It had established justice and peace and promoted the general welfare. It secured the blessings of liberty for future generations. Adams hoped people would continue to celebrate the Constitution and its many benefits.

In paragraph 3, what does league mean? (check the context)

The passage summarizes a speech given by John Quincy Adams in 1839, fifty years after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

1. In explaining the American colonists' conflict with Great Britain, Adams said, "The struggle was for chartered rights--for English liberties....for trial by jury--the Habeas Corpus and Magna Carta. But the English lawyers had decided that Parliament was all-powerful." So the colonists issued the Declaration of Independence, announcing their unification and self-rule. They explained that governments rule only with consent of the governed. They declared that all people have certain rights that governments should not violate.

2. Adams criticized the Articles of Confederation. He explained that the Declaration of Independence represented the will of the American people while the main principle of the Articles of Confederation "was the sovereignty of organized power and the independence of the separate or disunited States".

3. According to Adams, the Constitution reflect the ideas of the Declaration of Independence. He explained that it would allow the affairs of the nation "to be administered, not by a confederacy, or mere league of friendship between the sovereign states, but by a government, distributed into the three great departments--legislative, judicial, and executive."

4. Adams explained the role of the federal government, stating that under the Constitution, "the powers of government should be limited to concerns interesting to the whole people, leaving the internal administration of each state....to its own constitution and laws....

5. Adams concluded by stating that the Constitution had fulfilled its duty by forming a more perfect union. It had established justice and peace and promoted the general welfare. It secured the blessings of liberty for future generations. Adams hoped people would continue to celebrate the Constitution and its many benefits.

Based on the passage, which statement expresses an assumption behind the Articles of Confederation that is not an assumption behind the U.S. Constitution?

This speech discussing the Athenian government was delivered by Pericles in the fifth century BCE.

Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves. Its administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called democracy. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if to social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way; if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition.

Which principle did Pericles discuss in this speech?

During the 1930s, the U.S. Supreme Court declared some parts of the New Deal unconstitutional. This letter is representative of common views that could have been expressed by a concerned citizen during this time.

February 15, 1937

To the Editor:

In the uproar that has followed President Roosevelt's proposal to ease the pressure of courts over social legislation by increasing the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices to 15, the real point at issue is in danger of being overshadowed. This point could be phrased in the form of question: what would you do if you were president?

I understand the president has heard from the farmers, workers, sharecroppers, coal miners, railway men, the unemployed, the small depositor, and has heard in no uncertain terms form the victims of the Dust Bowl. He is responsible, together with Democrats in Congress, for action on these issues. He has the tough job of thinking up ways to give millions of distressed people hope for a better and more secure existence. But when he devises such measures, what does he hit? A stone wall (the Supreme Court). Give old gentleman say: "No, you can't do it". Four old gentlemen say: "Ye you can." So the president can't take action to help our citizens. What is the president to do? What would you do? Tell the 27 million citizens who voted for the New Deal to forget their difficulties because five old gentlemen say it cant be solved, or warn the five gentlemen that the people demand action?

Sincerely,

James Watson

How did historical circumstances shape this citizen's point of view?

This graphic organizer is used to classify systems of government according to the relationship between political and economic freedom. In which quadrant did the Soviet Union belong?

This photograph from the Library of Congress shows suffragists picketing at the White House on January 25, 1917. Based on the photograph, which 1st Amendment rights are the protesters using to send their message to President Woodrow Wilson? (Choose 3)

This excerpt is from a speech made by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913 in support of tariff reform.

"We long ago passed beyond the modest notion of "protecting" the industries of the country and moved boldly forward to the idea that they were entitled to the direct patronage of the Government. For a long time...we have sought in our tariff schedules to give each group of manufacturers or producers what they themselves thought that they needed in order to maintain a practically exclusive market as against the rest of the world. Consciously or unconsciously, we have built up a set of privileges and exemptions from competition behind which it was easy by any, even the crudest, forms of combination to organize monopoly....only new principles of actions will save us from a final hard crystallization of monopoly and a complete loss of the influences that quicken enterprise and keep independent energy alive.

Based on the excerpt from President Wilson's speech, how did the historical circumstances shape the president's point of view?

Which political trend do the maps show in the United States from 1848 to 1860?

Checks and Balances

The system of checks and balances is a cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution. The president, Congress, and the Supreme Court have unique constitutional procedures to check and balance the powers of the other branches. A good example of checks and balances at work occurred when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. From 1935 to 1936, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down eight programs much-needed progressive reforms. Because the president strongly believed in these programs, he acted against the Court. Roosevelt pushed for legislation that would have increased the number of Supreme Court justices from nine to 15. This would have allowed Roosevelt to nominate six justices. The number of justices had been changed six times since 1789, so the move was not without precedent. Despite strong public approval of President Roosevelt and of his New Deal reforms, the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937 failed. Critics said Roosevelt wanted "pack" the Court with justices who would agree with him, thereby evading the Court's check on the executive branch of government. Roosevelt was a Democrat, but even lawmakers in his political party disapproved of the bill. When the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Democrat Hatton W. Summers, announced that he opposed the plan, it was dead.

Which sentence from the passage expressed a bias of the author?

This excerpt is from a 1912 speech by Theodore Roosevelt.

"The great fundamental issue now before...our people can be stated briefly. It is, are the American people fit to govern themselves, to control themselves? I believe they are...I believe the majority of the plain people of the United States will...make fewer mistakes in governing themselves than any smaller class or body of men, no matter what their training, will make in in trying to govern them I believe.... that the American people are capable of self-control, and of learning by their mistakes....Friends, our task as Americans is to strive for....justice achieved through the genuine rule of the people.

This excerpt is from U.S. President William H. Taft's 1911 veto message regarding a House resolution calling for statehood for New Mexico and Arizona.

It is said you can trust the people to do justice... and the maxim is interpreted to mean that you can always trust a majority of the people. This is not invariably true; and every limitation imposed by the people upon the power of the majority in the constitutions is an admission that it is not always true. (T)he unbridled expression of the majority...converted hastily into law or action would sometimes make a government tyrannical and cruel. Constitutions are checks upon the hasty action of the majority. They are self-imposed restraints of a whole people upon a majority of them to secure sober action and a respect for the rights of the minority.

What basic assumption is behind Roosevelt's speech that is not behind Taft's veto message?

This passage describes Henry Ford's manufacturing methods and his relationships with labor unions.

In December 1913, Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line into his Model T factory to speed production of new automobiles. Ford said the idea came from the way that Chicago meat packers used overhead trolleys to prepare beef. With the new method production, a car was completed every three minutes.

With mass production came numerous safety issues, including noise pollution and potential injuries caused by machinery. Additionally, performing the same task over and over again was boring for many employees. To counteract these issues, Ford increased wages to $5.00 a day, more than doubling the average daily wage. He shortened the workday from nine hours to eight and implemented a series of safety measures.

Despite his progressive labor practices, Ford was against the unionization of labor. He also refused to come to terms with the United Automobile Workers (UAW) when the union requested that the workday be shortened to six hours. The culmination of this battle occurred at the 1937 "Battle of the Overpass" when UAW organizers physically clashed with Ford security staff. On the order of the National Labor Relations Board, which directed Ford to stop interfering with union organization, the Ford Motor Company and the UAW signed their first contract in 1941.

Which statement is a logical inference based on evidence in the passage?

German printer Johannes Gutenberg is often credited with the invention of the first printing press to use movable type. He used handset type to print the Gutenberg Bible in 1455. Although his invention greatly influenced printing in Europe, similar technologies were used earlier in China and Korea. Chinese printers used movable block prints and type made of clay as early as 1040, and Korean printers invented movable copper type about 1932.

What is the purpose of the paragraph?

Which statement from the article is an opinion?

This passage describes Jim Crow laws in the United States.

For years discriminatory laws known as "black codes" were enforced against African-Americans in the United States. These laws, which legalized segregation and unfair treatment of people based on race, ensured that African Americans remained second-class citizens despite the ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1868.

The 14th Amendment was passed following the Civil War. Included in the amendment were the due process clause and the equal protection clause, which declared unfair treatment of people based on race to be unconstitutional and thus required that all people be treated equally under the law. However, after Reconstruction the "Jim Crow" laws, which replaced the black codes, ignored the amendment as it related to African Americans. Jim Crow laws were upheld largely through violence and were used to ensure that African-Americans remained second class citizens socially, politically, economically and legally. African-Americans who resisted were often subjected to beatings or even lynching. Jim Crow laws were so embedded in society that they remained in effect for many years, ending only after passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the 1960s.

Based on this passage, which statement is accurate?

This excerpt is from the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954).

Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments... It is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.

In this excerpt from the Court's ruling, what does the word instrument mean?