the Constitution
◊ sets up the government
◊ defines the government
◊ protects basic rights of Americans
We the People.
◊ a change (to the Constitution)
◊ an addition (to the Constitution)
the Bill of Rights
◊ speech    ◊ religion    ◊ assembly    ◊ press
◊ petition the government
twenty-seven (27)

The first 10 amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. They were added in 1791. Since then, 17 more amendments have been added. The Constitution currently has 27 amendments. The 27th amendment was added in 1992. It explains how senators and representatives are paid. Interestingly, Congress first discussed this amendment back in 1789 as one of the original amendments considered for the Bill of Rights.

◊ announced our independence (from Great Britain)
◊ declared our independence (from Great Britain)
◊ said that the United States is free (from Great Britain)
◊ life    ◊ liberty    ◊ pursuit of happiness
You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion.
◊ capitalist economy    ◊ market economy

The economic system of the United States is capitalism. In the American economy, most businesses are privately owned. Competition and profit motivate businesses. Businesses and consumers interact in the marketplace, where prices can be negotiated. This is called a �market economy.� In a market economy, businesses decide what to produce, how much to produce, and what to charge. Consumers decide what, when, and where they will buy goods or services. In a market economy, competition, supply, and demand influence the decisions of businesses and consumers.

◊ Everyone must follow the law.
◊ Leaders must obey the law.
◊ Government must obey the law.
◊ No one is above the law.
◊ Congress-legislative    ◊ President-executive
◊ the courts-judicial
◊ checks and balances    ◊ separation of powers
the President
◊ Congress, Senate and House (of Representatives)
◊ (U.S. or national) legislature
the Senate and House (of Representatives)

Congress is divided into two parts�the Senate and the House of Representatives. Because it has two �chambers,� the U.S. Congress is known as a �bicameral� legislature. The system of checks and balances works in Congress. Specific powers are assigned to each of these chambers. For example, only the Senate has the power to reject a treaty signed by the president or a person the president chooses to serve on the Supreme Court. Only the House of Representatives has the power to introduce a bill that requires Americans to pay taxes.

one hundred (100)

There are 100 senators in Congress, two from each state. All states have equal power in the Senate because each state has the same number of senators. States with a very small population have the same number of senators as states with very large populations. The Framers of the Constitution made sure that the Senate would be small. This would keep it more orderly than the larger House of Representatives. As James Madison wrote in Federalist Paper #63, the Senate should be a �temperate and respectable body of citizens� that operates in a �cool and deliberate� way.

six (6)

The Framers of the Constitution wanted senators to be independent from public opinion. They thought a fairly long, six-year term would give them this protection. They also wanted longer Senate terms to balance the shorter two-year terms of the members of the House, who would more closely follow public opinion. The Constitution puts no limit on the number of terms a senator may serve. Elections for U.S. senators take place on even-numbered years. Every two years, one-third of the senators are up for election.

Answers will vary.

For a complete list of U.S. senators and the states they represent, go to http://www.senate.gov.

four hundred thirty-five (435)
two (2)

People who live in a representative�s district are called �constituents.� Representatives tend to reflect the views of their constituents. If representatives do not do this, they may be voted out of office. The Framers of the Constitution believed that short two-year terms and frequent elections would keep representatives close to their constituents, public opinion, and more aware of local and community concerns. The Constitution puts no limit on the number of terms a representative may serve. All representatives are up for election every two years.

Answers will vary.

For a complete list of U.S. representatives and the districts they represent, go to http://www.house.gov.

all people of the state

Senators are elected to serve the people of their state for six years. Each of the two senators represents the entire state. Before the 17th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1913, the state legislatures elected the U.S. senators to represent their state. Now, all the voters in a state elect their two U.S. senators directly.

◊ (because of) the state�s population
◊ (because) they have more people
◊ (because) some states have more people
four (4)
November
◊ Barack Obama    ◊ Obama
◊ Joseph R. Biden, Jr.    ◊ Joe Biden    ◊ Biden
the Vice President
the Speaker of the House
the President
the President
the President
advises the President

The Constitution says that the leaders of the executive departments should advise the president. These department leaders, most of them called �secretaries,� make up the cabinet. The president nominates the cabinet members to be his advisors. For a nominee to be confirmed, a majority of the Senate must approve the nominee. Throughout history, presidents have been able change who makes up the cabinet or add departments to the cabinet. For example, when the Department of Homeland Security was created, President George W. Bush added the leader of this department to his cabinet.

◊ reviews laws    ◊ explains laws
◊ resolves disputes (disagreements)
◊ decides if a law goes against the Constitution
the Supreme Court
nine (9)
John Roberts (John G. Roberts, Jr.)
◊ to print money    ◊ to declare war
◊ to create an army    ◊ to make treaties
◊ provide schooling and education
◊ provide protection (police)
◊ provide safety (fire departments)
◊ give a driver�s license
◊ approve zoning and land use
Answers will vary. District of Columbia residents should answer that D.C. does not have a Governor.
Answers will vary.
Democratic and Republican
Democratic (Party)
John Boehner

The current speaker of the House of Representatives is John Boehner. He has represented Ohio�s Eighth District in the House of Representatives since 1991. As speaker, he presides over the House of Representatives and leads the majority political party in the House, the Republican Party. The speaker is second in line to the succession of the presidency after the vice president.

◊ Citizens eighteen (18) and older (can vote).
◊ You don�t have to pay (a poll tax) to vote.
◊ Any citizen can vote. (Women and men can vote.)
◊ A male citizen of any race (can vote).
◊ serve on a jury    ◊ vote in a federal election
◊ vote in a federal election
◊ run for federal office
◊ freedom of expression    ◊ freedom of speech
◊ freedom of assembly
◊ freedom to petition the government
◊ freedom of worship    ◊ the right to bear arms
◊ the United States    ◊ the flag
◊ give up loyalty to other countries
◊ defend the Constitution and laws of the United States
◊ obey the laws of the United States
◊ serve in the U.S. military (if needed)
◊ serve (do important work for) the nation (if needed)
◊ be loyal to the United States
eighteen (18) and older

For most of U.S. history, Americans had to be at least 21 years old to vote. At the time of the Vietnam War, during the 1960s and 1970s, many people thought that people who were old enough to fight in a war should also be old enough to vote. In 1971, the 26th Amendment changed the minimum voting age from 21 to 18 for all federal, state, and local elections. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 made it easier for people to register to vote. Now they can register to vote by mail, at public assistance offices, or when they apply for or renew their driver�s license.

April 15
◊ at age eighteen (18)
◊ between eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26)
◊ freedom    ◊ political liberty
◊ religious freedom    ◊ economic opportunity
◊ practice their religion    ◊ escape persecution
◊ American Indians    ◊ Native Americans
◊ Africans    ◊ people from Africa

◊ because of high taxes (taxation without representation)
◊ because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)
◊ because they didn�t have self-government
(Thomas) Jefferson
July 4, 1776
◊ The Constitution was written.
◊ The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution.
1787
◊ (James) Madison    ◊ (Alexander) Hamilton
◊ (John) Jay    ◊ Publius
◊ U.S. diplomat
◊ oldest member of the Constitutional Convention
◊ first Postmaster General of the United States
◊ writer of �Poor Richard�s Almanac�
◊ started the first free libraries
(George) Washington

George Washington is called the Father of Our Country. He was the first American president. Before that, he was a brave general who led the Continental Army to victory over Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. After his victory over the British Army, Washington retired to his farm in Virginia named Mount Vernon. He left retirement to help create the new country�s system of government. He presided over the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.

(George) Washington
◊ the Louisiana Territory    ◊ Louisiana
◊ War of 1812    ◊ Mexican-American War
◊ Civil War    ◊ Spanish-American War
◊ the Civil War    ◊ the War between the States
◊ slavery    ◊ economic reasons    ◊ states� rights
◊ freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
◊ saved (or preserved) the Union
◊ led the United States during the Civil War
◊ freed the slaves
◊ freed slaves in the Confederacy
◊ freed slaves in the Confederate states
◊ freed slaves in most Southern states
◊ fought for women�s rights
◊ fought for civil rights
◊ World War I    ◊ World War II    ◊ Korean War
◊ Vietnam War    ◊ (Persian) Gulf War
(Woodrow) Wilson
(Franklin) Roosevelt
Japan, Germany, and Italy

The Japanese bombed U.S. naval bases in a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as commander in chief of the military, obtained an official declaration of war from Congress. Japan�s partners in the Axis, Italy and Germany, then declared war on the United States. The Allies fought against the German Nazis, the Italian Fascists, and Japan�s military empire. This was truly a world war, with battles fought in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Ocean.

World War II
Communism
civil rights (movement)
◊ fought for civil rights
◊ worked for equality for all Americans
Terrorists attacked the United States.

On September 11, 2001, four airplanes flying out of U.S. airports were taken over by terrorists from the Al-Qaeda network of Islamic extremists. Two of the planes crashed into the World Trade Center�s Twin Towers in New York City, destroying both buildings. One of the planes crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane, originally aimed at Washington, D.C., crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people died in these attacks, most of them civilians. This was the worst attack on American soil in the history of the nation.

◊ Missouri (River)    ◊ Mississippi (River)
Pacific (Ocean)
Atlantic (Ocean)
◊ Puerto Rico    ◊ U.S. Virgin Islands
◊ American Samoa    ◊ Northern Mariana Islands    ◊ Guam
◊ California    ◊ Arizona    ◊ New Mexico    ◊ Texas
Washington, D.C.
◊ New York (Harbor)    ◊ Liberty Island
◊ New Jersey    ◊ near New York City
◊ on the Hudson (River)
◊ because there were 13 original colonies
◊ because the stripes represent the original colonies
◊ because there is one star for each state
◊ because each star represents a state
◊ because there are 50 states
The Star-Spangled Banner
July 4

In the United States, we celebrate Independence Day on July 4 to mark the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. After signing the Declaration of Independence, John Adams wrote to his wife, �I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.� The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, explained why the colonies had decided to separate from Great Britain. Americans celebrate the Fourth of July as the birthday of America, with parades, fireworks, patriotic songs, and readings of the Declaration of Independence.

◊ New Year�s Day    ◊ Martin Luther King Jr. Day
◊ Presidents� Day    ◊ Memorial Day
◊ Independence Day    ◊ Labor Day    ◊ Columbus Day
◊ Veterans Day    ◊ Thanksgiving    ◊ Christmas