Civics... the study or science of the privileges and obligations of citizens. I took a civics quiz recently and didn't do so well - I got a 'D' - even though it was only 33 questions with multiple-guess answers and instant results and Ginger helped! You probably already know all this stuff but here are a few references to motivate you to take the 2009 Civics Quiz if you dare. |
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
..."Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Lady Liberty:
was dedicated on October 28, 1886
The tablet in her hand represents knowledge and shows the date of the United States Declaration of Independence, in roman numerals,
July IV, MDCCLXXVI.
(explosion)
"Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof Lev. XXV X"
Independence Bell:
delivered in late August/early September 1752,
inscription from Leviticus 25:10,
rings to the tune of E-flat.
The first design for the official seal of the United States recommended by Franklin, Adams and Jefferson in 1776 depicts the Jews crossing the Red Sea.
The motto around the seal read: "REBELLION TO TYRANTS IS OBEDIENCE TO GOD." Congress, however, was not impressed and ordered the recommendation to "lie on the table".
Great Seal:
December 13, 1884
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We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
U.S. Constitution:
September 17, 1787
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
First Amendment:
December 15, 1791 (Part of the United States Bill of Rights - the first 10 amendments)
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
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Four score and seven years ago
our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
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The initial Wall Street Crash of the U.S. stock market occurred on Thursday October 24, 1929; then, on "Black Tuesday" October 29, the stock market fell even more than it had the week before. These events were the catalyst of a worldwide economic depression.
From 1929-1933, unemployment in the U.S. increased from 4% to 25%, manufacturing output reduced by approximately a third. Prices fell causing a deflation of currency values, which made the repayments of debts much harder. Upon accepting the 1932 United States Democratic Party nomination for president, Franklin Roosevelt promised "a new deal for the American people." Throughout the nation men and women, forgotten in the political philosophy of the Government, look to us here for guidance and for more equitable opportunity to share in the distribution of national wealth... I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people. This is more than a political campaign. It is a call to arms. The "First New Deal" of 1933 was aimed at short-term recovery programs for all groups. The Roosevelt administration promoted or implemented banking reform laws, emergency relief programs, work relief programs, agricultural programs, and industrial reform (the National Recovery Administration), a federal welfare state, as well as the end of the gold standard and prohibition. A "Second New Deal" (1935-36) included labor union support, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief program, the Social Security Act, and programs to aid farmers, including tenant farmers and migrant workers. The Supreme Court ruled several programs unconstitutional; however, most were soon replaced, with the exception of the NRA. Roosevelt asked Congress to expand the number of justices on the Supreme Court so as to allow him to appoint members sympathetic to his ideas and hence tip the ideological balance of the Court. This proposal provoked a storm of protest. In practice the New Deal ended with World War II. |
The Federal Government has three branches: Through a system of separation of powers and the system of "checks and balances," each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, some authority to regulate the other two branches, and has some of its own authority, in turn, regulated by the other branches.
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2 John Adams: March 4, 1797 - March 4, 1801. VP Thomas Jefferson / Federalist 3 Thomas Jefferson: March 4, 1801 - March 4, 1809 / Democratic ~ Republican 4 James Madison: March 4, 1809 to March 4, 1817 / Democratic ~ Republican --- 30 Calvin Coolidge: August 2, 1923 - March 4, 1929 / Republican 31 Herbert Hoover: March 4, 1929 - March 4, 1933 / Republican. 32 Franklin D. Roosevelt March 4, 1933 April 12, 1945 / Democratic 33 Harry S. Truman April 12, 1945 January 20, 1953 / Democratic 34 Dwight D. Eisenhower January 20, 1953 January 20, 1961 / Republican 35 John F. Kennedy January 20, 1961 November 22, 1963 / Democratic 36 Lyndon B. Johnson November 22, 1963 January 20, 1969 / Democratic 37 Richard Nixon January 20, 1969 August 9, 1974 / Republican 38 Gerald Ford August 9, 1974 January 20, 1977 / Republican 39 Jimmy Carter January 20, 1977 January 20, 1981 / Democratic 40 Ronald Reagan January 20, 1981 January 20, 1989 / Republican 41 George H. W. Bush January 20, 1989 January 20, 1993 / Republican 42 Bill Clinton January 20, 1993 January 20, 2001 / Democratic 43 George W. Bush January 20, 2001 January 20, 2009 / Republican 44 Barack Obama January 20, 2009 - ? / Democratic note: There have been 56 terms of presidency |
free·dom (unbelievably there are 17 definitions for this word... here's 11 of them.)
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lib·er·ty ('leave granted to a sailor, esp. in the navy, to go ashore' was removed for brevity.)
From My Father's The American College Dictionary, ©1962
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Entitlement... guarantee of access to benefits because of rights, or by agreement through law. It also refers, in a more casual sense to someone's belief that one is deserving of some particular reward or benefit. |
The larger and better known initiatives of the U.S. entitlement program called 'Social Security' are:
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"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all." |
The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag is an oath of loyalty to the country. It is recited at many public events. It should be recited by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in uniform, men should remove any non-religious headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. People in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute. The Pledge, written by Francis Bellamy, was first published in 1892. The Star-Spangled Banner, a poem written by Francis Scott Key during September 3-16, 1814 and later set to the tune of a popular British drinking song, is treated similarly. On March 3, 1931, President Herbert Hoover officially made it the national anthem of the United States of America. |
" . . the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America THE LAW IS KING. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law OUGHT to be King; and there ought to be no other. " Rule of Law by Thomas Paine in his pamphlet Common Sense (1776)
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