NYSTCE Social Studies (005) Flashcards

Which landmark Supreme Court case established the principle of judicial review in the United States?

Answer: Marbury v. Madison

Marbury v. Madison (1803) established judicial review, giving the Supreme Court authority to strike down laws that violate the Constitution.

The Three-Fifths Compromise included in the original U.S. Constitution addressed which issue?

Answer: How enslaved people would be counted for representation and taxation

The Three-Fifths Compromise counted each enslaved person as three-fifths of a free person for purposes of congressional apportionment and direct taxation.

Which amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted women the right to vote nationwide?

Answer: 19th Amendment

The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, prohibited denying the right to vote on account of sex, securing women's suffrage across the country.

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 primarily attempted to resolve which national controversy?

Answer: The expansion of slavery into new western territories

The Missouri Compromise tried to balance tensions over slavery by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state while prohibiting slavery north of 36°30' latitude.

The system of checks and balances in the U.S. government is designed primarily to:

Answer: Prevent any single branch of government from accumulating excessive power

Checks and balances gives each branch of government powers to limit the other branches, preventing dangerous concentration of authority in any one branch.

Which New Deal agency employed millions of unemployed Americans in public works projects such as building roads, bridges, and public buildings during the Great Depression?

Answer: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

The Works Progress Administration (WPA), established in 1935, employed over 8 million Americans in construction, arts, literacy, and other public works projects.

Which combination of events most directly caused the United States to enter World War I in April 1917?

Answer: Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram

Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare threatening American ships and the Zimmermann Telegram proposing a German-Mexican alliance against the U.S. directly pushed Congress to declare war.