Social Studies Mixed Practice Test 2

Excerpt 1: Article V of the U.S. Constitution (1787)

(1) "The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress…"

Excerpt 2: Chief Justice John Marshall, Supreme Court opinion in Marbury v. Madison (1803)

(2) "It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases, must of necessity expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each."

(3) "Thus, the particular phraseology of the constitution of the United States confirms and strengthens the principle, supposed to be essential to all written constitutions, that a law repugnant to the constitution is void; and that courts, as well as other departments, are bound by that instrument."

Word help: deem = judge, consider; ratified = formally approved; province = proper area of responsibility; expound = explain in detail; phraseology = wording; repugnant to = in conflict with; void = having no legal force; instrument = formal legal document (here, the Constitution).

Lakeland is a fictional state. Like the U.S. Constitution, Lakeland's constitution lets the governor veto bills and lets the legislature override a veto by a two-thirds vote in each chamber.

(1) Governor Ruth Okafor took office in 2019. For her first two years, her party held a majority in both chambers of the legislature.

(2) In the 2020 election, the opposing party won more than two-thirds of the seats in both chambers. In the 2022 election, the governor's party gained seats, and from 2023 on the opposing party no longer held two-thirds of either chamber.

(1) Members of Congress have proposed thousands of constitutional amendments since 1789. Congress has sent only 33 of them to the states, and only 27 have been ratified.

(2) Article V makes amending difficult on purpose. An amendment must be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both the House and the Senate (or by a national convention called at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures, a method that has never been used). It must then be ratified by three-fourths of the states, either by their legislatures or by special state conventions. Congress chooses which ratification method will be used. The President has no formal role.

(3) The first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791. The Eighteenth Amendment (1919) banned the making and sale of alcohol. The Twenty-first Amendment (1933) repealed it, and it is the only amendment that was ratified by state conventions instead of state legislatures.

(4) Some amendments responded to Supreme Court decisions. In 1970 the Court ruled that Congress could not, by ordinary law, set the voting age for state and local elections. The Twenty-sixth Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18 in all elections.

(5) Congress may set a deadline for ratification. In 1972 Congress proposed the Equal Rights Amendment with a seven-year deadline, later extended to 1982. By the deadline, 35 states had ratified it, short of the number needed.

(6) Ratification can also be slow when there is no deadline. The Twenty-seventh Amendment, which delays any pay raise Congress votes for itself until after the next election, was proposed in 1789 but not ratified until 1992.

(1) The Supreme Court decides what the Constitution means when real people bring real disputes to court. The summaries below are written for this app. The short quotations come from the Court's published opinions.

(2) Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Homer Plessy challenged a Louisiana law that forced Black and white passengers to ride in separate railroad cars. The Court ruled 7–1 that the law was allowed as long as the separate facilities were equal. This became known as the "separate but equal" rule. Justice John Marshall Harlan disagreed in a dissent: "Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens."

(3) Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Black families in Topeka, Kansas, and other places challenged laws that sent their children to separate public schools. The Court asked: "Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other 'tangible' factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does." In a unanimous decision, Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote: "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The Court said segregation denied the children "the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment."

(4) Gideon v. Wainwright (1963). Clarence Earl Gideon was charged with a felony in Florida. He could not afford a lawyer and asked the court to appoint one. The judge refused, and Gideon was convicted. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, so states must provide a lawyer to a person accused of a serious crime who cannot afford one. Justice Hugo Black wrote that "lawyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries."

(5) Miranda v. Arizona (1966). Ernesto Miranda confessed to a crime during police questioning without being told his rights. The Court ruled 5–4 that his confession could not be used against him. The opinion said: "Prior to any questioning, the person must be warned that he has a right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence against him, and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed." These warnings protect the Fifth Amendment right not to be a witness against oneself.

(6) Tinker v. Des Moines (1969). Students in Des Moines, Iowa, were suspended for wearing black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. The Court ruled 7–2 for the students. Justice Abe Fortas wrote: "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." The Court added that a school may limit student expression if it would substantially disrupt school or invade the rights of others, but the quiet armbands did neither.

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791, are called the Bill of Rights. Five of them are quoted below.

(1) Second Amendment: "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."

(2) Third Amendment: "No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."

(3) Seventh Amendment: "In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved …"

(4) Ninth Amendment: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

(5) Tenth Amendment: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Note: "Suits at common law" are civil lawsuits, such as disputes between people or businesses over money, property or contracts. They are not criminal cases.

(1) The fictional Republic of Varnell elects its president much as the United States does. Each of its six provinces has a set number of electoral votes. The candidate who wins the most popular votes in a province wins all of that province's electoral votes. To become president, a candidate must win a majority — more than half — of all the electoral votes. Only two candidates, Ortega and Lind, ran in the last election.

(2) The table shows the official results.

Two campaign mailers from a race for county commissioner in the fictional Pine County. Both candidates and all figures are fictional.

Mailer 1 — Elect Rosa Bell

(1) Since 2020, Pine County's spending on road repair has fallen from $14 million to $11 million a year.

(2) Our roads are a disgrace, and the current commissioners simply do not care.

(3) Rosa Bell has served six years on the county planning board. She will fight for every family in Pine County.

Mailer 2 — Re-elect Commissioner Tom Akers

(4) Since Tom Akers took office, Pine County's unemployment rate has fallen from 6.1% in 2020 to 3.9% in 2024.

(5) Property taxes have skyrocketed under career politicians. Only Tom Akers will stand up for hardworking taxpayers.

(6) Tom Akers voted to fund three new county parks. Rosa Bell's reckless plans would wreck our budget.

The map shows three countries in the Kessa Region, a fictional area. The map also shows the main language spoken in each part of the region.

The map shows the Lorvan Basin, a fictional region with three countries: Medrin, Sorvat, and Kalos. Green dashed ovals show the main language spoken in each area. Tavi-speaking farmers have lived along both banks of the Ashe River for centuries, using the river for fishing, travel, and trade.

The Constitution was written at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and went into effect in 1789. Its opening sentence is called the Preamble. Spelling and capitalization follow the original.

(1) We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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.

(2) Editor's note: The Preamble does not give the government any powers by itself. It states who is creating the Constitution and the goals the new government should serve. The Articles of Confederation had opened by naming the thirteen states as the parties to the agreement. The Constitution opens with "We the People."

In 1954, the Supreme Court decided several cases together about racially segregated public schools. NAACP lawyers led by Thurgood Marshall argued the cases. The decision, written by Chief Justice Earl Warren, was unanimous (9–0). In paragraph 1, "them" refers to Black children in grade schools and high schools.

(1) To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone. …

(2) We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

(1) At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel (a line of latitude). The Soviet Union backed a communist government in the north, and the United States backed a non-communist government in the south.

(2) On June 25, 1950, North Korea's army invaded South Korea. The United Nations Security Council called on member nations to help South Korea. The Soviet Union, which could have vetoed this action, was boycotting the Security Council at the time, so its delegate was not there to vote. President Harry S. Truman sent U.S. forces, which fought under a UN command led by General Douglas MacArthur. By August, North Korean troops had pushed UN and South Korean forces into a small area around the port of Pusan in the southeast.

(3) In September 1950, MacArthur landed troops by sea at Inchon, near Seoul, far behind North Korean lines. UN forces then pushed north across the 38th parallel toward the Yalu River, the border with China. Communist China warned that it would not accept enemy troops on its border. In late 1950, hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers entered the war and drove UN forces back to the south.

(4) The fighting then settled into a bloody stalemate near the 38th parallel. MacArthur publicly called for attacking China itself, but Truman wanted to keep the war limited and avoid a wider war with China and the Soviet Union. In April 1951, Truman removed MacArthur from command. Truman did not use atomic weapons in Korea.

(5) An armistice (cease-fire) signed in July 1953 ended the fighting. The border stayed near the 38th parallel, with a demilitarized zone between the two Koreas. No peace treaty was ever signed. About 36,000 Americans died in the war.