Social Studies Mixed Practice Test 3

The countries below are fictional. They were created to show how political scientists classify governments.

James Madison wrote these essays, signed "Publius," to persuade New Yorkers to ratify the Constitution.

Excerpt 1: The Federalist No. 14 (1787)

(1) "The true distinction between these forms was also adverted to on a former occasion. It is, that in a democracy, the people meet and exercise the government in person; in a republic, they assemble and administer it by their representatives and agents. A democracy, consequently, will be confined to a small spot. A republic may be extended over a large region."

Excerpt 2: The Federalist No. 39 (1788)

(2) "…we may define a republic to be, or at least may bestow that name on, a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure, for a limited period, or during good behavior."

(3) "It is ESSENTIAL to such a government that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion, or a favored class of it…"

Word help: adverted to = pointed out; administer = run, manage; bestow = give; during pleasure = for as long as those who appointed them wish; inconsiderable proportion = small, unimportant share; favored class = privileged group.

James Madison wrote these essays, signed "Publius," to persuade New Yorkers to ratify the Constitution.

Excerpt 1: The Federalist No. 14 (1787)

(1) "The true distinction between these forms was also adverted to on a former occasion. It is, that in a democracy, the people meet and exercise the government in person; in a republic, they assemble and administer it by their representatives and agents. A democracy, consequently, will be confined to a small spot. A republic may be extended over a large region."

Excerpt 2: The Federalist No. 39 (1788)

(2) "…we may define a republic to be, or at least may bestow that name on, a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure, for a limited period, or during good behavior."

(3) "It is ESSENTIAL to such a government that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion, or a favored class of it…"

Word help: adverted to = pointed out; administer = run, manage; bestow = give; during pleasure = for as long as those who appointed them wish; inconsiderable proportion = small, unimportant share; favored class = privileged group.

(1) According to Roman tradition, in 509 BCE the people of Rome drove out their last king. In place of a monarchy they created a res publica, a "public thing," which gives us the word republic.

(2) Instead of one king, Rome had two consuls, the highest officials. Assemblies of male citizens elected them for a term of only one year. Each consul could block the actions of the other.

(3) The Senate, a body of several hundred men, advised the consuls and controlled public money and relations with other states. Senators were mostly former officials from wealthy, long-established families, and they usually served for life. Voting in the citizen assemblies was arranged in groups that gave the votes of the wealthy more weight than the votes of the poor.

(4) Ordinary citizens, called plebeians, struggled for a greater voice. Over time they won the right to elect tribunes, officials who could veto actions that harmed plebeians. Around 450 BCE, Rome's laws were written down on the Twelve Tables so that everyone could know them.

(5) In a military emergency, Rome could appoint a dictator with nearly unlimited power, but only for up to six months.

(6) In the first century BCE, ambitious generals with loyal armies fought civil wars. Julius Caesar was named dictator for life in 44 BCE and was murdered that same year. In 27 BCE his adopted heir, Octavian, took the title Augustus and became Rome's first emperor. The Senate still met, but real power now rested with one man for life.

From the U.S. Constitution (1787)

(1) Article II, Section 2: "The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States;" …

(2) Article II, Section 2: "He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States," …

(3) Article I, Section 2: "The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment."

(4) Article I, Section 3: "The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present."

(5) Article II, Section 4: "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Word help: militia = citizen soldiers of a state (today, the National Guard); concur = agree; nominate = name someone for a job; chuse = old spelling of choose; sole = only; impeachment = formally charging an official with wrongdoing; try = hold a trial; concurrence = agreement; civil officers = non-military government officials.

(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.

(1) The Supreme Court can overrule its own earlier decisions. Over the 1900s, the Court also ruled, one right at a time, that most protections in the Bill of Rights limit state governments as well as the federal government. It based these rulings on the Fourteenth Amendment, which says no state may deprive any person of liberty "without due process of law." The summaries below are written for this app.

(2) Betts v. Brady (1942) and Gideon v. Wainwright (1963). In Betts, the Court ruled that a state did not have to give a free lawyer to every poor person accused of a felony; a lawyer was required only in special circumstances. Twenty-one years later, Gideon overruled Betts. The Court held that a state must provide a lawyer to any person accused of a serious crime who cannot afford one.

(3) Wolf v. Colorado (1949) and Mapp v. Ohio (1961). In Wolf, the Court said the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches applies to the states, but it did not require state courts to throw out evidence that police had gathered illegally. Then, in 1957, police in Cleveland, Ohio, forced their way into Dollree Mapp's home without showing a valid search warrant and found materials that were later used to convict her. In Mapp, the Court ruled 6–3 that evidence gathered in an unconstitutional search may not be used in state courts. This is called the exclusionary rule. On this point, Mapp overruled Wolf.

(4) Engel v. Vitale (1962). New York state officials wrote a short prayer that did not favor any one religion, and some public schools had students recite it each morning. Students who did not wish to pray could stay silent or leave the room. The Court ruled 6–1 that the practice violated the First Amendment's ban on an "establishment of religion." Government officials may not write official prayers for students to recite in public schools, even when the prayer favors no religion and taking part is voluntary.

(5) New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985). A teacher found a 14-year-old student smoking in a school bathroom. An assistant vice principal searched her purse and found evidence that she had broken the law. The Court ruled 6–3 that the Fourth Amendment does apply to searches by public school officials, but that they do not need a warrant or probable cause. A school search is allowed if there are reasonable grounds to suspect it will turn up evidence that the student broke the law or a school rule, and if the search is not excessively intrusive.

(6) Texas v. Johnson (1989). During a protest outside the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag. He was convicted under a Texas law against damaging a flag. The Court ruled 5–4 that burning a flag as a political protest is expression protected by the First Amendment. The government may not ban the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable.

Policy experts often describe five stages of policy-making: agenda setting (a problem gets officials' attention), formulation (options are developed and studied), adoption (officials choose and approve a policy), implementation (the policy is put into action) and evaluation (results are measured and judged).

(1) For years, every household in the fictional city of Harlow paid the same trash fee — $20 a month — no matter how much it threw away. In 2017, the operators of the city landfill warned that it would be full within 12 years. A news series and several crowded neighborhood meetings made landfill space a top issue for the city council.

(2) A council committee studied three options: building a new landfill, trucking trash to another county, or a pay-as-you-throw system, in which households pay by the size of their trash cart and recycling is collected for free. City staff estimated the cost of each option, and the committee held two public hearings.

(3) In June 2019, the council voted 6–1 to adopt pay-as-you-throw starting in January 2020. The monthly fee became $14 for a small cart, $20 for a medium cart and $30 for a large cart. Low-income households could apply for a 50% discount. The one member who voted no worried that some residents would dump trash illegally to avoid the fee.

(4) During the second half of 2019, the city mailed guides to every home, delivered new carts and trained collection crews. Starting in January 2020, inspectors began issuing warnings and fines for illegal dumping.

(5) In 2024, city staff reported the results shown in the graph. Staff also reported that reports of illegal dumping rose from 85 in 2019 to 120 in 2020, then fell to 90 by 2023. The landfill's expected life grew by about five years.

(1) Interest is the price of using money. When you save, the bank pays you interest. When you borrow, you pay the lender interest.

(2) With simple interest, interest is earned only on the original amount (the principal). With compound interest, interest is also earned on interest already added to the account. The graph shows $5,000 deposited at 6% per year with each method.

(3) A borrower named Lucia needs $18,000 for a used car. A credit union offers her two loans. Both have fixed monthly payments.

(4) The total amount repaid equals the monthly payment times the number of months. Total interest is the total repaid minus the amount borrowed.

(1) The timeline lists U.S. economic events connected with World War II.

The map shows land use, natural resources, and settlements in Norland, a fictional country. Use the legend, the grid, and the scale to answer the questions.

(1) After World War I, some disputed borders were settled by a plebiscite, a vote in which the people of an area choose which country they want to belong to. In 1920, for example, voters in Schleswig chose between Germany and Denmark.

(2) The table shows the results of a plebiscite in Harnow, a fictional border region claimed by two fictional countries, Ostria and Pelland. Harnow has four districts. Before the vote, the two countries could not agree on whether the result should be counted for the whole region at once or district by district.

In May 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which let the president trade land west of the Mississippi River for Native lands in the East. In December 1830, President Andrew Jackson defended the policy in his annual message to Congress. (His words reflect the prejudices of his time.) Over the next decade, tens of thousands of Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole people were forced west; thousands died on the journeys known as the Trail of Tears.

(1) It gives me pleasure to announce to Congress that the benevolent policy of the Government, steadily pursued for nearly thirty years, in relation to the removal of the Indians beyond the white settlements is approaching to a happy consummation. …

(2) It will place a dense and civilized population in large tracts of country now occupied by a few savage hunters. … It will separate the Indians from immediate contact with settlements of whites; free them from the power of the States; enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions …

(1) When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the federal government quickly took on new powers. The Selective Service Act of May 1917 required men to register for a military draft, and about 2.8 million men were drafted. Americans bought Liberty Bonds—loans to the government—to help pay for the war.

(2) Congress also passed the Espionage Act (1917), which made it a crime to interfere with the draft or with military operations, and the Sedition Act (1918), which punished disloyal or abusive language about the government and the war. More than 2,000 people were prosecuted under these laws. In Schenck v. United States (1919), the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Charles Schenck, a Socialist Party official who had mailed leaflets urging men to resist the draft. The Court ruled that, in wartime, speech that creates a "clear and present danger" of harms that Congress has a right to prevent is not protected by the First Amendment.

(3) The war also changed who worked where. Factories needed workers to fill war orders just as the war cut off most immigration from Europe. Hundreds of thousands of Black Southerners moved to Northern cities such as Chicago, Detroit and New York for factory jobs and to escape segregation laws and racial violence in the South. This movement became known as the Great Migration.

(4) Women took jobs in factories and offices and volunteered with the Red Cross; others served as Navy yeomen and Army nurses. In 1918, President Wilson urged the Senate to pass women's suffrage, calling it a war measure. The Nineteenth Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote, was ratified in 1920.