Civics quiz

POSTED BY: Khyron
UPDATED: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 06:30
VIEWED: 6253
PAGE 1 of 1

KHYRON

Monday, November 24, 2008 10:32 AM

http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/quiz.aspx

Good luck!

------------------------------

What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy?

FREMDFIRMA

Monday, November 24, 2008 3:29 PM

100%

Luck had nothin to do with it, knowin History did.
Although there's two slanted questions in that test, mind you.

-F

SERGEANTX

Monday, November 24, 2008 4:19 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
100%

Luck had nothin to do with it, knowin History did.
Although there's two slanted questions in that test, mind you.

-F

heh.. I kinda noticed that myself. But I missed two

(and not the two that were slanted, I guessed the pc answer on those)

who cares about that dumb ol' Gettysburg address anyway?

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

KWICKO

Monday, November 24, 2008 4:32 PM

Dang it - missed two of 'em. :(

GEEZER

Monday, November 24, 2008 4:56 PM

Missed the last one, more through mis-reading the answers.

Note that elected officals scored lower than the general public.

"Keep the Shiny side up"

6IXSTRINGJACK

Monday, November 24, 2008 5:10 PM

I got 57.58%

Not ashamed to admit it either.

That test seemed to me to vary from facts about how government works (in theory) to opinions held by people I don't agree with.

I think those who scored abysmally low and those who scored exceptionally high on this test are the ones who I would choose to converse with. Those hovering within 5% of this months average of 78.1% are the ones I wouldn't trust since, in my mind, they've been manipulated into what to think.

Just my thoughts on the issue.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." http://www.myspace.com/6ixstringjack

ERIC

Monday, November 24, 2008 7:31 PM

Meh, 88%. But a lot of those are bullshit ultracapitalist indoctrination talking points.

The associated news item should make us all feel warm and squishy inside:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081120/od_afp/ushistoryeducationoffbeat;
_ylt=AoqNz9SeHDfX6tY_OS7nex.s0NUE

Quote:
US officials flunk test of American history, economics, civics

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.

Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).

"It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned," said Josiah Bunting, chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI.

"How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't understand the American experience?" he added.

The exam questions covered American history, the workings of the US government and economics.

Among the questions asked of some 2,500 people who were randomly selected to take the test, including "self-identified elected officials," was one which asked respondents to "name two countries that were our enemies during World War II."

Sixty-nine percent of respondents correctly identified Germany and Japan. Among the incorrect answers were Britain, China, Russia, Canada, Mexico and Spain.

Forty percent of respondents, meanwhile, incorrectly believed that the US president has the power to declare war, while 54 percent correctly answered that that power rests with Congress.

Asked about the electoral college, 20 percent of elected officials incorrectly said it was established to "supervise the first televised presidential debates."

In fact, the system of choosing the US president via an indirect electoral college vote dates back some 220 years, to the US Constitution.

The question that received the fewest correct responses, just 16 percent, tested respondents' basic understanding of economic principles, asking why "free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than government's centralized planning?"

Activities that dull Americans' civic knowledge include talking on the phone and watching movies or television -- even news shows and documentaries, ISI said.

Meanwhile, civic knowledge is enhanced by discussing public affairs, taking part in civic activities and reading about current events and history, the group said.

"Arguing against this crap is like explaining to a meth tweaker that the shadow people aren't real."
-Bob Cesca

YINYANG

Monday, November 24, 2008 8:41 PM

84.85%

I missed the Gettysburg Address (#7), two questions on taxes (#30 and #33), the one about levees (#29), and the one about international trade (#31).

ECGORDON

Monday, November 24, 2008 9:15 PM

Not as good as I thought I'd do. 87.88%

Missed 8, 26, 31 & 33

BLUESUNCOMPANYMAN

Monday, November 24, 2008 11:02 PM

Missed the last one only. Looking at it now, I mis-read it. It's actually a straight equality. Duh.

The straight civics questions were cake.

The free market questions took thinking, but I'm a thinker.

And to all you Obama libs, read question 27 and really try to think about it. Try really hard. I know you can do it.

Do not fear me. Our's is a peaceful race and we must live in harmony.

ANTHONYT

Monday, November 24, 2008 11:16 PM

You answered 27 out of 33 correctly — 81.82 %

Average score for this quiz during November: 78.1%
Average score: 78.1%

Hello,

I feel very average. Kudos to those of you who fared better, and a sad face to those of you who would not associate with me because I fell within 5 percentage points of the average score.

Somehow, I still don't feel indoctrinated.

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

SERGEANTX

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 12:29 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Somehow, I still don't feel indoctrinated.

You must now sit in the corner and wear the "Hat of Shame".

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

FREMDFIRMA

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 1:16 AM

Quote:
Meh, 88%. But a lot of those are bullshit ultracapitalist indoctrination talking points.

Not so much, but whoever cooked (pun intended) this test up worded them in the most loaded way imagineable, that is for sure.

Took me a while to unlace some of the freakin doublespeak in those to where I could comprehend the question in the first place.

-F

SERGEANTX

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 3:51 AM

Quote:
International trade and specialization most often lead to which of the following?
Correct answer: an increase in a nation’s productivity

I chose correctly through elimination, but how exactly does this follow? And what's it got to do with "civics"?

Also, what's knowing about Sputnik got to do with much of anything at all??

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 7:41 AM

Can't resist a test, if there's nothin' but prestige on the line. Only missed 2: the exact subject of the Lincoln-Douglas debates ( I knew it was about slavery, but not the expansion of .): and the def of what happens when gov't revenue equals expenses. And I made lucky guesses on several. Not bad for a guy who got a B.A. in Fine Arts, and a middle aged liberal.

PIZMOBEACH

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 2:33 PM

Question #34. If you got more than 85% right you are:

1. Lieing
2. Lucky
3. You cheated and Googled for answers
4. You made a street shoutout.

There were too many questions that could only be answered safely, correctly if you were taking a class in the subject or were a history or poli-sci major. Seriously:

4) What was the main issue in the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in 1858?
A. Is slavery morally wrong?
B. Would slavery be allowed to expand to new territories?
C. Do Southern states have the constitutional right to leave the union?
D. Are free African Americans citizens of the United States?

D is out because of the phrase "African Americans" is modern, but the first 3 are possible to come up in a debate of the time. Seriously? This is gots to know American Civics?

6) The Bill of Rights explicitly prohibits:
A. prayer in public school
B. discrimination based on race, sex, or religion
C. the ownership of guns by private individuals
D. establishing an official religion for the United States
E. the president from vetoing a line item in a spending bill

D is the answer and you gotta be kidding me if you picked that over B..

There are several others that are wtf? and others that are coin flips. One last one that I would love to hear people discuss in a modern context:

8) In 1935 and 1936 the Supreme Court declared that important parts of the New Deal were unconstitutional. President Roosevelt responded by threatening to:
A. impeach several Supreme Court justices
B. eliminate the Supreme Court
C. appoint additional Supreme Court justices who shared his views
D. override the Supreme Court’s decisions by gaining three-quarter majorities in both houses of Congress.

I do not know Supreme Court law, but A, B, and C, each one seems as bad and unlikely and unlawful as the other, so I went with D. Turns out C, he " appointed additional Supreme Court justices who shared his views" is correct. Imagine if Bush or Obama were to do that?

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 3:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by pizmobeach:
Question #34. If you got more than 85% right you are:

1. Lieing
2. Lucky
3. You cheated and Googled for answers
4. You made a street shoutout.

Wrong on that. I opened the thread, saw the link, read the responses, went there, took it, scored 93%, only missed 2 of 33. I know this s**t.

Quote:

8) In 1935 and 1936 the Supreme Court declared that important parts of the New Deal were unconstitutional. President Roosevelt responded by threatening to:
A. impeach several Supreme Court justices
B. eliminate the Supreme Court
C. appoint additional Supreme Court justices who shared his views
D. override the Supreme Court’s decisions by gaining three-quarter majorities in both houses of Congress.

I do not know Supreme Court law, but A, B, and C, each one seems as bad and unlikely and unlawful as the other, so I went with D. Turns out C, he " appointed additional Supreme Court justices who shared his views" is correct. Imagine if Bush or Obama were to do that?

Not sure of yer points here , dude.

The history of the event is that he did do "C". It was called " packing the Supreme Court". ANd as far as " imagine if Bush or Obama were to do that", there was a giant political uproar and he backed down. Exactly what would have happened if Obama or Bush tried it.
According to my memory, the number of Justices on the Supreme Court had not been fixed up to that time. That event settled it- never been more than 9 since.

SERGEANTX

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 3:32 PM

balderdash. poppycock. that is all.

CHRISISALL

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 4:03 PM

You answered 23 out of 33 correctly — 69.70 %

Answers to Your Missed Questions:
Question #4 - B. Would slavery be allowed to expand to new territories?
Question #7 - D. Gettysburg Address
Question #8 - C. appoint additional Supreme Court justices who shared his views
Question #10 - C. Religion
Question #11 - A. their arguments helped lead to the adoption of the Bill of Rights
Question #13 - E. certain permanent moral and political truths are accessible to human reason
Question #15 - E. Thomas Jefferson’s letters
Question #27 - A. the price system utilizes more local knowledge of means and ends
Question #31 - A. an increase in a nation’s productivity
Question #33 - D. tax per person equals government spending per person

Okay okay, never claimed to be an expert on minutia...

"Minuta? Dude, you're an IDIOT, HA ha hah ha"

There. In case I was gonna hear it anyway.

The speedy but inacurate Chrisisall

BLUESUNCOMPANYMAN

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 4:23 PM

An interesting thing occured today,

As I was driving mid-morning I had on a local libertarian talk radio program that referenced this very same quiz. They directed listeners to the same URL and then listed dismal returns of average americans taking the test.

The most commonly missed historical question was #7, with people forgetting Lincoln's famous final words: "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth"

I had to memorize that speech in grade school in the 80's. Does nobody else do this anymore? I can recite, per the instruction of my 6th grade teacher, the following:
The Gettysburg address
the Preamble to the constitution
The entire Independance Declaration
50 states by shape (including Colorado/Wyoming)
50 state capitals
The meaning of 26 amendments to the constitution (26 at the time, #27 in 1992)
And "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, which isn't a Civics subject but she made us do it. I can still repeat it.

This doesn't include easy stuff like the pledge of Allegiance or the Star Spangled Banner lyrics! And almost 30% of americans can't even do that! But they can march around with others lately chanting "Yes We Can!". Oh you can? Can you?

They're full of Go-See.

Do not fear me. Our's is a peaceful race and we must live in harmony.

CHRISISALL

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 4:37 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bluesuncompanyman:

the Preamble to the constitution

"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..."

-James Kirk, to a dense Yang, Omega Glory

The pop-culture child Chrisisall

BLUESUNCOMPANYMAN

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 4:47 PM

Upon thinking back, we were not required to list the charges against King George in the Decelaration, those being to numerous and difficult for a 6th grader to memorize. But we did go through:

-The Natural Laws of the people to pronounce a decelatarion "When in the course...."

-The Preamble "We hold these truths..."

-(We skiped the section of charges)

-The final resulotion ending with the famous pledge of "Our lives, or fortunes, and our sacred honor"

Do not fear me. Our's is a peaceful race and we must live in harmony.

PIZMOBEACH

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 4:53 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by NewOldBrownCoat:
Wrong on that. I opened the thread, saw the link, read the responses, went there, took it, scored 93%, only missed 2 of 33. I know this s**t.

That is my point, poorly made perhaps: some of the questions were good for citizens to know, others seemed so obscure it's more of a lark that someone would actually know or recall the answers, or that it could be suggested that they are important to know. A Basic Test?
Another example:

11) What impact did the Anti-Federalists have on the United States Constitution?
A. their arguments helped lead to the adoption of the Bill of Rights
B. their arguments helped lead to the abolition of the slave trade
C. their influence ensured that the federal government would maintain a standing army
D. their influence ensured that the federal government would have the power to tax.

I don't recall "Anti-Federalists" being discussed in any class I ever took, and that includes 6 years of college

BLUESUNCOMPANYMAN

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 5:19 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by pizmobeach:

I don't recall "Anti-Federalists" being discussed in any class I ever took, and that includes 6 years of college

Not to make you look silly here, but you astonished me with your statement. I'd simply refer you to paragraph 3 of the wiki article of the bill of rights, since I have no high school textbook to hand you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights

"Madison proposed the Bill of Rights while ideological conflict between Federalists and anti-Federalists, dating from the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, threatened the overall ratification of the new national Constitution. It largely responded to the Constitution's influential opponents, including prominent Founding Fathers, who argued that the Constitution should not be ratified because it failed to protect the basic principles of human liberty."

Federalists: Centralized power based upon a belief that the people are rarely capibable of judging what is right.

Anti-Federalists: Individual power based upon the belief that the people know best what is important to them.

Notable Federalists: John Adams and Alexander Hamilton

Notable Anti-Federalists: Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry

Sit at my feet and I shall give you the crash course in Libertarianism 101. Then you can stop voting Blue or Red.

Do not fear me. Our's is a peaceful race and we must live in harmony.

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 5:39 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by pizmobeach:
Quote:

Another example:

11) What impact did the Anti-Federalists have on the United States Constitution?
A. their arguments helped lead to the adoption of the Bill of Rights
B. their arguments helped lead to the abolition of the slave trade
C. their influence ensured that the federal government would maintain a standing army
D. their influence ensured that the federal government would have the power to tax.

I don't recall "Anti-Federalists" being discussed in any class I ever took, and that includes 6 years of college

This one was a lucky ( or educated ) guess on my part. I don't remember hearing " anti-Federalist" any time in my schooling, but C and D were obviously logically incorrect- ensuring an army and taxes are obviously Federalist policies, anti-Feds would have surely opposed those Federal powers. I misread the slavery choice-- I skipped a couple of words and got " led to slavery", which is of course wrong. Slavery pre-existed the Revolution, and certainly the Constitution. And abolition would have had to have been a national issue, hence a Federalist concern. Which left the Bill of Rights, which were a set of limits on government power and a critical matter of great debate and concern at the time of the Constitutional Convention. The version of the history I was taught was that the Constitution would not have been adopted if the Bil of Rights had not been included.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME

FREMDFIRMA

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 6:46 PM

Quote:
I don't recall "Anti-Federalists" being discussed in any class I ever took, and that includes 6 years of college

Not surprising, Pizmo.

It was this very information that originally sparked my interest in history, and revealed in full awesome glory just how MANY lies were being told to me in our heavily propagandised "History" classes.

The impression we were given, quite deliberately, was that The Federalist Papers were merely an explaination to the people as our wise founders handed it down to us - not a single, solitary mention of opposition to it, not even a hint that there was any.

And perusing it in my used, bought at a yard sale, Encylopedia Brittanica collection, I was astounded at the level of deception going on.

And I kinda went berserk - Not only have I been a muckraker and history buff since that very day, I am very staunchly Anti-Federalist in nature, cause you see, I READ their papers too...

And frankly they made more sense - especially now that hindsight has proven them right beyond their wildest horror in almost every single case.

It's heavy reading, but you CAN find both the Federalist, and Anti-Federalist papers, online.

I too had never even heard of them until discovery outside our so-called "education" system, and haven't had much respect for it ever since.

And it *did* get discussed in my class, but me, in flaming row after flaming row with the history teacher, involving much of the class - in retrospect I think the only reason he never kicked me out was that the average grades of us passionate little fireballs skyrocketed cause we were taking an actual *interest*, even if it was mostly for the purpose of pillorying the pathetic propaganda he was required to peddle.

-Frem

It cannot be said enough, those who do not learn from history, are doomed to endlessly repeat it

SIGNYM

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 6:56 PM

Missed two of the slanted ones.

---------------------------------
Let's party like its 1929.

KWICKO

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 7:31 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Missed two of the slanted ones.

---------------------------------
Let's party like its 1929.

I didn't notice any of them being italicized.

(wink).

Couldn't resist.

PIZMOBEACH

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 9:03 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bluesuncompanyman:
Sit at my feet and I shall give you the crash course in Libertarianism 101.

I think if you'd said that to someone else I'd still be creeped out by it.

PIZMOBEACH

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 9:18 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:

Not surprising, Pizmo.

It was this very information that originally sparked my interest in history, and revealed in full awesome glory just how MANY lies were being told to me in our heavily propagandised "History" classes.

That's the trouble: who do you believe?

RUE

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 10:01 PM

"Although there's two slanted questions in that test, mind you."

There's more than two IMHO.

***************************************************************
Oh, btw, 100%. Not that I agreed with all the questions or all the answers, but I know what answer one is 'supposed' to give.

RUE

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 10:09 PM

"But they can march around with others lately chanting "Yes We Can!". Oh you can? Can you?

They're full of Go-See."

I got 100% and, apparently, I can do both.

***************************************************************

WHO'S full of go-se ?

CHRISISALL

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 10:14 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rue:

I got 100% and, apparently, I can do both.

I got 69.70 %...

me & 6ix have to go to Summer School....

Yes I can learn!

The 'I can' Chrisisall

RUE

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 10:23 PM

Eh, what can I say ?

The quiz highlighted several specific areas of interest (Lincoln, 'public good', Roe v Wade, evolution), plus well, I'm old enough to have clear memories of Sputnik, the Cuban Missile Crisis, MLK and the Civil Rights Movement ... AND I've gone through enough school to guess the slant of the questions (and thus the answers) even when they're wrong.

I think it would be interesting to debate the questions.

PickyIsAll
***************************************************************

Silence is consent.

CHRISISALL

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 10:48 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rue:

I think it would be interesting to debate the questions.

13) Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas would concur that:

(I ANSWERED THIS ONE)
A. all moral and political truth is relative to one’s time and place

(BUT THE ANSWER WAS THIS ONE)
E. certain permanent moral and political truths are accessible to human reason

Those dudes weren't idiots. NOTHING'S permanent, and CERTAINLY nothing political or moral!!!
Is this really something that they'd say?? Human reason is BASED on perception of available data, and then filtered through cultural bias & personally prejudiced interpretation!!! There may be 'lasting' moral and/or political truths, but really, 'A' still seems the better answer to ME.

Am I gonna have to take my telephone booth back to collect these guys to write a paper on the subject? Whoah, Rufus might think further timeline disruption was bogus...

The Plah-toe & So-crates Chrisisall

PIZMOBEACH

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 12:09 AM

Don't feel bad Chris, thing was rigged.
First, create alarm: "Our Fading Heritage" (insert picture of wailing Dust Bowl Mother), then shame "Americans Fail a Basic Test on Their History and Institutions." And then say there's a test, wanna try and help? Like some kind of huckster at the fair, like one of those games of "skill" where you try and stand the coke bottles up with a cane and a ring on a string. At first it looks easy, then:

31) International trade and specialization most often lead to which of the following?
A. an increase in a nation’s productivity
B. a decrease in a nation’s economic growth in the long term
C. an increase in a nation’s import tariffs
D. a decrease in a nation’s standard of living

Sprinkle enough of those ringers in with the underhand lobs and it's hard to see it. The average tester is left with waves of guilt, self loathing, "what can I do to feel better? If only there was something I could do!" "Why you can DONATE and make everyone bettersmarter."

http://www.isi.org/donors/donate.aspx

I only feel foolish because I didn't see their game sooner.

BLUESUNCOMPANYMAN

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 12:31 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
There may be 'lasting' moral and/or political truths, but really, 'A' still seems the better answer to ME.

Chris,
Did you ever take a philosophy class in College?

'A' implies that if you are living in Nazi Germany, and are aryan, it is perfectly ok to violate the human rights of those deemed unacceptable by the state.

Answer 'E' establishes the very existance of what we know of as human rights. Rights that are universal and perminant.

Do not fear me. Our's is a peaceful race and we must live in harmony.

RUE

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 1:25 AM

Did YOU ever take a college philosophy class ? There's no evidence that 'human rights' as such were formulated as an idea before the 'enlightenment'.

***************************************************************

Silence is consent.

CHRISISALL

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 2:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
Did YOU ever take a college philosophy class ?

Don't know about them, but in mine we studies Heraclitus & such.

The fire-atoms Chrisisall

KWICKO

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 2:45 AM

Quote:

'A' implies that if you are living in Nazi Germany, and are aryan, it is perfectly ok to violate the human rights of those deemed unacceptable by the state.

Answer 'E' establishes the very existance of what we know of as human rights. Rights that are universal and perminant.

So "A" implies that if you are living in the USA, and aren't Muslim, it is perfectly okay to violate the human rights of those deemed "enemy combatants" by the state?

And you claim that there are rights that are universal and permanent - except that for an awful lot of rightwingers, those rights are neither universal nor permanent, as applicable to other people. They're expendable, as long as you really WANT to torture somebody, and that somebody is generally some shade of brown in color, and not a citizen of the United States. In other words, those "universal and permanent" rights only extend to those of us who are, you know... better than the rest of the world.

Neither of those answers seem quite right to me...

Mike

FREMDFIRMA

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 2:52 AM

Ahhh, NOW you get it, Pizmo.

Tell me, have you considered Anarchism as a philosophy ?

"Hey look, our brand of snake oil is better than their brand of snake oil!"

Yeah, I'm being mocking and ironical there.

Fact is, Sturgeons Law applies to humans too, as well as their philosophies, both religious and political.

-F

RUE

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 3:04 AM

Quote:
You answered 33 out of 33 correctly — 100.00 %

Average score for this quiz during November: 78.1%
Average score: 78.1%

You can take the quiz as often as you like, however, your score will only count once toward the monthly average.

If you have any comments or questions about the quiz, please email americancivicliteracy@isi.org.

You can consult the following table to see how citizens and elected officials scored on each question.

Where to from here?

1) Which of the following are the inalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence?
A. life, liberty, and property
B. honor, liberty, and peace
C. liberty, health, and community
D. life, respect, and equal protection
E. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
Straightforward: "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."

2) In 1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed a series of government programs that became known as:
A. the Great Society
B. the Square Deal
C. the New Deal
D. the New Frontier
E. supply-side economics
Also straightforward.
In the summer of 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Governor of New York, was nominated as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. In his acceptance speech, Roosevelt addressed the problems of the depression by telling the American people that, "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people."

3) What are the three branches of government?
A. executive, legislative, judicial
B. executive, legislative, military
C. bureaucratic, military, industry
D. federal, state, local
"3 Branches of the U.S. Government
Separation of powers under Articles I, II, and III
LEGISLATIVE, EXECUTIVE, JUDICIAL"

4) What was the main issue in the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in 1858?
A. Is slavery morally wrong?
B. Would slavery be allowed to expand to new territories?
C. Do Southern states have the constitutional right to leave the union?
D. Are free African Americans citizens of the United States?
You have to have a specific reason to know this, it's not normally taught in schools.

5) The United States Electoral College:
A. trains those aspiring for higher political office
B. was established to supervise the first televised presidential debates
C. is otherwise known as the U.S. Congress
D. is a constitutionally mandated assembly that elects the president
E. was ruled undemocratic by the Supreme Court
Pretty much everyone who's been following the last 3 elections should know this.

6) The Bill of Rights explicitly prohibits:
A. prayer in public school
B. discrimination based on race, sex, or religion
C. the ownership of guns by private individuals
D. establishing an official religion for the United States
E. the president from vetoing a line item in a spending bill
This is one of those 'trick' questions in the sense that if part of the answer is wrong and part is right, then the whole answer is wrong. You have to focus on the word explicitly.

7) What was the source of the following phrase: “Government of the people, for the people, by the people”?
A. the speech “I Have a Dream”
B. Declaration of Independence
C. U.S. Constitution
D. Gettysburg Address
Historical reference, again, you'd probably have to have a specific reason to know this.

8) In 1935 and 1936 the Supreme Court declared that important parts of the New Deal were unconstitutional. President Roosevelt responded by threatening to:
A. impeach several Supreme Court justices
B. eliminate the Supreme Court
C. appoint additional Supreme Court justices who shared his views
D. override the Supreme Court’s decisions by gaining three-quarter majorities in both houses of Congress
Historical reference. But the story doesn't begin OR end there. Long story s

BLUESUNCOMPANYMAN

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 3:13 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:

So "A" implies that if you are living in the USA, and aren't Muslim, it is perfectly okay to violate the human rights of those deemed "enemy combatants" by the state?

My point has been, and remains, that A is not the correct answer because it relies upon transient policies of man. Neither Socrates, Plato, Aristotle nor St. Thomas Aquinas would hold that the momentary devices of humanity (be they good or evil) yield truth.

You also need to possess an understanding of how these philosophers regarded "truth". It's not always as simple as "A is true and B is false"

The Intent of the question is to determine the test takers understanding of the thinkers who preceded John Locke and from whom he drew to propose democratic truth. It is Locke's writings in "The Second Treatise of Government" on the subject of "State of Nature" that inspires Thomas Jefferson's famous words:

"We hold these TRUTHS to be self-evident.."
Cites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Treatise_on_Civil_Government
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_nature

Rue and Chris want this test to be slanted. As a philosopher I can prove that it is.

Someone like AUraptor would say that it's entirely fair. As a philosopher I can prove that it is.

I the libertrian believe the questions are fair, but need to be expanded.

And Rue, to answer your question....YES...I'd say I've have taken my fair share of philosophy. I'm the person who wants to write an academic paper related to Objects in Space after all.

Do not fear me. Our's is a peaceful race and we must live in harmony.

RUE

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 3:22 AM

Then you know that no such concept as the rights of man existed in the west (and perhaps not anywhere in the world) until recently, historically speaking.

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Silence is consent.

PIZMOBEACH

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 5:39 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
Ahhh, NOW you get it, Pizmo.

Tell me, have you considered Anarchism as a philosophy ?

"Hey look, our brand of snake oil is better than their brand of snake oil!"

Yeah, I'm being mocking and ironical there.

Fact is, Sturgeons Law applies to humans too, as well as their philosophies, both religious and political.

-F

Yep, they flat out got me. I was ego driven to see how well I'd do and they got me. I hate falling for the same old tricks.

Liberal ninny friend of mine has one of those bullsh*t Scandanavian, up down "good for your back" chairs that cost $260 that he now uses as a coat rack - same deal.
Sturgeon? You think that applies to forums too?

FREMDFIRMA

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 6:30 AM

I think it applies to everything, Piz.

90% of everything is crap, but the other 10% often makes up for it.

To see a good example of that in practice I need look no further than the rack of video games on the wall here...

-F