Politickles

Hillsdale College has launched a major national campaign to educate millions of citizens about the meaning and history of the U.S. Constitution as an online course, Constitution 101, and it’s free!

If you can’t answer these 32 questions, you should sign up for Constitution 101.

In the meantime, you can get hooked on civics with the History Chant, a 45-verse jump rope rap that highlights the unique features of American history and government.

Feel free to publish, post, or pass on Your Weekly Politickle by F.R. Duplantier:

CITIZENSHIPWRECK
“We don’t care who’s the better debater
Or superior administrator,
We would rather not choose
Who will win, who will lose:
Can we just make somebody dictator?”

From the archive:

DEMOCRAFT
“Our agenda aroused such objections
That we lost the dumb voters’ affections,
But there’s nothing to fear
When opponents appear
If you know how to steal the elections.”
(2010)

POLL FAULT
If they’re often the idlest of souls,
If their names can’t be found on the rolls,
If they won’t likely vote,
Why do we take note
Of opinions they offer in polls?
(1998)

WINNING BY A WHISKER
“Our Party is poised to prevail
With this new registration by mail:
All corpses and cats
Are staunch Democrats,
So our candidates simply can’t fail!”
(1998)

ROCK THE VOTE (TO SLEEP)
If free markets are something you dread,
Our Constitution is over your head,
And American history
To you is a mystery,
On election day, please, stay in bed!
(1998)

Last week’s limerick:

2012
At last, the moment’s here:
The beginning of the year
In which Barack
Is beaten back
And tossed out on his ear!

Below are the questions from a midterm exam I prepared for a civics class for homeschooled teenagers. Every American voter should know the answers.

1. Name the three classes of citizens in Plato’s Republic.

2. According to Aristotle, what are the three proper forms of government?

3. What are the perverted forms called?

4. What is the difference between the good and bad forms?

5. What is the essence of Locke’s “social contract”?

6. Why does treason never prosper?

7. Cite one significant difference between the American & French Revolutions.

8. What historical event is commemorated by “World Freedom Day” (November 9^th) ?

9. Why is our government divided into three branches?

10. Name the three branches.

11. Which branch is mentioned first in the Constitution (Article I)?

12. What’s the minimum age for President?

13. How long is a Representative’s term?

14. True or False: The terms of all elected Representatives expire at the same time.

15. How many Representatives does each state have?

16. How long is a Senator’s term?

17. How were Senators originally chosen?

18. Which chamber of Congress has the power to impeach the President?

19. In which chamber do revenue bills originate?

20. Why does the Constitution distinguish between “raising” armies and “maintaining” a navy?

21. What was the fractional value of a slave in the antebellum census?

22. What incentive did this valuation offer?

23. Which presidential candidate won the popular vote in 2000?

24. Who’s more likely to become President, Sean Penn or Arnold Schwarzenegger?

25. How long does a Supreme Court Justice serve?

26. Cite three restrictions on suffrage.

27. Name the four freedoms protected by the First Amendment.

28. What is “double jeopardy”?

29. True or False: The federal government can exercise any power not expressly denied to it by the Constitution.

30. True or False: The Declaration asserts that “all men are equal.”

31: Which of the following men did not sign the Declaration: George Washington, John Adams, John Hancock, Ben Franklin?

32. Cite three infringements on the rights protected by the Bill of Rights.

Need to bone up a bit? Here’s a good place to start.

When NEWSWEEK recently asked 1,000 U.S. citizens to take America’s official citizenship test, 29 percent couldn’t name the vice president. Seventy-three percent couldn’t correctly say why we fought the Cold War. Forty-four percent were unable to define the Bill of Rights. And 6 percent couldn’t even circle Independence Day on a calendar. – Newsweek

Solutions

Voter’s Test

The 22 statistics that you are about to read prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the middle class is being systematically wiped out of existence in America. – Business Insider

The trouble with democracies, Aristotle explained, is that their conceptions of justice are invariably limited ones: “In democracies, justice is considered to mean equality. It does mean equality – but equality for those who are equal, and not for all.” The vagueness of the term and the failure of its employers to apply it judiciously ensure that injustice will be done in the name of equality. Despite their weaknesses, however, democracies tend for one important reason to be a more stable form of government than oligarchies: because of “the character of their middle class, which is more numerous, and is allowed a larger share in the government, than it is in oligarchies. Where democracies have no middle class, and the poor are greatly superior in number,” Aristotle warns, “trouble ensues, and they are speedily ruined.” – “Wise Men Bearing Gifts,” F.R. Duplantier

Below are the questions from a midterm exam I prepared for a civics class for homeschooled teenagers. Every American voter should know the answers.

1. Name the three classes of citizens in Plato’s Republic.

2. According to Aristotle, what are the three proper forms of government?

3. What are the perverted forms called?

4. What is the difference between the good and bad forms?

5. What is the essence of Locke’s “social contract”?

6. Why does treason never prosper?

7. Cite one significant difference between the American & French Revolutions.

8. What historical event is commemorated by “World Freedom Day” (November 9^th) ?

9. Why is our government divided into three branches?

10. Name the three branches.

11. Which branch is mentioned first in the Constitution (Article I)?

12. What’s the minimum age for President?

13. How long is a Representative’s term?

14. True or False: The terms of all elected Representatives expire at the same time.

15. How many Representatives does each state have?

16. How long is a Senator’s term?

17. How were Senators originally chosen?

18. Which chamber of Congress has the power to impeach the President?

19. In which chamber do revenue bills originate?

20. Why does the Constitution distinguish between “raising” armies and “maintaining” a navy?

21. What was the fractional value of a slave in the antebellum census?

22. What incentive did this valuation offer?

23. Which presidential candidate won the popular vote in 2000?

24. Who’s more likely to become President, Sean Penn or Arnold Schwarzenegger?

25. How long does a Supreme Court Justice serve?

26. Cite three restrictions on suffrage.

27. Name the four freedoms protected by the First Amendment.

28. What is “double jeopardy”?

29. True or False: The federal government can exercise any power not expressly denied to it by the Constitution.

30. True or False: The Declaration asserts that “all men are equal.”

31: Which of the following men did not sign the Declaration: George Washington, John Adams, John Hancock, Ben Franklin?

32. Cite three infringements on the rights protected by the Bill of Rights.

Need to bone up a bit? Here’s a good place to start.