Worked examples
Two examples
Example 1
The Constitution begins: “We the People of the United States … do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”Which principle does this show?
- Look for the key phrase. Chapter 1 gives four to watch for: “unalienable Rights,” “consent of the governed,” “We the People,” and “the law of the land.”
- Here it is “We the People.” The people themselves are making the Constitution. (To ordain and establish means to order into being and set up.)
- The idea that the final power belongs to the people is popular sovereignty.
- Why not consent of the governed? Consent is about where a government’s right to rule comes from. Popular sovereignty is about who holds the final power. If a question quotes “We the People,” think popular sovereignty; if it quotes “consent of the governed,” the answer is usually that phrase itself.
Answer: Popular sovereignty
Example 2
The voters of a city pass a measure, 58 to 42, to stop a small religious group from holding services. A court strikes the measure down.Which principle does this show?
- Ask what happened. There was a vote, and the majority won it.
- But the court did not let the result stand, because the measure took away the minority’s freedom of religion.
- The majority decides, but it may not take away the basic rights of those who lost the vote. That is majority rule and minority rights.
- It is not the rule of law: the point is not that a leader had to obey the law, but that a vote cannot take away a minority’s rights.
Answer: Majority rule and minority rights
Where this is taught: Civics, Chapter 1: The principles, side by side · Civics Diagnostic, Part 1
In your Kaplan book: Unit 3, Chapter 3, Lesson 1: Historic Basis for U.S. System · Map of the Terrain, topic 12: The ideas behind the Constitution
The drill
Ten questions
How many:
Tap your answer to each one. A few questions ask you to choose words from a drop-down instead, the way the GED test does. Then press Check my answers at the bottom.Circle your answer to each one; where there are brackets, circle the choice that fits. The answer key, with the reasoning, is on the last page.