101 things you need to know for NC C&E EOC. (Borrowed from teachers at West Meck)

1. 101 Civics and Economic Things to Know (for the EOC)
GOAL 1
1. The two main reasons for settling the British colonies were religious freedom and money
2. The three sections of the American Colonies developed differently:
New England’s economy focused on shipping, trading and manufacturing
Middle Colonies were know as the “bread basket” because they grew grains, wheat and corn
Southern Colonies focused on cash crop (tobacco, indigo, rice and cotton) farming for their economy
3. Mercantilism is the idea that a country increases its wealth through trade and the development of colonies. Establishing a favorable
balance of trade where exports (goods you sell) are greater than imports (goods you buy) increases wealth.
4. England issued a number of laws regulating trade called Navigation Acts. As the colonies developed they often did not enforce these laws
(salutary neglect) because it was more work than it was worth.
5. Triangular trade route connected England, Colonies, and Africa and included the middle passage (leg from Africa that brought slaves)
6. Maryland Act of Toleration was the first document to establish freedom of religion for all Christians in the colonies
7. The Mayflower Compact established self-rule for the Pilgrims in Massachusetts, with direct democracy in town meetings
8. The Virginia House of Burgesses was the first representative legislative body in the colonies
9. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was the first written colonial constitution (plan of government)
10. The John Peter Zenger Trial established freedom of the Press in the colonies
11. The French and Indian War caused England to raise taxes in the colonies, which caused boycotts and riots (Boston Massacre & Boston
Tea Party) and an outcry of “no taxation without representation”. England passed the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts), which led to the
Battles of Concord and Lexington and the first shots of the American Revolution (the shot heard round the world)
12. Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, signed by the 2nd Continental Congress, explained to the King why the colonies were
breaking away. He was influenced by the theories of John Locke, natural rights (Life, Liberty, and Property) and the idea of a social
contract where govt should protect the rights of citizens.
13. Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense which helped unify the colonies to fight England and seek independence
14. The Articles of Confederation was the first government of the new United States, created during the American Revolution. It had a
number of weaknesses, including: No national judiciary (court system), No common currency, and No chief executive (President), no power
to tax
15. Shay’s Rebellion (MA farmers rebelled) illustrated that the government under the Articles of Confederation was too weak for America.
16. A Constitutional Convention was called to revise the Articles of Confederation. The Virginia Plan wanted representation in Congress to be
decided by a State’s Population (like the House of Representatives). The New Jersey Plan wanted representation in Congress to be based
equally for each state (like the Senate-2 Senators per state). The conflict was settled with the Connecticut Compromise (Great
Compromise) which combined the Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan and created a bicameral (2 house) Congress.
17. 3/5 Compromise meant that 3 out of every 5 slaves would count toward taxation and representation (Hse of Representatives)
18. Federalists supported the ratification (approval) of the Constitution and the stronger national government that it created. The Bill of Rights
was added to gain the support of the Anti-Federalists who felt states should have had more power.
19. Anarchy means there is no law. Absolute Monarchy means a King or Queen holds all the power, while a Constitutional Monarchy limits
the power of the monarch. Autocracy is government with a single person having complete control (dictatorship, totalitarianism).
GOAL 2
20. The “Preamble” of the Constitution states the purpose of our government
21. The four major principles are Popular Sovereignty, Limited Government, Separation of Powers, and Federalism
22. The Legislative Branch makes the laws, Executive Branch administer the laws, the Judicial Branch interprets the laws
23. A Bill must pass in both houses of Congress to become a law. It must be (1) introduced, (2) sent to committee, (3) returned to the floor for
debate and vote, and (4) sent to a Conference Committee to iron out differences in the two versions (created in HoR and Senate) before it
goes to the President. If the President vetoes (rejects) the bill it will not become a law unless it is passed by a 2/3rds vote in both Houses to
override the President’s veto. Most Bills die in the committee stage of the bill making process.
24. All appropriations bills (taxes, minimum wage, and other $ bills) must start in the House of Representatives.
25. Judicial Review (Marbury v. Madison) is the power of the Courts to declare acts of the other branches of government unconstitutional
26. The Executive Office of the President, The Cabinet, and the Executive Agencies (Govt Agencies) help the President run the country
27. Expressed Powers (enumerated) are written in the Constitution, Implied Powers are suggested (necessary and proper or elastic clause)
28. Delegated Powers (expressed) are for the Federal Gov’t, Reserved Powers are the powers kept by the States (10th Amendment), and
Concurrent Powers are the powers that both State and Federal Governments exercise (power to tax, build roads, provide social services)
29. Congress has the power to declare war. The House of Representatives has the power to impeach officials (accuse of crimes). The Senate
puts impeached officials on trial. The Senate also approves Presidential appointments and treaties proposed by the president.
30. The President serves a variety of roles: Commander-in-Chief, Chief Diplomat, Chief Executive, Party leader, Legislative Leader, Chief of
State, Judicial leader
31. Check and balance occurs when one branch can limit what the other branches can do (ex: President vetoes a bill from Congress, Senate
approves or disapproves a Presidential appointment, Supreme Court declares an action unconstitutional)
GOAL 3
32. The largest source of revenue (money taken in) for NC’s budget is income tax, while its greatest expenditure (money spent) is education.

2. 33. The Governor is the chief executive of the state and has the power of line item veto (rejecting a portion of a bill) while the President does
not. The Governor does not have diplomatic power since his power is only within the state. The requirements for the office of Governor are:
US citizen for 5 years, 30 years old. The Governor may only serve two consecutive terms
34. Letter writing is the most effective way for citizens to influence governmental decision making.
35. The legislative body of the state is called the General Assembly, the legislative body of the county is called Board of Commissioners.
36. The North Carolina Supreme Court is the state’s highest court. The court has a chief justice and six associate justices who are elected to 8-
year terms. Two landmark decisions by the NC Supreme Court were State v. Mann (1829) (slaves were property) and Leandro v. North
Carolina (1997) (sound education for all).
37. Gerrymandering is when the General Assembly redraws voting districts favoring one party over another.
38. Annexation is when a city adds more land to its boundaries to expand its tax base and its services.
GOAL 4
39. The political spectrum is a way of showing tendencies for political beliefs, where people who want change are on the left (liberal) and people
who want the status quo (stay the same) are on the right (conservative). Extreme beliefs generally will use violence to promote their cause.
Most people tend to have some beliefs on either side and tend to be in the middle. Politicians who are more moderate will have a better
chance of being elected.
* * * * *
Radical Liberal Moderate Conservative Reactionary
40. The majority of private funding for a candidate when running for election comes from Political Action Committees (PACs).
41. Propaganda techniques are glittering generalities (meaningless statement), bandwagon (seem that everyone is voting for you), stacked
cards (presenting only one side of an issue), name calling (attack ads, negative) just plain folks (try to look like the average Joe).
42. A plank is a party’s stance on an issue (more health services), while a platform is the party’s position on all of the issues put together
43. Voter qualifications for North Carolina are: 18 years, registered, be of sound mind (no mental institutions), no felonies, resident.
44. The purpose of a National Convention is for a political party to name its candidates for President and Vice President and adopt the platform.
45. A recall election is when the citizens of a state vote to remove an official from office before the end of their term
46. The difference between arbitration and mediation is that while both have third parties who listen to both sides of an argument, a mediator
makes recommendations while an arbitrator’s solution is binding.
47. A plurality means that a candidate received the most votes, a simple majority is one more than half of the votes.
48. The United States has a two party system; Democrats and Republicans control the political system, other parties can have some influence.
GOAL 5
49. Four methods of solving conflicts are compromise, debate, negotiation and consensus
50. Jurisdiction is the area of control. Different courts have control in different situations.
Original Jurisdiction is the authority to hear a case for the first time
Appellate jurisdiction is the authority to hear a case after the first time for legal errors
Exclusive Jurisdiction is the authority of a Federal court only to hear a case
Concurrent Jurisdiction is the authority of Federal and State Courts to hear a case
51. The top court is the Supreme Court (constitutionality, conflicts between states, appeals from state Supreme Courts, trials of foreign
dignitaries), then Appellate Courts (second time), and District (criminal and civil cases). District and Superior Cts have original jurisdiction.
52. The steps to a trial are: Arrest, Preliminary Hearing, Indictment (officially charge), Arraignment (plead guilty or not guilty), Trial, Sentencing
53. The goal of the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation. Boot Camp, community service, and probation punishments often used for juveniles
54. A court docket is the calendar of court dates and is always full and backed up
55. A felony is a greater crime than a misdemeanor and will get a harsher bail, fine and punishment (8th Amendment)
56. Civil cases are initiated by a plaintiff, and will almost always settle out of court.
57. Grand Jury decides if there is enough evidence to indict (officially charge) the defendant, while a Petit Jury decides guilt or innocence
during the trial phase.
GOAL 6
58. English Common Law had the biggest impact on the American system of justice. The Ten Commandments, Code of Hammurabi, Magna
Carta, and Roman law (Jurisprudence) also influenced American law.
59. Common (Civil) Law deals with disputes between people (family law, law suits, and contract disputes).
60. Criminal (Statutory) Law takes effect when a law or state statute is broken. State laws are called statutes, local laws are called ordinances.
61. Administrative Law is a law created and enforced by a government agency (FDA, FCC, CPSC)
62. Constitutional Law is when a part of the Constitution (including Amendments) is broken
63. FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) is the federal law enforcement agency that enforces federal laws. State Troopers and State Bureau of
Investigation are state law enforcement agencies that enforce state laws and regulate intrastate commerce (transportation). Sheriff and
Police are County and city law enforcement agencies that enforce local laws, serve warrants, and run the jails
64. Restitution is a punishment where the convicted party must pay money to the victim.
65. Retribution is the idea that someone who does something wrong deserves punishment. A deterrent is something that stops someone from
acting. Some punishments are undesirable and stop you from committing a crime. Prisons have a high rate of recidivism (repeat offenders)

3. GOAL 7
66. Scarcity is the result of unlimited wants with limited resources. It’s the basic economic problem
67. The 4 Factors of Production are Land or Natural resources (water), Labor (secretary), Capital (Hammer), and Entrepreneurship (risks and
decisions of an entrepreneur). These factors of production are purchased by firms in the factor market
68. Human Capital is education and training invested in workers. Companies invest in capital and workers hoping to increase productivity
69. Division of Labor increases productivity by assigning specialized tasks to the workers
70. The Law of Diminishing Returns states that as you add a factor of production, productivity increases, but only to a point and then it begins
to decrease (1 Subway worker vs. 3 Subway workers, vs. 10 Subway workers)
71. Trade-offs are ALL the alternative choices when making a decision. Opportunity Cost is what you give up when you make a choice, the
BEST alternative given up in making a decision (your second choice)
72. Comparative Advantage is when one country chooses to produce based on lowest opportunity cost.
GOAL 8
73. Every economic system must answer the three basic economic questions: What to produce? How to produce it? For whom to produce?
A traditional economy relies on custom and ritual to decide questions of production and consumption.
In a command economy the questions are answered by government through a central planning agency.
In a market economy decisions of production and consumption are based on voluntary exchange in markets. Since companies
produce what they think consumers will buy, economists say market decisions are based on consumer sovereignty
In reality, all economies are mixed economies and share characteristics of each of the three types of economic systems
74. A Circular Flow Chart shows the interdependent relationship of households and firms, where money and Goods & Services are exchanged
in the Product market, and Labor and money are exchanged in the factor market
75. Demand is the quantity consumers are willing and able to buy at various prices.
76. The law of demand states that consumers will be more willing to buy goods at lower prices.
77. Supply is a function of the quantity producers are willing and able to provide at various prices.
78. The law of supply states that producers will be more willing to provide goods at higher prices.
79. Equilibrium is at the price where quantity demanded equals quantity supplied. a.k.a. Market clearing price
80. If price is above the equilibrium price, quantity supplied will be greater than quantity demanded = surplus.
If price is below the equilibrium price, quantity supplied will be less than quantity demanded = shortage.
81. There are a variety of business structures based on ownership:
i. a sole proprietorship has one owner, who is the boss, gets all the profits, but has unlimited liability
ii. a partnership has two or more owners, to share decisions and work, but also has unlimited liability
iii. a corporation is an entity with ownership through stock and therefore has limited liability, but is double taxed
iv. a franchise is a semi-independent company that pays fees and receives services from a parent company.
82. Characteristics of markets are often defined by the structure of business in that market:
v. perfect competition is a market where many small companies produce the same product and are price takers
vi. monopoly is where one company dominates the market and is therefore a price setter
vii. oligopoly is where a few large companies control the market
viii. monopolistic competition has many small companies with differentiated products to get some price control
83. Barriers of entry are lower in both perfect competition and monopolistic competition markets since the companies are small
GOAL 9
84. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measure of production of final goods in one year in a country. It is often measured as Real GDP with
the rate of inflation factored out to get a better measurement of whether production increased or decreased.
85. When GDP rises an economy is generally experiencing expansion (economic growth).
If GDP is falling the business cycle is experiencing a contraction or recession (economic reduction, if GDP decreases 6 months in a row)
86. If this is the case unemployment becomes a problem and Congress might want to implement an expansionary fiscal policy.
87. Expansionary Policy: increase government spending and/or decrease taxes and/or increase transfer payments
88. If inflation (prices going up) is a problem congress might consider doing just the opposite:
89. Inflation of consumer prices is measured with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
90. Contractionary Policy: decrease government spending and/or increase taxes and/or decrease transfer payments
91. Fiscal Policy is a government policy conducted by Congress to fight unemployment or inflation by giving consumers and businesses more
money and raising (more money) aggregate demand, or lowering (less money) aggregate demand to impact the amount of market activity
92. The Federal Reserve can control the money supply more directly through regulation of banks. This is called Monetary Policy and works
very much like expansionary and contractionary fiscal policy.
93. To improve business activity and lower the unemployment rate, the Fed might initiate a Loose Monetary Policy (sometimes called
Expansionary Monetary Policy): lower the required reserve or lower the discount rate or sell government securities (bonds) These
actions will make money more readily available for spending
94. To fight a high level of inflation, the Fed might initiate a Tight Monetary Policy (sometimes called Contractionary Monetary Policy): raise the
required reserve or raise the discount rate or buy government securities (bonds)
95. The basic functions of money are: medium of exchange, store of value, account of value
96. The FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) insures all deposits up to $100,000

4. 97. North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goal is to reduce trade barriers.
98. Free trade encourages interdependence through production based on comparative advantage
99. Trade barriers are practices or laws that tend to stop or decrease international trade. A Tariff is a tax on imported goods. A quota is a limit on
how much can be imported. Both raise prices of imports and make American-made goods more attractive to consumers
100. Embargoes are restrictions on trade (refusing to buy or sell to foreign countries) and are occasionally used as political sanctions.
101. The U.S. has an Unfavorable Balance of Trade with many countries meaning it imports more than it exports