4^th Grade History

Study Guide – Chapter 11

Government

President – the head of our government, sees to it that the country’s laws are obeyed

Congress

1. makes our country’s most important laws

2. is made up of two groups called houses

· Senate – every state, no matter what size, has the same power

· House of Representatives – the larger states have more power

Constitution – the document which our government still follows today

Supreme Court

1. the highest court in the governmental court system

2. judges whether or not the Constitution has been obeyed

Inauguration Day – the day the new United States President takes the oath of office

Republic – a government in which the people rule with no particular group having more power than others

Articles of Confederation

1. did not give the power to tax to the newly formed United States

2. this document made the government too weak

Bill of Rights – the document that lists the freedoms that can never be taken away from the American people

Independence Hall – the place where the Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia

People

Benjamin Banneker – helped play the city of Washington

George Washington

1. first President of the United States

2. home in Virginia named Mount Vernon

John Adams – man who became the second United States President

Benjamin Franklin – famous for these words, "A republic, if you can keep it," when asked what kind of government had been formed for the United States

Facts to know

Washington, D.C. – the current capital city of the United States

New York - the first capital of the United States where George Washington lived as President (Washington D.C. and the White House did not exist yet)