Overview of America

produced by The John Birch Society

written and narrated by John F. McManus
Study Guide by Paula S. DeBow

The Political Spectrum (Fill in the blanks for the diagram below.)
________________________________________________________________
a.

1.

b.

c.

What made America great was not what government did, but what government was
_____________________________ from doing.

2.

What set America apart from other lands was _______________________ for the
individual.

3.

Personal _____________________ and _______________________ government is the

combination that made America the envy of the world.

4.

The three rights given to man by God (unalienable rights) are

a. _________________________,
b. _____________________________, and
c. _______________________________________.

5.

The sole function of __________________________ is to protect citizens from one another

and from _______________________ threats.

6.

When a government does something for one ________________________, it has to

_________________ from another to do so.

7.

In _________________________ delegates from 12 of the 13 states met in Philadelphia to

revise the young American system of government.

8.

The constitution was designed to govern the ______________________________, not the

________________________ and not the _________________________.

9.

The spirit of _____________________________ produced excellence.

10. Some of the essays written on the Constitution by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and
John Jay were collected into a volume called the __________________________________.
11. The first 10 amendments of the Constitution are known as the __________ of
______________.
12. The Bill of Rights never gave the citizens any _______________________. Its sole purpose
was to set ______________________ on the government.
13. The 10th amendment says that if we ____________________ anything, you cant do that
either.
14. Most Americans today have been taught that the American government is a
______________________________.
15. What is the essential difference between a democracy and a republic?

16. Define the following terms:

a.

monarchy:

b.

dictatorship:

c.

oligarchy:

d.

democracy:

e.

republic:

f.

anarchy:

17. What is the most common form of government? __________________________________

18. The Ancient Greeks stated, Without _______________, there can be no
________________________.
19. Anarchy most often leads to _______________________________.
20. Why is majority rule not always a good form of government?

21. The word ______________________________ does not appear in the Declaration of

Independence or in the U.S. Constitution, nor does it appear in any of the constitutions of the
50 states.
22. Who is known as the Father of the Constitution? __________________________________
23. Samuel Adams said, Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and
___________________________ itself.
24. The _______________________ never took Solons advice to have a rule by law.
25. The Romans traded ________________________ for security.
26. What is the definition of capital?

27. What is the difference between the communist system and what the American capitalist
system is supposed to be?

28. What is the definition of free market?

29. What are the four aspects of private property?

a.
b.
c.
d.

30. The __________________________________ preaches the destruction and abolition of

private property.
31. In a competitive free market system, __________________ prices and _____________
quality prevail because a variety of producers will seek to attract the widest amount of
customers.
32. Competition results in _____________________________.
33. What are the four kinds of governments that seek to control the countrys capital? Define
each.
a.
b.
c.
d.
34. The founding fathers understood the biblical principle that _________________________
exalteth a nation.
35. John Adams observed that Our Constitution was made only for a ____________________
and ______________________ people. It is wholly ______________________________
to the government of any other.
36. Benjamin Franklin said, Only a _________________________ people are capable of
freedom. As nations become __________________ and vicious, they have more need of
masters.