What An American High Schooler Should Know

Today's entry is part two of the Detroit Free Press's US History trivia from Sunday. Here are the facts that the Detroit Public Schools expects its high schoolers to know about US Civics.

1. The best way for Americans to participate in government is to vote.

2. The main purposes of government are to maintain order, provide public services, and to provide national security.

3. The US government derives its power from the consent of the governed.

4. We use a system of checks and balances to prevent any branch of the government from having too much power.

5. The most important reason for having a limited form of government is to ensure government by public consent.

6. "Democracy" means a rule by the people.

7. The primary role of Congress is to write and enact laws.

8. Representative government is necessary in a democracy because we can't all get together in one place to discuss our problems.

9. Part of the reason the colonists declared independence from Britain on July 4th, 1776, was because they were seeking representation in government.

10. The three branches of the federal government are the executive, the judicial, and the legislative.

How are we doing so far? Pretty basic, right?