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Part 1: Multiple-Choice Questions

• Part I: Task Models for Stimulus Based Multiple-Choice Question

Part II: Stimulus-Based Short Essay Questions: Sample Student Papers

The links below lead to sample student papers for the Part II Stimulus-Based Short Essay Questions for both Set 1 and Set 2. They include an anchor paper and a practice paper at each score point on a 5-point rubric. These materials were created to provide further understanding of the Part II Stimulus-Based Short Essay Questions and rubrics for scoring actual student papers. Each set includes Scoring Worksheets A and B, which can be used for training in conjunction with the practice papers. The 5-point scoring rubric has been specifically designed for use with these Stimulus-Based Short Essay Questions.

Part III: Civic Literacy Essay Question

The link below leads to sample student papers for the Part III Civic Literacy Essay Question. It includes Part IIIA and Part IIIB of a new Civic Literacy Essay Question along with rubrics for both parts and an anchor paper and practice paper at each score point on a 5-point rubric. These materials were created to provide further understanding of the Part III Civic Literacy Essay Question and rubric for scoring actual student papers. Also included are Scoring Worksheets A and B, which can be used for training in conjunction with the practice papers. The 5-point scoring rubric is the same rubric used to score the Document-Based Question essay on the current United States History and Government Regents Examination.

• Part III: Civic Literacy Essay Question Sample Student Papers

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Civic literacy essay checklist, checklist for student writing and teacher feedback.

Regents Readiness

Resources for Part 3: Civic Literacy Document Based Essay: Civic Literacy Essay Checklist

Students can use this checklist to write their essay, teachers can use this checklist to give students feedback 

Teacher Feedback

Please comment below with questions, feedback, suggestions, or descriptions of your experience using this resource with students.

If you found an error in the resource, please let us know so we can correct it by filling out this form . 

Florida Civic Literacy Exam (FCLE) Study Guide

• Competency One: American Democracy
• Competency Two: United States Constitution
• Competency Three: Founding Documents
• Introduction

Landmark Impact on Law and Society Slides and Recorded Lecture

Judicial branch: case law, legislative branch: laws, executive branch: orders and treaties.

Students should be able to recall, identify, and explain landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases, landmark legislation, and executive actions. They should also be able to explain their impact on law and society. Most landmark cases, legislation, and executive actions are drawn from Florida’s K-12 civics, U.S. government, and U.S. history course content. 

• Landmark Impact on Law and Society Recorded Lecture

These slides and the recorded presentation have been shared from  Miami-Dade University

The landmark rulings listed below may be linked to FCLE questions. Each case has been paired with the best resources our subject matter experts have compiled.    

Landmark Supreme Court Decisions

Marbury v. madison (1803)  .

• Established the principle of judicial review, in other words, the power to declare a law written by the legislative branch as unconstitutional. 
• Marbury v. Madison Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained - YouTube  

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)  

McCulloch v. Maryland Summary | quimbee.com - YouTube  

Established that while states retain the power of taxation, the Constitution and the laws made according to the Constitution are supreme and cannot be controlled by the states. 

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)  

The Dred Scott Decision Featuring Justice Neil M. Gorsuch - YouTube  

Established portions of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 as unconstitutional, ruling that the plaintiff, Mr. Scott, was property and not a person. 

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) 

Plessy v. Ferguson Summary | quimbee.com - YouTube  

Established that racial segregation in accommodations on a train did not violate the 14th Amendment to the constitution. 

Schenck v. U.S. (1919) 

Schenck v. United States | BRI's Homework Help Series - YouTube  

Established that the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment does not protect speech deemed as a "clear and present danger" which Congress has the power to prevent. 

Korematsu v. United States (1944) 

Korematsu v US video  

Established that the exclusion order of Americans of Japanese descent during WWII was lawful and did not show racial prejudice. 

Brown v. Board (1954) 

Brown v. Board of Education Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained - YouTube  

Established the principle that "separate but equal" educational facilities for racial minorities is inherently unequal and thus violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. 

Mapp v. Ohio (1961) 

Mapp v. Ohio [SCOTUSbrief] - YouTube  

Established that all evidence in a criminal case obtained by searches and seizures in violation of the Fourth Amendment will be rendered inadmissible in state court. 

Baker v. Carr (1962) 

Baker v Carr  

Established that state reapportionment claims are justiciable in federal court. 

Engel v. Vitale (1962) 

Engle v Vitale OYEZ  

Established that the state cannot hold prayers in public schools, even if participation is not required and the prayer is not tied to a particular religion. 

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) 

Gideon v. Wainwright | Homework Help from the Bill of Rights Institute - YouTube  

Established that the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of a right to assistance of counsel applies to criminal defendants in state court by way of the Fourteenth Amendment. 

Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 

Miranda v Arizona Video  

The Fifth Amendment requires that law enforcement officials advise suspects of their right to remain silent and to obtain an attorney during interrogations while in police custody. 

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) 

Tinker v. Des Moines [SCOTUSbrief] - YouTube  

Established that the students did not lose their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech when they stepped onto school property. In order to justify the suppression of speech, the school officials must be able to prove that the conduct in question would "materially and substantially interfere" with the operation of the school. 

New York Times v. United States (1971) 

New York Times v United States  

Established that the vague word "security" should not be used to "abrogate the fundamental law embodied in the First Amendment." 

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) 

Wisconsin v. Yoder | BRI's Homework Help Series - YouTube  

Established that an individual's interests in the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment outweighed the State's interests in compelling school attendance beyond the eighth grade. 

Roe v. Wade (1973) 

Roe v Wade Video  

Established that inherent in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is a fundamental “right to privacy” that protects a pregnant woman’s choice whether to have an abortion. However, this right is balanced against the government’s interests in protecting women's health and protecting “the potentiality of human life.” 

United States v. Nixon (1974) 

United States v Nixon OYEZ  

By unanimous decision the Court held that neither the doctrine of separation of powers, nor the generalized need for confidentiality of high-level communications, without more, can sustain an absolute, unqualified, presidential privilege. 

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) 

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke | BRI's Homework Help Series - YouTube  

There was no single majority opinion in this case. Four of the justices contended that any racial quota system supported by the government violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The remaining four justices held that the use of race as a criterion in admissions decisions in higher education was constitutionally permissible. The Court managed to minimize white opposition to the goal of equality (by finding for Bakke) while extending gains for racial minorities through affirmative action. 

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988) 

Haze lwood v. Kuhlmeier [SCOTUSbrief] - YouTube  

The Court held that the First Amendment did not require schools to affirmatively promote particular types of student speech. Educators did not offend the First Amendment by exercising editorial control over the content of student speech so long as their actions were "reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns." 

Texas v. Johnson (1989) 

Texas v. Johnson [SCOTUSbrief] - YouTube  

The Court held that Johnson's burning of an American flag was protected expression under the First Amendment. The Court found that Johnson's actions fell into the category of expressive conduct and had a distinctively political nature. The fact that an audience takes offense to certain ideas or expression, the Court found, does not justify prohibitions of speech. 

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

• Shaw v Reno OYEZ  

The Court held that although North Carolina's reapportionment plan was racially neutral on its face, the resulting district shape was bizarre enough to suggest that it constituted an effort to separate voters into different districts based on race. 

U.S. v. Lopez (1995) 

• US v Lopez Video   

Held that possession of a gun in a local school zone is not an economic activity that might, through repetition elsewhere, have a substantial effect on interstate commerce. The law is a criminal statute that has nothing to do with "commerce" or any sort of economic activity. 

Bush v. Gore (2000) 

Bush v. Gore | BRI's Homework Help Series - YouTube  

Noting that the Equal Protection clause guarantees individuals that their ballots cannot be devalued by "later arbitrary and disparate treatment," the per curium opinion held 7-2 that the Florida Supreme Court's scheme for recounting ballots was unconstitutional. Even if the recount was fair in theory, it was unfair in practice. The record suggested that different standards were applied from ballot to ballot, precinct to precinct, and county to county. 

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) 

District of Columbia v. Heller [SCOTUSbrief] - YouTube  

The court held that a ban on registering handguns and the requirement to keep guns in the home disassembled or nonfunctional with a trigger lock mechanism violate the Second Amendment. 

McDonald v. Chicago (2010) 

McDonald v. City of Chicago, Illinois [SCOTUSbrief] - YouTube  

The Supreme Court reversed the Seventh Circuit, holding that the Fourteenth Amendment makes the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense applicable to the states. 

Citizens United v. FEC (2010) 

• Citizens United v Federal Elections Commission Video  

The First Amendment protects the right to free speech, despite the speaker’s corporate identity. 

The United States Congress has passed tens of thousands of bills since its first session in 1789. Since then, Congress has enacted numerous statutes considered to be landmark legislation, that is, laws which have had a significant impact on the American people. To be active participants in the governing process, students are first required to have some knowledge of these seminal events in American history. 

Landmark Legislation

Alien and sedition acts of 1798:.

• Passed in preparation for an anticipated war with France, the Alien and Sedition Acts tightened restrictions on foreign-born Americans and limited speech critical of the government.
• Introduction - Alien and Sedition Acts: Primary Documents in American History - Research Guides at Library of Congress (loc.gov)  

Civil Rights Act of 1875

• The bill guaranteed all citizens, regardless of color, access to accommodations, theatres, public schools, churches, and cemeteries. 
• U.S. Senate: Landmark Legislation: Civil Rights Act of 1875  

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Provisions of this civil rights act forbade discrimination based on sex, as well as race in hiring, promoting, and firing. 
•   Legal Highlight: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov)  

Voting Rights Act of 1965

• It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting.   
•   U.S. Senate: The Senate Passes the Voting Rights Act  

Compromise of 1850

• The Compromise was actually a series of bills passed mainly to address issues related to slavery. The bills provided for slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty in the admission of new states, prohibited the slave trade in the District of Columbia, settled a Texas boundary dispute, and established a stricter fugitive slave act. 
• Introduction - Compromise of 1850: Primary Documents in American History - Research Guides at Library of Congress (loc.gov)  

Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854

• The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty. It also produced a violent uprising known as “Bleeding Kansas,” as proslavery and antislavery activists flooded into the territories to sway the vote. 
• U.S. Senate: The Kansas-Nebraska Act  

Homestead Act of 1862

• The Homestead Act accelerated the settlement of the western territory by granting adult heads of families 160 acres of surveyed public land for a minimal filing fee and five years of continuous residence on that land. 
•   Introduction - Homestead Act: Primary Documents in American History - Research Guides at Library of Congress (loc.gov)  

New Deal-related Acts

• The New Deal included new constraints and safeguards on the banking industry and efforts to re-inflate the economy after prices had fallen sharply. New Deal programs included laws passed by Congress to address agricultural production and prices, banking, unemployment, wage controls, and Social Security.    
• President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal  |  Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945  |  U.S. History Primary Source Timeline  |  Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress  |  Library of Congress (loc.gov)  
• New Deal - Programs, Social Security & FDR | HISTORY  

Great Society-related Acts

• President Lyndon Johnson announced his Great Society program during his State of the Union address in 1964. He outlined a series of domestic programs that he promised would eliminate poverty and inequality in the United States. By the end of Johnson’s term, Congress had implemented 226 of his 252 legislative requests. 
• Study Aid: Great Society Legislation | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History  
• Lyndon B. Johnson: Domestic Affairs | Miller Center  

Tonkin Gulf Resolution of 1964

• On August 7, 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia. 
• U.S. Senate: Chairman J. William Fulbright and the 1964 Tonkin Gulf Resolution  

Clean Air Act of 1970

• This legislation authorized the development of comprehensive federal and state regulations to limit emissions from both stationary (industrial) sources and mobile sources. 
• Summary of the Clean Air Act | US EPA  

USA PATRIOT Act of 2001

• Prohibits knowingly harboring persons who have committed or are about to commit a variety of terrorist offenses, such as: destruction of aircraft; use of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons; use of weapons of mass destruction; bombing of government property; sabotage of nuclear facilities; and aircraft piracy. 
• Patriot Act (history.com)  

 Affordable Care Act of 2010

• The comprehensive health care reform law enacted in March 2010 (sometimes known as ACA, PPACA, or “Obamacare”). Made affordable health insurance available to more people. The law provides consumers with subsidies that lower costs for households with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. 
• About the ACA | HHS.gov  

The office of President of the United States is one of the most recognizable in the world. Students should recognize the exercise of formal presidential power, and should be able to recall, identify, and explain landmark Executive Orders and Treaties, significant constitutional powers that are granted to the president.  

Important Executive Actions

Executive orders explained executive orders 101.

• What are they and how do Presidents use them? | Executive Orders Video  

Treaty of Paris 1783

• Treaty of Paris: Primary Documents in American History: The Treaty of Paris was signed by U.S. and British Representatives on September 3, 1783, ending the War of the American Revolution. 
• Treaty of Paris: History Channel   

Louisiana Purchase 1803

• The Louisiana Purchase encompassed 530,000,000 acres of territory in North America that the United States purchased from France in 1803 for $15 million. 
• Louisiana Purchase Treaty (1803) | National Archives   

Adams-Onis Treaty 1819

• The United States and Spain defined the western limits of the Louisiana Purchase and Spain surrendered its claims to the Pacific Northwest. In return, the United States recognized Spanish sovereignty over Texas. 
• Adams-Onís Treaty | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (okhistory.org)   

President Lincoln’s suspension of Habeas Corpus

• Under this order, commanders could arrest and detain individuals who were deemed threatening to military operations. Those arrested could be held without indictment or arraignment. 
•   A proclamation on the suspension of habeas corpus, 1862 | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History   

Japanese American Internment Executive Order

• Issued by President Franklin Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, this order authorized the forced removal of all persons deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to "relocation centers" further inland – resulting in the incarceration of thousands of Japanese Americans. 
• Japanese-American Internment | Harry S. Truman (trumanlibrary.gov)   

President Bush’s suspension of Habeas Corpus

• Should the Military Commissions Act of 2006 be interpreted to strip federal courts of jurisdiction over habeas petitions filed by foreign citizens detained at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba? 
• The Court weighs in . . . OYEZ  

The Bully Pulpit

• The term "bully pulpit," coined during Teddy Roosevelt’s Presidency, is still used today to describe the president's power to influence the public. 
• Doris Kearns Goodwin: The Power of Teddy Roosevelt's Bully Pulpit | Big Think - YouTube   

Desegregation of the Military

• On July 26, 1948, President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, creating the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services. The order mandated the desegregation of the U.S. military. 
•   Truman's Executive Order 9981 | Black History Month - YouTube   

Affirmative Action and Civil Rights

• President John F. Kennedy created a Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity in 1961 and issued Executive Order 10925, which used the term "affirmative action" to refer to measures designed to achieve non-discrimination. 
•   Affirmative Action: Definition & College Admissions | HISTORY   
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