This is the July 4th weekend. This Independence Day comes as the Supreme Court has struck down Roe v. Wade, struck down a New York state law regulating guns, defended religious exercises in schools, undermined the ability of the EPA to lower greenhouse admissions, approved a racially gerrymandered congressional district in Louisiana, and threatened new attacks. This Marxist IQ looks at what the American Revolution sought to establish through the Constitution.

1. The Second Amendment of the Constitution (one of the 10 amendments called the “Bill of Rights”)

a. gave citizens the unrestricted right to bear arms.
b. supported the creation of a National Rifle Association.
c. protected the right of well-regulated public militias to maintain peace.
d. gave private militias the right to arm and attack tyrannical governments.

2. The Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe v. Wade giving states the right to ban abortion also gives back to states the power to reverse previous decisions and policies, establishing a dangerous precedent.  It encourages states under right-wing leadership to do which of the following?

a. Pass loyalty oath legislation for public employees and laws banning membership in the CPUSA and other groups, which was declared unconstitutional by later Supreme Court decisions
b. Revive school segregation, abolished by the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision (1954)
c. Eliminate the protections provided citizens in police custody and at trial by the 1960s Gideon and Miranda decisions
d. All of the above

3. Since the Reagan administration, a conservative-dominated Supreme Court has revived the doctrine of “original intent” (the understanding and beliefs of the Constitution’s framers). Were this doctrine enforced seriously,

a. universal suffrage would be abolished and the right to vote would be determined by individual wealth.
b. the states would be abolished.
c. the president would have the power to “make the colonies great again.”
d. the government would be placed in the hands of workers and farmers.

4. On the question of abortion itself and its relationship to the Constitution, which of the following applies?

a. Abortion and contraception were criminalized at the time of the enactment of the Constitution.
b. Abortion and material in the mails advising contraception were common and only criminalized in state and federal law in the late 19th century.
c. Abortion violates “freedom of religion” because religious groups oppose it.
d. All of the above

5. Marxists point out which of the following about the Supreme Court?

a. It has always reflected dominant class interests and its decisions have always been political.
b. The Court’s power of judicial review, which is not in the Constitution and which it arrogated for itself, is a power that no other court in the world has.
c. The judicial system must be radically reformed to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of the people.
d. All of the above

Answers here.

Comments