1. Government Final Exam Review

2. Amendments 1 – Freedom of speech, religion, press, gather
2 – Right to bear arms
3 – Protection against quartering soldiers
4 – Search & seizure
5 – Due process & self incrimination
6 – Speedy trial
7 – Trial by jury
8 – Excessive fines & bails
9 – rights not enumerated given to states
10 – Federalism – rights to Federal government

3. Amendments 12- electing the President & Vice President separately
14 – Citizenship to former slaves
15 – Gave the vote to former slaves (men only)
16 – Levy taxes
17 – Direct election of senators
19 – Gave women the vote
22 – Presidential term limits
25 – President can select a vice president if the position is vacant
26 – gave vote to 18 year olds

4. What are the main differences between the different types of governments?
Democracy (Direct, Representative)
Theocracy
Autocracy (monarchy, dictator)
Republic
Oligarchy (communism, socialism)
Confederation (group of nations)
Unitary government
Federation

5. What are political parties and how do tend to operate in different types of government?
Group of people who think the same about how the government should be run
Autocracy’s & Oligarchy’s tend to have 1 party
Democracy has typically more than 1

6. How did the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights and the Petition of Rights influence our concept of government?
Magna Carta: limited government
English Bill of Rights: rule of law
Petition of Right: document on rights of people

7. How did the writings of Hobbes (Leviathan), Locke (Second Treatise on Government), and Montesquieu (The Spirit of Laws) affect our concept of government?
Hobbes: Natural rights of equality
Locke: social contract
Montesquieu: separation of powers

8. How did the idea of Social Contract influence our Declaration of Independence?
People can overthrow a bad government
Declaration of Independence was a letter to King George about why we were leaving England

9. What was the main purpose of the Declaration of Independence
What was the main purpose of the Declaration of Independence? What were the key issues as spelled out by the colonists?
Separation of the colonies from England (breaking up)
Not allowed to trade with non England
Taxation without representation
Quartering soldiers
Ask for help but he ignored them and made it worse
No trial by jury

10. What is the Articles of Confederation?
First organization of our government

11. What were its weaknesses?
No executive branch
No court system
Single chamber government
Very weak national government

12. What is the structure of the Constitution
What is the structure of the Constitution? How many parts are there and what are they called?
Three parts
Preamble
Articles (7)
Amendments (27)

13. What were the fundamentals principles of the Constitution?
Popular sovereignty
Federalism
Separation of powers
Checks & Balances
Rule of law
Limited government

14. What does each statement in the Preamble actually mean?
To form a more perfect union”: which means to keep the states working together in a friendly way
“To establish justice”: which means to treat people fairly
“To insure domestic tranquility”: which means to keep order
To provide for the common defense”: which means to keep people safe from enemies
“To promote the general welfare”: which means to help the people
“To secure the blessings of liberty”: which means to protect each person’s freedom

15. What is Article I of the Constitution?
Created the legislative branch

16. What is Article II of the Constitution?
Created the Executive branch

17. What is Article III of the Constitution?
Created the judicial branch

18. What are some examples of enumerated, implied, concurrent, reserved and denied powers?
Enumerated: written in constitution
Implied: not written down
Concurrent: shared between states & federal government
Reserved: states only
Denied: not allowed to states or federal

19. What were the key issues between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists when discussing the new Constitution?
Size of the government
Lacked a bill of rights

20. What were each groups ideas for how the new government should be run?
Federalists: strong national government
Anti-Federalists: limited national government with states rights

21. How did the Constitution set up the federal government?
3 branches
Legislative
Executive
Judicial

22. What is the structure, powers and limitations of each branch?
Legislative: House of Representatives & Senate; create laws
Executive: President and Cabinet; enforces laws
Judicial: Supreme Court & federal court system; interprets laws

23. How can each branch check the other branches in the federal government
Executive to legislative: can veto laws
Executive to Judicial: appoint judges
Legislative to Judicial: approve appointments
Legislative to Executive: override veto
Judicial to Legislative: declare laws unconstitutional

24. What is the relationship of power between state and federal governments?
Shared power;
Local decisions left to state government
National decisions left to federal government

25. House of Representatives
What are the formal qualifications for members of the House of Representatives and Senators as listed in the Constitution?
Qualification
House of Representatives
Senate
Age 25 30
Citizenship
7 years
9 years
Residency
Must be resident of the state they represent (not formally required to be from their district)
Must be resident of the state they represent

26. House of Representatives
What are the terms of office for each house of Congress and how many members does each house hold?
House of Representatives
Senate
Terms of office
2 years
6 years
Members
435
100

27. Why is the legislative branch split into two houses of Congress?
House of Rep  based on state population
Big states were happy
Senate  2 per state
Little states happy

28. What are the steps in the legislative process (how does a bill become a law)?
Idea
Call local congressmen
Introduce as a bill
Goes to committee debate
If passes go to house/senate to vote
If fails it “dies”
If passes go to other part of congress for debate and vote
If passes goes to white house to sign into law
If vetoed the whole process starts over

29. What are the powers of Congress?
Write the laws
Declare war
Approve treaties
Impeach president
Coin money
Levy taxes
Create budget

30. What is the process for impeachment of federal officials?
House impeaches federal officials
Senate tries the officials
If it is the president the chief Justice must preside over the trial

31. What are the formal qualifications to be President?
35 years of age
Natural born citizen
Resident of the United States for 14 years

32. What are the informal qualifications to be President?
Married
Access to money
White
Protestant
Successful
Northern European background

33. What is the maximum term of office for President?
2 terms of 4 years each plus 2 years of another term (max serve 10 years)

34. What is the line of succession for the President?
President  Vice President  Speaker of the House  President Pro Tempore of the Senate  Secretary of State

35. How is a President elected to office?
Wins the popular vote in states and from that wins the electoral college votes for that state. Must win at least 270 electoral college votes.

36. What role does the electoral college play in electing the President?
President must win 270 electoral college votes to win the Presidency

37. If there is no clear winner in an election, how would a President be selected?
If no clear winner, the House selects the winner from the top 3 vote recipients

38. Roles of President: Chief Diplomat Commander in Chief Head of State
Party Leader
Chief Executive
Chief Legislator
Economic Planner

39. How are federal judges selected and approved?
Selected: Nominated by the President
Approved: Approved by the Senate

40. What types of cases do federal courts have jurisdiction over?
Military case  Military court
Federal Case  federal courts
Interpretation of the Constitution  Supreme Court
Maritime law  Federal courts

41. What is the structure of the federal court system?
Supreme Court  Federal Appellate Courts  Federal District Courts

42. What is the structure of the Supreme Court?
9 justices (1 chief justice & 8 associate justices)