1. 100 Concepts & Final Exam Preparation Fall Semester
American Government
100 Concepts
& Final Exam Preparation
Fall Semester

2. THE 100 CONCEPTS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99
100

3. Number 1: QUESTION: ANSWER: What is government?
Institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policy

4. Number 2: QUESTION: ANSWER: What is public policy?
all of the goals a government sets and the various courses of action it pursues as it attempts to realize these goals

5. Number 3: QUESTION: ANSWER: What is legislative power?
power to make law and to frame public policies

6. Number 4: QUESTION: ANSWER: What is executive power?
power to execute, enforce, and administer law

7. Number 5: QUESTION: ANSWER: What is judicial power?
power to interpret laws, to determine their meaning, and to settle disputes that arise within the society

8. Number 6: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is “the body of fundamental laws setting out the principles, structures, and processes of government?”
ANSWER:
A constitution

9. Number 7: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is a form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority?
ANSWER:
A dictatorship

10. Number 8: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is a form of government in which the supreme authority rests with the people?
ANSWER:
A democracy

11. Number 9: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is a body of people living in a defined territory who have a government with the power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority?
ANSWER:
A state

12. Number 10: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is defined as having supreme power within its own territory; neither subordinate nor responsible to any other authority?
ANSWER:
sovereignty

13. Number 11: QUESTION: ANSWER: What did Thomas Hobbes believe about man?
government is necessary to prevent "the war of every man against every man." (man is inherently evil)

14. Number 12: QUESTION: ANSWER: What did John Locke believe about man?
We give up certain rights and freedoms to promote the safety and well-being of all (man is naturally good)

15. Number 13: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which theory of the origins of government claims that states form when one person or group forces others under their control?
ANSWER:
The Force Theory

16. Number 14: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which theory of the origins of government claims that states developed naturally out of the early family?
ANSWER:
The Evolution Theory

17. Number 15: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which theory of the origins of government claims that God created the state and gave those of royal birth a right to rule?
ANSWER:
The Divine Right Theory

18. Number 16: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which theory of the origins of government claims that people within an area gave up power to the state to promote safety of all?
ANSWER:
The Social Contract Theory

19. Number 17: QUESTION: ANSWER:
In which type of government does a single person hold unlimited political power?
ANSWER:
An autocracy

20. Number 18: QUESTION: ANSWER:
In which type of government is the power to rule held by a small, usually self-appointed elite?
ANSWER:
An oligarchy

21. Number 19: QUESTION: ANSWER:
In which type of government do all members of society vote on all issues?
ANSWER:
A direct democracy

22. Number 20: QUESTION: ANSWER:
In which type of government must members meet specific criteria in order to be eligible to vote?
ANSWER:
A republic

23. Number 21: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which type of government elects individual members to make decisions for the whole?
ANSWER:
A representative democracy

24. Number 22: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which type of government has a centralized government in which all powers belong to a single, central agency?
ANSWER:
A unitary government

25. Number 23: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which type of government divides powers between a central government and several local governments?
ANSWER:
A federal government

26. Number 24: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What term refers to governmental powers being divided on a geographic basis?
ANSWER:
Division of powers

27. Number 25: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which government is an alliance of independent states with a weak central government?
ANSWER:
A confederation

28. Number 26: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which government has executive and legislative branches that are separate, independent, and coequal?
ANSWER:
Presidential government

29. Number 27: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which government has an executive that is made up of the prime minister and that official's cabinet?
ANSWER:
Parliamentary government

30. Number 28: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which characteristic of democracy states that each person, no matter what his or her station in life, is a separate and distinct being?
ANSWER:
Worth of individuals

31. Number 29: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which characteristic of democracy states that all are entitled to equality of opportunity and equality before the law?
ANSWER:
Equality of persons

32. Number 30: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which characteristic of democracy states that the largest group of people is generally right, but cannot ignore small groups?
ANSWER:
Majority rule, minority rights

33. Number 31: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which characteristic of democracy states that democracy can only exist when parties work to find the most acceptable position?
ANSWER:
Necessity of compromise

34. Number 32: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which characteristic of democracy states that each individual is as free to do as he or she pleases as far as the freedom of all will allow?
ANSWER:
Individual freedom

35. Number 33: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What economic system is characterized by the private ownership of capital goods?
ANSWER:
Free enterprise system

36. Number 34: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What economic law states that when supplies of goods and services become plentiful, prices tend to drop?
ANSWER:
Law of supply and demand

37. Number 35: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What economic system consists of private enterprise with a considerable amount of government regulation?
ANSWER:
Mixed economy

38. Number 36: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What type of government is restricted in what it may do, and each individual has certain rights that government cannot take away?
ANSWER:
Limited government

39. Number 37: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is a system of government in which public policies are made by officials selected by the voters and held accountable in periodic elections?
ANSWER:
Representative government

40. Number 38: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which document, also known as the Great Charter, was forced upon King John of England and established that the power of the monarchy was not absolute?
ANSWER:
The Magna Carta

41. Number 39: ANSWER: QUESTION: Petition of Right
Which document, prepared by Parliament and signed by King Charles I of England in 1628, challenged the idea of the divine right of kings and declared that even the monarch was subject to the laws of the land?
ANSWER:
Petition of Right

42. Number 40: ANSWER: QUESTION: English Bill of Rights
Which document was written by Parliament and agreed on by William and Mary of England in 1689, designed to prevent abuse of power by English monarchs and served as the basis for American politics?
ANSWER:
English Bill of Rights

43. Number 41: QUESTION: ANSWER: What is a bicameral legislature?
A legislature composed of two houses

44. Number 42: QUESTION: ANSWER: What is a unicameral legislature?
A legislature composed of one house

45. Number 43: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which group served as the nation’s first national government?
ANSWER:
The 2nd Continental Congress

46. Number 44: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is another term for recalling an act of government?
ANSWER:
repeal

47. Number 45: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What document was signed on July 4, 1776, listing grievances against England?
ANSWER:
Declaration of Independence

48. Number 46: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What basic principle of American government asserts that the people are the source of any and all power, and government can exist only with the consent of the governed?
ANSWER:
Popular sovereignty

49. Number 47: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What plan of government was adopted by the Continental Congress after the American Revolution, establishing a "firm league of friendship" among the States?
ANSWER:
Articles of Confederation

50. Number 48: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is the formal approval of a constitution, constitutional amendment, or treaty?
ANSWER:
ratification

51. Number 49: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is the name given to the group of delegates who drafted the Constitution?
ANSWER:
The Framers

52. Number 50: ANSWER: QUESTION: The Virginia Plan
What proposal called for a three-branch government with a bicameral legislature in which each State's membership would be determined by its population or its financial support for the central government?
ANSWER:
The Virginia Plan

53. Number 51: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which proposal was presented as an alternative to the Virginia Plan and called for a unicameral legislature in which each state would be equally represented?
ANSWER:
The New Jersey Plan

54. Number 52: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which plan was a compromise that formed our final system of government?
ANSWER:
The Connecticut Compromise

55. Number 53: QUESTION: ANSWER: What was the Three-Fifths Compromise?
Agreement at the Constitutional Convention to count a slave as three-fifths of a person when determining the population of a State.

56. Number 54: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What was the Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise?
ANSWER:
Agreement during the Constitutional Convention protecting slave holders. It denied Congress the power to tax the export of goods from any State, and, for 20 years, the power to act on the slave trade.

57. Number 55: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What name was given to those who supported the ratification of the Constitution?
ANSWER:
Federalists

58. Number 56: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What name was given to those who opposed ratification of the Constitution?
ANSWER:
Anti-federalists

59. Number 57: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which Constitutional concept and basic principle of government states that those who govern must obey the law?
ANSWER:
Constitutionalism

60. Number 58: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which Constitutional concept states that government and its officers are always subject to the law?
ANSWER:
Rule of law

61. Number 59: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which Constitutional concept provides that powers are divided among three independent and coequal branches?
ANSWER:
Separation of powers

62. Number 60: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which Constitutional concept provides a system of overlapping powers to permit each branch to check the others?
ANSWER:
Checks and balances

63. Number 61: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which Constitutional concept gives power to the court to determine the constitutionality of a governmental action?
ANSWER:
Judicial review

64. Number 62: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which word means “declare a government provision illegal, null, and void?”
ANSWER:
unconstitutional

65. Number 63: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which Constitutional concept provides for a division of power between a central government and regional governments?
ANSWER:
federalism

66. Number 64: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is a change in the written language of the Constitution?
ANSWER:
Formal amendment

67. Number 65: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is a change made by experience, not the actual words of the Constitution?
ANSWER:
Informal amendment

68. Number 66: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is another name for the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution?
ANSWER:
The Bill of Rights

69. Number 67: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is a pact between the President and head of a foreign state?
ANSWER:
An executive agreement

70. Number 68: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is a formal agreement between two or more sovereign states?
ANSWER:
Treaty

71. Number 69: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is the Presidential advisory body (the heads of the executive departments)?
ANSWER:
cabinet

72. Number 70: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which are all powers granted to the National Government by the Constitution?
ANSWER:
Delegated powers

73. Number 71: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which are the powers of the National Government that are spelled out in the Constitution?
ANSWER:
Expressed powers

74. Number 72: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which powers of the National Government that are suggested as "necessary and proper"?
ANSWER:
Implied powers

75. Number 73: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which are the powers the National Government has as government of a sovereign state?
ANSWER:
Inherent powers

76. Number 74: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which are the powers not granted to the National Government nor denied to the States?
ANSWER:
Reserved powers

77. Number 75: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Which are the powers that both the National Government and the States possess and execute?
ANSWER:
Concurrent powers

78. Number 76: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What clause states that the Constitution stands above all other forms of law?
ANSWER:
The Supremacy Clause

79. Number 77: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is a group that seeks to control government through winning of elections and the holding public office?
ANSWER:
Political party

80. Number 78: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is government action based on firm allegiance to a political party called?
ANSWER:
partisanship

81. Number 79: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is the party that controls the executive branch called?
ANSWER:
Party in power

82. Number 80: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What word describes any government action that is supported by two parties?
ANSWER:
bipartisan

83. Number 81: QUESTION: ANSWER: What is the current office holder called?
incumbent

84. Number 82:
QUESTION:
What is the right to vote?
ANSWER:
suffrage

85. Number 83: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Who are the people entitled to vote in a given election?
ANSWER:
electorate

86. Number 84: QUESTION: ANSWER:
In the United States, the list included citizenship, residence, and age.
ANSWER:
Voter qualifications

87. Number 85: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is a Congressional election that occurs between presidential election years?
ANSWER:
Off-year election

88. Number 86: QUESTION: ANSWER:
Divided between personal characteristics (age, race, etc) and group affiliation (family, co-workers, friends, etc.).
ANSWER:
Factors effecting voting

89. Number 87: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is the practice of voting for candidates of only one party in an election?
ANSWER:
Straight-ticket voting

90. Number 88: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is the practice of voting for candidates of different parties for different offices?
ANSWER:
Split-ticket voting

91. Number 89: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is the nominating device composed of a group of like-minded people?
ANSWER:
caucus

92. Number 90: QUESTION: ANSWER: What is the date of national elections?
Tuesday-after-the-first Monday in November

93. Number 91: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is the effect when a strong candidate at the top of a ballot helping attract voters to lower offices?
ANSWER:
Coattail effect

94. Number 92: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is the smallest unit of election administration?
ANSWER:
precinct

95. Number 93: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is the political extension of special-interest groups?
ANSWER:
Political action committee (PAC)

96. Number 94: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is the complex collection of the opinions of many different people?
ANSWER:
Public opinion

97. Number 95: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What are those means of communication that reach large audiences (TV, radio, etc.)?
ANSWER:
Mass media

98. Number 96: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What are the instructions or commands a constituency gives to its elected officials?
ANSWER:
mandate

99. Number 97: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is a private organization whose members share certain views and work to shape public policy?
ANSWER:
Interest group

100. Number 98: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What is a technique of persuasion aimed at influencing individual or group behaviors to create a particular belief, regardless of its validity?
ANSWER:
propaganda

101. Number 99: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What are those activities by which group pressures are brought to bear on legislators, the legislative process, and all aspects of the public policy-making process?
ANSWER:
lobbying

102. Number 100: QUESTION: ANSWER:
What term refers to issues, beliefs, or pressures that arise from the average voters?
ANSWER:
Grass roots

103. Score and Graph