1. First Quarter Review
American Government

2. Types and Forms of Gov’t
Democracy (direct and indirect)
Non-Democracy (dictatorships, theocracy, communism, etc.
How are leaders chosen?
Forms:
Unitary
Confederate
Federal
How is power distributed?

3. Dictatorship People are controlled by force or threats
One leader or a small group of leaders
Also: totalitarian, authoritarian, absolute power, tyranny
NOT: participation, equal, individual rights, representative, democracy, liberty

4. Democracy The people participate in government
Direct: the people make the decisions themselves
Indirect: the people vote for leaders who make the decisions
Most democracies (ours included) are INDIRECT.

5. FEDERAL Also: federalism, anti-federal
Power of government is divided and shared between national, state, and local levels
NOT: confederate, unitary

6. Confederate Power is SPREAD OUT among states.
Each is SOVEREIGN. It has complete control inside its own borders.
The South during the Civil War called itself the “Confederacy.” They believed each state should be able to make its own laws without DC telling it what to do. The laws they were worried about concerned slavery.

7. Unitary
Power is CONCENTRATED in one government that controls the whole country.
There might be local governments, but they are much weaker. They take directions from the national gov’t.

8. Purposes of Gov’t Stated in the Preamble to the Constitution
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union,
establish justice,
insure domestic tranquility,
provide for the common defense,
promote the general welfare, and
secure the blessings of liberty
to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

9. Principles of Gov’t A principle is a basic idea, a foundation
1. Limited government
2. Majority rule
3. Separation of powers
4. Checks and balances
5. Consent of the governed
6. Republicanism/representative democracy
7. Rule of law
8. Equality of opportunity
9. Individual rights and responsibilities
10.Federalism
11.Judicial review

10. Limited Government Gov’t is limited by a set of rules
Our Constitution limits gov’t in many ways:
Can’t pass laws making criticism illegal (freedoms of speech, press)
Officials must be elected, can’t stay in office forever (term limits)

11. Majority Rule A small group can’t control the gov’t Majority= 50% +1
Large group makes decisions, like who to elect President, which laws to pass in Congress

12. Separation of Power
Idea that the branches of government share power separately; no one can get too powerful
President, Congress, and Court all have their own jobs
Also: checks and balances (veto, confirming, ratifying, judicial review)
EX: Bush wanted to fight Iraq, had to ask Congress for the money ($87 billion)

13. Checks And Balances Related to separation of power
Means that each branch has a “check” blocking some power of the other branch
President: veto laws
Congress: “power of the purse (the money), reject appointments
Supreme Court: judicial review of laws, lifetime terms

14. Consent of the Governed
Officials need agreement from the people they work for
They get elected
Sometimes they can get un-elected (recall)
Power comes from the agreement. If the agreement goes away, so does the power; a new person gets elected

15. Republican/Representative Democracy
Not everyone gets to make gov’t decisions, new laws
That would be DIRECT democracy
Everyone gets to VOTE on leaders,
The LEADERS make the important decisions

16. Rule of Law Laws are more important than people
Even the most important people (the President, Congress, Supreme Court) are not allowed to break laws

17. Equality of Opportunity
Older: Gov’t can’t use power to make unequal opportunities
Modern: Gov’t must use its power to create more equal opportunities

18. Individual Rights and Responsibilities
Gov’t can never overpower a few specific individual rights
With those rights come responsibilities: if you vote, you might have to serve on a jury;
Individuals have freedom of speech, but must be responsible not to threaten or lie

19. Federalism The national government is in charge
There are state gov’ts sharing some powers:
Taxes
Making laws
Also, local gov’ts share powers, esp. taxes

20. Judicial Review
Judges (usually the Supreme Court) get to review laws to decide if they fit under the Constitution

21. Due Process
Legal (court) procedures—the process that gov’t MUST use, especially where a citizen might lose some freedom

22. Some words I saw on the test . . .
Justice: fairness, esp. in court (“under the law”)
tranquility: peace, order
Sovereignty: complete control over your own land
Parliament: elected group of lawmakers (like Congress).

23. Debate: argument with rules
Criticism: point out strengths and weaknesses, (especially of a gov’t)
Absolute: complete, total
Uninformed: not having important info

24. Domestic: in the US; opposite of foreign, or outside the US
Constituent: person represented by a leader in Congress
Constituency: all the people represented by one Congressman (or woman)
International: outside the US, also foreign
Constitution: a written document setting out the “rules” for a gov’t

25. Indispensable: too important to do without
Guarantee: promise that can’t be broken
Nullification: cancel, stop
Geography: physical characteristics of a place

26. Unanimous: getting 100% of the votes
Unconstitutional: against the “rules” of gov’t
Foreign policy: gov’t dealings with other countries
Principle: basic idea
Oligarchy: small group rule

27. Judicial: concerning judges, deciding whether laws are OK
Congressional: concerning Congress, making laws
Oversight: watching over something (usually to make sure $$ is spent well)
Executive: concerning presidents or other leader who Enforce laws
Executive privilege: keeping president’s decision process secret

28. Multiple Choice Read each answer!!!!! There are only 20 questions.
Try to eliminate the ones that are clearly wrong
Double check scantron to make sure numbering agrees

29. Final Words of Wisdom
Stay relaxed; move on through things you don’t know find things you do!
If you’ve NEVER heard of it, it’s probably NOT the right answer.
Don’t worry it’s only 10% of your grade.
Answer everything so you take every possible chance to get points.