Government Chapter 3 Test Questions – Flashcards
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all government power belongs to the people
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popular sovereignty
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the US Supreme Court declares that a law is unconstitutional is an example of
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checks and balances
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the principle of government that favors a national government with three independent branches
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separation of powers
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the first ten amendments to the Constitution are called
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Bill of Rights
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at the present time, the number of formal amendments to the Constitution is
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27
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the methods of formally amending the Constitution follow the principle of
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federalism
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method of amending the Constitution that has been used for all but one of its formal amendments
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Congress proposes/State legislatures ratify
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Congress can informally change the Constitution by
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passing laws
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the President makes an executive agreement with another country instead of a formal treaty is an example of
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informal constitutional change by executive action
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the presidential appointment of Supreme Court justices is an example of
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checks and balances
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illegal; null and void; of no force and effect
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unconstitutional
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a governmental system having basic political powers distributed among three distinct and independent branches
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separation of powers
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the power of the courts to decide whether government acts are constitutional
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judicial review
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the President's rejection of an act of Congress
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veto
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the division of power between a central government and several regional governments
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federalism
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principle holds that government may do only those things that the people have given it power to do
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limited government
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When James Madison wrote, "The accumulation of all powers...in the same hands...may be pronounced as the very definition of tyranny," he was arguing on behalf of which of the following constitutional principles?
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separation of powers
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the principle of popular sovereignty means that the
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people are the only source for governmental power
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what constitutional principle was devised as a compromise between a powerful central government and a loose confederation of States?
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federalism
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What constitutional principle applies when the Senate confirms or rejects the President's appointee to run the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)?
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checks and balances
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custom that the Senate will approve only presidential appointees acceptable to the senator(s) of the President's party from the State involved
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senatorial courtesy
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a pact a President makes with the head of a foreign state
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executive agreement
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the group that formally selects the nation's President
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electoral college
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advisory board to the President
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Cabinet
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a formal agreement between two or more sovereign states
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treaty
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Supreme Court case decisions use what process to change the Constitution?
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informal process
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an informal custom that was eventually added to the written Constitution through formal amandment
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no third term for Presidents
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Congress may informally change the Constitution by passing laws that
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expand the brief provisions of the Constitution
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one reason that Presidents use executive agreements with heads of foreign states instead of the formal treaty process
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executive agreements do not require Senate approval
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Why is government in the US a government through political party?
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the result of a long history of informal constitutional change
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involves changing the written words of the Constitution
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formal amendment process
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the Constitution has grown and changed, mostly as a result of
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formal amendments
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the basic constitutional rights of the people were first set out in the
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Bill of Rights
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name three true statements of the use of executive agreement
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1. extends the President's power through the informal amendment process 2. carries the same legal force as a treaty 3. can be used to avoid the lengthy treaty-making process
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formal amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by
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Congress
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how was the prohibition of alcoholic beverages amended to the Constitution?
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formal amendment
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the legislative branch can check the judicial branch by its power to
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remove judges through impeachment
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the Bill of Rights guarantees
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fair and equal treatment before the law
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the Constitution set up a federal system of government by
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distributing power among three branches of government
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judicial power to declare governmental actions unconstitutional was established through what kind of amendment process
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informal amendment process
