US Government Final Review – Flashcards
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
Which of the following is a basic function of government?
answer
Ensuring National Security, maintain order, resolve conflict, provide services, provide public goods
question
In the role of symbolic figurehead representing the United States internationally, the president acts as the
answer
Chief of state
question
Which of the following would probably be the most effective way for a president to achieve the goal of getting changes made to an important bill when congress is controlled by the other party?
answer
Threatening a Veto and Negotiate with Legislative Over Changes
question
The main purpose of the Bill of Rights is to
answer
To get anti-federalists to ratify the Constitution
question
The framers thought that making federal judgeships permanent would help ensure
answer
Judicial Independence
question
The Stamp Act marked Parliament's first attempt to
answer
Tax the Colonists directly
question
Which type of constitutional power allows congress to declare war?
answer
Expressed Power
question
Which of the following best defines federal mandates?
answer
Requirements imposed by the federal governments as a condition of receiving grate money
question
Which of the following is a necessary qualification for anyone wishing to be president of the United States?
answer
Minimum age of 35
question
From which court is a case most likely to make its way to the Supreme Court?
answer
Appellant Court
question
Which of the following is one characteristic of a republican form of government?
answer
Representation
question
What is one reason the Constitution has endured for more than two hundred years?
answer
The people and the ability to abolish and remake the constitution if needed
question
Which system of government is an indirect form of democracy, placing political decision making at least one step away from the people?
answer
republican
question
Thomas Jefferson argued in the Declaration of Independence that, if a government disregards the will of the people, the people are free to do which of the following?
answer
Change their government
question
Which of the following is one criticism of the Constitution?
answer
Electoral College
question
How many years do senators serve in the Senate?
answer
6 years
question
Congress and the states can check federal judiciary by?
answer
Amending the Constitution
question
Which of the following are characteristics of a state?
answer
Population, territory, sovereignty, government
question
Which of the following is an expressed power of the federal government that is not shared with the states?
answer
Declaring War
question
The practice of drawing district boundaries to the political advantage of the party in power is known as
answer
Gerrymandering
question
Under his program of creating federalism, Lyndon Johnson's aim was to
answer
use the national government to eliminate poverty and social inequality
question
Which of the following is an expressed power of the president?
answer
Commander in Chief (Commanding the military)
question
The Senate's power to approve international treaties negotiated by the president is an example of?
answer
Checks and Balances
question
Why was the Great Compromise acceptable to the smaller states?
answer
It ended the debate about the number of representatives in the legislative branch. Larger states wanted the number to reflect how many people lived in each state. Smaller states feared they would have little power under such a plan. They wanted each state to have the same number of votes.
question
Why did Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison write the Federalist Papers?
answer
Defend the Constitution
question
According to the Constitution, both senators and members of the House may submit bills with exception of what kind of bill?
answer
tax bills
question
Why did the Civil War amendments have little effect in the South until 1965?
answer
Southern States passed Jim Crow Laws
question
Which term applies to the 20 permanent committees of the House?
answer
Standing Committees
question
Who has the final authority to ratify any amendments Congress proposes?
answer
States
question
Which of the following is one of the president's judicial powers?
answer
Granting Clemency
question
Which of the following is an important informal power of the president?
answer
Using the Media
question
What did early vice presidents often complained about?
answer
too little to do
question
How many years is the term of a member of the House of Representatives?
answer
2 years
question
Which of the following is the best description of federalism?
answer
Different levels of government share authority over the same land and people
question
Magna Carta was originally intended to protect the rights of which group?
answer
The Nobles
question
According to the Three-Fifths Compromise, three-fifths of a state's slave population would be
answer
counted when determining representation in Congress
question
The first ten amendments to the constitutions are traditionally called the
answer
The Bill of Rights
question
What power does the judicial branch of government hold?
answer
The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the law.
question
Which of the following best expresses the federal government's chief reason for providing grants-in-aid?
answer
Aiding and influencing states
question
When a president seeks to improve relations with another country, he or she is acting in the role of
answer
Foreign policy leader
question
The federal government is denied the power to do which of the following?
answer
take away freedom of speech
question
Proposing a law to expand educational opportunities for preschool-age children would be an example of what kind of presidential power?
answer
Legislative
question
What ideal did the Anti-federalists find the Constitution lacked?
answer
Individual Rights
question
What is the name of the group of executive department heads who advise the president?
answer
Cabinet
question
Which of the following is a power the executive branch has to check the legislative branch?
answer
Veto Power
question
The president veto is
answer
a significant check on congress
question
Delegates gathered in Philadelphia in May of 1787 to do what?
answer
Revise the Articles of Confederation
question
Which of the following was a key issue in the case of McCulloch v Maryland?
answer
Could a State tax a Federal Institution
question
What important event occurred three weeks before the Second Continental Congress met?
answer
the shot heard round the world
question
Which group gathers to hear evidence of a possible crime and to recommend whether there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges?
answer
Grand Jury
question
Laws made by the will of the people come through which body of the U.S Government?
answer
Congress / Elected Delegates
question
Which of the following best describes how the civil war affected federalism?
answer
Created new federal powers over states
question
What is the title of a cabinet department head?
answer
Secretary
question
Parliament imposed a series of taxes on the colonies beginning in 1764 in order to
answer
Pay Britain's debts resulting from French and Indian war
question
Which term refers to people who are represented by a particular member of Congress?
answer
Constituents
question
What does an authoritarian regime become at its most extreme?
answer
Totaliltarianism
question
Which of the following is an implied power of the federal government?
answer
Creating Banks
question
Under the Constitution, who holds the actual power to elect the president?
answer
Electoral College
question
The U.S. federal system consists of a national government and what other governmental level?
answer
States & Local
question
The phrase WE THE PEOPLE relates to Which of the following principles of the Constitution?
answer
Popular Sovereignty
question
Which basic job qualification for the Senate was set by the Constitution
answer
Live in the state he/she represents
question
What event showed how feeble the Confederation Congress was and hastened moves to revise the Articles of Confederation?
answer
Shay's Rebellion
question
How was the relationship between the federal and state governments generally understood during the period of dual federalism?
answer
State governments were more important than federal government
question
What three basic types of power do people in government exercise?
answer
to make, interpret, and enforce laws
question
When the president signs a bill, it
answer
becomes law
question
Republican ideas can be traced back to Which of the following?
answer
Rome & Greece
question
Why did our nation's founders believe deeply in safeguarding economic freedom?
answer
Economic freedom allows people to build wealth
question
Which of the following is a power to reserved to the states?
answer
Controlling public school systems
question
Which of the following is the main source of income for the federal government today?
answer
Income Tax
question
What is the main responsibility of executive branch agencies?
answer
executes the law/ propose carring out laws
question
Why did the colonists resent the taxes imposed by Parliament beginning in 1764?
answer
Colonists had no representation in Parliament "No Taxation without Representation"
question
Who is the most powerful member of the House of Representatives?
answer
Speaker of the House
question
What is the U.S. attorney's job?.
answer
Representing the United States in Courts
question
Which term refers to previous court rulings?
answer
precedent
question
The term cooperative federalism refers to
answer
joint federal & state efforts to resolve problems during & after the new deal
question
Which of the following is one of the executive powers of the president?
answer
Appointing Ambassadors
question
How many senators are there from each state?
answer
2
question
Creating local governments is which type of power?
answer
Reserved
question
A president who wants to establish rules and regulations for the operation of a federal agency may do so by taking what action?
answer
Issuing Executive Orders
question
The power to carry out, enforce, administer the law is known as
answer
Executive Power
question
Which courts hear vast majority of cases in the United States?
answer
State Courts
question
In which case did the Supreme Court declare that Congress lacked the power to outlaw slavery in the territories?
answer
Dred Scott v Sandford
question
Americans believe strongly that a balance should be struck between majority rule and
answer
protecting minority rights
question
Under the Articles of Confederation, most governmental power was retained by which?
answer
States
question
Which term refers to the sole right of a court to hear a case?
answer
Exclusive jurisdiction
question
The 1803 landmark Supreme Court case Marbury v Madison established the principle of
answer
Judicial Review
question
To run for a seat in the House of Representatives, what is the most important informal qualification?
answer
The ability to appeal to voters
question
What is the purpose of the Preamble of the Constitution?
answer
States the goals for the new government
question
Which of the following is an example of legislative action?
answer
Congress pass law to create a new government agency
question
Which of the following may a president do without congressional action?
answer
Issue Executive Order
question
If a president dies in office, the vice president
answer
succeeds him or her
question
What can a president do to bypass the Senate approval that is required for a treaty?
answer
make an executive agreement
question
In an oligarchy, who runs the government?
answer
small group of people
question
One way political parties influence how the Constitution is interpreted is by
answer
helping determine Candidates
question
The form of government in which one person controls most of the governing decisions is a(n)
answer
autocracy
question
What kind of cases makes up the major part of the Supreme Court's load?
answer
Appeals
question
Which of the following is a legislative power that is part of the system of checks and balances?
answer
Appointing federal judges
question
The Republicans' 1994 Contrast with America is an example of Which of the following ideas?
answer
Devolution
question
What principle of American democracy is exemplified when people vote, obey the law, serve on juries, keep informed about current issues, or volunteer for social services
answer
Citizen Participation
question
"All men are created equal" reflects the Founders' commitment to which principle?
answer
Individual worth
question
Which of the following would be handled in a civil trial?
answer
Dispute over property
question
The duties of governing are divided among three branches under the principle of
answer
Separation of Powers
question
The main responsibility for resolving conflicts between states and the federal government ties with which of the following?
answer
U.S Supreme Court
question
Which of the following is the best argument for giving states a role in controlling immigration?
answer
States must deal with many effective of immigration
question
Which was a weakness of the Articles of Confederation?
answer
No Army/Navy No National Court System No President or Executive Branch Congress could not enforce taxes 9 our of 13 states had to agree to pass laws
