U.S. Government

Final Exam – Review

Chapter 1, Section 1

  1. What is the definition of government (from your textbook, page 4)?
  2. What is a constitution?
  3. What are the four essential features of a state? What does “sovereignty” mean?
  4. What is the social contract theory of the origin of the state? What are the basic ideas contained in the social contract theory? What two men are primarily responsible for the development of this theory?

Chapter 1, Section 2

  1. What is a democracy? How does are direct and indirect democracies different? What are two terms that begin with the letter “r” that are synonyms for indirect democracy?
  2. How do unitary, federal and confederate systems of government differ?

Chapter 2, Section 1

  1. What is the significance of each of the following documents: Magna Carta, Petition of Right, English Bill of Rights?

Chapter 2, Section 2

  1. Who was the president of the Second Continental Congress?
  2. Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?

Chapter 2, Section 3

  1. What were the Articles of Confederation? What were the characteristics of the government established under the Articles of Confederation?

Chapter 2, Section 4

  1. How did the Connecticut Compromise resolve the differences between the Virginia and New Jersey plans?

Chapter 2, Section 5

  1. Who were the Federalists? What was their view of how to properly interpret the new constitution?
  2. Who were the Anti-Federalists? What was their view of how to properly interpret the new constitution? What were their specific objections to the new constitution?

Chapter 3, Section 1

  1. What are the (six) major principles incorporated in the constitution? What is the meaning of each of these?
  2. What are some common examples of checks and balances?
  3. Which court case established the power of judicial review in the Supreme Court?

Chapter 3, Section 2

  1. Which amendments are together described as the Bill of Rights? What is the purpose of the Bill of Rights?

Chapter 4, Section 1

  1. What is the purpose of the Necessary and Proper Clause? What is a nickname for this clause?
  2. What is the Supremacy Clause? What is the significance of McCulloch v. Maryland with regard to the Supremacy Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause?

Chapter 5, Section 2

  1. Who was the first Republican elected as president of the United States?

Chapter 9, Section 1

  1. How are political parties and interest groups similar? How are they different?

Chapter 9, Section 3

  1. What is lobbying? What is a lobbyist? What techniques and methods do lobbyists use to assist and influence government officials in making decisions?

Handouts and Notes – Unit 2

  1. Where do democrats and republicans stand on the following issues: power of the federal government, gun control, strong national defense, the environment, women’s (feminist) issues, abortion, spending on social programs.
  2. For which political party do members of the following groups tend to vote: conservatives, liberals, whites, African Americans, men, women, Catholics, protestants.

Chapter 10, Section 1

  1. What does “bicameral” mean?
  2. How long is a term of Congress?
  3. (From Handouts) Know the names of our US Congressman and both US Senators.

Chapter 10, Section 2

  1. How long is the term of office for a member of the House of Representatives?
  2. How many members are there in the House of Representatives? How was this number determined?
  3. What is the minimum number of representatives a state can have?
  4. Who is responsible for drawing congressional district boundaries? What characteristics must congressional districts have?
  5. What is gerrymandering?

Chapter 10, Section 3

  1. How long is the term of office for a member of the U.S. Senate?
  2. How many senators represent each state?
  3. How is the election of senators different from that of congresspersons?
  4. How did the Seventeenth Amendment change how senators are elected?

Chapter 11, Section 3

  1. What are implied powers? On what part of the constitution are implied powers based? What is the purpose of the “necessary and proper” clause?
  2. What is a strict constructionist? What is a strict constructionist’s interpretation of the constitution, especially the necessary and proper clause?
  3. What is a liberal constructionist? What is a liberal constructionist’s interpretation of the constitution, especially the necessary and proper clause?

Chapter 11, Section 4

  1. Which house of Congress approves treaties? How many votes does it take to approve a treaty?

Chapter 12, Section 1

  1. Who is the presiding officer in the House of Representatives?
  2. Who is the most powerful person in the House of Representatives?
  3. Who is the presiding officer of the U.S. Senate?
  4. What do the majority and minority leaders do? What do the majority and minority whips do?

Chapter 12, Section 2

  1. What are the different types of committees? What does each do?
  2. What is the main purpose of standing committees?
  3. What is the purpose of a conference committee?

Chapter 13, Section 1

  1. What are the eight roles that the president is expected to fill? What duties and responsibilities go along with each role?
  2. What is the maximum length of time someone may be president? Which amendment set this limit?

Chapter 13, Section 3

  1. What “formula” determines how many electors each state receives? What is the minimum number of electors a state can have?

Chapter 13, Section 5

  1. What group of people actually selects the president? How are these people selected?
  2. How many total electors are there? How many electors must a candidate win to become president?

Chapter 14, Section 2

  1. What is an executive order? What are the limits on a president using executive orders?
  2. What is an executive agreement? What is the difference between an executive agreement and a treaty?

Chapter 14, Section 3

  1. What is a treaty? Who must approve all treaties?
  2. When can the president send troops abroad? What limitations are imposed on the president by the War Powers Act?

Chapter 15, Section 3

  1. The group that consists of the heads of the fifteen major departments of the executive branch is known as what? Who decides who heads these departments? How are they chosen? What are the responsibilities of this group?

Chapter 16, Section 2

  1. What is a deficit? What is a surplus? What is the public debt?

Chapter 16, Section 3

  1. What is an entitlement? What is the largest entitlement program today?

From Handouts, Notes – Unit 4

  1. Know the names of the people who are currently in the following positions: President, Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

Chapter 18, Section 1

  1. What is the definition of “jurisdiction”?
  2. What is original jurisdiction? What is appellate jurisdiction? What is concurrent jurisdiction? What is exclusive jurisdiction?
  3. What are the qualifications to be a federal judge? Who appoints federal judges? How long is the term of office for a federal judge?

Chapter 18, Section 3

  1. What is judicial review?
  2. What court is the “court of last resort”?
  3. What is the significance of the Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison?
  4. What is a brief?
  5. What is an amicus curiae brief?
  6. In general terms, what is contained in a court opinion? What is specifically contained in a majority opinion? In a concurring opinion? In a dissenting opinion?
  7. Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?

Chapter 19, Section 1

  1. Which amendments are a part of the Bill of Rights? What does the Bill of Rights contain?
  2. What is incorporation? Why is the Bill of Rights only partially incorporated?


Chapter 19, Section 2

  1. What is the Establishment Clause?

74.  What is the significance of the following Supreme Court decision?
Lemon v. Kurtzman
Engel v. Vitale

  1. What is the Free Exercise Clause? What does the Free Exercise Clause prevent government from doing?

Chapter 19, Section 3

  1. What is pure speech? What is symbolic speech?
  2. What limits can the government place on free speech? What is sedition?
  3. What is slander?

Chapter 20, Section 1

  1. What does the due process clause state? What is procedural due process? What is substantive due process?

Chapter 20, Section 2

  1. What is the exclusionary rule? What is the purpose of the exclusionary rule?

Chapter 20, Section 3

  1. What is a writ of habeas corpus?
  2. What is a grand jury? What does a grand jury do?
  3. What is an indictment?
  4. What is double jeopardy?
  5. What is a petit jury?

86.  What is the significance of the following Supreme Court decision?
Gideon v. Wainwright
Escobedo v. Illinois
Miranda v. Arizona