Government Exam Study Guide You will need to be prepared to answer/discuss any of these questions on the exam in various formats. We will complete this study guide in class and review it. Section One 1) What is the Magna Carta and what did it do? The Magna Carta was a government document that limited the power of the king of England and protected the rights of the nobility. 2) What is the Petition of Rights and what did it do? A Constitutional documents that was written by Parliament as an objection to an overreach of authority by King Charles I. No taxes without parliament s consent No imprisonment without cause No quartering of soldiers in citizen s homes No Martial Law in peacetime 3) What is the English Bill of Rights and what did it do? The English Bill of Rights was a government document that expanded the powers of the English Parliament and expanded the rights of the people, as well as further limited the rights of the king. Matching - match the philosopher to the correct book 1) d Jean-Jacques Rousseau 2) c Baron de Montesquieu 3) a Thomas Hobbes 4) b John Locke A) The Leviathan B) Two Treatises of Government C) Spirit of the Laws D) The Social Contract Matching - match the philosopher to the correct view of society 5) d Jean-Jacques Rousseau 6) c Baron de Montesquieu 7) b Thomas Hobbes 8) a John Locke A) All humans are naturally capable of rational thought B) Considered all humans to be naturally wicked and evil C) Considered the French government to be too lavish, and believed that religion corrupts governments, especially Christianity D) All humans are born free, independent and good 4) Define state: a body of people, living in a defined space, with the power to make and enforce laws, and with an organization to do this. 5) Define population: group of people who are the members or citizens of a state. 6) Define territory: the area in which a state s rule applies 7) Define sovereignty: the ability to rule absolutely within a territory 8) Define government: the organization inside a state that controls the actions and policies of the state. 9) What are the four roles of government? government makes laws, protects the state, keeps order inside the state, and helps its citizens by providing services people need. 10) Define anarchy: No gov t and no laws 11) Define theocracy: The leaders of gov t are also the leaders of the religion 12) Define oligarchy: When a family or small group of people control all of gov ts power 13) Define dictatorship: rule by one person who has total power 14) Define monarchy: rule by a king or queen. 15) Define absolute monarchy: a king or queen has complete and total rule without any restrictions. 16) Define constitutional monarchy: The King/Queen is limited by law and shares power with elected officials
17) What does the word democracy mean? rule by the people. 18) Define representative democracy: The people elect representatives who then make decisions for them 19) What is a republic? the people elect representatives to make and enforce laws. 20) Define aristocrats: the wealthy, educated people 21) Define democratic republic: Usually a democratic republic is not democratic and is not a republic A government that officially calls itself a democratic republic is usually a dictatorship 22) Define direct democracy: The power of gov t is controlled directly by the people 23) Define anarchy: No gov t and no laws 24) What is the social contract? People agreed to give up some rights and power in exchange for protection from the government. 25) Define constitution: the rulebook for a country s government. A constitution usually explains what kind of government a country has and how that government functions. It also tells how a country s laws are made, and it explains the rights and responsibilities of citizens 26) Define the rule of law: laws are fair, they re enforced, and nobody is above the law 27) Define separation of power: power is divided among several branches of government that are each responsible for a different government function. 28) What does the consent of the governed phrase mean? the citizens of a country give their permission to be governed by the country s government, and they do this by voting. Short Answer questions 29) Why is government important? Opinion - protect the people, have order, make laws, etc 30) Why is it important to have a separation of power? so no branch gets too much power - keeps the government in check 31) Why would it be important to protect the rights of the minority? Protecting the rights of the minority means protecting the rights of small or unpopular groups regardless of what the majority believes. Everyone must be treated fairly. Section Two 1) Define Mercantilism? economic policy from 1500-1800 in which nations encouraged exports as a means of collecting gold and silver 2) Who controlled all trade during Mercantilism? government 3) What are some raw materials the colonies assured England? fur, fish, cotton, tobacco, and indigo 4) What goods were the colonies expected to import? manufactured and processed goods 5) What war did the King want the colonies to help pay for through taxes? French and Indian War 6) What was the stamp act? required that all printed materials be stamped to indicate that tax had been paid 7) No taxation without representation 8) This was when the colonists were rioting over taxes, and British soldiers fired on them outside of the courthouse in Boston. Crispus Attucks was the first to die. Boston Massacre 9) What was the Boston Tea Party? a group of angry colonists boarded 3 ships in Boston and threw the tea overboard 10) What were the Intolerable Acts? series of laws designed to punish the people of Massachusetts. 11) What was formed due to the Intolerable Act s? First Continental Congress 12) Who was appointed as the Commander in Chief of the Continental Forces? Washington 13) How many delegates met at the Second Continental Congress? 56 14) What work by Thomas Paine explained why there should be independence to the publ ic? Common Sense 15) What came out of the Second Continental Congres s? the Declaration of Independence 16) How many men were appointed to write the declaration? 5 17) Who is responsible for writing the origin al draft? Jefferson 18) Who was the first to sign the declaration? John Hancock 19) Why is Common Sense important? Who wrote it? Thomas Paine - got support from the American people for the Revolution 20) Name the Georgia delegates who signed the Declaration: Button Gwinnett, George Walton, Lyman Hall
21) Which paragraph in the declaration states the reason or the philosophy behind severing ties with England? Second 22) According to the declaration, the government is to protect what? life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, fundamental rights of all 23) When the government fails to protect people s rights and tries to have absolute power, the people have the right to do what? Overthrow it 24) Know the basic principles of the declaration AND explain them. Natural Rights : life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness Popular Sovereignty : People are the source of political authority Order : Importance of stability, overthrowing a government is only the last resort 25) List the grievances the colonies had with the king: Dismissing colonial legislatures and denying the colonists their right for self-government Tax the colonists without their consent Maintaining an army in the colonies without the consent of the legislature and elevating the military above civilian authority Forcing colonists to house British soldiers in their house Making judges dependent on the King for their salaries and their tenure in office Refusing colonists the right to a fair trial in front of a jury of their peers Cutting off the trade of the colonies Abolishing the Charters, forms of government, and important laws of the colonies Refusing to address colonial grievances Renouncing the King s authority to govern the colonies by waging war on them Encouraging domestic violence and Indian attacks on the colonies 26) List the 6 main points of the Declaration of Independence: All men are created equal. Men are given by God certain unalienable rights. We have the natural right by God to declare our independence from England. Governments derive their authority from the consent of the people. When a government abuses its power, the people have the right to overthrow it. The colonies tried repeatedly to compromise with King George, but has been a tyrant. 27) Know the three main sections: 1st Section: Preamble: called attention to plight of American colonists. 2nd Section: list of grievances or justifications 3rd Section: discussion of failed attempts to get relief from Britain Section Three Articles of the Confederation 1) What was the name of the document that detailed the organization and powers of the government before the Constitution? Article of Confederation 2) The founding fathers were fearful of what? concentrated power 3) Articles established a firm league of friendship among the states. 4) Bills were passed on how many votes? nine of thirteen votes 5) Amending the Articles of Confederation took what? unanimous consent of the states 1) Amending the Articles of Confederation took what?
A) unanimous consent of the states B) 5 votes C) approval by congress D) consent by the executive leader 6) Each state had how many votes? one vote 7) This established how the government would expand westward by adding new states instead of expanding current states: Northwest Ordinance of 1787 What was the lasting impact of not allowing slavery into the newly added states in the northwest? This division helped set the stage for national competition over admitting free and slave states, the basis of a critical question in American politics in the 19th century until the Civil War. 8) The government under the Articles did not have the power to tax. 9) Slavery was prohibited in the territory gained by the Northwest Ordinance. 10) After the revolution, the United States was still a favorite trade partner to Britain 11) After the revolution, all US exports to Britain had to be on British ships. 12) Congress was set to govern the country, but lacked the real power to do so under the Articles. 13) Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress could not declare war. 14) Figuring out how to finance the nation was a huge problem under the Articles of Confederation. 15) The Articles of Confederation was modeled after colonial governments. Constitution 1) The Constitutional Convention was held where? Philadelphia 2) Who presided over the Constitutional Convention? George Washington 3) Describe the Virginia Plan: proposed a strong executive, a national judiciary, a strong two-house legislature the lower house would be chosen by the people the upper house would be chosen by the lower house. This favored the larger, more populous state s. 4) Describe the New Jersey Plan: proposed a weak executive of more than one person elected by Congress, a national judiciary with limited powers, a one house legislature, with one vote for each state. This favored the small states.
5) Name it: - This proposed a legislative branch with two parts: a House of Representatives with representation based on population and a Senate with two members from each state. This gave the large states an advantage in the House the smaller states in the Senate. The Great Compromise 6) What settled the issue of representation in the House of Representatives by counting three-fifths of slaves in determining a state s number of representatives? Three-Fifths Compromise 7) The Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise allowed what to continue until 1808? Slavery 8) Why does the word slave not appear in the Constitution? (this may not be in your notes, but it was mentioned) The writers did not want to include such a heated and debated topic so that it did not split the states 9) Discuss the Federalist vs Anti-Federalist argument over whether or not to ratify the Constitution: The Anti-Federalists opposed ratification, argued that the delegates drafted the Constitution in secret and had been given no power to replace the Articles and there was no bill of rights The Federalists urged ratification; argued that a strong national government was needed to handle other nations and prevent anarchy. 10) What did the Constitution lack that Anti-Federalists wanted? bill of rights 11) What did Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote to gain support for the Constitution? The Federalist Papers 12) What 3 parts of are the Constitution divided into? The Preamble, The seven articles, and The amendments 13) What are the 6 goals given in the Preamble: 1. form a more perfect union 2. establish justice 3. insure domestic tranquility 4. provide for the common defense, 5. promote the general welfare 6. Secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity. 14) What are the 7 articles listed in the body of the Constitution: Article I: The Legislative Branch Article II: The Executive Branch Article III: The Judicial Branch Article IV: Relationship between the states Article V: Amending the Constitution Article VI: Supremacy Clause Article VII: Ratification 15) The first 10 Amendments are known as what? Bill of Rights Know the 6 major principles of the Constitution (these will appear as definitions) Popular sovereignty - rule by the people Federalism - power is divided between national and state governments Separation of powers - powers split among the three branches Checks and balances - each branch exercises powers over the others. No branch will become too powerful. Judicial review - power of the courts to overturn laws and actions of national, state, and local governments. Limited government - the Constitution limits government by specifying the powers it has and listing powers it does not have 17) Congress is made up of what two houses? - House of Representatives - Senate 18) What are the three branches of government as outlined in the Constitution? Executive, Legislative, and Judicial 19) What br anch can declare war? Legislative 20) What branch includes the federal courts? Judicial 21) What branch is the commander and chief of the armed forces? Executive 22) What does the elastic clause say? Congress has the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the powers expressed in the other clauses. 23) What two ways can the constitution be amended? 1. ¾ of all state legislatures ratify amendment (Most common method) 2. Each state can call a special ratifying convention - ¾ must approve
Section Four Fill in the Blanks: The Legislative branch makes laws. The Executive branch carries out laws. The Judicial branch interprets laws. Matching - match each official or group with the correct branch of government. You may use each branch more than once. B Supreme Court A Presidential Cabinet C House of Representatives A Vice President A President C Senate A) Executive Branch B) Judicial Branch C) Legislative Branch Short Answer: Congress is divided into what two houses? the House of Representatives and the Senate Why was the system of checks and balances created? to keep any branch from having too much power What is the separation of power? Separation of powers refers to the division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the powers/functions of another. The goal is to prevent the concentration of power and provide for checks and balances. True or False: T The President can veto bills/legislation passed by Congress F Congress cannot impeach the President T The Supreme Court can overturn unconstitutional laws T The President can nominate Supreme Court justices F The Senate nominates Supreme Court Justices T Congress can reject Presidential nominations T Congress can impeach the President F The Supreme Court vetoes bills/legislation passed by Congress