Name: VA & US Government Exam Review: 2 nd Semester Bureaucracy 1. What is a bureaucracy? Large, highly organized group that carries out the work of the federal government 2. To which branch of American government does the term bureaucracy usually apply? Executive 3. What is the difference between a line agency and a staff agency? Line: Operate programs Staff: Support line agencies 4. Under which set of offices do the closest presidential advisers fall? Executive Office of the President 5. How many cabinet departments are there? 15 6. Which three cabinet departments are the original three? State, Defense, Treasury 7. Which cabinet department is the newest? Homeland Security (2001) 8. Which department has the highest spending every year? Why?
Health and Human Services Welfare spending 9. What is an independent executive agency? What are some examples? Created to remain outside of political and partisan influence NASA, EPA, Peace Corps 10. What is an independent regulatory commission? What are some examples? A regulatory agency that is independent from other branches or arms of the government FTC, FCC, NRC, CPSC 11. Why are these independent agencies independent? So they can make rules and enforce them outside of Congress 12. What are quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers? Powers that reside outside the legislative and judicial branches but still carry the weight of law. Foreign Policy 13. How are internationalism and isolationism opposite to each other? Internationalism: global involvement isolationism: refusal to get involved in world affairs 14. Who is primarily responsible for carrying out foreign policy? President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Homeland Security, Military Departments, Agencies related to foreign policy, Congress, Supreme Court 15. Who influences foreign policy? Public opinion, special interests, international organizations, foreign countries
16. What methods does the US employ to execute foreign policy? Diplomacy/negotiation, foreign aid, economic sanctions, military intervention 17. What are some of the US s top foreign policy goals? Preserve peaceful world, promote democratic values, protect nations from aggression, encourage free trade, safeguard environment, advance international cooperation 18. What roles does Virginia play in the global world in today s world? Multinational businesses, international trade, produce goods and services to export 19. Prior to WWI, was the US more isolationist or internationalist? Isolationist 20. Since what event has the US been consistently internationalist, with no intention of going back? World War II 21. What are some recent foreign policy initiatives in the US? Curtailing human rights abuses, controlling nuclear and biological arms, determining future of NATO, curbing drug traffic, improving global environment 22. What is an example of a military alliance that the US is a member of? NATO 23. What is an example of a trade-related organization that the US is a member of? NAFTA/WTO
24. Why is membership on the UN Security Council so important? Power to develop and enforce international law and sanctions The Judicial Branch 25. Which courts are created in the Constitution? Federal 26. Who creates lower courts? Congress 27. What types of cases can be tried exclusively in federal courts? Bankruptcy and federal crimes 28. What types of cases can be tried in both federal and state courts? Cases between citizens of different states 29. Which federal courts have original jurisdiction? US Supreme Court, US District Courts 30. How many Supreme Court Justices are there? 9 31. How many women are currently in the Supreme Court? 3 32. How many minority members of the Court are there?
2 33. Which federal courts have appellate jurisdiction? US Court of Appeals 34. What is the Court of last resort? US Supreme Court 35. What is the process for getting a case to the Supreme Court? Exhaust appeals process through all lower courts 36. How can the Supreme Court check the other two branches? Can declare laws unconstitutional and declare executive actions unconstitutional 37. How are Supreme Court Justices chosen? Appointed by President and confirmed by Congress 38. Who is the current Chief Justice? John Roberts 39. Which two Justices were appointed by President Obama? Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan 40. What are the four major components of trying a case in the Supreme Court? Brief, oral argument, conference, opinion 41. What are the three types of opinions?
Majority: Written in every case that explains the courts reasoning and decision, usually by Chief Justice Concurring: Written by any justice that wants to add to current opinion Dissenting: Written in any case that is not unanimous to explain the opposite opinion 42. Which type of opinion is always written? Majority 43. Who writes the Court s opinion? Chief Justice 44. What is the difference between judicial activism and judicial restraint? Activism: Use federal courts to resolve important societal issues Restraint: Supreme Court should avoid ruling on constitutional issues whenever possible Civil Liberties 45. What is the difference between civil liberties and civil rights? Liberties: Freedoms upon which the government may not infringe Rights: Positive steps taken by the government to remedy past discrimination 46. Where are most civil liberties listed in the Constitution? Bill of Rights 47. What are the five freedoms guaranteed by the 1 st amendment? Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition
48. What rights does an accused person have, according to the Constitution? Unreasonable search and seizure, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, cruel and unusual punishment 49. What is the difference between procedural and substantive due process? Procedural: Government must use fair proceedings Substantive: laws under which the government acts must be constitutional 50. Which two amendments help to protect due process? 5 th, 14 th 51. According to the 14 th amendment, which other rights are protected by states? Right to bear arms, prohibition of quartering troops, indictment by a grand jury, jury trial in civil case, delegate powers of national government 52. Are all guaranteed rights absolute and without limit? No 53. In which circumstances can these rights be limited? Some forms of speech are not protected (e.g., libel, slander, obscenity). Speech that is a clear and present danger is not protected (e.g., shouting Fire! in a crowded building). The press can be restricted when publication will cause serious and irreparable harm (e.g., breach of national security). 54. Which rights are most often restricted? Freedom of Speech Civil Rights
55. From where in the Constitution does the idea of civil rights derive? 14 th amendment 56. What is the equal protection clause? Promise of equal protection under the law 57. Does it guarantee that all people will be treated exactly the same way? No 58. Where has the equal protection clause been applied? Civil Rights Movement: Congress passed a series of laws outlawing discrimination. Affirmative Action: The government passed laws and implemented procedures to reverse the effects of years of discrimination primarily against women and minorities. 59. Why is each of these cases important? a. Gideon v. Wainwright i. required state courts to provide legal counsel to those who could not afford an attorney b. Miranda v. Arizona i. required a suspect to be read his "Miranda rights" upon arrest c. Lemon v. Kurtzman i. ruled that states could not provide funding to religious schools for any purpose, and established a test for checking to see if a law violated the Establishment clause. d. Mapp v. Ohio i. ruled that illegally obtained evidence could not be admissible in court e. Schenck v. United States i. established the "clear and present danger" test for freedom of speech, saying that free speech can be limited f. Texas v. Johnson i. established symbolic speech as protected under the 1st amendment; allowed flag burning as a statement of speech g. Brown v. Board of Education i. civil rights case that stopped the separate but equal doctrine and required public schools to be desegregated h. Roe v. Wade i. upheld a woman's right to abortion, protecting her "right to privacy" i. Marbury v. Madison
i. established the principle of judicial review, allowing the Supreme Court to have as much power as the legislative and executive branches State & Local Government 60. Where does local government get its power from? State governments 61. What are the three different organizations of local government? City, Organized Town, County 62. Which one of these do you live under? YORK County 63. What functions does a county government serve? Adopts and enforces ordinances, Sets a budget and tax rate, Provides services for residents, Ruled by an elected, Board of Supervisors, Elected or appointed school board is responsible for schools 64. Who are the three important members of the executive branch in Virginia? Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General 65. Who is the current governor? Terry McAuliffe 66. Why is the governorship in Virginia different from the presidency? Serve unlimited non-consecutive terms 67. What is Virginia s legislature called? Why is it unique?
General Assembly Oldest continuous legislative body in the US 68. What are the two house of the legislature called? Hose of Delegates State Senate 69. What are the four levels of the Virginia court system? Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Circuit Courts, General District Courts Comparative Government and Economics 70. What is the difference between a unitary and federal system? Unitary: All power vested in central government who can choose to delegate Federal: Powers separated and shared among different branches 71. What are examples of each of these (unitary and federal)? Unitary: Great Britain Federal: United States 72. Who controls the means of production in each of the following types of economies? a. Command i. Central Government b. Free market i. Private c. Mixed
i. Private and Central Government 73. What freedoms do individuals have economically? Ability to earn money, Right to purchase property, Right to spend incomes on goods and services, Right to choose occupations or change jobs, Right to make choices about where and how much to save, Right to start new businesses 74. What are the 6 indicators of economic performance in a nation? Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Consumer Price Index (CPI), Unemployment Rate, Balance of Trade, Stock Market Averages, Productivity 75. What is an entrepreneur? What role does an entrepreneur play in the economy? Entrepreneurship is the organizational abilities and risk-taking involved in starting a new business or introducing a new product. 76. What are the three types of profit-seeking business structures? Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation 77. What are the four factors of production? Land, Labor, Capital, Entrepreneur 78. What is the Law of Supply? What is the Law of Demand? Law of Demand: Quantity demanded varies inversely to price. Law of Supply: Quantity supplied varies directly with price. 79. Who controls fiscal policy? Who controls monetary policy? Fiscal: President and Congress Monetary: Federal Reserve
80. Who are the US s major trading partners? Canada, Mexico, the European Union, China, and Japan 81. What goods and services does the government often produce itself? Infrastructure, Public health and safety, Public schools 82. How does the government regulate the economy in the US? The government sets regulations and levies fees to ensure that the producer pays all costs resulting from polluting. The government also subsidizes pollution reduction efforts. 83. Give two example agencies designed to protect American consumers. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Food and Drug Administration 84. Who is granted the power to tax, according to the Constitution? Congress 85. Explain the following types of taxes: a. Income tax i. Tax imposed on individual income b. Payroll tax i. Tax imposed on employers c. Customs duty i. Tax on items crossing international borders d. Sales tax
i. Tax imposed on the sale of goods and services e. Real estate tax i. Tax imposed by the government when property is sold and traded f. Personal property tax i. Tax imposed by state or local governments on personal property (like a vehicle) Citizenship 86. What are the characteristics of a good citizen? Trustworthiness and honesty, Courtesy, Respect for the rights of others, Responsibility, Accountability, Selfreliance, Respect for the law, Patriotism, Financial responsibility 87. How can you participate in civic life? Obey the law, Pay taxes, Serve as a juror, Register and vote, Perform public service, Keep informed, Respect the opinions of others, Practice personal and fiscal responsibility, 88. What privileges are reserved only for citizens? Voting, serving on a jury, running for office 89. What is the naturalization process? Complete application, get fingerprinted, interview, English and civics test, take oath of allegiance 90. What are current requirements for citizenship? A period of continuous residence in the United States, Ability to read, write, speak, and understand words in ordinary usage in the English language, Belief in the principles of the Constitution, Good moral character