American Federal Government Final Study Guide

A government that is formally limited by laws and rules is called

constitutional

Which of the following describes a system of rule that permits citizens to play a significant role in the governmental process, usually through the election of key public officials?

democracy

direct democracy is best defined as

a system that allows citizens to vote directly for laws and policies

Which of the following statements describes direct democracy in the United States?

Some state and local governments allow direct democracy, and many hot-button issues are determined by initiatives

If a government led by a dictator was replaced with a government where a large number of citizens exercised influence over decision-making, this change would best be characterized as a shift from a(n)

autocracy to a democracy

How do constitutional governments differ from totalitarian governments?

constitutional governments possess effective, formal limitations on their powers, while totalitarian governments recognize no formal limits and eliminate institutions that challenge them.

Though the United States is a ________ at the federal level, there are provisions for ________ democracy at the state and local levels.

representative democracy; direct

Which of the following is an example of the process of direct democracy?

citizens in a state approving the use of medical marijuana through referendum

American civil liberties and rights, such as freedom of speech, worship and trial by jury are listed primarily in

the Constitution's Bill of Rights

The belief that citizens can affect what government does is best referred to as

political efficacy

Which of the following statements accurately reflects data on Americans' political knowledge?

Most Americans do not have a lot of political knowledge

The American population

used to be heavily rural and is now heavily urban.

The essential documents of the American founding are the ________ and the ________.

Declaration of Independence; Consititution

For many Americans, the word "liberty" has become synonymous with

the freedoms delineated in the Bill of Rights

Which of the following is an example of social justice?

Black Lives Matter protestors organize and march to raise awareness about issues in policing and law enforcement and seek policy changes.

The power of the federal government began to expand after 1933 in response to

the stock market crash of 1929, the Great Depression, and the run on banks of 1933.

How does Americans' trust in government differ for national, state, and local governments?

While Americans' trust in the federal government has fallen over recent decades, trust in local and state governments has stayed relatively high

Colonial protestors of the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act rallied around which slogan?

"No taxation without representation"

A ____________ is a system of government in which member states retain almost all of their sovereign authority and delegate limited powers to a weak central body

confederation

The United States' first written constitution was called the

Articles of Confederation

The Boston Tea Party was largely a response to the

British government's decision to grant the East India Company a monopoly on the export of tea from Britain

The philosophical view articulated in the Declaration of Independence was mostly heavily influenced by the work of liberal theorist

John Locke

The 1787 convention to draft a new constitution was held in

Philidelphia

How does a unicameral legislature differ from a bicameral legislature?

A unicameral legislature consists of only one chamber while a bicameral legislature consists of two chambers

The agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that gave each state an equal number of senators regardless of its population but linked representation in the House of Representatives to population is know as the

Great Compromise

Shays' Rebellion was an attempt to

prevent the state of Massachusetts from foreclosing on the lands of debt-ridden farmers.

Shay's Rebellion was significant because it

convinced many observers that the government under the Articles of Confederation had become dangerously inefficient and indecisive.

_______ is the mechanism through which each branch of government is able to participate in and influence the activities of the other branches

checks and balances

When President Biden vetoes a bill passed by the House and Senate, this is a good example of

checks and balances

The electoral college is

designed to select the president of the United States.

The three branches of government created by the constitution are

executive, legislative, and judicial

Which of the following describes a system of government in which power is divided, by a constitution, between a central government and regional governments?

federalism

Judicial review is the power of

the courts to decide on the constitutionality of actions taken by the other branches of government.

The Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges. Suppose Alabama passed a new state law that bans same-sex marriage within Alabama. This law would be invalid due to

the supremacy clause of the U.S Constitution

Congress has passed a federal minimum wage law, yet the constitution does not explicitly mention setting wages as a part of Congress's powers. If the law were challenged, on what basis could the Supreme Court find that Congress acted within its scope?

the elastic clause of the Constitution

Since 1789, how many constitutional amendments have been ratified by the states?

27

The Constitution expressly grants Congress the power to

Regulate interstate commerce

The _________ is the concluding paragraph of Article I Section VIII of the Constitution--also know as the necessary and proper clause--which provides Congress with the authority to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out its enumerated power

elastic clause

The first 10 amendments to the U.S Constitution are also called

the bill of rights

During the ratification debates, the Antifederalists were those who

opposed the constitution because they wanted a weaker central government

Which of the following terms describes the power of the courts to review actions of the legislative and executive branches and, if necessary, declare them invalid or unconstitutional?

judicial review

A ________ vote by both houses of Congress and a ratification vote of ________ of the states are required to amend the U.S. Constitution.

two-thirds; three-fourths

Which amendment preserves a strong role for the states in the American federal republic?

Tenth

______________ powers exist when both the state and national governments share authority in certain domains

concurrent

The Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) was significant because it

required that all states offer marriage licenses to two people of the same sex.

Which clause is the source of implied powers under the U.S. Constitution?

necessary and proper

The era of dual federalism was from the ________ until ________.

Founding; the New Deal

Which level of government writes the majority of criminal laws?

state governments

What was the overall importance of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)?

The court allowed Congress to use the necessary and proper clause to broadly interpret its delegated powers.

Devolution describes a process through which __________.

the federal government is downsized by delegating the implementation of programs to state and local governments

For most of American history,

much of the fundamental governing was carried out by state governments, with the national government being small and specialized

How do civil liberties differ from civil rights?

While civil rights define what government must do to ensure people are treated equally under the law, civil liberties define actions that government cannot take in order to uphold individual freedom.

During the Founding era, ________ were the strongest supporters of adding a bill of rights to the Constitution.

Antifederalists

The constitutional basis for the nationalization of the Bill of Rights is the __________ amendment

fourteenth

the text of the fourteenth amendment states

"nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

What effect did the fourteenth amendment have on state governments?

it forced state governments to abide by almost every provision in the Bill of Rights, but the process took more than 100 years

The ________ clause of the First Amendment protects an individual's right to believe and practice whatever religion he or she chooses.

free exercise

the "wall of separation" between church and state is most related to which clause of the first amendment?

establishment

Suppose that Congress passed a law to create a national church. Which part of the constitution would this most likely violate?

the establishment clause

The first test for determining when the government may intervene to suppress political speech was called the ________ test.

clear and present danger

Burning the American flag in protest is not unconstitutional because

the Supreme Court ruled it is a form of symbolic speech protected by the first amendment

What is the main difference between libel and slander?

Libel refers to written statements, while slander refers to oral statements.

The second amendment to the U.S Constitution deals with

the right to bear arms

The Supreme Court ruled that the second amendment provides a constitutional right to keep a loaded handgun at home for self-defense in

District of Columbia v. Heller

The ______________ rule forbids the introduction in trial of any piece of evidence that has been obtained illegally

exclusionary

the fourth amendment protects citizens against

unreasonable searches and seizures

The right to remain silent is guaranteed by the _____________ Amendment

fifth

The requirement that a person under arrest be informed of his or her right to remain silent is known as the ________ rule.

Miranda

The right to legal counsel in a criminal proceeding is guaranteed by the ________ Amendment.

Sixth

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) established the right

to legal counsel in felony cases.

What does the eighth amendment prohibit?

cruel and unusual punishment

The majority decision in Griswold v. Connecticut argued that the right of privacy fits into a "zone of privacy" created by the

Third, fourth, and Fifth amendments

What was the consequence of the 2022 Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization

it did not outlaw abortion, but it permitted states to determine, through legislation, whether and to what extent abortion would be permitted within that state.

A woman is trying to buy birth control at a pharmacy, but the pharmacist refuses to sell her birth control on religious grounds. In a later lawsuit the women's lawyers argue that the pharmacist infringed upon which of her rights?

right to privacy

The term "eminent domain" describes the

power of the government to seize private property for public use.

Which of the following statements best characteries the differences in how civil rights and civil liberties were achieved?

Civil liberties are basic personal freedoms established in the Bill of Rights, whereas civil rights evolved over time as groups organized and campaigned for new rights

What did the Supreme Court rule in Dred Scott v. Sanford?

The Court ruled that enslaved people--indeed all Black people--were not citizens of the U.S and that Scott was his owner's property, regardless of his having been taken to a free state or territory.

What were Jim Crow laws?

laws enacted by southern states following Reconstruction that discriminated against Black Americans

The fifteenth amendment to the constitution guarantees

African American men the right to vote

What did the thirteenth amendment do?

it abolished slavery

The Montgomery bus boycott began after __________ refused to give up her seat for a white man

Rosa Parks

What dis the U.S. Supreme Court rule in Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?

The supreme court ruled that segregation in public schools violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth amendment and thus was unconstitutional.

What did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 do?

ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin

Which court case made interracial marriage legal in all states?

Loving v. Virginia

Women were guaranteed the right to vote with the passage of the __________ Amendment in 1920.

nineteenth

The rights of disabled individuals to access public businesses is guaranteed by the

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

In Lawrence v. Texas (2003), the Supreme Court

extended the right to privacy to LGBTQ Americans

The Black Lives Matter movement has many goals, but it was first started in Ferguson, Missouri, in order to

end discriminatory treatment of African Americans by the police

This branch can declare war

Legislative

This branch can veto bills

Executive

This Branch interprets the constitution

Judicial

This branch makes laws

Legislative

This Branch appoints Judges

Executive

this branch regulates commerce

legislative

this branch appoints ambassadors

Executive

This level of government has the power to ratify amendments to the Constitution

State

This level of government has the power to coin money

Federal

This level of government has the power to establish and maintain courts

Both Federal and State

This level of government has the power to conduct foreign relations

Federal

This level of government has the power to conduct elections

State