Government final exam

What are the functions of government?

make laws, provide services, keep peace and order, provide security, and plan for the future

What do people complain about?

The funding the costs of government through their taxes, however they rely on the government to provide services

Civics Virtue

putting others before yourself (community service)

Americans are allowed to vote at the age of 18 as set by

the 26th Amendment.

Citizen participation is key for elections...

It is necessary for a democratic society.

When voter turnout is low, special interests groups (those who particularly want something passed or defeated)...

influence the election

When politicians are elected to a position in government it is the responsibility of...

the citizen to hold the politician accountable for his or her actions while in public office

There are two main political parties in the US:

the Democrats and the Republicans

The Democratic Party's platform typically emphasizes...

programs that advance the welfare of people as demanded by society

Since President Regan's terms of office, the Republican Party platform has favored...

the reduction of taxes imposed on business.

In order for a democracy to work, citizen participation in the form of...

running for office, voting, voicing concerns is a must, and to hold elected officials accountable for their actions.

Dictatorship

government that tells the people what to do, how to do it, and when to do it

An individual person would have the greatest amount of freedom under a...

democracy

The Magna Carta limited the power of the...

monarch

No longer would the monarch be above the law. The Magna Carta influenced the concept of a...

limited government in the US Constitution

The English Bill of Rights of 1689 gave Parliament the sole power to...

make laws, raise taxes, control the government, and set up an election system all of which negated the rule of the monarch. Parliament now had more power than the monarch (the King).

A direct democracy is where all citizens vote directly on every issue whereas, in a representative democracy citizens...

elected representatives to represent them in voting on issues

A direct democracy would not work for a large society because there are...

too many issues that every citizen would need to vote on.

Mayflower Compact

direct democracy by the Pilgrims where laws would be created and leaders would be elected by the majority of the people

In colonial America, typically, voting rights were reserved to...

males who owned property.

The Colonies won their independence from Great Britain in the...

Revolutionary War.

Popular sovereignty

deriving the powers of government comes directly from the people governed (Rousseau's philosophy)

In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson highlights...

Rousseau's philosophy that government should rule through popular sovereignty.

Jefferson argues that a government that does not protect the rights of its people does not have the right to...

govern those people therefore the main purpose of government is to serve and protect its citizens.

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation:

no central government, no single leader, no federal judiciary, states fighting against other states over high tariffs (taxes), uncommon currency among all states, no power to tax (no money to provide services or pay for the war), no ability to regulate trade.

Limited Government

government is limited to the actions that are expressly permitted within the Constitution. A limited government is further limited through checks and balances of the three branches. This limits what the government may not do, such as, obtaining a search warrant before entering someone's house without permission to search for something.

The father of the Constitution is

James Madison.

In order for ratification of the Constitution to occur

9 of 13 states had to approve.

The Constitution has

7 Articles

The number of members in the House of Representatives is based on population, while the number of members in the Senate is based on...

equality.

The New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plans were

two plans of government that was proposed at the Constitutional Convention

The New Jersey Plan called for

a one house Congress with equal representation, similar to what they had under the Articles of Confederation, with equal representation for all states

The New Jersey Plan would favor

small states

The Virginia Plan was proposed by

James Madison

The Virginia Plan suggested that representation would be based on ___ and called for ___.

population, bicameral Congress

The Virginia Plan would favor

large states.

The 3/5ths Compromise dealt with the issues of

slavery for purposes of population, which would affect representation in the House, and taxation

A compromise was reached with the

3/5 compromise, whereas for every five slaves would equal three free persons.

This meant that for every 5 slaves

3 would count for purposes of census for representation and 2 would be taxed as property.

The Federalists and the Anti-Federalists were the first political parties which formed over

the ratification of the Constitution

The Federalists favored

a strong central government and were the writers of the Constitution

The Anti-Federalists opposed

The Constitution and feared a strong central government. They favored states' rights and wanted protection of individual rights as had been guaranteed by states

The anti-federalists feared

that a strong executive might become a tyrant just like the king was

Notable Federalists

John Jay, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison

Notable Anti-Federalists

Thomas Jefferson and George Mason

The Federalists Papers were written by

Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and others to defend the US Constitution

The Federalists and Anti-Federalists compromised by

adding the Bill of Rights

Goal one of the preamble

form a more perfect union (create a stronger government than that under the Articles of Confederation)

Goal two of the preamble

establish justice (create a court system)

Goal three of the preamble

insure domestic tranquility (peace amongst the states)

Goal four of the preamble

provide for the common defense (security of the country)

Goal five of the preamble

promote the general welfare (good living conditions)

Goal six of the preamble

secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity (freedoms not only now but also for the future)

The weaknesses of no chief executive or a judiciary under the Articles of Federation were used to

create the three branches of government by the Constitution

The organization of government into three branches was first described by

the French philosopher Montesquieu

The Constitution provides for a separation of

powers of the three branches of government to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful

System of Checks and balances

Legislative Branch makes laws which are signed into law or vetoed by the President

If the bill is vetoed by the President

Congress can override the veto by a 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress, which would then make it a law

Congress makes a law and the President signs it into law, but

the Supreme Court declares it illegal

The President nominates a Supreme Court Justice but

the nomination must be confirmed by the Senate

The President negotiates a treaty but

the treaty must be ratified by a 2/3 vote of the Senate in order to become law

Congress checks the Judicial and Executive Branches through the

impeachment process

Article V (5)

An amendment to the US Constitution can be proposed by 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress or by a national convention requested by 2/3 of the state legislatures. The amendment must be ratified by ¾ of the states. The process was made difficult on purpose to make sure that any changes would have the overwhelming support of the people.

Article VI (6)

the Supremacy Clause- The Constitution is the Supreme law of the land and sets up the hierarchy of government. If a state law conflicts with a federal law the federal law will prevail. If a federal law conflicts with the Constitution, the Constitution will prevail.

The Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10) were added to the Constitution to

protect individual freedoms from the government

There have been __ amendments added to the constitution

27

1st Amendment

freedom of speech (expression), religion, press, assembly, petition without the interference of the government

4th Amendment

protects from unreasonable searches and seizures to ensure the privacy of those who are only suspected of committing a crime

10th Amendment

any power that is not specifically delegated to the federal government is reserved for the states: education, marriage, etc. The 10th amendment and the necessary and proper clause usually conflict. People who interpret the 10th Amendment as restricting the federal government are called states' righters.

13th Amendment

prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude

15th Amendment

designed to allow former male slaves the right to vote- actually allowed all men the right to vote with the exception of Native Americans.

19th Amendment

granted suffrage to all females with the exception of Native Americans. It was a struggle to extend voting rights to women because of the traditional viewpoints about the proper role of women.

26th Amendment

set the voting age at 18 because of the draft during the Vietnam war

Freedom of speech is important for a democracy because

it allows society to challenge authority.

Freedom of assembly allows

one to participate in peaceful political rallies and to join organizations.

Freedom of the press does not allow

books to be banned regardless of the content.

Freedom of petition allows one to

express their ideas and complaints to the government.

The first state to grant suffrage to women was

Wyoming

Article I of the Constitution

Establishes Congress as the legislative branch of Federal Government and lists the powers of Congress.

Branch of government that is closest to the people is the

legislative branch

Job of the Legislative Branch is to

make laws

How old must you be to work in Senate

30

How long must you have lived as a citizen of the US to work in senate

9 years

Where must you live to work in Senate

in the represented state (senate)

How old must you be to work in the House

25

How long must you have been a US citizen to work in the House

7 years

Where must you live to work in the House

in the represented state (house)

The Legislative Branch was patterned after the

British Parliament

Congress is

bicameral (2 house) composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Representation in the House is based on

population

Representation in the Senate is based on

equality

The entire House of Representatives is elected every

two years

A term of the Senate lasts

6 years, with 1/3 up for election every two years

The leader of the House of Representatives is the

Speaker of the House.

The leader of the Senate, according to the Constitution, is the

Vice President

day to day leadership in the House is handled by the

President Pro Tempore

Powers given to Congress

impeachment process, ratification of treaties, regulation of trade, declare war

Impeachment charges are brought up against the

President or Supreme Court Justices in the House of Representatives

The senate acts as the ____ during impeachments

Jury

Budget Deficit is when

more money is being spent by government than the revenue that it is taking in.