Unit 1 Test

Question 1

4 basic ideas of US government

Answer 1

natural rights, social contract, popular sovereignty, limited government

Question 2

natural rights

Answer 2

creator-given rights that cannot be taken away, exist in a natural state

Question 3

social contract

Answer 3

an implicit agreement among the people in a society to give up some freedoms to maintain social order

Question 4

popular soverignty

Answer 4

all government power comes from the conesnt of its people

Question 5

limited government

Answer 5

a government’s power cannot be absolute

Question 6

four principles of limited government

Answer 6

seperation of powers, checks and balances, Federalism, Republicanism

Question 7

Seperation of powers

Answer 7

three branches of government each with different powers

Question 8

checks and balances

Answer 8

powers that can be used to block the powers of the other branches, so that no one branch is dominant

Question 9

Federalism

Answer 9

power is shared between a national and state government

Question 10

Republicanism

Answer 10

the people are represented in the government

Question 11

Declaration of Independence

Answer 11

-restates philosophy of natural rights, a social contract that provides a foundation for limited government and popular soveriegnty

Question 12

Forms of representative democracy

Answer 12

paticipatory, pluralist, elite

Question 13

participatory

Answer 13

emphasizes broad participation in politics and civil society

Question 14

pluralist

Answer 14

emphasizes group-based activism by non-governmental interests striving for impact on political decision making

Question 15

Elite

Answer 15

emphasizes limited participation in politics and civil society

Question 16

Federalist 10

Answer 16

identifies factions as greatest evil, says constitution limits them by spreading power among large area and many different entities

Question 17

Brutus 1

Answer 17

belives government is inherently dangerous to rights, thinks to limit the danger, local government should dominate over national and rights should be explicitly protected

Question 18

Federalists

Answer 18

supported ratification of the Constitution
-supported strong central government
- superiority of large republic in controlling the “mischiefs of faction:
-delegate authority to elected representatives (not direct democracy)
-disperse power between national and state governments

Question 19

Anti-Federalists

Answer 19

opposed ratification of the Constitution,
-wanted more power reserved to states (not a strong national government
-small, decentralized republic better for democracy
-large, centralized government a threat to personal liberty

Question 20

problems with articles of confederation

Answer 20

-lack of centralized military power to address Shay’s Rebellion
-lack of an executive branch to enforce laws, including taxation
-lack of national court system
-lack of power to regulate interstate commerce
-lack of power to coin money

Question 21

compromises necessary for ratification of Constitution of the United States

Answer 21

-Great (connecticut) compromise:create a bicameral (dual) system of congressional representation with the house of representatives based on each state’s population and the Senate representing
each state equally
-Electoral College: Create a system for electing the president by electors from each state rather than by popular vote or by congressional vote
-Three-Fifths Compromise: provided a formula for calculating a state’s enslaved population for purposes of representation in the House and for taxation
-Postpoining until 1808 a decision whether to ban the importation of enslaved
persons
- Agreement to add a Bill of Rights to address concerns of the Anti-Federalists

Question 22

Amendment process

Answer 22

Step 1: 2/3 of both houses or a convention called by 2/3 of the states may propose amendments
step 2L 2/4 of state legislature or state ratifying conventions ratify amendment

Question 23

Unsolved Issues of Constitution

Answer 23

-Slavery
- Proper role of federal government
- Campaigns
- Social Issues

Question 24

Federalist 51

Answer 24

Checks and balances keeps factions and tyrannical majorities from
abusing power
-Different branches and layers give people trying to influence policy many places to lobby
and try to get involved (multiple access points
-Legal actions can be taken against officials who abuse power.
. Ultimate check on abuse
of power is the impeachment

Question 25

Whats the ultimate check on power

Answer 25

impeachment

Question 26

removal from office process

Answer 26

majorit if the House to impeach forcing a trial in the Senate, 2/3 of the Senate to convict and remove from office

Question 27

Federalism

Answer 27

System of government in the US where power is shared between national and state governments - Exclusive powers - Powers given to either state or national governments but not both - Concurrent powers - Powers shared between national and state governments - Ongoing debate over the appropriate balance of power

Question 28

Exclusive powers

Answer 28

Powers held by only one level of government - Enumerated powers - Specific powers of national government listed in Constitution - Implied powers - Not specificaly written in Constitution but inferred from the Necessary and Proper Clause

Question 29

Reserved powers

Answer 29

- Powers not delegated or enumerated to the national government - Instead, reserved to the states - Tenth Amendment

Question 30

Concurrent powers

Answer 30

- Shared between both levels of government - Collect taxes - Make and enforce laws - Build roads

Question 31

Distribution of Power Demonstrated by:

Answer 31

- Revenue sharing - National funding with almost no restrictions to the states on its use and is the least used form funding - Block grants - National funding with minimal restrictions to the states on its use and is preferred by the states - Categorical grants - National funding that is restricted to specific categories of expenditures, is preferred by the national government, and is the most commonly used form of funding - Mandates - Requirements by the national government of the states

Question 32

14th Amendment Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses

Answer 32

Give national government the power to enforce protections for any person against states -Supreme Court decisions can influence the extent of those protections

Question 33

Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3)

Answer 33

- Gives national government power to regulate interstate commerce - Supreme Court decisions can influence the extent of this power (since the New Deal this has been expansively interpreted)

Question 34

Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18)

Answer 34

Gives Congress the power to make laws related to carrying out its enumerated powers - Supreme Court decisions can influence the extent of these powers

Question 35

McCulloch v. Maryland

Answer 35

Maryland attempts to tax the Bank of the United States, which was created by the United States government. Court rules 7-0 that A, a National Bank is constitutional as it is necessary and proper to carry out the enumerated power of interstate commerce, and B, the states cannot tax the federal government under the Supremacy Clause

Question 36

- United States v. Lopez -

Answer 36

- Lopez is convicted under a federal law that bans the possession of guns near schools. Supreme Court rules 5-4 that this law is unconstitutional because it is not closely related enough to interstate commerce to be necessary and proper to carrying out the commerce power.

Question 37

Supremacy Clause (Article VI, Clause 2)

Answer 37

- Gives national government and its laws general precedence over states’ laws - Supreme Court decisions may affect when specific actions exceed this constitutional power