U. S. GOVERNMENT Final Exam Study Guide, first semester

Transcription

1 U. S. GOVERNMENT Final Exam Study Guide, first semester Current Events! Philosophical underpinnings Limited government, Purpose of the U. S. Constitution What was it that created the federal government? Limitations on rights, liberty and security Natural rights, source of rights, the Social Contract What are the characteristics that make an entity a state (nation)? Democracy, republic, autocracy, monarchy, oligarchy, dictatorship What parties control the House, U. S. Senate, Assembly, State Senate, Presidency, Governorship Documents Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights The Federalist Amendments: First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Full Faith and Credit Clause, Elastic Clause Processes The six basic principles of the Constitution What the federal government must guarantee to the states How the Constitution is amended, what the amendments have done Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan, the Great Compromise, the 3/5 Compromise Qualifications for office for the houses of Congress and the Nevada legislature What makes campaigns so danged expensive How the national government relates to the states Civil rights, civil liberties What happens as government increases its power

2 Basic differences between multi-party, two-party, and single-party systems Rules for debate in the U. S. Senate, House of Representatives The general process of how a bill becomes a law Length of sessions of Congress, Nevada Legislature Who presides over the House, U. S. Senate, Nevada Senate, Nevada Assembly How the franchise has expanded in American history Presidential duties, powers, roles, qualifications, and term of office Presidential succession, disability What options a President has when he receives a bill from Congress Presidential power of appointment, Senate s role Categories of crimes in general and in Nevada The Electoral College, current ideas to change it, and laws designed to circumvent the Constitution Circumstances under which a state court conviction may be appealed to the U. S. Supreme Court Powers of state legislatures, governors, courts (types and jurisdictions) Judges and justices, selection of judges Bill of attainder, ex-post facto law Free Exercise Clause, Establishment Clause Clemency, Pardon, Parole, Reprieve, Commutation, Amnesty Extradition Defendant, plantiff Executive order, treaty, executive agreement Jurisdiction, appellate jurisdiction, original jurisdiction, concurrent jurisdiction, exclusive jurisdiction Judicial review, three types of Supreme Court decision, three types of opinion Writ of Certiorari, Writ of Mandamus, Stare decisis Criminal law, common law, civil law, equity Exclusionary rule

3 Double jeopardy Grand jury, petit jury Probable cause, reasonable suspicion Due process (substantive and procedural) Libel, slander, sedition, prior restraint Treason Terms (go beyond basic definitions to examples and applications, OK?) Supreme Law of the Land Federal, unitary forms of government Presidential, parliamentary forms of government Bicameral, unicameral, Executive agreement, treaty Rule of law Public policy, public opinion Checks and balances, separation of powers Exclusive powers, reserved powers, concurrent powers Delegated powers, implied powers, inherent powers Powers denied government Self-incrimination, warrant, habeas corpus, ex post facto Filibuster, cloture Nomination, Primary (open, closed), caucus Partisan, bi-partisan Majority, plurality, quorum Incumbent Lobbyist/lobbying Soft money, hard money

4 Campaign finance laws (FEC) Strict construction, loose (liberal) construction Conservative, liberal, libertarian Fascism, anarchy, radical, reactionary Suffrage, franchise Apportionment, reapportionment, gerrymandering Census Judicial review (what it is, what usually happens) Eminent domain Impeachment Law, bill, veto, veto override Session, term, adjournment, recess, Lame Duck session Congressional committees The Nevada Legislature: composition, term, election, qualifications, term limits People John Locke, Machiavelli, James Madison, George Washington Benjamin Franklin (especially his role and comments at the Constitutional Convention) Thomas Jefferson, John Adams The Federalists and Anti-federalists (what, not so much who) Nevada state officials (Governor, Attorney General, Speaker of the Assembly, Chief Justice) Federal officials (President, Vice-president, Secretary of State, Chief Justice, Speaker of the House) Economic concepts Wealth, prosperity, free trade How the Law of Supply and Demand sets prices in the free market Capitalism, Free Enterprise, Market economy, command economy Equality of opportunity, equality of outcome

5 Socialism, Communism, mixed economy Deficit, national (public) debt, where the government gets money it spends in excess of revenues Money (including the three major functions of it), legal tender The effects of raising and lowering taxes, what happens when government raises taxes on businesses The effects of price ceilings and price floors, what happens when they are changed (i.e. minimum wage) What are the primary sources of revenue for federal, state, and local government The effect on the economy of government borrowing Scarcity, utility, supply, demand, equilibrium Factors of production, Production, consumption, specialization Potential essay questions for the Government final exam What are the six basic principles of the Constitution? Explain each. What is the power of eminent domain? Has government s power grown too much in that area? What recent actions by the states have mitigated this? What are the unique powers and rules of each house of Congress? Explain each one, and give examples. Since we are in an economic slowdown, what policies should the federal and state governments pursue to mitigate the bad effects and promote economic growth? Explain fully. How has the Necessary and Proper clause been used to expand federal power? Give at least one example of how you think the federal government has over-reached in this area. What happens when government expand its power? What is lost (consider all the possibilities here)? What is the long-term trend of government? Why is that? Compare and contrast Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism. How and where have these systems been practiced, and how successfully? What is the best description of the current U.S. system? Which, in your view is the best for the people, and why? Give a brief, concise overview of how the Electoral College system works. Why did our founders set this system up? Give one argument against keeping it as it is, and one argument for keeping it as it is.