American Government 100 Concepts & Final Exam Preparation Fall Semester

American GovernmentAmerican Government100 Concepts

& Final Exam PreparationFall Semester

THE 100 CONCEPTSTHE 100 CONCEPTS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70

71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

Number 1:Number 1:

QUESTION:What is government?

ANSWER:Institution through which a society

makes and enforces its public policy

Number 2:Number 2:

QUESTION:What is public policy?

ANSWER:all of the goals a government sets and the various

courses of action it pursues as it attempts to realize these goals

Number 3:Number 3:

QUESTION:What is legislative power?

ANSWER:power to make law and to frame public

policies

Number 4:Number 4:

QUESTION:What is executive power?

ANSWER:power to execute, enforce, and

administer law

Number 5:Number 5:

QUESTION:What is judicial power?

ANSWER:power to interpret laws, to determine their meaning,

and to settle disputes that arise within the society

Number 6:Number 6:

QUESTION:What is “the body of fundamental

laws setting out the principles, structures, and processes of government?”

ANSWER:A constitution

Number 7:Number 7:

QUESTION:What is a form of government in which

the leader has absolute power and authority?

ANSWER:A dictatorship

Number 8:Number 8:

QUESTION:What is a form of government in which

the supreme authority rests with the people?

ANSWER:A democracy

Number 9:Number 9:

QUESTION:What is a body of people living in a

defined territory who have a government with the power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority?

ANSWER:A state

Number 10:Number 10:

QUESTION:What is defined as having supreme

power within its own territory; neither subordinate nor responsible to any other authority?

ANSWER:sovereignty


QUESTION:What did Thomas Hobbes believe

about man?

ANSWER:government is necessary to prevent "the war of every

man against every man." (man is inherently evil)


QUESTION:What did John Locke believe about

man?

ANSWER:We give up certain rights and freedoms to promote

the safety and well-being of all (man is naturally good)


QUESTION:Which theory of the origins of

government claims that states form when one person or group forces others under their control?

ANSWER:The Force Theory



government claims that states developed naturally out of the early family?

ANSWER:The Evolution Theory



government claims that God created the state and gave those of royal birth a right to rule?

ANSWER:The Divine Right Theory



government claims that people within an area gave up power to the state to promote safety of all?

ANSWER:The Social Contract Theory


QUESTION:In which type of government does a

single person hold unlimited political power?

ANSWER:An autocracy


QUESTION:In which type of government is the

power to rule held by a small, usually self-appointed elite?

ANSWER:An oligarchy


QUESTION:In which type of government do all

members of society vote on all issues?

ANSWER:A direct democracy


QUESTION:In which type of government must

members meet specific criteria in order to be eligible to vote?

ANSWER:A republic


QUESTION:Which type of government elects

individual members to make decisions for the whole?

ANSWER:A representative democracy


QUESTION:Which type of government has a

centralized government in which all powers belong to a single, central agency?

ANSWER:A unitary government


QUESTION:Which type of government divides

powers between a central government and several local governments?

ANSWER:A federal government


QUESTION:What term refers to governmental

powers being divided on a geographic basis?

ANSWER:Division of powers


QUESTION:Which government is an alliance of

independent states with a weak central government?

ANSWER:A confederation


QUESTION:Which government has executive and

legislative branches that are separate, independent, and coequal?

ANSWER:Presidential government


QUESTION:Which government has an executive

that is made up of the prime minister and that official's cabinet?

ANSWER:Parliamentary government


QUESTION:Which characteristic of democracy

states that each person, no matter what his or her station in life, is a separate and distinct being?

ANSWER:Worth of individuals



states that all are entitled to equality of opportunity and equality before the law?

ANSWER:Equality of persons



states that the largest group of people is generally right, but cannot ignore small groups?

ANSWER:Majority rule, minority rights



states that democracy can only exist when parties work to find the most acceptable position?

ANSWER:Necessity of compromise



states that each individual is as free to do as he or she pleases as far as the freedom of all will allow?

ANSWER:Individual freedom


QUESTION:What economic system is

characterized by the private ownership of capital goods?

ANSWER:Free enterprise system


QUESTION:What economic law states that when

supplies of goods and services become plentiful, prices tend to drop?

ANSWER:Law of supply and demand


QUESTION:What economic system consists of

private enterprise with a considerable amount of government regulation?

ANSWER:Mixed economy


QUESTION:What type of government is restricted

in what it may do, and each individual has certain rights that government cannot take away?

ANSWER:Limited government


QUESTION:What is a system of government in

which public policies are made by officials selected by the voters and held accountable in periodic elections?

ANSWER:Representative government


QUESTION:Which document, also known as the

Great Charter, was forced upon King John of England and established that the power of the monarchy was not absolute?

ANSWER:The Magna Carta


QUESTION:Which document, prepared by Parliament

and signed by King Charles I of England in 1628, challenged the idea of the divine right of kings and declared that even the monarch was subject to the laws of the land?

ANSWER:Petition of Right


QUESTION:Which document was written by Parliament

and agreed on by William and Mary of England in 1689, designed to prevent abuse of power by English monarchs and served as the basis for American politics?

ANSWER:English Bill of Rights


QUESTION:What is a bicameral legislature?

ANSWER:A legislature composed of two houses


QUESTION:What is a unicameral legislature?

ANSWER:A legislature composed of one house


QUESTION:Which group served as the nation’s

first national government?

ANSWER:The 2nd Continental Congress


QUESTION:What is another term for recalling an

act of government?

ANSWER:repeal


QUESTION:What document was signed on July 4,

1776, listing grievances against England?

ANSWER:Declaration of Independence


QUESTION:What basic principle of American

government asserts that the people are the source of any and all power, and government can exist only with the consent of the governed?

ANSWER:Popular sovereignty


QUESTION:What plan of government was adopted

by the Continental Congress after the American Revolution, establishing a "firm league of friendship" among the States?

ANSWER:Articles of Confederation


QUESTION:What is the formal approval of a

constitution, constitutional amendment, or treaty?

ANSWER:ratification


QUESTION:What is the name given to the group

of delegates who drafted the Constitution?

ANSWER:The Framers


QUESTION:What proposal called for a three-branch

government with a bicameral legislature in which each State's membership would be determined by its population or its financial support for the central government?

ANSWER:The Virginia Plan


QUESTION:Which proposal was presented as an

alternative to the Virginia Plan and called for a unicameral legislature in which each state would be equally represented?

ANSWER:The New Jersey Plan


QUESTION:Which plan was a compromise that

formed our final system of government?

ANSWER:The Connecticut Compromise


QUESTION:What was the Three-Fifths

Compromise?

ANSWER:Agreement at the Constitutional Convention to count a

slave as three-fifths of a person when determining the population of a State.


QUESTION:What was the Commerce and Slave

Trade Compromise?

ANSWER:Agreement during the Constitutional Convention protecting slave

holders. It denied Congress the power to tax the export of goods from any State, and, for 20 years, the power to act on the slave trade.


QUESTION:What name was given to those who

supported the ratification of the Constitution?

ANSWER:Federalists


QUESTION:What name was given to those who

opposed ratification of the Constitution?

ANSWER:Anti-federalists


QUESTION:Which Constitutional concept and

basic principle of government states that those who govern must obey the law?

ANSWER:Constitutionalism


QUESTION:Which Constitutional concept states

that government and its officers are always subject to the law?

ANSWER:Rule of law


QUESTION:Which Constitutional concept provides

that powers are divided among three independent and coequal branches?

ANSWER:Separation of powers



a system of overlapping powers to permit each branch to check the others?

ANSWER:Checks and balances


QUESTION:Which Constitutional concept gives

power to the court to determine the constitutionality of a governmental action?

ANSWER:Judicial review


QUESTION:Which word means “declare a

government provision illegal, null, and void?”

ANSWER:unconstitutional



for a division of power between a central government and regional governments?

ANSWER:federalism


QUESTION:What is a change in the written

language of the Constitution?

ANSWER:Formal amendment


QUESTION:What is a change made by experience,

not the actual words of the Constitution?

ANSWER:Informal amendment


QUESTION:What is another name for the first 10

Amendments to the Constitution?

ANSWER:The Bill of Rights


QUESTION:What is a pact between the President

and head of a foreign state?

ANSWER:An executive agreement


QUESTION:What is a formal agreement between

two or more sovereign states?

ANSWER:Treaty


QUESTION:What is the Presidential advisory body

(the heads of the executive departments)?

ANSWER:cabinet


QUESTION:Which are all powers granted to the

National Government by the Constitution?

ANSWER:Delegated powers


QUESTION:Which are the powers of the National

Government that are spelled out in the Constitution?

ANSWER:Expressed powers


QUESTION:Which powers of the National

Government that are suggested as "necessary and proper"?

ANSWER:Implied powers


QUESTION:Which are the powers the National

Government has as government of a sovereign state?

ANSWER:Inherent powers


QUESTION:Which are the powers not granted to

the National Government nor denied to the States?

ANSWER:Reserved powers


QUESTION:Which are the powers that both the

National Government and the States possess and execute?

ANSWER:Concurrent powers


QUESTION:What clause states that the

Constitution stands above all other forms of law?

ANSWER:The Supremacy Clause


QUESTION:What is a group that seeks to control

government through winning of elections and the holding public office?

ANSWER:Political party


QUESTION:What is government action based on

firm allegiance to a political party called?

ANSWER:partisanship


QUESTION:What is the party that controls the

executive branch called?

ANSWER:Party in power


QUESTION:What word describes any government

action that is supported by two parties?

ANSWER:bipartisan


QUESTION:What is the current office holder

called?

ANSWER:incumbent


QUESTION:What is the right to vote?

ANSWER:suffrage


QUESTION:Who are the people entitled to vote in

a given election?

ANSWER:electorate


QUESTION:In the United States, the list included

citizenship, residence, and age.

ANSWER:Voter qualifications


QUESTION:What is a Congressional election that

occurs between presidential election years?

ANSWER:Off-year election


QUESTION:Divided between personal

characteristics (age, race, etc) and group affiliation (family, co-workers, friends, etc.).

ANSWER:Factors effecting voting


QUESTION:What is the practice of voting for

candidates of only one party in an election?

ANSWER:Straight-ticket voting


QUESTION:What is the practice of voting for

candidates of different parties for different offices?

ANSWER:Split-ticket voting


QUESTION:What is the nominating device

composed of a group of like-minded people?

ANSWER:caucus


QUESTION:What is the date of national elections?

ANSWER:Tuesday-after-the-first Monday in

November


QUESTION:What is the effect when a strong

candidate at the top of a ballot helping attract voters to lower offices?

ANSWER:Coattail effect


QUESTION:What is the smallest unit of election

administration?

ANSWER:precinct


QUESTION:What is the political extension of

special-interest groups?

ANSWER:Political action committee (PAC)


QUESTION:What is the complex collection of the

opinions of many different people?

ANSWER:Public opinion


QUESTION:What are those means of

communication that reach large audiences (TV, radio, etc.)?

ANSWER:Mass media


QUESTION:What are the instructions or

commands a constituency gives to its elected officials?

ANSWER:mandate


QUESTION:What is a private organization whose

members share certain views and work to shape public policy?

ANSWER:Interest group


QUESTION:What is a technique of persuasion

aimed at influencing individual or group behaviors to create a particular belief, regardless of its validity?

ANSWER:propaganda


QUESTION:What are those activities by which

group pressures are brought to bear on legislators, the legislative process, and all aspects of the public policy-making process?

ANSWER:lobbying


QUESTION:What term refers to issues, beliefs, or

pressures that arise from the average voters?

ANSWER:Grass roots

Score and GraphScore and Graph

Documents

American Government 100 Concepts & Final Exam Preparation Fall Semester