Government Pre-Test

Name: _____________________________________________ Period: 1 2 3 4 6 7

DIRECTIONS: Read and answer each question to the best of your ability. Please be thorough with you answers when asked. Read the directions for each section before beginning that section. Remember that this is valuable information that your teacher will use to guide her instruction of our upcoming government unit.

_____ government

_____ limited government

_____ unlimited government

_____ revolution

_____ patriotism

_____ citizenship

_____ democracy

_____ monarchy

_____ oligarchy

_____ tyranny

_____ democracy

_____ monarchy

_____ oligarchy

_____ tyranny

PART III: Put these four forms of government in order from oldest to youngest. For example, if you think that oligarchy happened first in history, put the number 1 in the blank, and so on…

PART I: Match the term to its definition.

PART II: Match the form of government to its definition.

a. love for your country

b. the leaders do not have to follow the same laws that they set up for their citizens

f. the duties and responsibilities that come with being a member of a community

d. the people within a society that have the authority to make laws, make sure they are carried out, and settle disagreements about them

e. all laws apply to everyone, even the leaders of the country

g. a change that has been made to the document that outlines the United States government

a. ruling power is in the hands of a single person

b. the ruling power is in the hands of a few wealthy individuals

c. ruling power is in the hands of a person who has seized control – often illegally

d. ruling power is in the hands of the people

_____ checks and balances

_____ constitutional amendment

c. the system set up in the government where no one branch of that government has more power than another branch

h. the overthrow of a ruler or political system

_____ federal government

_____ local government

_____ state government

a. the president

b. the governor

c. the mayor

PART V: Match the level of government with its elected leader.

PART VI: Sort the examples. Write the name of the example in the appropriate column

PRIMARY SOURCES

SECONDARY SOURCES

•textbooks

•encyclopedias

•medical journals

•transcripts or recordings of speeches

•artifacts

•official documents (records)

•letters

•newspaper articles

•news programs

•magazines

•autobiographies

•biographies

_____ republic

_____ communism

_____ fascism

_____ theocracy

_____ parliament

PART IV: Match the form of government to its definition.

f. total government control over political, economic, religious, social and cultural lives

b. the leader has divine power to govern according to religious laws

d. council or “congress” is the highest lawmaking body in the country

c. officials are elected to make political decisions in the best interest of the citizens

a. all property and business is owned by the government – there is no private ownership

e. the leader has complete control over the country

_____ dictatorship

PART VII: Answer the following questions on the lines provided.

What is the name of the document that is the framework for the United States government?

What is a constitutional amendment?

What rights do you have as a citizen of the United States?

What responsibilities do you have as a citizen of the United States?

Which form of government was first used (invented) by the Ancient Greeks? (see PART III and IV for answer choices.)

Which form of government was first used (invented) by the Ancient Romans? (see PART III and IV for answer choices.)

Why does the United States have a democratic form of government?