AP US GOVERNMENT/POLITICS NAME:
Institutions of Government: Congress
Video Guide: The Congress
INTRODUCTION
1. Who is quoted in the opening sequence?
2. What profession do most congressmen practice?
THE BUILDERS
3. Where did the first Congress meet in 1789?
4. Why did they quickly adjourn?
5. What ended up being their first order of business to deal with?
6. When did the government move to Washington?
7. What does historian David McCullough say has been the two great questions/issues before Congress?
THE DEBATERS
8. What skill did Henry Clay have to hold off (for a while) the Civil War?
9. Why did Congress vote to impeach President Andrew Johnson (among other reasons)?
10. How were senators elected at this time?
11. What was the Senate know as (nickname) during this time?
THE PROGRESSIVES
12. Which committee prevented Progressive reform bills/legislation from getting to the floor for debate in 1910’s?
13. Who was the first president since John Adams to go to Congress in person to push for his programs?
14. What is considered to be the greatest change in the history of Congress?
15. Who controlled Congress and the White House in 1932?
16. List as many things as you can that make Congress (“The Hill”) seem like its own city:
THE MANAGERS
17. Which specific power has become significant in Congress since the era of television?
18. How has television – televised hearings – impacted Congressmen and their influence?
19. List some examples of this power in action (famous televised Congressional hearings)
20. What stopped civil rights legislation from going forward in the Senate in the 1940’s-1950’s?
21. Who was president when a civil rights bill was finally passed? What position did this person hold
in the legislative branch before he became president?
22. What does one of the persons interviewed say is the greatest danger to Congress?