Pre-AP Review- Government 2016
Short Answer
1.Executive Branch- enforces the law
- - Can only serve 2 terms
- Members include : President,Vice - President & Cabinet members(heads of executive depts who serve as advisors)
- Must be a natural born citizen
- can negotiate treaties
- appoints Supreme Court Justices, ambassadors and Cabinet members
- commander-in-chief of military
2.Legislative Branch- makes the law
- Congress is made up of these 2 Houses: Senate ( Upper House) and House of Representatives ( Lower House)
- Senators serve a 6 year term
- House of Representatives serves a 2 year term
- The Senate is based on equal representation (2/state)
- The House of Representatives is based on population
3.Judicial Branch- interprets the law
- Judge has a life term with good behavior
- There are 9 Justices on the Supreme Court
- The Chief Justice is head of the Supreme Court
4.Powers of Congress Include:
- Declaring war
- overriding President’s veto with 2/3 vote in both houses
- Coin money
- Impeach government officials
- Levy taxes
- Approve treaties
- Raise and maintain an army
5.Approving treaties, approving Presidential appointments, proposing legislation and holding the President’s impeachment trial are powers of the Senate (checks and balances)
6.The Electoral College officially elects the President.
7.When the President refuses to sign a law its called a veto
8.The President can veto a bill as one of its “checks” on Congress and Congress can override a veto with 2/3 vote in Congressin both houses
9.The United States is considered a republic because the president/Congress/government is selected by the people.
10.The separation of powers is having a power in our government divided among the legislative,executive and the judicial branches
11.Congress overriding a presidential veto, Supreme Court declaring a law unconstitutional , President appointing a federal judge are examples of checks and balances – each branch having power overs over the others to make sure no branch gets too powerful
12.The fundamental principle outlined in the Preamble to the Constitution is that the government is based on the consent of the governed – popular sovereignty.
13.The Amendment process was added to the U.S. Constitution because the Constitution is a living document and could change to meet the current needs of the country.
14.The First 10 amendments were added to the US Constitution because of the need to protect individual liberties from the government.
15.A system of government where Power is shared by the national government and state government is called federalism (delegated, concurrent, and reserved powers)
16.The Anti-Federalists wanted the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution for them to support it.
17.Powers belonging to the federal government are called delegatedpowers.
18.Powers retained by the states are called reserved powers.
19.Powers shared by the states and federal government are called concurrent power.
20.Powers not specifically mentioned in the Constitution are called implied powers.
21.John Locke said that the government was a “social contract”; it was to protect individual freedoms and property.
22.Baron Charles de Montesquieu said the government needed to be separated into separate branches so that the government doesn’t become too powerful.
23.
Principles of government
Popular sovereignty - the government is subject to the will of the people; people rule.
24.Federalism is the sharing of powers between the national (federal) and the states governments.
25.Republicanism is the favoring of a republic/representative government where people are elected to make the laws for the country.
26.Separation of powers is having three branches of government, with government powers divided among them
27.Limited government is the Constitution defining what the government can (or cannot) do.
28.Individual Rights are powers and privileges to which one has just to claim (protected by the Bill of Rights).
29.Checks and balances ensures that each branch can check (rein in, stop abuses by) the other branches, so that one branch does not become too powerful.
30.What is the process proposed by the Legislative Branch, approved by 2/3 vote in both houses, and approved by 3/4 of all state legislatures? Amendment process – how to propose and ratify an amendment to the US Constitution (It can also be proposed by 2/3 of states in convention and approved by 3/4 of states in convention, but neither of those cases has ever happened.)
31.When sending a citizen to Congress to represent them and vote on laws is an example of republicanism.
32.To amend the Constitution, 2/3 of both houses of Congress (or 2/3 of states in convention) propose an Amendment and it must be ratified by ¾ of states or 2/4 of states in convention. Why might we need to amend the Constitution? To address situations as time and society change
33.Why does the preamble begin with the words, “We the people?” to show the idea of popular sovereignty – that government rests on the consent of the governed
34.Where are the purposes for writing the Constitution found? The Preamble to the Constitution
What are they?
a. to form a more perfect union
b to establish justice (courts)
c. to ensure domestic tranquility (peace within the country)
d. to provide for the common defense (protect against outside enemies)
e. to promote the general welfare (to improve the situation of citizens)
f. to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity (to ensure that government does not take away our liberties and
the liberties of generations to come but protects them)
35.What is the final authority in our government - states, federal government or the constitution? The US Constitution is the supreme law of the land
36.William Blackstone strongly influenced American legal education and judicial system, particularly the idea of presumption of innocence (from the quote) “is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.”
Pre-AP Review- Government 2015
Answer Section
SHORT ANSWER
1.ANS:
Enforces
President
2
President Vice and Cabinet
Natural born
treaties
Cabinet
Commander in Chief
PTS:1
2.ANS:
Makes
Senate and House of Representatives
6 years
2 years
Equal Representation
Population
PTS:1
3.ANS:
Interprets
Life good
9
Chief
PTS:1
4.ANS:
War
Override 2/3
Money
taxes
army
PTS:1
5.ANS:
Senate
PTS:1
6.ANS:
Electoral
PTS:1
7.ANS:
Presidential veto
PTS:1
8.ANS:
, veto, veto, 2/3
PTS:1
9.ANS:
President/Congress
PTS:1
10.ANS:
Legislative , Executive and Judicial
PTS:1
11.ANS:
checks and balances
PTS:1
12.ANS:
Consent of the People
PTS:1
13.ANS:
amendament change
PTS:1
14.ANS:
liberties, government
PTS:1
15.ANS:
Federalism
PTS:1
16.ANS:
Bill of Rights
PTS:1
17.ANS:
Enumerated Powers
PTS:1
18.ANS:
Reserved powers
PTS:1
19.ANS:
Concurrent powers
PTS:1
20.ANS:
Implied powers
PTS:1
21.ANS:
John Locke
PTS:1
22.ANS:
Charles de Montesquieu
PTS:1
23.ANS:
Popular Sovereignty
PTS:1
24.ANS:
federal and state
PTS:1
25.ANS:
representative
PTS:1
26.ANS:
Separation of powers
PTS:1
27.ANS:
Limited government
PTS:1
28.ANS:
Individual Rights
PTS:1
29.ANS:
Checks and Balances
PTS:1
30.ANS:
amendment process
PTS:1
31.ANS:
Republicanism
PTS:1
32.ANS:
Congress, 2/3 of all state conventions. As times change, the Constitution may need to be added to or changed.
PTS:1
33.ANS:
Because the government is the people.
PTS:1
34.ANS:
Preamble
form a more perfect union, ensure domestic tranquility (peace), establish justice, provide for the common defense, promote the general well-being (well-being of citizens), secure the blessings of liberty
PTS:1
35.ANS:
Constitution
PTS:1
36.ANS:
William Blackstone
due process
PTS:1