FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE

American Government

Unit 1- Foundations & The United States Constitution

  • The Constitution is the framework of our government.
  • Our first government was created with the Articles of Confederation. It failed to work because it created a weak national government with strong state governments. It was more of a league of friendship between the states.
  • Types of Government

1. Democracy- people have the power

2. Dictatorship- the people have no voice in the gov’t

a. Autocracy- one person holds all the power

b. Oligarchy- a small group of people hold all the power

3. Unitary- all power that the gov’t has is held by one central agency. They may create local units, but the central agency is in control. (Ex: most gov’ts, Great Britain)

4. Federal Government- power is divided between a central gov’t and local gov’t (Ex: USA, Canada, Mexico)

5. Confederation- an alliance of independent states, the central gov’t isn’t powerful (Ex: European Union; historically: US under the Articles of Confederation and the Confederate States of America)

6. Presidential- the branches are separate, voters elect the members of the legislative branch and the voters elect leaders of the executive branch; “checks & balances” (Ex: USA)

7. Parliamentary- the Executive Branch is under the control of the Legislative Branch, voters elect members of the Parliament & then the leader of the Executive Branch is chosen from the Parliament. If the Prime Minister loses the support of the Parliament, they can get rid of him/her. (Ex: most countries, Great Britain)

  • State- aka nation- must have population, territory, sovereignty, and a government.
  • Sovereignty is the only thing that our 50 states lack. (They have to answer to another government- the US Gov’t.)
  • Origin of State Theories-
  • Evolutionary- state evolved over time from families
  • Force- the state was created by force
  • Divine Right- god chose to create the state and selected the ruler
  • Social Contract- the state was created when like minded people came together and decided to create the state; the people gave up freedom in order to obtain stability; government powers are granted and limited by the people; the US is based on this contract
  • Locke- a philosopher who is associated with the social contract theory
  • Magna Carta- signed by King John in 1215- this was the first document that limited the power of the King; our concept of limited government comes from this document
  • Ratification- for the Constitution to become law 9 out of 13 states had to ratify it
  • Debate over ratification-
  • Federalists- liked the Constitution the way it was
  • Anti-Federalists- didn’t like that the Constitution did not give citizens’ rights
  • The Anti-Federalists won when the Bill of Rights was added
  • The Constitution
  • Signed Sept. 17, 1787
  • 3 parts
  • Preamble- the Introduction
  • Articles- 7 sections of the Constitution
  • Article 1: Legislative Branch
  • Article 2: Executive Branch
  • Article 3: Judicial Branch
  • Article 4: State Relations (provides that all the states have a republican form of gov’t)
  • Article 5: Amendment Process
  • Article 6: Oath of Office; Supremacy Clause: Constitution is the “Supreme Law of the Land”
  • Article 7: Ratification process
  • Amendments- 27 total (1-10 are called the Bill of Rights)
  • The first 10 amendments to the Constitution
  • These were the first amendments to set out the rights of the people
  • Added to get the Anti-Federalists to ratify the Constitution
  • 1st- freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition
  • 5th- no double jeopardy, right to remain silent, right to a lawyer, due process
  • 10th- states have any power not granted to the national government
  • 14th– states must give citizens their rights <protects citizenship rights>
  • 15th- race cannot be used to keep people from voting
  • 19th- Women get the right to vote
  • 25th- Presidential Succession and VP fills in when President can’t
  • 26th- Right to vote lowered to 18
  • Being an informed citizen makes you an informed voter
  • Basic Principles-
  • Popular Sovereignty- people have the power
  • Limited Government- gov’t only has the power the people give it
  • We have Separate branches and also some powers belong only to the states
  • Separation of Powers- power is divided into 3 separate and equal branches
  • Checks and Balances- each branch can check the power of the other branches
  • Judicial Review- courts have the power to declare gov’t acts unconstitutional
  • Federalism- power of the gov’t is split between national and state governments
  • Federalism- power is divided between national and state governments
  • Delegated Powers-given directly to the national gov’t
  • Expressed- the right to coin money, declare war, etc.
  • Reserved Powers- given just to the states (ex. Marriage and divorce laws)
  • Concurrent Powers- shared between the national and state

Unit 2 –The Legislative Branch

  • Bicameral-
  • House of Representatives- based on the population of each state
  • Senate- each state has an equal number (2)
  • House of Representatives
  • Must be 25
  • Must be a resident of the state you are representing
  • Must be a citizen for 7 years
  • 2 year term
  • 435 total- the number per state is based on population
  • Led by the Speaker of the House- right now, John Boehner
  • Sole power to call for an impeachment and make laws dealing with taxes
  • Make laws dealing with taxes; and regulating interstate commerce
  • Senate

  • Must be 30
  • Citizen for 9 years
  • 6 year term
  • Each state has 2 (100 total)

  • Led by the President of the Senate (the Vice President) or the President pro tempore
  • Judges an impeachment and approves Presidential appointments and treaties
  • Is a continuous body- 1/3 of its members are elected every 2 years- they don’t want to risk having an all new Senate
  • Members of Congress are directly elected by the people
  • Congress is the Legislative Branch; has 535 total members; makes the laws
  • Committees exist in Congress because it allows them to get more things accomplished
  • Committee chairpersons are selected based on seniority of the major party
  • House Rules Committee- “traffic cop”, they decide which bills make it on to the floor for debate
  • Conference- created when there is a disagreement over a bill passed in both houses- exist because both houses have to pass identical bills
  • Filibuster- only happens in the Senate, it is an attempt to talk a bill to death to keep a vote from happening; can only be ended by invoking the cloture rule
  • Lobbyists- people that do the work on interest groups in Congress; they try to get the Congress members to pass bills that help out their interest group. They do this through friendly persuasion. (They can’t do illegal activities like bribing)

Unit 3- The Executive Branch & The Election Process

  • The only oath that is written in the U.S. Constitution is the Oath of the Office of the President of the United States.
  • Every year in January, the President addresses the nation and delivers the State of the Union address. In this speech the President explains how the US is doing and introduces new plans and policies he would like to implement.
  • Only two presidents were ever impeached, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were both impeached but not removed from office.
  • Roles of the President

  • Chief of Party
  • Commander-in-chief – leader of the armed forces
  • Chief Executive
  • Chief of State
  • Chief Diplomat
  • Chief Legislator
  • Chief Agenda Setter
  • Chief Citizen

  • Qualifications and Benefits
  • Must be 35 years old
  • Natural born citizen
  • Resident of the US for at least 14 years
  • Un-official <informal> qualifications- well educated, past political experience
  • $400,000 a year, live in the White House, $50,000 expense account, cars, planes
  • 4 year term <can serve 2 terms>
  • Election Process-
  • Primary Elections- everyone who is in a party and wants to run for President competes against each other to see who will be the party president. When you vote in a primary election you are voting to show your preference for a party candidate
  • Closed Primary- you can only vote in it if you are a declared <registered> voter for that party
  • General Election- the candidates from the parties run against each other to see who will be the President
  • President is actually elected by the Electoral College- a group of electors from each state meet and cast their votes for the person who won their state general election. It is possible to win the popular vote but lose the election if you win more electoral college votes
  • The number of Electors for each state is the # of Senators plus the # of Representatives
  • Presidential Succession-
  • Determined by the Presidential Succession Act
  • The VP becomes President if something happens to the President
  • After the VP is the Speaker of the House then the President pro temp
  • The Vice President
  • Official job is the President of the Senate
  • Federal Bureaucracy- divided into 3 parts- the Executive Office of the President, the Cabinet and the Independent Agencies
  • Cabinet
  • 15 department chiefs
  • advise the President
  • appointed by the President and approved by the Senate
  • Almost always from the President’s political party
  • When the President receives a bill he can
  • Sign it and make it law
  • Veto it and send it back to Congress
  • Don’t do anything for 10 days and it becomes a law anyway.
  • Pocket Veto happens if Congress ends a session during a 10-day periodand a bill is one the president’s desk, the bill does not become law.
  • Two major political parties

  • Democrats
  • Republicans

  • Political Parties-
  • Their job is to nominate candidates and get the candidates elected
  • They gather political support for their candidate
  • You can be a member of any party you want to (membership is based on personal choice)
  • Voting-
  • Should be an informed voter
  • You must be 18 years old
  • Most states require that you are registered to vote, are a citizen of the country and a legal resident of the state
  • 15th- race cannot be used to keep people from voting
  • 19th- Women get the right to vote
  • 25th- Presidential Succession and VP fills in when President can’t
  • 26th- Right to vote lowered to 18

Unit 4- The Judicial BranchThe Criminal Justice Process

  • Outlined in Article 3 of the Constitution
  • Interprets the Laws
  • Dual System-
  • Federal Courts
  • State Courts
  • Federal Court judges are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate; no formal qualifications
  • Judges are called the lasting legacy of the President because they are on the bench a long time after the President leaves office and can continue his work/ideas
  • Types of Jurisdiction-
  • Original- the first court to hear a case
  • Appellate- a court that hears a case on appeal
  • Exclusive- cases heard only by the federal courts
  • Concurrent- cases heard by both federal and state
  • Supreme Court-
  • highest court in the land- because they have the final say in cases that have worked their way up
  • has original and appellate jurisdiction (original on cases involving foreign diplomats and states; appellate on cases that have work their way up from the US Courts of Appeals)
  • 9 justices
  • leader called the Chief Justice
  • Marbury v Madison-
  • 1803 Decision
  • Established the principle of judicial review- the courts can declare acts of the government and laws unconstitutional
  • Chief Justice was John Marshall
  • Jury duty- when you have jury duty you should not let your personal biases influence how you vote
  • Docket- list of cases to be heard by a court
  • Federal Crimes- bank robbery, crimes across state lines, counterfeiting, mail fraud
  • Jurisdiction- which court decides a case
  • Why do we have laws?
  • Laws provide order; protect people’s safety, property and freedoms.
  • Laws promote the “common good” and make sure that people are free to go about their lives without having to worry about
  • Laws reflect the morals of the society
  • Legislative branch makes the laws and the judicial branch decides if laws are constitutional or not. The Supreme Court can rule a law unconstitutional and throw it out or modify it
  • Types of Crimes
  • Crimes against Persons- homicide, manslaughter, assault- these are crimes that physically or mentally harm another person
  • Crimes against Property- theft, vandalism, trespassing, arson
  • These are the most commonly committed crimes
  • Crimes against the State- these are crimes against the government- treason and terrorism
  • These are the only crimes mentioned in the Constitution
  • Felonies- serious crimes, sentence over a year
  • Misdemeanor- minor crimes, sentences less than a year
  • Why do people commit crimes?
  • Usually multiple factors- Some are:
  • Necessity- they have to do it
  • Emotional Reasons “crime of passion”
  • Convenience- it’s easy to do it
  • Predisposed- personal background and life choices have made them more likely; personality as well
  • Mental Illness- may not know that what they are doing is wrong
  • Ignorance of the Law- may not know that the law exists
  • Environmental- may have grown up in an environment where that was okay, may hang out with a group that thinks it is ok, may participate in “group crimes”
  • The Criminal Justice Process
  • The Crime and Arrest-
  • Crime is committed
  • To arrest, the police must have probable cause or a warrant
  • Probable Cause- police saw the person commit the crime or the person was reported to have committed the crime
  • Warrant- issued by a judge, permission for the cops to search, seize and/or arrest- very limited in scope- it lists the places that can be searched and the items that are being searched for
  • This stuff is not necessary for questioning, they just have to have suspicion to question someone
  • Miranda Warning- police must read a suspect their Miranda warnings if they are in custody & being questioned; from the Miranda v Arizona case; this informs them that they have the
  • Right to remain silent
  • Right to a lawyer
  • Right to have a lawyer provided if they can’t afford one
  • Booking- photo, fingerprints and formal recording of the suspect’s name, address and crime committed
  • The Lawyers-
  • Prosecutor- AKA District Attorney <DA> They lead the gov’t’s case against the suspect
  • Defense Attorney- the lawyer for the defendant; if they can’t afford one, the gov’t will provide a “public defender” to be their lawyer for free (From the Gideon v Wainwright case)
  • Preliminary Hearing- judge decides if the case is strong enough to go on, charges are read, defendant pleads guilty, not guilty or no contest <this is AKA arraignment>, bail is set <or not>, public defender can be assigned if necessary
  • Grand Jury- in all federal crimes and most states for serious felonies, private, usually only the prosecutor is present; 16-23 citizens hear the evidence/ and witnesses and decide whether the case is strong enough
  • Yes- Issue the “Bill of Indictment” <formal charges>  Arraignment
  • No- refuse to issue charges, suspect released
  • If police hold someone for more than 24ish hours without this hearing, they have to have a writ of habeas corpus which means a judge hears the evidence and decides whether it is okay to arrest and hold the person in jail
  • Plea Bargaining- most cases end at this step and never make it to trial, with this they “make a deal” between the defense and prosecution; plead guilty to a lesser charge or for a lesser punishment <saves money and time>
  • Trial- before a jury that has been selected and questioned by the judge or attorneys, both sides give evidence and have witnesses; jury argues and returns with a verdict. They must all agree on the verdict or it is called a “hung jury” If a hung jury occurs- a new trial must start
  • Sentencing- judge decides sentence within guidelines <ex- a crime has a punishment of 10-20 years, the judge can choose 10 years, or 20 years>
  • Sentence can be served in a community treatment center, a jail, or a prison
  • Appeals- the defense can appeal the jury’s verdict and claim that legal errors were made
  • Important Amendments
  • 4th-no illegal search and seizure <must have a search warrant or probable cause>
  • 5th- right to a grand jury, no double jeopardy <can’t be tried again for the same crime after a jury finds you not guilty>, no testifying against yourself, must have due process rights
  • 6th- speedy, public trial <police can’t hold you indefinitely or have a secret trial>, right to a jury trial, right to a lawyer, witnesses and right to know what you are being charged with
  • 7th- right to a trial by jury in civil cases over $20
  • 8th- no excessive bail or fine;No Cruel or unusual punishment
  • 9th- the people’s rights are not limited to the ones listed in the Constitution.
  • 14th- states must give you all of the rights that are in the Constitution <they don’t just apply to federal crimes, but also state crimes> due process

General Stuff You Should Know