Name: _____________________
Parris
Date: ______________
Period: ____
Final Exam Test Review
Complete the review and turn it in with your test for 10 bonus
points.
Main Ideas:
Foundations:
Compare the US constitutional democratic republic to historical and contemporary
forms of government such as monarchy, classical republic, authoritarian, socialist,
direct democracy, theocracy and other republics.
Explain major political ideas in history including unalienable rights, divine rights of
kings, and social contract theory.
Identify the individuals whose principles of laws and government institutions informed
the American founding documents including those of John Locke, Charles de
Montesquieu and Jean Jacques Rousseau.
Analyze advantages and disadvantages of federal, confederate and unitary systems of
government.
Analyze advantages and disadvantages of presidential and parliamentary systems of
government.
Structure of the Government:
Evaluate constitutional provisions for limiting the role of government, including
republicanism, checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, popular
sovereignty and individual rights.
Explain how certain provisions of the US constitution provide for checks and balances
among the three branches of government.
Categorize government powers as national, state and shared.
Understand the limits on the national and state governments in the US federal system of
government.
Compare the structures, functions and processes of national, state and local
governments in the US federal system.
Steps to the Union:
Explain the importance of the written constitution.
Analyze the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and how that led to the need for
a constitutional convention.
Identify contributions of the political philosophies of the Founding Fathers, including
Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Adams, on the
development of the US Government.
Evaluate how the federal government serves the 6 purposes set forth in the Preamble.
Explain why the founding fathers created a distinctly new form of federalism and
adopted a federal system of government instead of a unitary system.
Judicial Branch:
Analyze the structure and functions of the judicial branch of government, including the
federal court system, types of jurisdiction and judicial review.
Analyze the process by which a legal case may reach the Supreme Court.
Civil Rights and Liberties:
What were the conditions that produced the 14th Amendment and why did we
incorporate the Bill of Rights to the States?
Identify and define the unalienable rights.
Explain the importance of due process rights to the protection of individual rights and
limiting the powers of the government.
Explain Judicial Activism vs. Judicial Restraint.
Describe the importance of the following Supreme Court Cases:
 Engel v. Vitale –

Miranda v. Arizona –

Gideon v. Wainwright –

Mapp v. Ohio –

Schenck v. United States –

Roe v. Wade –

Texas v. Johnson-

Hernandez v. Texas-
Explain the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Compare and contrast the phrase “separation of church and state”.
Political Parties, Interest Groups and Media:
What are the processes used by individuals, political parties and media to affect public
policy?
Analyze the functions of political parties and their role in the electoral process at the
state and national level.
Explain the two-party system and evaluate the role of the third parties in the United
States.
Identify significant individuals in the field of government and politics, including
Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
What are the different interest groups points of view, including the NRA (National Rifle
Association and the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People).
Legislative Branch:
Analyze the structure of the legislative branch of government including the bicameral
structure of Congress and the role of the Committees.
Analyze the impact of the 17th Amendment.
How does population shift affect voting patterns?
How does the US Constitutional protections such as patents foster competition and
entrepreneurship?
Explain the Formal, Informal Qualifications and Term length for the House of
Representatives.
Explain the Formal and Term length for the Senate.
Explain the purpose of Committees.
What is the Legislative Process of “How a Bill becomes a Law”?
Executive Branch:
Analyze the structure and function of the executive branch of government, including the
constitutional powers of the president and growth of presidential powers.
Analyze the structure and functions of the executive branch including the cabinet.
Analyze the structure and functions of the executive branch including the executive
departments.
Identify the purpose of selected independent executive agencies, including NASA
(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and regulatory commissions,
including the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), OSHA (Occupational Safety and
Health Administration and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration).
Understand how government taxation and regulation can serve as restrictions to private
enterprise.
Identify the sources of revenue and expenditures of the US government and analyze
their impact on the US economy.
Public Policy:
Analyze how US foreign policy affects selected places and regions.
Understand the potential impact on society of recent scientific discoveries and
technological innovations.
Understand the roles of the executive and legislative branches in setting international
trade and fiscal policies.
Examine how the US government uses economic resources in foreign policy.
Vocabulary:
Establishment ClauseDue Process ClauseGuarantee of associationSymbolic speechSpecial sessionSingle-member districtApportionedTermJudicial reviewVetoExecutive agreementElectoral collegeDictatorshipGovernmentDemocracyStateLimited governmentRepresentative governmentMagna CartaBicameral-