American Government Review
Unit 1
1. How did the Magna Carta influence our Constitution?
2. How did the Petition of Right influence our Constitution?
3. How did the English Bill of Rights influence our Constitution?
4. How did Hobbes affect our concept of government?
5. How did Locke affect our concept of government?
6. How did Montesquieu affect our concept of government?
7. How are the Declaration of Independence and Locke’s Social Contract Theory similar?
8. How are the Declaration of Independence and Locke’s Social Contract Theory different?
9. Why is the Declaration of Independence considered to be a persuasive argument (what is the argument)?
10. What are the duties of citizenship?
11. Identify each of the following types of government:
Unitary –
Confederal –
Federal –
Oligarchy –
Autocracy –
Democracy –
Presidential –
Parliamentary –
Unit 2
1. What did the Anti-Federalists believe concerning ratification?
2. What did the Federalists believe concerning ratification?
3. What was the purpose of the Federalist papers?
4. How did James Madison say the Constitution would prevent the government from having too much power in the
Federalist Papers?
5. What are checks and balances?
6. What are some examples of each branching checking another branch?
7. What does separation of powers mean?
8. How are the powers of our branches separate (which branch has which power)?
9. What are the 5 rights protected in the 1st amendment and what do they mean?
Right
1.
2.
3.
4.
What does it
mean?
10. How does the 5th amendment protect our right to due process?
5.
11. How does the 14th amendment protect our right to due process?
12. What is the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment?
13. What is selective incorporation?
Unit 3
1. What is federalism?
2. What are some examples of expressed powers of the national government?
3. What are some examples of reserved powers of state governments?
4. What are some examples of shared or concurrent powers?
5. Describe an example of a current issue or event in which there is a debate over whether the power should belong
to the national or state governments. Why is it unclear who should have the power?
6. What is an initiative?
7. What is a recall?
8. What is a referendum?
9. How do initiatives, recalls, and referendums make the government more like a direct democracy?
10. What are the powers of the state governments?
11. What are the powers of local governments?
Unit 4
1. What are the differences between the House and the Senate?
House
Terms of Office
Powers
Organization
Leadership
Representation
Debate
Senate
2. How does a bill become law?
3. Describe leadership in the House of Representatives
Speaker of the House
Majority Leader
Minority Leader
Whips
4. Describe leadership in the Senate
President of the Senate
President Pro Tempore
Majority Leader
Minority Leader
Whips
5. What is the function of lobbyists? Give an example.
6. What is the function of Interest Groups? Give an example.
7. How does the impeachment process work? (Make sure to include what the House does and what the Senate
does).
Unit 5
1. Describe how the President fulfills each of the following roles:
Commander-in-chief
Chief Executive
Chief of State (Head of State)
Chief Agenda Setter
Party Leader
2. What are the written qualifications for the office of the President?
3. How are political parties organized?
4. What is the role of political parties?
5. Generally, who is the constituency of the Democratic Party?
6. Generally, who is the constituency of the Republican Party?
7. What is the difference between the role of interest groups and political parties?
8. What is the function of the Cabinet?
9. Which positions make up the President’s inner Cabinet (his closest advisors)?
Unit 6
1. What does jurisdiction mean?
2. What is the jurisdiction of federal courts?
3. What is the jurisdiction of state courts?
4. What is the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court?
5. Who is John Marshall?
6. How did the Supreme Court become an independent, coequal branch of government?
7. What is the significance of Marshall’s opinion in Marbury v. Madison?
8. What is judicial activism?
9. What is judicial restraint?
10. Compare and contrast judicial activism and judicial restraint.
11. Describe the steps of the criminal justice process and list the in the correct order. Define each of the following
steps and then place them in the order in which they occur.
Crime Punishment Indictment Appeals Jury Selection Sentencing Jury Deliberation Trial Arraignment Arrest Steps in the criminal justice process:
1.
2.
6.
7.
3.
8.
4.
9.
5.
10.