U.S. Government Final Exam Review Text 7
GSSCG 20 Describe and discuss foreign policy tools that are available to the president. Give
examples.
Diplomacy is how a President deals with foreign nations. In addition to this the President has many tools
available to be able to solve any problems or issues between the United States and others:
 Treaties and Executive Agreements; A Treaty is the highest form of agreement the United States can
make with a foreign country. Written by the President, when approved by the Senate it has the force of law,
legally binding the United States to what the Treaty says. An Executive Agreement is an agreement
between a sitting President and the Country he makes it with. As president he can live up to the agreement
but since it doesn’t have the treaty’s force of law it is not binding on future presidents.
 Economic/Foreign Aid Programs; Economic or foreign aid programs are given to other countries to
establish friendly relations with them and to help them emerge as eventual economic partners. The State
Department, gives out loans and technical help to developing nations in need of food, housing, and education
and infrastructure-roads, bridges, electrical system, for their people.
 Military Aid; The U.S. tries to minimize dangers to our national security. This can be done by
supporting other nations by providing their military with money, equipment and training.
 Military Intervention; In some cases it may become necessary for the U.S. to intervene or send our
troops to support, or attack or occupy a country because they pose a threat to our national security or in
defense of them fulfilling a mutual defense treaty.
 Humanitarian Aid; Provides food, medical, and other technical help to victims of natural disaster,
internal starvation or other events. This aid helps keep political stability in the world when those countries
are in crisis. The U.S. generally provides this to all peoples who are in need and not solely based our
relationship with them.
 Economic Sanctions; Sanctions are used when a foreign governments follows policies the U.S. dislikes.
Sanctions are actions such as withholding military or economic aid or restricting trade with another nation to
cause them economic harm.
SSCG21 The student will describe the causes and effects of criminal activity.
 Nature and Causes of Crime; Generally speaking there are many theories of the nature and causes of
crime, but there are only two areas that actually correlate to this. These two are the sociological theories and
the individual theories of crime. In the sociological causes crime is seen as being derived from something
caused by the society in which the person lives. For example, crime is more prevalent in areas where poor
people live in substandard housing with inefficient utilities, lack of jobs, and poor educational institutions.
The condition of these things plays a role in the decision of some to commit crime and usually higher than
other more affluent members of the same society. The other cause is the individual theory whereby and for
whatever reason, is when an individual commits a crime, and our understanding is explained by, there is
something wrong with that individual. Neither of these reason are 100% causes in all cases what so ever, but
are contribution factors to many of the crimes committed.
 Victims of Crime; People who are the victims of crime in addition to the crime itself, suffer losses not
compensated by society. They may suffer physical or mental injuries. Family and friends may have to deal
with the damage done to the victims and in most places and cases the victim receives no compensation for
the problems and expenses associated with the crime done to them.
 Types of Crime; Crime can be categorized by the type of punishment we assign to those found guilty of
it. The lowest level of crime are petty crimes where the punishment is usually a fine. Then comes
misdemeanors crimes where the punishment is usually up to one year in jail. Finally come felonies where the
punish end can be more than one year in jail.
 Recognized Defenses of Crime; There are generally speaking six recognized defense that can be used by
people prosecuted for commission of a crime. Insanity/Intoxication means that the individual was not in a
normal state of mind. Duress entails some other factor which forced the individual to commit the crime.
Youth includes generally the idea that people below a certain age are not fully aware of the consequences for
their actions. Necessity and Self Defense includes the idea if this act wasn’t committed then something
worse could happen to the individual. Reasonable Doubt is the concept that there is evidence to show that
maybe this person didn’t commit this crime. An alibi is the explanation that the person didn’t commit the
crime because others will testify that they were somewhere doing something else at the time. Finally a
defense based on being Innocent means the defense will force the prosecution to prove that the person
committed the crime.
GSSCG 22 What are standard court procedures? (i.e. indictment, arraignment, trial proceeding,
verdict etc.)
Due Process; From the minute that someone is suspected of a crime it is the responsibility of the
government to protect that individuals due process rights found in the 5th through the 8th Amendments.
Court Procedures; Courts, throughout the United States generally operate the same. Courts are separated
into Trial Courts, Courts of Appeals, and Supreme Courts at the national, state and local level. What types of
cases a court hears is based on the type of jurisdiction it has.
 Original Jurisdictions gives the court the right to hear a trial.
 Appellate Jurisdiction gives a court a right to hear an appeal of a trial from a court of original
jurisdictions and finally there is a Supreme Court.
 Courts also have jurisdiction based on the laws that were violated. Federal Courts are the only courts that
can hear cases involving violation of Federal Law. State and Local Courts are the only courts that can hear
cases involving State and Local Law. If a Government can pass a law it has a right to hear cases involving
violation of that law.
 Finally Laws are divided into two categories, Criminal and Civil Law:
o Criminal Law; is a body of rules and statutes that defines conduct prohibited by the government
because it threatens and harms public safety and welfare and that establishes punishment to be imposed
for the commission of such acts.
o Civil Law; is a body of rules that delineate private rights and remedies, and govern disputes between
individuals in such areas as contracts, property, and Family Law.
U.S. Government Final Exam; Review Activity 7
Directions; Using your SLO/Final Review Text Sheet, as well as any other course materials, number and
respond to the following in complete sentences, rewriting the question as part of the response. You can
complete the sentences on the back or on an attached separate sheet of paper. All 6 review activities will be
stapled in order to the cover instructions sheet and turned in on Final Exam test day, for a summative grade.
1. What is a Treaty and how is it related to U.S. law?
2. What can economic or foreign aid be used for?
3. What is the difference between Military Aid and Military intervention?
4. Why do we send Humanitarian Aid?
5. Explain the differences between the two nature and causes of crime?
6. What type of punishment can one get for conviction of a felony crime?
7. When accused by the government, who’s responsibility is it to protect the accused due
process right?
8. What are the problems associated with being a victim of a crime?
9. What are the six recognized defenses that a person accused of a crime could use?
10.What is the difference between criminal and civil law?