MR. HALEY
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
NAME _______________________
UNIT 1 REVIEW SHEET
INSTRUCTIONS: Use your base knowledge and the information in your class notes to answer the
following review questions.
I. FORMS OF GOVERNMENT (NP Pages 2-6)
1. What do we call a government run by religious leaders? List one example.
2. How does a dictator gain power in a nation?
3. What do we call rule by one person?
4. What do we call rule by a small number of people?
5. Give one example of a totalitarian / authoritarian state.
6. What form of democracy exists where all citizens come together to run the day-to-day
operations of government together?
7. What do we call a system of government wherein leaders get and retain authority (power)
by winning free and fair elections?
8. Where does the power come from in a democracy?
9. List 1 advantage and 1 disadvantage of a republican form of democracy.
10. List 5 important features of a stable democratic form of government.
II. CIVICS (NP Pages 9-15)
11. Identify 8 examples of civic responsibility (4 mandatory and 4 voluntary)
12. What is the most common ways that citizens can express their views on the leadership in
the US government?
13. What is one thing that 18 year olds are required (mandatory) to do?
14. In order to vote in PA, what requirements must be met?
15. How often do you HAVE to update your voter registration?
16. What do we call the election that takes place every year on the Tuesday after the first
Monday in November?
17. Which type of election occurs in the Spring every year in which only voters registered to
one of the major political parties may vote to choose the candidate to represent their party in
the General Election?
18. In the
vote?
A.
B.
C.
D.
list below, circle the letter of any statement that is a reason why people do not
The Person has no interest in politics.
The Person does not understand the US political system.
The candidates do not discuss issues that are important to the person.
The person does not know where the polling (voting) place is located or how the
process of voting works.
E. The Person is very interested in the ideas of one of the candidates.
III. CITIZENSHIP (NP Pages 16-17)
19. Which part of the US government makes the rules for immigration and citizenship?
20. In order to become President, a person has to be a “natural born” citizen. Name the
way in which a person is considered to be a “natural born” citizen.
21. Can the US government revoke a person’s citizenship?
22. What do we call the process upon which citizenship is conferred on an alien?
23. What term means citizenship in 2 or more countries?
24. What term refers to the right of a person to renounce (give up) their citizenship?
IV.
AMENDMENTS (NP Pages 18-19) See the Moodle
V. POLITICAL IDEOLOGY (NP Pages 20-22)
25. What do we call the straight line graph that shows all of the different forms of ideology?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Radical
Liberal
Moderate
Conservative
Reactionary
26. What term refers to the wide range of beliefs and opinions about the nature of the political system
and the role of government that people hold?
27. Explain your 4 basic ideologies and examples of issues for each: Liberal, Moderate,
Conservative, and Libertarian
28. What do we call the process by which families teach their children about their beliefs about
government?
29. What is the most important factor (agent of socialization) in one’s political socialization?
FOR THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS, YOU NEED TO IDENTIFY WHICH IDEOLOGY LISTED
BELOW WOULD SUPPORT THE POLICY STATEMENTS.
A. Liberal
C. Libertarian
B. Conservative
D. Moderate
30. One who favors limited government involvement in the economy and a strong military. ______
31. One who favors government involvement in the economy and the belief in progress as a social
goal. _____
32. One who believes that while government should help the environment, there are still too many
government regulations (rules) on the environment. _____
33. One who believes that people should be required to pay taxes for government programs like
welfare and Medicare because they help people. _____
34. One who wants to establish more rules concerning consumer product safety to protect the health
of people. _____
35. Taxpayer supported vouchers for families with children in failing schools should be available for
religious and nonreligious private schools. _____
36. Rules on product safety are cumbersome, impractical and not permitted under the Constitution
so laws about child safety seats should be abolished. ______
37. Someone who believes that we should try to improve education. ______
38. Someone who hates paying taxes and who believes that the government should legalize marijuana
and other drugs. ______
VI. True – False Review
INSTRUCTIONS: Use your general knowledge and your Unit 1 Notes packet to complete the following review
questions. Mark each of the following as “T” for True or “F” for False in the left margin.
39. Democracy is distinguished (different) from other types of government because the power and authority
to rule comes from the people.
40. A republic is a system where government leaders get their power and authority from heredity (being
born into the right family).
41. One criticism of a representative democracy is that it is slower than autocracies and oligarchies.
42. A Representative Democracy is one in which elected officials govern on behalf of the citizens.
43. Any US citizen can rise up and become President.
44. The Chinese Government today is an example of an autocracy.
45. The national Congress has the power to set the rules for immigration into the United States.
46. A naturalized US Citizen can be deported back to their country of birth.
47. The media is the biggest single influence on a person’s political socialization.
48. North Penn School District can deny an illegal immigrant access to a free public education.
49. Under the doctrine of Expatriation, the US can revoke (take away) someone’s citizenship.
50. A Theocracy is a government controlled by religious leaders.
51. A Democratic government gives a country the best chance of solving problems over the long run.
52. An Oligarchy is the form of government that acts in the fastest amount of time during a crisis.
53. The EU is an example of a confederation.
54. A Unitary system takes all government power and divides it between the levels of government.
55. The United States is a federal system.
56. Political socialization is the process by which political values are learned and passed on to the children
of the next generation.
57. Of the following, the most important role in the political socialization of MOST children is played by
their family.
58. Someone who believes in the current system, but who seeks more active government involvement in
order to do more for people’s rights and to promote equality would be classified as a Conservative.
59. Someone who believes in the current system and wishes to make only small changes like lowering
taxes or reducing government regulations of businesses would be classified as a Liberal.
60. Political Socialization is a term that refers to a person’s ideas or beliefs about the political system and
the role of the government.
61. Most Liberals are Pro – Choice and believe that a woman should have the right to choose what to do
with her body. _____
62. Most Conservatives are anti-affirmative action and believe that each person has to make their own way
in life and that the government should not be giving out preferences to minorities in the hiring and
promoting of workers. _____
63. Most Liberals believe that the Democratic Party is wrong to support expanding welfare because it takes
away a person’s self-reliance and initiative to solve their own problems. _____
64. Liberals are less likely to accept social change than conservatives. _____