SOL REVIEW
GOVERNMENT
What agreement signed by
the male settlers at Plymouth
helped establish the notion of
self-government in the
Americas?
• The Mayflower
Compact
Where did the
Puritans practice a
form of direct
democracy?
•At Town Meetings
What was the first elected
assembly (lawmaking
body) in the New World?
•The House of
Burgesses
What did the
Proclamation of 1763
do?
• Forbid American colonists to
move west of the Appalachian
Mountains
What is the name of
Great Britain’s
lawmaking body?
•Parliament
Who issued the
Proclamation of 1763?
• The British government
• or King George III
Who wrote
Common Sense?
•Thomas Paine
What did Common
Sense say?
• Challenged the rule of
the American colonies
by the King of England
Who wrote the
Declaration of
Independence?
•Thomas Jefferson
Who was John
Locke?
• English political philosopher
• Locke’s ideas influenced
Thomas Jefferson
Who wrote that
government should protect
“Life, Liberty, and
Property”?
•John Locke
Who wrote that all men have
the right to “Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness”?
•Thomas Jefferson
Whose ideas did Thomas
Jefferson borrow when he
wrote the Declaration of
Independence?
•John Locke
•Thomas Paine
•What is a republic?
•A representative
democracy
• What is the basic principle of
republican government?
• The people elect
representatives who make the
laws.
• What was the first attempt
at workable government
in the United States?
• The Articles of
Confederation
• What was wrong with the
government under the
Articles of
Confederation?
• It was too weak!
• What does the
legislative branch of a
government do?
• Makes the laws
• What does the judicial
branch of a government
do?
• Interprets or explains the
meaning of the laws
•What does the
executive branch do?
•Enforces the laws
What was the Virginia Plan?
• A framework proposed by the Virginia
delegation to the Constitutional
Convention under which the national
government would have a legislature
consisting of two houses.
Representation in both houses would
be based on population. Big states
would have more representatives.
What was the New Jersey Plan?
• A framework proposed by the New
Jersey delegation to the Constitutional
Convention under which the national
government would have a legislature
consisting of one house. Under the
New Jersey Plan each state had one
vote. This plan benefited small states.
What was the Great Compromise
or Connecticut Compromise?
• A plan providing for a two-house
Congress in which the people would be
represented in a House of
Representatives and the states in the
Senate. In other words, the House of
Rep. would be based on population,
while each state would have 2 U.S.
senators.
Which one became part of the
Constitution: the Va. Plan, the
N.J. Plan, or the Great
Compromise?
• The Great Compromise
What was the Great Compromise
or Connecticut Compromise?
• A plan providing for a two-house
Congress in which the people would be
represented in a House of
Representatives and the states in the
Senate. In other words, the House of
Rep. would be based on population,
while each state would have 2 U.S.
senators.
What is federalism?
• The division of power in
the United States between
the national government
and the state
governments.
Who leads the executive branch
of the federal government?
•The President
Who leads the judicial branch of
the federal government?
•The Supreme Court
What is the name of the
legislative branch of the federal
government?
• Congress
What are the two houses of
Congress?
• The House of
Representatives
• The United States Senate
How is a state’s membership in
the Senate decided?
• Two senators from each
state
How is a state’s membership in
the House of Rep. Decided?
• By Population; States
with large populations
have more representatives
than states with small
populations.
What is separation of powers?
• The division of power
among different branches
of government.
What is the checks and balances
system?
• A system of government by
which each branch of
government can check or stop
the actions of the other branches
• How many of the states had
to ratify or approve the
Constitution before it could
take effect?
•9
What is the Bill of Rights?
• The first ten amendments
to the Constitution
What was the basic idea of the
Virginia Declaration of Rights?
• That government should
not violate basic human
rights.
Who wrote the Virginia
Declaration of Rights?
• George Mason
Who wrote the Virginia Statute of
Religious Freedom?
• Thomas Jefferson
• What two documents did
Madison consult when he was
working on the Bill of Rights?
• The Virginia Declaration of
Rights and the Virginia Statute
of Religious Freedom
What did the Virginia Statute of
Religious Freedom do?
• Outlawed the established
church in Virginia
• Supported the idea of
freedom of religion
What rights does the First
Amendment guarantee?
• Freedom of speech, freedom
of the press, freedom of
religion, freedom of
assembly, and the right of
petition
What does the term
ratify mean?
•Approve
To what did the phrase
“ratification of the
Constitution” refer?
• 9 of the states approving
the Constitution so that it
would take effect
What First Amendment
freedom allows people to
gather at public
meetings?
•Freedom of
Assembly
What First Amendment
freedom allows Americans to
make written requests to
make changes in the
government?
•Freedom of Petition
On what document
was the Bill of Rights
based?
• The Virginia
Declaration of Rights
What is a
constitutional
amendment?
•An addition to the
Constitution
Define political party.
•
A group of people with
similar beliefs about how
to run the government.
Who led the
Federalists?
•Alexander Hamilton
•John Adams
What were the beliefs
of the Federalists?
• Strong national government
• Industrial economy (factories
or manufacturing)
Who led the
Republicans?
•Thomas Jefferson
•James Madison
What were the beliefs of
the DemocraticRepublicans?
• Weak national government
• Strong state governments
• Agricultural economy (farming)
Who served as Chief
Justice of the Supreme
Court during the first 30
years of the 19th century?
•John Marshall
Why were the Marshall
court’s decisions
important?
• Made the federal courts a
co-equal branch of the
United States government
How did the Supreme
Court rule in Marbury v.
Madison?
•Declared a federal
law unconstitutional
What is the power of
judicial review?
• A court’s power to
declare a law
unconstitutional
What is the Supreme
Court’s main check on
the power of Congress?
•Judicial Review
How did the Marshall court
rule in McCulloch v.
Maryland?
• Forbid the states from taxing
agencies of the federal government
• Declared a Maryland state law
unconstitutional
Who said “the power
to tax is the power to
destroy”?
•John Marshall
Why was McCulloch v.
Maryland important?
• Established the power of the
federal government over the states
• Strengthened the federal courts’
power of judicial review
What is a republic?
• A Representative Democracy
• The People elect
representatives to make the
laws
What is a bill?
•A proposed law
What is an act?
•A Law
What political party was
formed in opposition to
the Kansas-Nebraska
Act?
• The Republican Party
What was the
Supreme Court’s
decision in the
Dred Scott case?
• Since Dred Scott was a slave, he
could not sue in federal court
• African-Americans were not
citizens of the United States
• Since Congress had no power to
prohibit slavery in the
territories, the Missouri
Compromise was
unconstitutional
What did the Dred Scott
decision say about the
Missouri Compromise?
• The Missouri Compromise
was unconstitutional.
In Dred Scott v. Sandford
did the Supreme Court
rule that Scott should
remain a slave or gain his
freedom?
•Remain a slave
What power did the
Supreme Court use in Dred
Scott v. Sandford?
• The power of judicial
review
By the end of the 1850s, what
did Southerners argue states
could do?
• States could nullify laws
passed by Congress
• States could secede from the
Union
What did it mean for a
state to nullify a law?
• Void it
• Do Away with it
What did it mean for a
state to secede?
•Leave the Union
What did several Southern
states do, when Lincoln
won the 1860 presidential
election?
•Seceded from the
Union
What constitutional
debate did the Civil War
involve?
•Federal Power vs.
States’ Rights
What country did the
seceded Southern
states form in 1861?
• The Confederate States of
America or
• The Confederacy
What did it mean
for a state to secede
from the Union?
• Leave the Union, or
• Withdraw from the Union
What was the period
when the federal
government tried to
rebuild the South and
restore the Union after
the Civil War?
•Reconstruction
Define
impeachment.
• Bringing an official to
trial for misconduct
in office
Under the Constitution,
which house of Congress
can impeach the
President?
• The House of
Representatives
Under the Constitution,
which house of Congress
sits as the jury at a
President’s impeachment
trial?
•The Senate
Under the Constitution,
which house of Congress
can remove the President
from office?
•The Senate
What proportion of
senators must vote to
convict the President in
order to remove him
from office?
•2/3
Which constitutional
amendments are the
Reconstruction
amendments?
• 13th, 14th, 15th
Amendments
Identify the 13th
Amendment.
•Freed the Slaves
Identify 14th
Amendment.
• Granted citizenship to
African-Americans
• Forbid the states from
denying any American “equal
protection of the laws”
Identify the 15th
Amendment.
• Gave AfricanAmerican males the
right to vote
What are the key words to
remember the Reconstruction
Amendments?
• 13th = Freedom
• 14th = Citizenship
• 15th = Vote
What does one call the group
of people who cast the
official votes for president
and vice president?
• The Electoral College
How many electoral
votes does each state
have?
• 2 for senators + # of
representatives in House
Identify the Compromise of
1877.
• A political deal between
Southern Democrats and
northern Republicans
• Democrats supported
Rutherford Hayes’ election as
President and Republicans ended
the military occupation of the
South
What was the 1862
Homestead Act?
• Law that gave free public land to
settlers in the western territories
• Settlers promised to live on and
farm this land for five years
• What type of reforms were the
17th Amendment and anti-trust
laws?
• Progressive reforms on the
national level.
• What was the
Amendment?
• Direct election of United
States senators
th
17
• Name a leader of the
Women’s Suffrage
Movement.
• Susan B. Anthony
• Which constitutional
amendment gave women
the right to vote?
• 19th Amendment
• How did the Supreme Court
rule in 1896 in the case of
Plessy v. Ferguson?
• Racial segregation was
constitutional (legal).
• What doctrine was established
by the Supreme Court’s
decision in Plessy v. Ferguson?
• The “Separate But Equal”
Doctrine
• What is another word
for the right to vote?
• Suffrage
• Who were the Muckrakers?
• Progressive writers who
wrote about social and
political evils in late 19th and
early 20th century America.
What legislative
body ratifies
treaties?
• United States Senate
What vote is needed
in the Senate to
ratify a treaty?
•2/3
• What political scandal forced
President Nixon to resign from
office?
• Watergate