U. S. GOVERNMENT
Final Exam Study Guide, first semester 2015-2016
Current Events!
Philosophical underpinnings
Limited government, Purpose of the U. S. Constitution
What was it that created the federal government?
Limitations on rights, liberty and security
Natural rights, source of rights, the Social Contract
What are the characteristics that make an entity a state (nation)?
Democracy, republic, autocracy, monarchy, oligarchy, dictatorship
What parties control the House, U. S. Senate, Assembly, State Senate, Presidency, Governorship
Documents
Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights
The Federalist
Amendments: First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, and Fourteenth
“Full Faith and Credit” Clause, Elastic Clause
Processes
The six basic principles of the Constitution
What the federal government must guarantee to the states
How the Constitution is amended, what the amendments have done
Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan, the Great Compromise, the 3/5 Compromise
Qualifications for office for the houses of Congress and the Nevada legislature
What makes campaigns so danged expensive
How the national government relates to the states
Civil rights, civil liberties
What happens as government increases its power
Basic differences between multi-party, two-party, and single-party systems
Rules for debate in the U. S. Senate, House of Representatives
The general process of how a bill becomes a law
Length of sessions of Congress, Nevada Legislature
Who presides over the House, U. S. Senate, Nevada Senate, Nevada Assembly
How the franchise has expanded in American history
Presidential duties, powers, roles, qualifications, and term of office
Presidential succession, disability
What options a President has when he receives a bill from Congress
Presidential power of appointment, Senate’s role
Categories of crimes in general and in Nevada
The Electoral College, current ideas to change it, and laws designed to circumvent the Constitution
Circumstances under which a state court conviction may be appealed to the U. S. Supreme Court
Powers of state legislatures, governors, courts (types and jurisdictions)
Judges and justices, selection of judges
Bill of attainder, ex-post facto law
Free Exercise Clause, Establishment Clause
Clemency, Pardon, Parole, Reprieve, Commutation, Amnesty
Extradition
Defendant, plantiff
Executive order, treaty, executive agreement
Jurisdiction, appellate jurisdiction, original jurisdiction, concurrent jurisdiction, exclusive jurisdiction
Judicial review, three types of Supreme Court decision, three types of opinion
Writ of Certiorari, Writ of Mandamus, Stare decisis
Criminal law, common law, civil law, equity
Exclusionary rule
Double jeopardy
Grand jury, petit jury
Probable cause, reasonable suspicion
Due process (substantive and procedural)
Libel, slander, sedition, prior restraint
Treason
Terms (go beyond basic definitions to examples and applications, OK?)
Supreme Law of the Land
Federal, unitary forms of government
Presidential, parliamentary forms of government
Bicameral, unicameral,
Executive agreement, treaty
Rule of law
Public policy, public opinion
Checks and balances, separation of powers
Exclusive powers, reserved powers, concurrent powers
Delegated powers, implied powers, inherent powers
Powers denied government
Self-incrimination, warrant, habeas corpus, ex post facto
Filibuster, cloture
Nomination, Primary (open, closed), caucus
Partisan, bi-partisan
Majority, plurality, quorum
Incumbent
Lobbyist/lobbying
Soft money, hard money
Campaign finance laws (FEC)
Strict construction, loose (liberal) construction
Conservative, liberal, libertarian
Fascism, anarchy, radical, reactionary
Suffrage, franchise
Apportionment, reapportionment, gerrymandering
Census
Judicial review (what it is, what usually happens)
Eminent domain
Impeachment
Law, bill, veto, veto override
Session, term, adjournment, recess, “Lame Duck” session
Congressional committees
The Nevada Legislature: composition, term, election, qualifications, term limits
People
John Locke, Machiavelli, James Madison, George Washington
Benjamin Franklin (especially his role and comments at the Constitutional Convention)
Thomas Jefferson, John Adams
The Federalists and Anti-federalists (what, not so much who)
Nevada state officials (Governor, Attorney General, Speaker of the Assembly, Chief Justice)
Federal officials (President, Vice-president, Secretary of State, Chief Justice, Speaker of the House)
Economic concepts
Wealth, prosperity, free trade
How the Law of Supply and Demand sets prices in the free market
Capitalism, Free Enterprise, Market economy, command economy
Equality of opportunity, equality of outcome
Socialism, Communism, mixed economy
Deficit, national (public) debt, where the government gets money it spends in excess of revenues
Money (including the three major functions of it), legal tender
The effects of raising and lowering taxes, what happens when government raises taxes on businesses
The effects of price ceilings and price floors, what happens when they are changed (i.e. minimum wage)
What are the primary sources of revenue for federal, state, and local government
The effect on the economy of government borrowing
Scarcity, utility, supply, demand, equilibrium
Factors of production, Production, consumption, specialization
Potential essay questions for the Government final exam
What are the six basic principles of the Constitution? Explain each.
What is the power of eminent domain? Has government’s power grown too much in that area? What recent
actions by the states have mitigated this?
What are the unique powers and rules of each house of Congress? Explain each one, and give examples.
Since we are in an economic slowdown, what policies should the federal and state governments pursue to
mitigate the bad effects and promote economic growth? Explain fully.
How has the “Necessary and Proper” clause been used to expand federal power? Give at least one example of
how you think the federal government has over-reached in this area.
What happens when government expand its power? What is lost (consider all the possibilities here)? What is
the long-term trend of government? Why is that?
Compare and contrast Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism. How and where have these systems been
practiced, and how successfully? What is the best description of the current U.S. system? Which, in your view
is the best for the people, and why?
Give a brief, concise overview of how the Electoral College system works. Why did our founders set this
system up? Give one argument against keeping it as it is, and one argument for keeping it as it is.