2013 American Government Final Exam Study Guide for Seniors

Which example shows how the individual rights of citizens are limited under the

Constitution?

Once a President has been impeached, what happens next?

According to the Declaration of Independence, what is the only legitimate basis for a

government’s powers?

What does the 9th Amendment protect?

The “no third-term” tradition became an amendment as a direct result of the fourth term of what President?

What was the original intent of the first ten amendments to the Constitution?

In what way is the formal amendment process an example of federalism at work?

Why did the Framers leave some sections of the Constitution without detail, like an

outline?

When the Constitution is amended, that action represents the expression of what?

How does Congress fill in the blanks left by the Framers of the Constitution?

What power that is not specifically stated in the Constitution did the Supreme Court claim

for itself in the case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803?

Why did the Framers leave any mention of political parties out of the Constitution?

The 22nd Amendment was passed in reaction to what unwritten custom that was broken?

What act permanently banned literacy tests as a qualification for voting?

What document protects rights not directly stated in the Constitution?

Why did Americans demand that a Bill of Rights be added to the Constitution?

Which law states that no person can be denied access to public accommodations on the

basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or physical disability?

In what way is the formal amendment process an example of federalism at work?

Which is an example of the President using executive power to expand the Constitution?

Which is not mentioned in the Constitution and yet has affected the

meaning of the Constitution?

When the Constitution is amended, what does that action represent?

Some people think that delegates at ratifying conventions would do a better job of

considering an amendment than state legislatures. Why do they think so?

Give an example of how Congress has used its powers to help explain the meaning of

the Constitution?

The 22nd Amendment was passed in reaction to what unwritten custom that was broken?

Why did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 require preclearance?

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 did what?

In 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., began a voter registration drive in Selma, Alabama.

Local citizens opposed him with violence. Which law did Congress pass in response to

this?

The Constitution provides for a separation of powers among the three branches of

government. What keeps one branch from having more power than the others?

The principle of federalism helped the Framers of the Constitution do what?

Each branch of the federal government can limit the power of the other two branches.

What is this system called?

Which basic principle of the Constitution means that government can govern only with the

consent of the governed?

In a democracy, with whom does the supreme authority reside?

Which political idea holds that the state was born when one person or a small group

claimed control over an area and its people?

The process by which a society decides how power and resources will be distributed within

that society is called

The claim that the state developed naturally out of the early family is the heart of the what theory?

Which theory about the origin of the state is probably the most compatible with democratic

ideals?

Which are the three basic powers of government?

Which has been most important in the development of government in the United States?

In which theory of the origin of the state did individuals or a group seize power by force?

What factors are essential for a democratic government to work?

Which term describes the type of government in which the power to rule is held by a small,

usually self-appointed elite?

What is a benefit of a confederate government?

Which principles are essential to a balanced democracy?

In a parliamentary democracy, the chief executive is chosen by who?

According to the U.S. Constitution, list the purposes of government

When the will of the people is translated into public policy directly by the people

themselves, what kind of government exists?

A central notion of the American concept of democracy is that

Give the responsibilities of every American citizen?

The U.S. government is correctly classified as what?

Which concept of government includes the ideas that government is restricted in what it

may do and that every individual has certain rights that government cannot take away?

What factors are most likely to force a democratic government to listen to

voters?

Which phrase in the Preamble of the Constitution means the government should provide

peace and order in society?

What term classifies a government according to the number of people

who can participate in it?

In which type of government is power divided between a central government and several

local governments?

Which is true of a parliamentary government as compared to a presidential government?

Give examples of how Congress may use its legislative powers?

When the people themselves create laws and policies, what type of government do they

have?

Which gives more power to a central government than to local governments?

Describe and give an example of an indirect democracy?

What idea is central to democracy in the United States?

What are the basic ideas of democracy?

Which basic principle of government means that individuals have basic rights that government cannot take away?

In the United Kingdom, the people elect

How was the United States set up under the Articles of Confederation?

Which type of colony had a governor and council appointed by the king?

Which Enlightenment thinker argued that the people and their ruler are parties to a social contract that defines the rights and powers of each?

What did the Federalists agree to in order to gain support for the new Constitution?

Which are the three basic powers of government?

Which concept of government includes the ideas that government is restricted in what it may do and that every individual has certain rights that government cannot take away?

In which type of government is power divided between a central government and several local governments?

Which term categorizes a government according to who can participate in

Which factors is essential for a democratic government to work?

According to the Declaration of Independence, what is the only legitimate basis for a

government’s powers?

What did the Federalists agree to in order to gain support for the new Constitution?

Which of the following documents is not considered a landmark document of English history?

Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?

What is the subject of the first three articles of the Constitution?

How is the Constitution organized?

The 22nd Amendment was passed in reaction to what unwritten custom that was broken?

What is preclearance?

What does the 9th Amendment protect?

The principle of federalism helped the Framers of the Constitution do what?

Which basic principle of the Constitution means that government can govern only with the consent of the governed?

McCulloch v. Maryland upheld the concept of implied powers and set a pattern for which type of approach to interpreting the Constitution?

What power did the Constitution grant Congress that was not provided for in the Articles of Confederation?

Name the formal qualification for the presidency according to the Constitution?

Which landmark English document first granted the right to petition?

According to the Declaration of Independence, what is the only legitimate basis for a

government’s powers?

Why would it be difficult to settle a dispute between two states under the Articles of

Confederation?

What pushed the American colonists toward wanting independence from Britain?

Which English political theorist put forth the idea of the natural rights of all human beings,

including the rights to life, liberty, and property?

According to the Declaration of Independence, what circumstances justify abolishing, or

ending, a government?

What policies enacted under King George III upset the colonists?

What characteristic did the majority of the Framers of the Constitution have in common?

The effectiveness of the Second Continental Congress was severely limited by the lack of

powers to what?

In the process of creating the Constitution, the delegates never wavered on what?

Why did smaller States favor the New Jersey Plan over the Virginia Plan?

What usually happens to single-issue parties?

What is one advantage minor parties have over the major parties?

What is true about the major political parties?

What are the main reasons why the United States has a two-party system today?

Why is the term public opinion so hard to describe or understand?

What is a major limitation on the media’s influence on politics?

According to the Constitution, who or what body of government has the power to declare war?

How can Congress override a presidential veto?

How can Congress prevent the President from becoming too powerful?

After a President has been impeached, what is the next step in the process?

Why is the Supreme Court’s decision in the case Marbury v. Madison important today?

The 2nd Amendment to the Constitution is concerned with what right?

Why might interest groups be considered harmful to the American political system?

Which form of mass media has suffered a sharp decline in popularity as a source of political information in recent years?

In which part of the United States was women’s suffrage the most extensive even before the passage of the 19th Amendment?