GOV Unit 1 Test

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GOV Unit 1 Test

Matching

IDENTIFYING KEY TERMS
Match each item with the correct statement below. You will not use all the terms.

a.	constitution
b.	executive power
c.	unitary government
d.	parliamentary government
e.	presidential government
f.	legislative power

A ____, often described as a centralized government, is one in which all powers held by the government belong to a single, central agency.

Under a system of ____, the government must resign if defeated by the legislature on an important issue.

____ is the power to make law and frame public policies.

IDENTIFYING KEY TERMS
Match each item with the correct statement below. You will not use all the terms.

a.	amendment
b.	Bill of Rights
c.	checks and balances
d.	constitutionalism
e.	article
f.	rule of law
g.	separation of powers

A(n) ____ is a way to change the Constitution.

The government and its officers must obey the ____, which is another way of describing the concept of limited government.

The system of ____ helps keep one branch of government from dominating the actions of the others.

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

MAIN IDEAS

Among the broad purposes of the United States government spelled out in the Preamble to the Constitution is the obligation to

a.	keep the executive and legislative branches of government separate.
b.	create an autocratic form of government.
c.	defend the country against Americans who oppose its policies.
d.	provide for justice and the people's general welfare.

Locke, Harrington, Hobbes, and Rousseau would most likely agree that

a.	the state developed out of force.
b.	those of royal birth should rule the state.
c.	the state exists to serve the will of the people.
d.	government should be eliminated.

The dominant political unit in the world today is the

a.	government.	c.	Constitution.
b.	nation.	d.	state.

10.

A federal government is one in which

a.	all power is concentrated in the central government.
b.	limited powers are assigned to a central agency by independent states.
c.	power is divided between a central government and local governments.
d.	powers are divided between a legislative branch and an executive branch.

11.

Which of the following statements is NOT true of parliamentary government?

a.	The executive is chosen by the legislature.
b.	The legislature is subject to the direct control of the executive.
c.	The prime minister and cabinet are part of the legislative branch.
d.	The prime minister and cabinet must resign if they lose the support of a majority of the legislature.

12.

Which of the following is among the characteristics of a state?

a.	population	c.	government
b.	territory	d.	all of the above

13.

Which of the following statements about sovereign states is NOT true?

a.	Sovereign states decide their own foreign and domestic policies.
b.	Sovereign states can determine their own form of government.
c.	A county or city is considered sovereign because it is subordinate to a larger form of government.
d.	Sovereign states have supreme power within their own territories.

14.

All political powers in a state are concentrated at the central level under which form of government?

a.	federal	c.	unitary
b.	confederate	d.	executive

15.

Which statement about the social contract theory is NOT true?

a.	The state was created voluntarily by a free people.
b.	The state is a natural extension of people's family structure.
c.	Governmental powers are granted by the people.
d.	Governmental powers may be limited by the people.

16.

After the Revolutionary War, the National Government

a.	proved too weak to deal with growing economic and political problems.
b.	refused to repay the war debt it owed to the States.
c.	permitted the States to make agreements with foreign governments.
d.	began imposing harsh tax policies on property owners and merchants.

17.

A major objective of both the Annapolis Convention and the Philadelphia Convention was to

a.	determine how the States should be represented in Congress.
b.	recommend a federal plan for regulating interstate trade.
c.	raise an army for quelling incidents like Shay's Rebellion.
d.	limit the growing power of the National Government.

18.

The Federalist was written to

a.	win support for the Constitution in New York.
b.	expose the lack of civil liberties protected in the Constitution.
c.	urge ratification of the Constitution in Virginia.
d.	condemn the Constitution for the absence of any mention of God.

19.

At the Philadelphia Convention, the delegates agreed to

a.	make minor revisions to the Articles of Confederation.
b.	open their sessions to the public.
c.	pass proposals by unanimous vote only.
d.	draft a new constitution.

20.

By the mid-1700s, British rule in the colonies was marked by

a.	allowing a certain degree of self-rule to the colonists.
b.	imposing harsh and restrictive trade practices.
c.	passing increasingly high taxes.
d.	forcing the colonies to attack other colonial powers.

21.

With the words, "We the People," the Constitution establishes its authority on the basis of

a.	popular sovereignty.	c.	the separation of powers.
b.	the rule of law.	d.	limited government.

22.

Which statement about the Bill of Rights is NOT true?

a.	The amendments arose from the controversy over ratification of the Constitution.
b.	The amendments were ratified at the same time as the Constitution.
c.	The amendments guarantee such basic rights as freedom of expression and fair and equal treatment before the law.
d.	The amendments are the first ten of the Constitution.

23.

The informal amendment process

a.	involves changing the written words of the Constitution.
b.	has been used very little in the past 200 years.
c.	can occur only with the approval of the States.
d.	results from the daily experiences of government.

24.

The President's Cabinet is an example of informal amendment by

a.	unwritten custom.	c.	State action.
b.	court decision.	d.	basic legislation.

25.

Which of the following best describes the concept of limited government?

a.	Powers are divided among three independent branches of government.
b.	All political power belongs to the people.
c.	Government must operate within certain bounds set by the people.
d.	The people must behave according to rules set by the government.

26.

Which of the following is a method of formal amendment?

a.	proposal by three-fourths of the House of Representatives and ratification by conventions in three-fourths of State legislatures
b.	proposal by two-thirds of the Senate and ratification by two-thirds of State legislatures
c.	proposal by two-thirds of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of State legislatures
d.	all of the above

27.

The basic constitutional rights of the people were FIRST set out in the

a.	13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.
b.	10th Amendment.
c.	Bill of Rights.
d.	Equal Rights Amendment.

28.

Which of the following is NOT true of the use of executive agreement?

a.	It extends the President's power through the informal amendment process.
b.	It carries the same legal force as a treaty.
c.	It can be used to avoid the lengthy treaty-making process.
d.	It is among the executive powers listed in Article II of the Constitution.

29.

The President's power to veto an act of Congress is an example of

a.	executive agreement.	c.	checks and balances.
b.	judicial review.	d.	limited government.

30.

Which of the following accounts for the ability of the Constitution to endure for more than 200 years?

a.	built-in provisions for accommodating change
b.	detailed provisions that anticipated changing customs
c.	very specific language that limits reinterpretation
d.	inflexible provisions designed to resist change

31.

According to Article V of the Constitution, no amendment may

a.	deprive a State of its equal representation in the Senate.
b.	abolish the protections guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.
c.	deny people the right to vote because of race, color, or gender.
d.	reestablish slavery or other forms of involuntary servitude.

32.

Which of the following is NOT an example of the checks and balances system?

a.	The President makes an executive agreement.
b.	The Supreme Court declares a law passed by Congress to be unconstitutional.
c.	The President vetoes a bill.
d.	The Senate approves the President's nominee for Supreme Court justice.

33.

Each of the four methods of formal amendment

a.	can proceed only with the approval of the President.
b.	demonstrates the principle of federalism.
c.	involves unwritten changes in the interpretation of the Constitution.
d.	is undertaken jointly by the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

34.

Concurrent powers are those that are

a.	exercised simultaneously by the National and the State governments.
b.	exercised by State governments alone.
c.	exercised by the National Government alone.
d.	denied to both the National and the State governments.

35.

An enabling act directs any area desiring Statehood to

a.	prepare a constitution.	c.	give up its territory.
b.	become an organized territory.	d.	submit the act to a popular vote.

36.

States must honor the legality of one another's civil laws because of the

a.	Necessary and Proper Clause.	c.	Supremacy Clause.
b.	Full Faith and Credit Clause.	d.	Interstate Compacts Clause.

37.

Citizens who commit a crime in one State and then flee to another State to escape prosecution are to be returned to the original State under

a.	the Full Faith and Credit Clause.
b.	the Privileges and Immunities Clause.
c.	extradition.
d.	any interstate compact involving all 50 States.

38.

Which of the following powers can the National Government legally exercise?

a.	expressed powers only
b.	expressed, implied and inherent powers
c.	delegated and reserved powers
d.	powers not granted to the States

39.

In the case of McCulloch v. Maryland, what was the Supreme Court ruling based upon?

a.	reserved powers	c.	Supremacy Clause
b.	Full Faith and Credit Clause	d.	interstate compacts

40.

The Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution provides that

a.	Congress may not pass laws that conflict with State laws.
b.	State laws must be uniform.
c.	State laws and court decisions must generally be honored by other States.
d.	agreements made between the States must first be approved by Congress.

41.

What is the name of your government teacher?

a.	George Washington	c.	Lyndon Johnson
b.	Teddy Roosevelt	d.	George Blair

42.

This cartoon best illustrates which of the basic concepts of democracy?

a.	Worth of the individual	c.	Necessity of compromise
b.	Majority rule, minority rights	d.	Individual freedom

43.

The New Jersey Plan was a reaction by some states primarily to the fear that ________.

a.	the legislative veto plan called for by the Virginia Plan would seriously undermine individual states' rights.
b.	the weak central government devised by the Virginia Plan would grant too much power to the southern, rural states.
c.	the strong central government devised by the Virginia Plan would grant too much power to the states with a small population.
d.	the bicameral legislature of the Virginia Plan would give too much power to the executive.
e.	the Virginia Plan gave too much power to populous states.

44.

The New Jersey Plan would have allocated votes to each state in Congress on the basis of __

a.	geographic area
b.	equal votes for each state
c.	population
d.	voting population
e.	number of white men + number of white women + 3/5 of all "non-free" persons in the state

45.

How did the Constitutional Convention handle the issue of the importation of slaves?

a.	It immediately ended the importation of slaves.
b.	It gaves the states 20 years (till 1808) to continue to import slaves.
c.	It completely ignored the issue of slave importation.
d.	It granted 5 southern states the right to import slaves, but it was forbidden to the others.
e.	It took the number of slaves imported in the previous year, and then decreased the approved number of slaves that could be imported by three-fifths.