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Government Chapter 2 Study Guide

Terms in this set (59)

What is the oldest constitutional democracy in the world?
United States
How is democracy defined?
government by the people
Statism is the idea that the rights of the nation are supreme over the rights of the __________.
individual
What is the idea that a just government must derive its powers from the people it governs called?
popular consent
governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority is known as which of the following?
majority rule
What is the term for an election in which a candidate can win by getting the most votes, even if it is less than 50% of the votes?
a plurality
What is a distinctive element of the U.S. constitutional system under the original Constitution?
bicameralism
A(n) is a type of government in which one person with unlimited power rules
autocracy
What is the name given to the law that would govern human beings before governments existed?
natural law
Which article provides that the Constitution shall be the supreme law of the land?
Article VI
How many amendments have been made to the constitution since its ratification?
27
The Constitution specifically provides for both the election and the removal of which of the following?
president
James Madison sought to prevent the tyranny of the ________ by distributing governmental authority among several branches
majority
Who wrote the Federalist No. 51?
James Madison
Which of the following generally favored a strong national government and supported the proposed U.S. Constitution?
Federalists
Who wrote the opinion in Marbury v. Madison?
John Marshall
In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court decided that segregation by race violated which of the following?
equal protection clause
Which element of the U.S. constitutional system divides powers between national and state governments?
Federalism
What is a favorable condition for democracy?
an educated citizenry
In United States v. Eichman, the Supreme Court struck down a statue that prohibited ________
Flag burning
In what year was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?
1791
Which of the following specifies the procedure for amending the Constitution?
Article 5
Which of the following philosophers greatly influenced James Madison's beliefs regarding the nature of liberty?
John Locke
What was the most important means the Framers used to make sure government officials would observe the constitutional limits on their powers?
free and fair elections
James Madison stated that the accumulation of all powers- legislative, executive, and judiciary- in the same hands is the definition of which of the following?
tyranny
Governance that is divided between two political parties, especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress, is described by which of the following terms?
divided government
Under the Constitution, the president is elected by which of the following?
electoral college
What is the principle that each branch of the federal government has the means to thwart or influence actions by other branches of government?
checks and balances
Which of the following advocates for limited government that is based on popular consent, but protects against majority tyranny?
Republicanism
As described in figure 1.1, the Separation of powers and checks and balances, the legislative branch is in charge of which of the following?
approving the federal budget
Marbury v. Madison is significant because it gave the courts power to do which of the following?
Declare laws unconstitutional
Which of the following allows congress to create legislation to make needed changes without amending the constitution?
Congressional elaboration
What is it called when the president refuses to allow an agency to spend funds that congress has authorized and appropriated?
impoundment
According to article v, the _______ and the States have responsibility for amending the Constitution
Congress
Which of the following carries the full force of law and does not require congressional approval, although it is subject to legal challenge?
executive order
Which of the following describes the power of the president to keep communications confidential, especially those relating to national security?
executive privilege
Which of the following is true in a balanced government?
No single interest dominates
Which of the following is the best characterization of the framers of the constitution?
experienced, practical politicians
Most delegates to the Constitutional Convention accepted the idea of
republican government
The three-fifths compromise was mainly a compromise between which of the following?
Northern and Southern states
Why were the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention kept secret?
Delegates would be encouraged to speak freely
The colonists generally believed that a constitution should mark the limits of what type of government power?
legitimate
Because the Framers knew that men are not angels, they created a Constitution giving the government which type of authority?
limited
In the United States, the national government derives its power from which of the following?
citizens
Although not mentioned in the Constitution, the Supreme Court interpreted the Constitution, in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), to protect which of the following rights?
right to privacy
Which of the following is the only method of proposing amendments that has been used so far?
two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress
As a delegate from a small state at the Constitutional Convention, you would have been most likely to support which of the following as the basis for representation in the legislature?
New Jersey Plan
What did the federalists favor?
A strong central government, relative to the state governments
Why did the federalists argue against inclusion of a bill of rights in the constitution?
Explicit guarantee of some rights might imply that other rights did not exist
What was one reason antifederalists opposed the ratification of the constitution?
State and local governments would be more responsive to local needs and concerns
What was the federalist?
a series of essays written to encourage ratification of the proposed Constitution
Why were Antifederalists handicapped in their campaign against ratification?
Most newspapers supported ratification
The constitution is both a positive instrument and a restraint because it does which of the following?
Grants power and checks power
Which of the following is a reason for the separation of powers?
to prevent tyranny by any one branch
Which of the following is one reason for the popularity of proposing amendments to the constitution?
Groups frustrated by their inability to get things done in Congress hope to bypass it
What difficult question is raised by the method of proposing amendments through a convention?
Would states need to request a convention to consider only specific amendments or one that would have the power to revise the entire Constitution?
In United States v. Eichman, the court ruled that intentionally burning or defiling the American flag is protected under which amendment?
first
How did the federalists react when they were defeated by Thomas Jefferson in 1800?
They tried to retain power through the judiciary by packing it with their appointees.
Which of the following is a method of ratification for a constitutional amendment?
by three-fourths of the state legislatures
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