H Gov Unit 1 Review

What is the Full Faith and Credit?

addresses the duties that states within the United States have to respect the "public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state"

What is the Checks and Balances system?

allows each branch to check the power of the other, so one branch doesn't get more powerful than the other

What is Judicial Review?

the power of the courts to declare laws and actions of local, state, or national governments invalid if they violate the Constitution

What are Expressed Powers? Give some examples.

those specifically named in the Constitution ex: Constitution grants Legislative Branch a huge amount authority over American national policy

What is the purpose of the Bill of Rights?

to protect individual activities

What is the Separation of Powers system?

where the authority/power is shared between the three different branches of government

What is a Federalism?

power is divided between national and state governments

What are Concurrent Powers? Give some examples.

powers in nations with a federal system of government that are shared by both the federal government and each constituent political unit (such as a state or province)

What are Implied Powers? Give some examples.

powers not explicitly named in the Constitution ex: "Necessary and Proper Clause"

What are Inherent Powers? Give some examples.

powers that Congress and the president need in order to get the job done right ex: Executive orders are one type of inherent power that the president has. As an example, we can consider President Barack Obama's decision to raise the federal minimum wage for all workers of the federal government.

What are Reserved Powers? Give some examples.

powers which are not "enumerated" (written down, assigned) ex: Article 1, Section 8 spells out the powers of Congress, like its ability to collect taxes or declare war.

What are the four theories on the origins of the state?

-Evolutionary Theory -Divine Right Theory -Social Contract Theory -Force Theory

What are the four functions of the state?

-to maintain social order -to provide public services -to provide for national security and a common defense -to provide for and control the economic system

Explain the 4 guarantees of Interstate Relations.

1) give "full faith and credit" to the laws, records, and court decisions of other states 2) give one another citizens all the "privileges and immunities" of their own citizens 3) extradite- that is, return to a state - criminals and fugitives who fee across states lines to escape justice 4) Lawsuits Between States - heard in supreme court

How many branches of government were advocated by the founding fathers and what are they?

3; Executive, Judicial, and Legislative Branch

What are the 13th, 14th, 15th amendments known as?

Civil War Amendments

What did the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists fight over?

Federalists: wanted a strong, central government

What English author inspired the American colonists?

John Locke

What was the Connecticut Compromise?

Made to resolve the debate between the states, suggested that the legislative branch have a House of Representatives (which was geared towards larger states) and a Senate (which was geared towards smaller states)

What was our first form of written government and why did it fail?

The Articles of Confederation; it failed because the states were mainly independent and the government couldn't institute a draft, regulate commerce, and regulate national currency; the AOC was more of a document stating a friendship among the states

What was our new form of written government?

The Constitution

What document in U.S. History was written based on Locke's theories?

The Declaration of Independence

How does the Executive Branch check the Legislative and Judicial Branches?

The Executive Branch checks the Legislative Branch by President being able to recommend legislation to Congress, veto bills passed by Congress, and implement laws passed by Congress. The Executive Branch checks the Judicial Branch by nominating federal judges and enforcing court orders.

How does the Judicial Branch check the Legislative and Executive Branches?

The Judicial Branch checks the Legislative Branch by courts being able to interpret congressional statutes and declare acts of Congress unconstitutional. The Judicial Branch checks the Executive Branch by courts having the ability to declare presidential actions unconstitutional and can determine whether the executive branch is properly administering laws passed by Congress.

How does the Legislative Branch check the Executive and the Judicial Branches?

The Legislative Branch checks the Judicial Branch by congress having the ability to impeach judges, create lower federal courts and fix their jurisdictions, set the size of the Supreme Court, and determine judicial salaries and the senate confirms judges. The Legislative Branch checks the Executive Branch by congress passing the laws that create executive agencies and the programs they administer, and it can override presidential vetoes by a 2/3 vote of both chambers and impeach president and the senate ratifies treaties and confirms presidential appointments to the executive branch and the courts.

Why did the founding fathers write the checks and balances and separations of powers into the constitution?

The founders hoped to prevent any branch from gaining too much power and created a system of shared powers (checks and balances) to prevent that from happening.

What did the Magna Carta, Petition of Right, and English Bill of Rights all attempt to do in England?

They all attempted to limit the monarch's power.

What did he say people should do if their government is not taking care of these natural rights?

They had the right to break the contract, which is where they willingly gave power to the government.

Who was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and what was its function?

Thomas Jefferson; Its function was to explain why the colonists separated from Britain and declaring that they should be seen as their own nation.

What is the purpose of the Preamble?

To state the purposes of the newly formed government, which were: to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, secure the blessings of liberty

What was the 3/5 Compromise?

Where 3/5 of the slaves were counted for tax purposes and representation since 1/3 of southern states were slaves

Federalists

didn't think the Bill of Rights were necessary but the Anti-Federalists wanted them so the government wouldn't get too powerful

Anti-Federalists:

didn't want the government to be too powerful, stronger in the West and South due to slaves

What is the Supremacy Clause?

establishes that the federal constitution, and federal law generally, take precedence over state laws, and even state constitutions

What is the Elastic Clause?

gives Congress the right to make all laws "necessary and proper: to carry out the powers expressed in the other clauses

Be familiar with the amendments that make up the Bill of Rights

i. Freedom of speech, press, petition, press, & assembly. ii. Right to bear arms. iii. No quartering of troops. iv. No illegal search and seizure. v. Right to due process, grand jury, no double jeopardy, no self-incrimination, & eminent domain. vi. Guarantees a speedy, public, impartial trial by jury. vii. Right to a trial by jury in a civil case. viii. No cruel and unusual punishment. ix. 9th Amendment Enumerated rights not necessarily written out in the Constitution. x. Rights reserved to the states.

What is the subject of the articles of the Constitution?

i. establishment of legislative branch ii. creates an executive branch to carry out laws passed by Congress iii. establishes a Supreme Court to head the judicial branch iv. explains relationship of states to one another and to the national government v. spells out the ways that the Constitution can be amended, or changed vi. contains the supremacy clause, establishing that the Constitution, laws passed by Congress, and treaties of the United States vii. addresses ratification and declares that the Constitution would take effect after it was ratified by nine states

What three natural rights did English author John Locke say all men are endowed with?

life, liberty, and property