American Government Exam 1 Study GuideDefinitionsGovernment – a system with a set of powers to coordinate individual actions to achieve beneficial outcome.Public good – a good that everyone is entitled to use.The types of government – tyranny (rule by one), monarchy (rule by one), oligarchy (rule by few), aristocracy (rule by few), democracy (rule by the people), and democratic-republic (rule byrepresentatives elected by the people).Direct Democracy – the people themselves determine the laws and policies by which they are governed.Political culture – widely shared beliefs, values, and norms that define the relationship between citizens and government, and citizens to one another."Liberty – the power to do or choose what you want.Articles of Confederation – the original constitution of the United States of America. Ratified in 1781, replaced by the Constitution in 1789.Virginia Plan – a proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch.New Jersey Plan – a plan that would have given one vote per state for equal representation under one legislative body.Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise) – an agreement that large and small states would have the same number of Congressional representatives.3/5th Compromise – a compromise in which slaves would be represented as 3/5th of a person.Bicameralism – composed of two legislative bodies.Judicial review – reviewing the constitutional validity of a legislative act by the US Supreme Court.Supremacy Clause – establishes the US Constitution, federal statuses, and US treaties as the supreme law of the land.Enumerated powers (Express powers) – powers given to Congress.Double Jeopardy – no one can be charged twice for the same crime.Due Process – guarantees every citizen that they will go through a process in court.Concurrent power – powers shared by the State and the federal government.Reserve power – powers which are not enumerated.Full Faith and Credit Clause – states must respect things of other states.Necessary and Proper Clause (elastic clause) – gives Congress the power to carryout it’s enumerated powers.Interstate Commerce Clause – gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states.Devolution – the transfer of power to a lower level.Selective incorporation – incorporating the Bill of Rights into the US laws.Civil liberty – are civil rights and freedoms that provide an individual with specific rights.Civil right – rights belonging to a person by reason of citizenship.The Bill of Rights – know the 10 amendments.The Missouri Compromise – an agreement to extend slavery into new territories in 1820.Equal Protection Clause – no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.The 19th Amendment – women gain the right to vote.Affirmative Action – an action favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination, esp. in relation to employment or education.De jure segregation – segregation imposed by law.De facto segregation – segregation that happens in fact although not required by law.Questions1. What does it mean for a government to be a republic? A state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and has an elected president.2. What are the 5 liberties guaranteed by the 1st Amendment? Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of press, and freedom of petitioning.3. What are the differences between a unitary, confederal, and federal government? A unitary government is where all the power is held in a centralized government. A confederate government is where independent states make an alliance with eachother. A federal government is one in which the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments.4. What were the problems with the Articles of Confederation? Amendments required a unanimous vote, Congress had no power to collect tax, Congress had no power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce, states were not unified, no national court system.5. What is limited government and how do federalism, republicanism, the separation of powers, and the system of checks and balances limit government activity (that is, how does the American political system seek to limit a “tyranny of the majority”? In a limited government, the power of government to intervene in the exercise of civil liberties is restricted by law.6. Which were the Civil War (aka the Reconstruction) Amendments and what did they do? 13th amendment which freed the slaves, 14th amendment which allowed people born in the US to be a citizen, and the 15th amendment which made voting a right to everyone.7. What is the Lemon Test? What are the three prongs of the Lemon Test? A test used to determine when a law has the effect of establishing religion. The three prongs are, it musthave a secular purpose, have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion, and it must not foster excessive governmental entanglement with religion.8. The U.S. has gone through a few distinct periods of federalism. What are they? Dual federalism, cooperative federalism, creative federalism, and new federalism.9. What are grants-in-aid? What are the different types? An amount of money given to a local government, an institution, or a particular scholar. Categorical grant which can be spent only on specific things, block grants which can be used in a general purpose, and earmark grants which can be used on specific projects.10. What was the significance of Shay’s Rebellion? It led to the writing of the US Constitution because the Articles of Confederation had many unfair laws.11. What are the different terms of office for Congress, the Presidency, and the Courts? Congress: Senators is unlimited amount of six-year terms, House members is unlimited amount of two-year terms. Presidency is two four-year terms. Supreme court judge will be judge for life unless impeached or they decide to step down.12. What was the significance of the Marbury v. Madison decision? Established the idea of judicial review.13. Explain the process through which the U.S. Constitution can be amended. Whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary to amend the constitution.14. What are the limitations on free speech rights? Things uttered to provoke or incite illegal actions, fighting words, obscenities, time, place, and manner.15. What are