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Semester 1exams > multiple choice > Flashcards

multiple choice Flashcards

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1
Q

how many senators are there and how many from each state and how long term

A

100 and 2 and 6 years

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2
Q

how many us house members? from each state? how long is their term of office?

A

435 variety from each state
and 2 year term

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3
Q

Speaker of house?
senate majority?
and Chief justice?

A

speaker: Mike Johnson
Senate majority: John thune
Chief justice: John roberts

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4
Q

who is the main author of declaration of independence

A

Thomas jefferson

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5
Q

main premise is declaration of independence

A

people have natural rights that cannot be taken away and it is the gov job to protect these rights and can remove leaders who violate these rights

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6
Q

what were the weaknesses of the articles of confederation

A

the national gov couldn’t tax
no independent leader
gov couldn’t regulate commerce

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7
Q

how were votes determined in articles of confederation how many votes were needed?

A

one vote from each state and needed 9/13 votes needed

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8
Q

what were the Virginia and New Jersey plans?

A

Virginia plan-legislative branch would have 2 houses both would be decided on population of state
New Jersey- 1 house and all states would have the same # of reps

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9
Q

what was the great compromise

A

2 chambers 1 Each states have the same # of reps and and 2 based of population

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10
Q

how many votes does each state get for president under electoral college

A

the number of senators plus # of HOR

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11
Q

what clause speaks to when state laws conflict with national laws

A

supremacy clause

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12
Q

what year was the constitution written

A

1787

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13
Q

what is the separation of powers

A

assigning law makeing, law enforcing, and law interpenetrating

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14
Q

what happens if no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes

A

the house of reps pick president

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15
Q

what was the OG plan for how the President and V.P. were selected

A

the person with the most votes was president and the 2nd highest is V.P.

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16
Q

how long of a term do federal judges serve? How are federal judges appointed?

A

Life time appointed by the president confirmed by the senate

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17
Q

what compromises were made regarding slavery in order to ratify the constitution?

A

3/5 compromise can ban slave trade for 20 years and fugitive slaves had to be returned

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18
Q

What were supporters of the Constitution called? Why did they support this?

A

federalist they thought the articles of confederation were to weak

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19
Q

What were opponents of the Constitution called? Why did they oppose this?

A

anti federalists they feared a strong national gov and states would loose lots of rights

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20
Q

What were the Federalist papers?

A

85 newspaper articles written to defend the constitution

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21
Q

What were the main arguments of Federalist 10, 51, 70, and 78?

A

10-factions to argue that gov wouldn’t be ruled by one
51-tyranny would be prevented by checks and balances, and separation of powers
70- arguing 1 single executive as leader of executive branch
78-judical branch is least dangerous because they have no force or will only judgement

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22
Q

What were the main arguments of Brutus 1?

A

the size of US was to large for efficient central government.

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23
Q

What was added to ensure the ratification of the Constitution?

A

bill of rights

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24
Q

Which Supreme Court case established the principle of judicial review?

A

marbury vs madison

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25
What are grants-in-aid?
general term for money paid by 1 level of gov or another
26
What is selective incorporation?
process that the supreme court applies the bill or rights to states on a case by case basis
27
What is fiscal federalism?
the federal gov use of grants in aid to influence powers in the states
28
What was decided in the Supreme Court case of United States vs. Lopez?
limits to the national gov to the national gov ability to regulate behavior based on the commerce clause(gave states more power)
29
what is federalism?
division of power between national gov and state gov
30
What are characteristics of Dual Federalism?
(layer cake) a belief that the power of national gov and states are differentiated
31
What are characteristics of Cooperative Federalism?
(marble cake)National gov and state govs to share power
32
What was decided in the Supreme Court case of McCulloch vs. Maryland?
a national bank is constitutional and states can not tax it(gave national gov more power)
33
What is the 10 th Amendment to the Constitution?
any powers not specifically given to national gov more denied to the states go to the states
34
What are enumerated powers?
Powers specifically given to the national gov especially congress
35
What is the necessary and proper clause?
it grants Congress authority to legislate as it seems fit to carry out its constitutionally granted powers
36
What is the commerce clause?
grants congress power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among states, and foreign tribes
37
What is the role of both the House of Representatives and the Senate regarding impeachment?
the HOR can impeach a president with majority vote and the Senate holds a trial with needs 2/3 vote for removal
38
What is descriptive representation?
a belief constituents are most effectively represented by legislators that have similar demographics
39
Why does Congress use committees? What are standing committees?
to break up work load and standing committees a perminate committee divided by policy area
40
What is the role of a committee chair?
head of a committee of the majority party and tend to set the agenda for committee
41
What is a select committee? When are these used?
a temporary committee for investigations and they disband
42
What are the names of the roles of leaders in both the House of Representatives and the Senate called?
most powerful person in HOR is the speaker but in the Senate is majority leader
43
What Constitutional Amendment changes the method in which Senators were selected? How did this happen?
17th amendment in 1913 they appointed until then
44
What is reapportionment? When does this occur?
redistribution of representatives among the states occurs when population changes
45
What is gerrymandering?
a belief that political districts are redrawn to the advantage of the political party in power
46
What is an incumbent? What is the incumbency advantage? Describe some advantages incumbents have?
a current office holder grader name recognition usually have more money on hand and also have the franking privilege
47
What is a filibuster? What is cloture?
filibuster non stop speak making to prevent a vote in senate cloture is limits the amount of time that can be spent debating a bill
48
What is divided government?
1 party controls white house and the other is the majority in atleast 1 of the 2 chambers of congress
49
What is the budget setting process?
budget is sent to Congress by the president for approval
50
What is mandatory spending?
spending that is requred by law that Congress doesn't need to approve each year
51
What is discretionary spending?
1/3 of budget they vote of each year for military and education
52
What is a budget surplus? What is a budget deficit?
when gov collects more money in taxes then they spend in a year
53
What is bipartisanship?
2 political party's work together to pass legislation
54
What is the delegate role? What is the trustee role?
a member of Congress votes on constituents wishes member of Congress votes on there personal values
55
What was decided in the case of Baker vs. Carr?
state legislative districts have to be approximately equal
56
What was decided in the Supreme Court case of Shaw vs. Reno?
race cant be the only factor in creating a congressional district
57
What are the requirements to become president?
natural born citizen 35yrs old lived in us 14 years
58
How are vacancies in the role of vice president now filled? What caused this change?
the president appoints new VP with is approved by both chambers of congress
59
What role does the president have in the legislative process?
they are increasingly active in all stage of the legislative process
60
How long can a president serve in office total? According to what?
2 four year terms for total of 10 years under the 2nd amendment
61
What are some of the main reasons someone running for President may consider in choosing his/her running mate as Vice President?
appeals to different geographic regions or different strength then the presidential candidate
62
What is executive privilege?
rights by the president keep certain convos and records and transcripts private especially from congress
63
What is the official process for someone to become a Cabinet member?
appointed by president confirmed by senate
64
What is the State of the Union Address?
annual speech from the president to congress updating Congress on the state of the national affairs
65
Describe the role of Chief Executive.
overseeing the federal bureaucracy
66
What are executive orders?
a presidential corrective that creates of modifys a law without the approval of congress
67
What is the role of commander in chief? Who can declare war?
the president overseas the military command only Congress can declare war
68
How many Cabinet departments exist today? How are cabinet departments created?
15 created by congress
69
What is civil service?
a system where most appointments of the bureaucracy based on merit ( how qualified you are) and not loyalty based
70
What is an iron triangle?
a relationship between bureaucratic agency, congressional committees, and interest groups to join together and create policy
71
What is deregulation? What is the general belief of conservatives regarding deregulation? What challenges can occur due to deregulation?
deregulation is a bureaucratic reform with the gov reduces its role as a regulator of business
72
What is oversight?
hearing that allows Congress to ensure laws are being held to there intent or to investigate members of executive branch
73
Describe the terms for commissioners and the reason for it.
they are appointed fro set terms to be insulated from politics
74
What is political patronage?
filling bureaucratic position based on loyalty
75
What is the Hatch Act and why was it created?
prevents federal workers from engaging in politics
76
How many U.S. district and appeals/circuit courts are there? Describe the relationship for each state.
94 district courts and 13 circuit courts -every state has at least 1 district court and no court covers more then 1 state
77
What is appellate jurisdiction?
authority of courts to hear cases that have already been tried (hearing a court on appeal)
78
What is judicial restraint
a belief that judges closely follow laws and precedent
79
What is judicial activism?
federal judges follow precedents and existing laws loosly
80
What is a majority opinion?
binding supreme court opinion one that the most judges voted for serves as president for future cases
81
What is a concurring opinion?
an opinions hat agrees with the outcome as the majority but for a different reason
82
What is a dissenting opinion?
you disagree with the majority opinion and doesn't serve as a precedent
83
How are federal judicial appointments part of a president’s legacy?
because there for a life term it gives the president a chance to give legacy
84
What are the roles of Chief Justice?
direct the conference of supreme court
85
What roles does the Solicitor General have?
the one the represents the gov before the supreme court
86
What are amicus curiae briefs?
briefs in a court case filed by those who are not a direct party but have an interest in it
87
What is “senatorial courtesy”?
district and appeals court nominees have to be acceptable or the home state senator from the presidents party
88
What is precedent (stare decisis)?
name of a judicial ruling that serves as a ruling for a basis in a later case
89
how many articles and amendments are there
7 articles 27 amendments
90
how can a bill pass congress
it has to pass both chambers

Semester 1exams (6 decks)

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