The Seperation and Limitation of Power(s)

Question 1

Name the three branches of government.

Answer 1

Executive (President & cabinet), Legislative (Congress) and Judicial (Supreme Court etc.)

Question 2

Upon whose philiosophical teachings is the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution arguably based?

Answer 2

John Locke

Question 3

What year was the Declaration of Independence signed?

Answer 3

1776

Question 4

What year was the US Constitution ratified?

Answer 4

1788

Question 5

What three issues have arguably been created through an ideological consensus in American government?

Answer 5

Weak parties (no serious debate, assertion in place of justification), fear of anything un-American (HUAC, Red Scare), isolationism

Question 6

Why may the principles of Lockean philosophy no longer be relevant to US society?

Answer 6

Mass population, changes in democratic ideals (voting rights), industrialisation & urbanisation, growth of corporations (goes against Lockean individualism), mass society & greater expectations of government (welfare)

Question 7

How many members are there in the House of Representatives?

Answer 7

435

Question 8

How many members are there in the Senate?

Answer 8

100 (2 per state)

Question 9

What are the four sources of strength of Congress?

Answer 9

1. Constitutional = seperation of powers
2. Ideological = absence of competing ideologies
3. Procedural = multiple hurd;es within the legislative process
4. Organisational = horizontal distribution of power

Question 10

What five factors influences voting behaviour of members of Congress?

Answer 10

1. Party
2. Constituency
3. President
4. Interest groups
5. Ideology

Question 11

How many members are on the US Supreme Court?

Answer 11

9