US Government Exam Review

Question 1

The first representative assembly in America was

Answer 1

The House of Burgesses

Question 2

What was the first document, written in America, based on majority rule?

Answer 2

The Mayflower Compact

Question 3

The first document in world history that limited the power of a King was

Answer 3

The Magna Carta

Question 4

After the Glorious Revolution, this document gave people in England more rights such as freedom of the press, Freedom of speech, trial by jury, etc.

Answer 4

The English Bill of Rights

Question 5

Which of the following was NOT a reason for the writing of the Declaration of Independence?

Answer 5

To punish Great Britain

Question 6

The Declaration of Independence drew heavily on the writings of this philosopher ___, and their publication _______

Answer 6

John Locke, Treatises on government by lock

Question 7

This philosopher influenced our founding fathers by saying that in order to have effective government, power must be separated into three separate branches.

Answer 7

Montesque

Question 7

This philosopher influenced our founding fathers by saying that in order to have effective government, power must be separated into three separate branches.

Answer 7

Montesque

Question 7

This philosopher influenced our founding fathers by saying that in order to have effective government, power must be separated into three separate branches.

Answer 7

Montesque

Question 8

The rule of law means

Answer 8

all citizens must follow the law, regardless of title or position.

Question 9

Marbury v. Madison court case is famous for establishing

Answer 9

the principle “judicial review”

Question 10

We the people…” is from which of these documents?

Answer 10

The Preamble

Question 11

Which branch of government makes the laws?

Answer 11

The Legislative branch

Question 12

Which branch interprets the laws and, sometime, their constitutionality?

Answer 12

The Judicial branch

Question 13

The case of Gibbons v. Ogden established

Answer 13

interstate commerce

Question 14

The total number of US Senators is ___ and there are ___ members of the US House of Representatives.

Answer 14

100, 435

Question 15

The case of McCulloch v. Maryland establishes

Answer 15

congress ability to make a national bank

Question 16

The Reconstruction Amendments include the 13th 14th and the 15th. In order, these Amendments provide for which of the following lists of rights?

Answer 16

13th- abolished slavery, 14th- gave citizenship to all born in the US, 15th- gave African American men the right to vote

Question 17

The amendment that gave 18-year old’s the right to vote was ratified in what year?

Answer 17

1971

Question 18

The First ten amendments to the Constitution are called

Answer 18

The Bill of Rights

Question 19

The issue of slavery at the Constitutional Convention was addressed in the short-term by

Answer 19

3/5ths Compromise

Question 20

Who was the primary writer of both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?

Answer 20

James Madison

Question 21

This event illustrated a big weakness in the Articles of Confederation and prompted the Philadelphia Convention.

Answer 21

Shays Rebellion

Question 22

What political leader skillfully maintained control of the arguments at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia?

Answer 22

George Washington

Question 23

The Supreme Court’s decision in this case gave women the right to end a pregnancy in the first trimester.

Answer 23

Roe v Wade

Question 24

The Supreme Court decision in this case called for the integration of all public schools across the United States.

Answer 24

Brown v Board of Education

Question 25

Who was President of the USA when women gained the right to vote in 1919?

Answer 25

Woodrow Wilson

Question 26

Which amendment states that “cruel & unusual punishment and excessive bail and fines” are not constitutional

Answer 26

8th

Question 27

This amendment provides for trial by jury, the right to an attorney and other rights.

Answer 27

6th

Question 28

Which SCOTUS case held that everyone must have the right to an attorney even if they cannot afford one?

Answer 28

Gideon v Wainwright

Question 29

This case created the rule that arresting officers must inform a suspect of their right to remain silent.

Answer 29

Miranda v Arizona

Question 30

This SCOTUS case allowed interracial couples could marry in 1967.

Answer 30

Loving v Virginia

Question 31

The Supreme Law of the Land is

Answer 31

The Constitution

Question 32

When a president puts a bill aside and does not sign it, it is referred to as ____ ______ if Congress adjourns their session.

Answer 32

Pocket Veto

Question 33

What is it called when senators add unnecessary items to legislation that favor their districts and appease their constituents?

Answer 33

Pork barrel of legislation

Question 34

The president’s chief advisors are most often called

Answer 34

Cabinet

Question 35

The three US presidents that have been impeached are

Answer 35

Johnson, clinton, and trump

Question 36

Which of these 1973 SCOTUS cases focused on “Executive Privilege?”

Answer 36

US v Nickson

Question 37

To delay a bill’s passage in the Senate, this tactic can be used

Answer 37

Fillibuster

Question 38

The present number of Supreme Court Justices is

Answer 38

9

Question 39

The current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is

Answer 39

John G Robert

Question 40

The first African American justice on the Supreme Court was

Answer 40

Thurgood Marshall

Question 41

What Supreme Court decision held that high school students wearing black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War was protected by the First amendment?

Answer 41

Tinker v Des Moines

Question 42

Women gained the right to vote in National Elections with the passage of what amendment?

Answer 42

19th

Question 43

Throwing someone in jail, for more than a brief period of time, without filing a formal charge is a violation of their rights under the Constitution. Which of these ideas is connected to this right?

Answer 43

Writ of Habeas Corpus

Question 44

The right to keep and bear arms is included in what amendment?

Answer 44

2nd

Question 45

What laws would allow someone to be convicted of a crime without a trial?

Answer 45

Bill of attainder

Question 46

When someone is charged with violating a law that didn’t exist when they committed a particular act that law is called

Answer 46

Ex post facto

Question 47

The plan at the Constitutional Convention that favored small states was the

Answer 47

New Jersey Plan

Question 48

What agreement, created during the Constitutional Convention, established the bicameral legislature we still use in the United States Congress?

Answer 48

The great compromise / The Connecticut plan

Question 49

Which philosopher was famous for saying that without government, life for man would be “nasty, brutish and short…”

Answer 49

Hobbs

Question 50

The President of the Senate is also known as

Answer 50

The Vice President

Question 51

What amendment states that a police search without a warrant or probable cause is illegal and is the basis for the exclusionary rule?

Answer 51

4th

Question 52

If congress refuses to pass a law the president would like to see enacted, the president might be able to create an ____ _____ to achieve their goal.

Answer 52

Executive order

Question 53

Congress can override a veto by

Answer 53

2/3 of both house and senate .

Question 54

If both the President and the Vice President die in office, who is next in line to the Presidency?

Answer 54

Speaker of the house

Question 55

The idea of democracy came from

Answer 55

Ancient Greece

Question 56

The principle that creates a division of power between National and State governments is called

Answer 56

Federalism

Question 57

The principle of the Constitution that means people have the power is

Answer 57

Popular sovereignty

Question 58

The United States form of government is

Answer 58

Representative or Republican Democracy

Question 59

What concept guarantees that the three branches of the US Government stay balanced and are all aligned with the Constitution? =

Answer 59

Checks and balances

Question 60

The main law-making body in Great Britain is called

Answer 60

Parliament

Question 61

A US senator’s term in office is __ years and the term in office for a member of the House of Representatives is __ years.

Answer 61

6, 2

Question 62

What document is used to indicate that the US Supreme Court will hear a case from a lower court?

Answer 62

Writ of Certiorari

Question 63

What is the official name for a citizen of a foreign state that lives in this country?

Answer 63

Alien

Question 64

A person who seeks refuge from political violence, war or personal danger in their home country asks permission to come to the USA is called

Answer 64

A refugee

Question 65

The Fourteenth Amendment states that everyone must have

Answer 65

equal protection under the law

Question 66

Segregation authorized by law is called

Answer 66

De Jure segregation

Question 67

The Federally-launched integration of all public facilities & accommodations such as housing, hotels, restaurants and theaters are part of what legislation?

Answer 67

Civil rights act of 64

Question 68

What does the word suffrage mean?

Answer 68

Right to vote

Question 69

When Congressional representation is considered after a census, states may gain or lose representatives in the US House Of Representatives. What is this process called?

Answer 69

Reapportionment

Question 70

Where are the “Implied Powers” of Congress “created” in the United States Constitution?

Answer 70

Article 1 section 8 Paragraph 18 (1818)