Review for Gov't Final Exam

US GOV’T FINAL

The final will be made up of 50 multiple choice questions and one 20 point essay. Pay close attention to the number of questions that will be included from each unit that we have studied.

I.  Introduction     Government                     Events leading to independence

                              Types of Government     Articles of Confederation

5 ques.                  Types of Economies        Declaration of Independence

                                      Democracy

II.  Constitution                 Preamble               Limited Government

      and Amendments       Articles                     Checks and Balances

                                          Amendments           Separation of Powers

                                       Adding Amendments    Judicial Review

10                                   Supremacy Clause        Federalism

                                       Popular Sovereignty     Necessary and Proper Clause 

III.  Federalism                   Concurrent

                                          Enumerated/Expressed

                                          Implied

5                                        Reserved

IV.  Legislative Branch        Facts about members of Congress

                                             Powers of Congress

                                             How a Bill becomes law

10                                                       Types of Committees

                                             Budget information

                                   

V.  Executive Branch           Facts about President and Vice President

                                    Powers of the President

                                    How the President is elected
10                                Cabinet

                                   Other offices and agencies that help the President

VI.  Judicial Branch       Facts about Federal Judges

                                        3 levels of Federal Courts

                                        Information on the US Supreme Court

5                                     Types of Jurisdiction

VII.  Political Parties

      Liberals/Moderates/Conservatives

5

Work hard to be prepared,

Mr. Thompson

Executive Test review

50 points  (Multiple Choice and/or essay)

Ch. 8 The Presidency

1.      Know your chart on president + vice pres. eg. terms, limits, qualifications etc.

2.      You will need to be able to explain the Electoral College

3.      Be familiar with the president’s and vice pres. powers.

4.      Be familiar with the major duties and responsibilities of the pres.

a.       Commander in chief         e. Head of state

b.      Chief Diplomat                 f. Chief executive

c.       Legislative leader              g. Economic planner

d.      Party leader                       h. Judicial leader

Ch. 9 Presidential Leadership (Cabinet and Executive Office)

1.      Know what the Cabinet is. How long it has been around. How is a Secretary chosen. What is the role of the Cabinet.

2.      Know the 15 Depts. what each does.

3.      The Executive Office-What is it? Who created it and why?

A.    White House Office

i.                    Press Secretary

ii.                  Chief of Staff

iii.                White House Counsel

B.     National Security Council

i.                    National Security Advisor

ii.                  CIA

C.     Office of Management and Budget

i.                    Budget Director

D.    National Economic Council

Ch. 10 The Federal Bureaucracy

1. Know the difference between a Regulatory Agency, an Independent Agency and a Gov’t Corporation.
2. The Civil Service
3. Iron Triangle
4. Why has our federal bureaucracy grown so much over the years?
5. Know some of the major influences on our govt’s. policy-making.

                        A. Congress - legislation

                                               Budget

                        B. Courts

                        C. Other groups eg. gov’t agencies, interest groups

      There are a lot of other terms that we have studied that are in your notes. Be sure to review your notes to refresh on some of these important terms.

Mr. Thompson

Voter turnout

Since we are getting closer and closer to election day, here is a link to some voting data from the 2008 Presidential General Election state by state. Check out Minnesota....something I am sure you are all very proud of. Comments are welcome. Remember to post what you found out and then to comment on why that is significant or in this case your theory on what might cause the data to look the way it does.

Mr. Thompson

Voter requirements

Check this site out. Read about the requirement needed to be able to vote in any of our states. Compare Minnesota's requirements versus any other state. Does Minnesota make it easier to vote or more difficult than most states. Thinking of moving? Find out what is required of a voter to be able to participate in this great civic action wherever you may be headed or thinking of going.

Mr. Thompson

Our Courts in Minnesota

This link provides you access to a ton of information on our state courts. You can go to the website of our very own court in downtown Rochester. You can find out how to file suit against that neighbor who's dog won't stop barking at 1 AM and interupting you from your government studying. You can find out how to appeal that traffic citation. Have some fun learning about stuff you hopefully will never have to put to practical use.

Mr. Thompson

Minnesota Supreme Court

Each state has their own Supreme Court. This link allows you to access the homepage of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Look around the site and then post something you found that you thing your classmates might be interested in. You can meet the 7 justices, find out what cases they are hearing in the near future, learn about some of the people who work within the court system, and a plethora of other good tidbits.

Mr. Thompson

The US Supreme Court

The US Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. This is the website of the court. You can access the cases they are currently hearing, meet the justices who are currently on the court, read about the rules of the court should you want to visit the court etc. There is a lot of info on this site. Feel free to do a little exploring and post something interesting you found and explain a bit about it.

Mr. Thompson

Are you ready to caucus Minnesota?

For those of you wanting to caucus in Minnesota, or just wondering what caucusing is all about, here is a 5 minute video explaining the caucus process. I am also including the primary and caucus schedule for the various states for 2012. You can see when Minnesot'a caucus' are compared to other states. Feel free to comment the content from either of the 2 links.

Mr. Thompson