Government Review

Government HSA

Review

2023

Unit I

Foundations

of

Government

● Kinds of government

○ autocracy

■ definition = one person rules by himself
■ includes monarchies, dictatorships, authoritarian governments
■ found in North Korea, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, and Brunei
■ advantages = government projects get done quickly because there

is no discussion

■ disadvantages = citizens are unlikely to have any rights

○ oligarchy

■ definition = a few people rule by themselves
■ found in China and Russia
■ advantages = gives the illusion of democracy
■ disadvantages = unless you are part of the few ruling, you are

unlikely to have many rights or say in the government’s decisions

○ democracy

■ definition = lots of people participate in ruling
■ includes direct democracies and representative democracies
■ found in the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, Japan, Brazil,

Australia, Namibia, Botswana, South Korea, and France

Multiple Choice

Government where one person is in charge

• Autocracy

• Democracy

• Oligarchy

Multiple Choice

A small group rules the country

• democracy

• anarchy 

• oligarchy

Multiple Choice

What does the word democracy mean?

• Freedom

• Money

• rule by the people

Multiple Choice

What type of government do we have in the USA?

• Representative Democracy

• Direct Democracy

• Authoritarian Democracy

■ advantages = all citizens likely to have guaranteed rights
■ disadvantages = government projects get done very slowly because

there is so much discussion among so many people

○ anarchy

■ definition = no one rules anyone
■ advantages = unrestricted freedom
■ disadvantages = no government to guarantee your unrestricted

freedom, resulting in chaos

● Kinds of states

○ unitary

■ definition = government functions centered in one central

government, without meaningful political subdivisions

■ found in Japan, France, and Israel
■ advantages = simple, direct, clear; ideal for smaller countries
■ disadvantages = may not be in touch with distant citizens’ needs

○ federal

■ definition = government functions divided and shared between a

central government and one or more sovereign political subdivisions

■ found in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, and Australia

Multiple Choice

Nobody is in charge

• Monarchy

• Anarchy

• Junta

Multiple Choice

What type of system is governed as a single power in which the central government is ultimately supreme and any administrative divisions (sub-national units) exercise only the powers that the central government chooses to delegate?

• Unitary

• Federal

• Confederate

• Parliamentary

Multiple Choice

What type of system is governed by sharing power between a central government and one or more sovereign states?

• Unitary

• Federal

• Confederate

• Parliamentary

■ advantages = multiple means of accessing government; ideal for

larger countries

■ disadvantages = overlapping/redundant government services,

complicated

● Enlightenment philosophy

○ Locke

■ contributed the concepts of consent of the governed and natural

rights (“life, liberty, and the pursuit of liberty”)

○ Hobbes

■ contributed the concepts of equal protection and the social contract

(“We the People”)

○ Rousseau

■ contributed the concepts of popular sovereignty and social contract

theory

Multiple Select

Locke argued that we had 3 main natural rights. What are they? (Select 3)

• Life

• Liberty

• Pursuit of Happiness

• Property

Multiple Choice

People give up some portion of their liberty in exchange for _________, according to Thomas Hobbes.

• legitimacy

• security

• oligarchy

Multiple Choice

Who said that government rules by consent of the people?

• Charles Montesquieu

• Thomas Paine

• Denis Diderot

• Jean Jacques Rosseau

○ Montesquieu

■ contributed the concepts of separation of powers and checks & balances

● Kinds of economies

○ traditional

■ definition = key economic questions answered by habit, tradition, and/or

superstition

■ found in isolated communities only
■ advantages = people always know what to produce, how, and when
■ disadvantages = little or no variety or innovation

○ command

■ definition = key economic questions answered by a government agency
■ found in countries with authoritarian governments
■ advantages = people always know what to produce, how, and when
■ disadvantages = little or no variety or innovation permitted

○ market

■ definition = key economic questions are answered by whomever is able
■ found in China today and in eighteenth century England
■ advantages = choice and opportunity
■ disadvantages = no quality control and inherent unfairness

Multiple Choice

To him, what was the best form of government?

• where each powers (legislative, executive, and judicial) were separate and kept each other in check to prevent any branch from becoming too powerful

• democracy

• absolute monarchy

• every man for himself

Multiple Choice

What are the characteristics of a traditional economic system?

• Relies on government

• Driven by consumers

• built upon traditions, customs, and beliefs

Multiple Choice

The Country of North Korea has a dictator that makes all of the economic decisions. What type of economy is this?

• Traditional 

• Market 

• Command 

Multiple Choice

A system in which buyers and sellers interact freely and willingly in market decisions

• Market economy

• Command economy

• Traditional Economy

○ mixed

■ definition = key economic questions are answered in a variety of ways,

including examples of market, command, and tradition

■ found in the US and most other modern countries
■ advantages = choice, opportunity, innovation, and consumer protections
■ disadvantages = few

● Kinds of economics

○ capitalism

■ definition = the means of production are privately owned and exploited

for profit by entrepreneurs

■ found in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, and Japan
■ advantages = choice, opportunity, innovation
■ disadvantages = leads to exploitation of consumers and workers by

owners and financiers, leads to exploitation of the environment by
producers

○ socialism

■ definition = the means of production are both privately and publicly

owned for both profit and socioeconomic justice

■ found in Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, and Norway

Multiple Choice

What do you think the definition of mixed economy is?

• An economic system in which production is determined by unrestricted competition.

• An economy in which production is determined centrally by the government.

• An economic system combining private enterprise, traditions & commands from the government.

• An economic system in which prices are determined by unrestricted competition.

■ advantages = combines much of the choice, opportunity, and

innovation of capitalism with specific industries owned/regulated for
the people by the government

■ disadvantages = limits the amount of profits available to some

entrepreneurs, owners, financiers, and producers

○ communism

■ definition = the means of production are publicly owned by the

government

■ found in Cuba and North Korea
■ advantages = eliminates problems driven by greed
■ disadvantages = eliminates innovation driven by the profit incentive

● Major principles of American government

○ representative democracy
○ federalism
○ popular sovereignty

■ people make their own political choices, eg voting

○ limited government

■ laws and the Constitution prevent the government from taking away

citizens’ rights and liberty

○ rule of law

■ no one is above the law, everyone must follow the laws, including

the president and Congress

○ majority rule with minority rights

■ while elections are won and laws are passed by a winning majority

of those voting, the rights of minorities cannot be neglected or
taken away

○ separation of powers

■ our government is separated into three branches with different

powers of equal strength

○ checks and balances

■ each of the three branches uses its separate powers to check on

and rebalance the other two; eg (1) judicial review by the Supreme
Court, (2) the power to tax by the House of Representatives, (3) veto
power of the president, and (4) advise and consent authority of the
Senate

Unit II

Foundations

and

Structures of

the US

Constitution

● Important founding documents before the US

Constitution

○ Declaration of Independence

■ written by Thomas Jefferson
■ signed and ratified by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776
■ “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,

that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

○ Articles of Confederation

■ our country’s first constitution
■ established a league of friendship among the thirteen former colonies
■ too weak to effectively govern the country following the Revolutionary

War

● no power to tax
● no executive branch
● no judicial branch
● required 9-out-of-13 states to pass legislation
● too difficult to amend: required unanimous consent to amend the Articles

● US Constitution

○ constitutional convention at Philadelphia in the summer of

1787

■ delegates meet to either fix the Articles of Confederation or to

rewrite the constitution

■ led by George Washington, notes kept by James Madison
■ big states versus small states
■ strong government versus weak government
■ northern states versus southern states

○ compromises

■ the Great Compromise (aka the “Connecticut Compromise”)

● establishes a bicameral legislature, with a House of Representatives elected by the people

according to their state’s populations and a Senate elected by the states with two senators
per state regardless of population

○ settles the big states/small states dilemma

■ the Three-fifths Compromise

● determines that slaves will count as 3/5 of a person for population calculations

○ settles the northern/southern dilemma

○ a public ratification debate

■ Federalists versus Anti-federalists

● Federalists publish the Federalist papers to promote the strong government designed by

the Constitution

● Anti-federalists publish their own pamphlets to warn against a too strong government

■ debate settled by another compromise

● the Constitution will be immediately ratified as is but the new congress will immediately

adopt a bill of rights amendments to limit the strength of the government

○ settles the strong/weak dilemma

○ the structure of the US Constitution

■ Preamble

● “We the People…”

● lists the six main goals or responsibilities of the government

○ “…form a more perfect union…”

○ “…establish justice…”

○ “…ensure domestic tranquility…”

○ “…provide for the common defense…”

○ “…promote the general welfare…”

○ “…secure the blessings of liberty…”

■ seven articles

● I: establishes the legislative branch

○ with expressed powers, implied powers, concurrent powers, and inherent powers

● II: establishes the executive branch

● III: establishes the judicial branch

■ amendments

● Amendments I through X = the Bill of Rights

○ I: guarantees our freedom of expression (religion, speech, press, assembly, petition)

○ II: guarantees our freedom to bear arms if we are part of the militia

○ IV: guarantees our freedom from unreasonable search and seizure

○ V: guarantees our freedom from self-incrimination and double jeopardy

○ VI: guarantees our right to legal representation

○ VIII: guarantees our freedom from cruel or unusual punishments and right to a fair,

speedy, public trial with a jury of our peers

○ X: guarantees that we have other rights not listed

● some of the other seventeen amendments

○ XIII: abolishes slavery

○ XIV: establishes national citizenship, guarantees due process to all, and guarantees

equal protection of the laws to all

○ XV: guarantees suffrage to all former slaves and other African American men

○ XIX: guarantees suffrage to all women

○ XXVI: lowers the voting age to 18

Unit III

Political

Participation

● Political parties

○ definition = a group of people with varied interests

organized to get candidates elected

○ purpose = to provide a label and an organization to

candidates for public office

○ kinds

■ worldwide

● single-party systems

○ China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran

● multiparty systems

○ Canada, Great Britain, France, Japan

■ in the US

● two-party system

○ Democratic Party (mascot: donkey), Republican Party (mascot: elephant)

● with many third parties

○ obstacles to their success include a lack of money, a lack of name recognition, a lack

of organization, and ideas and voters stolen by the two major political parties

○ kinds of third parties: (1) single issue parties, (2) splinter parties, (3) reform parties

● Interest groups

○ definition = a group of people with one main interest

organized to influence the government

○ purpose = to provide a label and an organization to

lobbyists to gain access to politicians

○ kinds

■ representing individuals

● AARP, NAACP

■ representing businesses or labor unions
■ representing other countries
■ representing political parties
■ representing ideas and/or causes

● Sierra Club, Heritage Foundation, Public Citizen, ACLU

■ for the purpose of gathering money for political candidates

● PACs and SuperPACs

● Political participation

○ voting

■ easiest way to participate in our representative democracy

● must be at least 18 years of age and a legal resident and citizen

■ who votes

● older Americans, educated Americans, white Americans, wealthy Americans

○ running for elected public office

■ political campaigns

● require money for political advertisements on TV, radio, newspapers, and the internet
● requires an image and a message from the candidate
● propaganda = methods used by the media to persuade voters to think and act a particular

way, either to benefit their candidate/political party or to harm the opposing
candidate(s)/political party

■ there are lots of elections in America

● local level

○ mayor, city council, county council, school board of education member

● state level

○ governor, state delegate, state senator

● national level

○ president, representative, senator

■ kinds of elections

● primary elections = occur in the late winter to early summer of a presidential election year;

run by states, for the purpose of selecting political party candidates for president (via
delegates to each political party’s National Convention)

○ leads to the National Convention held in August/September prior to the presidential

election; its sole purpose is to introduce the political party’s candidate to the general
public and to generate “buzz”

● general elections = occur on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November each year
● midterm elections = general elections that occur in even-numbered non-presidential

election years

● presidential elections = general elections that occur in presidential election years (every

four years [correspond to leap years])

○ other common ways to participate

■ attending a protest and/or a rally
■ campaigning on behalf of a candidate and/or political party
■ canvassing on behalf of a candidate, political party, interest group,

or voter registration

■ donating time and/or money to a candidate, political party, or

interest group

■ speak at a local citizens’ meeting (this is also often the most

effective way to participate)

Unit IV

The

Legislative

Branch

● Congress

○ purpose = to make the laws

○ structure = bicameral (“two chambers”)

■ House of Representatives

● the “lower house”

○ represents the people

○ all tax laws must begin in the House (aka “the power of the purse”)

● 435 representatives, elected from legislative districts for two-year terms

○ each state has at least one representative

○ districts determined by population as counted by the decennial census

■ reapportionment = every ten years, following a census, the 435 representatives

are redistributed among the fifty states, so that states that have grown in
population quickly may receive more representatives and those that have not
grown or have shrunk may lose representatives

■ redistricting = every ten years, following a census, the districts are redrawn to

reflect the movement of population

■ gerrymandering = to redistrict according for political advantage rather than for

population change

■ Senate

● the “upper house”

○ represents the states

○ advises and gives consent to the president’s appointees and treaties

● 100 senators, elected two from each state for six-year terms

○ elected at staggered intervals, 1/3 at a time

○ function

■ leadership

● in the House: Speaker of the House, House Majority Leader, House Minority Leader, House

Majority Whip, House Minority Whip

○ lots of rules to move legislation through quickly

● in the Senate: Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, Senate Majority Whip,

Senate Minority Whip; president of the Senate and president pro tempore

○ fewer rules to facility more debate and deliberation

■ the committee system = how most work (lawmaking) gets done

● kinds of committees

● standing = permanent committees that do most of the work, hearings, and bill-writing

○ sometimes have subcommittees to assist with all the work

● select = temporary committees that investigate important events and questions

● joint = temporary committees that investigate important events and questions and have

members from both houses together

● conference = temporary committees that reconcile House and Senate versions of bills so

that one version can be presented to the president to sign

Unit V

The Executive

Branch

● The president

○ purpose = to execute the laws (ie carry out the laws)

■ roles of the president

● Chief Executive = the “boss” of the government
● Head of State = ceremonial head of the government and nation
● Commander in Chief = civilian leader of the military
● Chief Diplomat = responsible for all treaties, international agreements, and international

negotiations

● Legislative Leader = responsible for signing/vetoing bills submitted by Congress, for

creating an annual budget, and for submitting an annual legislative agenda

○ structure

■ Vice-President = the person waiting for the president to die
■ the Cabinet = the president’s chief advisors and department heads
■ Executive Office of the President (EOP) = the president’s personal

staff and leadership team

■ White House Staff = the staff of the West Wing of the White House
■ the federal bureaucracy = the millions of federal employees and

appointees who run the government on a daily basis

○ function

■ electing a president is complicated

● each political party nominates a “ticket” (president and vice-president) and creates a

“platform” (what the party and president will stand for if elected)

● elected on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
● elected to a four-year term, may serve up to two terms
● each state counts their popular vote (the number of voters who actually voted for each

candidate), which is turned into an electoral vote (equal to the total number of
representatives and senators that state has serving in Congress)

○ it is the electoral vote that actually determines the election of the president
○ this occurs in the Electoral College (not an actual place)

■ running the government is complicated

● Cabinet and bureaucratic departments and agencies

○ Department of State = secretary of state, handles international affairs
○ Department of Justice (DoJ) = attorney general, handles national law enforcement
○ Department of Defense (DoD) = secretary of defense, oversees the military

○ Department of the Treasury = secretary of the treasury, handles money, taxes, and

revenue

○ Department of the Interior = secretary of the interior, handles natural resources,

mines, and federal lands

○ Department of Agriculture (USDA) = secretary of agriculture, oversees farming and

food production

○ Department of Commerce = secretary of commerce, handles business

○ Department of Education = secretary of education, handles education policies

○ Department of Energy = secretary of energy, oversees energy production

○ Department of Labor = secretary of labor, protects workers

○ Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) = secretary of health and human

services, handles healthcare

○ Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) = secretary of housing and

urban development, handles fair housing and helps the urban poor

○ Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) = secretary of veterans affairs, handles veterans’

services and healthcare

○ Department of Transportation (DoT) = secretary of transportation, handles all kinds of

transportation

○ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) = secretary of homeland security, protects

us from terrorism

○ United States Postal Service (USPS) = handles the mail

○ Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) = handles efforts to protect and

preserve the environment

○ National Institutes of Health (NIH) = conduct research into medical issues and

treatments

○ Centers for Disease Control (CDC) = conduct research into diseases

○ National Security Council (NSC) = advises the president on terrorism

○ National Security Administration (NSA) = conducts electronic spying of terrorists

○ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) = conducts national policing

○ Federal Reserve System (the Fed) = conducts monetary policy

○ Council of Economic Advisers = advises the president on economic policy

○ Office of Management and Budget (OMB) = advises the president on the national

budget and prepares his annual budget

Unit VI

The Judicial

Branch

● The courts

○ purpose = to interpret the laws

○ structure

■ kinds of courts

● constitutional = courts created by the US Constitution, including most trial courts

● legislative = courts created by acts of Congress, includes tax courts

■ systems of courts

● state = handle laws of individual states for residents of individual states

● federal = handle federal laws, laws of two or more states, and residents of different states

■ jurisdiction

● original = the first court you go to with your trial/lawsuit

● appellate = courts you go to after you have had your original verdict

■ the court of “last resort”

● US Supreme Court

○ consists of nine justices (judges) that hear the cases no other court can decide

○ at the top of all lower American courts

○ function

■ kinds of law

● civil law

○ to settle disputes and come to agreements between two or more people and/or

businesses

○ kinds of civil law

■ family law
■ contract law
■ property law
■ torts (aka “wrongful acts”)

○ lawsuits

■ plaintiff versus defendant
■ plaintiff seeks damages and/or relief from the defendant
■ requires a preponderance of evidence
■ liable or not liable verdicts
■ out of court settlements, mediation, arbitration

● criminal law

○ to settle crimes against society (aka “the people”)

○ kinds of crimes

■ petty offenses

■ misdemeanors

■ felonies

○ criminal trials

■ prosecutor versus defendant

■ the prosecution seeks the conviction of the defense

■ requires convincing the jury beyond a reasonable doubt

■ guilty or not guilty verdicts

■ plea bargaining

● Landmark Supreme Court cases that you MUST

know

○ Marbury v. Madison

■ established the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review

○ Baker v. Carr

■ asserted the principle of “one man, one vote”

○ Brown v. Board of Education

■ overturned the Plessy decision and rejected the separate-but-equal

doctrine of racial segregation and discrimination

○ Miranda v. Arizona

■ affirmed the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee against self-incrimination

■ established the “Miranda warning”

○ Tinker v. Des Moines

■ affirmed the First Amendment for students in public schools (so

long as the free speech does not interfere with education)

○ New Jersey v. TLO

■ limited the Fourth Amendment’s guarantee against unreasonable

search and seizure for students in public schools

○ United States v. Nixon

■ clarified the limits of presidential executive privilege

○ McDonald v. Chicago

■ selectively incorporated the Second Amendment

Unit VII

Public Policy

● Economic policy

○ economic basics

■ economic indicators

● gross domestic product (GDP) = the measure of the total value of all goods and services

produced within the United States within a given period of time

○ informs economists about the overall health of the economy

● consumer price index (CPI) = the measure of the prices of common household goods and

services within a given period of time

○ informs economists about the level of inflation in the economy

● unemployment rate = the number of people who do not have a job but are currently looking

for a job over a given period of time

○ informs economists about the strength of the economy

■ the business cycle

● a healthy economy = “expansion” or “recovery”

○ features a rising GDP, steady CPI, and low or falling unemployment rate

● an unhealthy economy = “recession”, “depression”, or “inflation”

○ features a falling GDP, unsteady or suddenly very high CPI, and a high or rising

unemployment rate

○ fiscal policy = taxes and government spending designed to

maintain a healthy US economy

■ tools of fiscal policy wielded by Congress

● taxes
● government spending

■ if the economy is growing too slowly or it is in a recession or a

depression: (1) lower taxes, (2) increase government spending, or (3) a
combination of both → results in more people with more money to
spend, which prompts consumers to spend and businesses to produce,
expand, and hire

■ if the economy is growing too fast or there is inflation: (1) raise taxes, (2)

decrease government spending, or (3) a combination of both → results
in less money for people to spend, which prompts consumers to spend
less, which decreases the pressure on prices to rise

○ monetary policy = banking and credit policies designed to

maintain a healthy US economy

■ tools of monetary policy wielded by the Federal Reserve System of banks

● open market operations = buying/selling government securities
● discount rate = raising/lowering the interest rates banks charge banks
● reserve requirement = increasing/decreasing the amount of money member banks need to keep on

hand in their vaults

■ if the economy is growing too slowly or it is in a recession or a

depression: (1) buy securities on the open market, (2) lower the discount
rate, and/or (3) reduce the reserve requirement → results in more money
and credit available for consumers and producers to borrow

■ if the economy is growing too fast or there is inflation: (1) sell securities

on the open market, (2) raise the discount rate, and/or (3) increase the
reserve requirement → results in less money and credit available for
consumers and producers to borrow

● Environmental policy

○ conservationism

■ to preserve the natural environment of the US by setting aside unused

lands and waters, by reclaiming spent lands and waters, and by
protecting endangered species of plants and wildlife

○ environmentalism

■ to improve the natural environment by redirecting society’s priorities

● Foreign policy

○ diplomacy

■ foreign aid = giving money, credit, or humanitarian aid to countries in

need to promote either current or future support of US diplomatic and/or
military goals

■ economic sanctions = withholding money, credit, or trade to countries in

response to conduct contrary to US diplomatic/military goals

■ nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) = international aid organizations,

such as the International Red Cross

■ United Nations (UN) = promotes international diplomatic cooperation
■ North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) = promotes multinational

military cooperation

● State and local policy

○ education policy

■ supported by a local special tax district
■ governed by an elected board of education and a superintendent

○ election/voting policy

■ handled by a combination of state and federal laws
■ in order to vote, you must first register locally to vote

○ land-use policy

■ zoning = how local authorities organize and control land-use
■ smart growth = how state and regional authorities manage sprawl and

maintain green space and support the health of the Chesapeake Bay

Good luck on the
Government HSA!