MS Civics & Citizenship Part A Semester Final Exam Review

Which statement best explains why government is important?

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  Government exists to guide citizens’ behavior and protect them from harm.

  
  

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  Government exists to tell citizens who is to blame when their needs are not met.

  
  

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  Government exists to stabilize nations and prevent them from undergoing change.

  
  

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  Government exists to provide political leaders with their basic principles.

  
  

What is the primary purpose of most constitutions?

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  to define and limit government power

  
  

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  to provide a substitute for government

  
  

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  to give the government absolute power

  
  

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  to define a moral and religious code for people to follow

  
  

Which sentence in the US Constitution provides for limiting the power of government?

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  “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion . . . or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.”

  
  

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  “All persons born or naturalized in the United States . . . are citizens of the United States.”

  
  

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  “The president shall be commander in chief of the army and navy.”

  
  

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  “The Constitution . . . shall be the supreme law of the land.”

  
  

Match each economic ideology with its correct example. 

• business is directed by government

• Communism

• business is 100% owned by government

• Capitalism

• business exists to only serve the nation

• Socialism

• business exists to benefit individuals

• Fascism

Select ALL the correct answers.

What were two reasons why the Founders gave more power to the states rather than the federal government under the Articles of Confederation?

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  People did not trust a strong federal government after years of British rule.

  
  

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  Most people felt more loyalty to their home states than the federal government.

  
  

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  If each state had its own government, there was no need for a federal government.

  
  

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  People did not feel a national identity as Americans.

  
  

What evidence supports the idea that the Bill of Rights was key to the ratification of the Constitution?

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  Without it, the Founders would have lost the support of Anti-Federalists toward ratification.

  
  

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  Without it, there would not have been equal representation of large and small states in Congress.

  
  

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  Without it, there would have been no explicit mention of the principle of popular sovereignty.

  
  

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  Without it, the Founders' intentions about selecting the president would have been ambiguous.

  
  

How does the structure of Congress extend the idea of "separation of powers" within the Legislative Branch itself?

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  by giving the House and the Senate different powers

  
  

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  by allowing the House and the Senate to veto the President

  
  

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  by having the leaders of Congress oppose one another

  
  

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  by limiting Congress to only meeting at certain times of the year

  
  

Which of these is a power of the executive branch of the government?

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  vetoing legislation

  
  

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  impeaching presidents

  
  

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  declaring a law unconstitutional

  
  

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  overriding a presidential veto

  
  

Match each presidential power with its use.

• make rules without congressional action

• Executive Order

• cancel or postpone a criminal sentence

• Diplomatic Power

• legally forgive a crime

• Pardon

• author foreign policy

• Legislative Power

• recommend policies to Congress

• Reprieve

Select ALL the correct answers.

What are two ways that the legislative branch checks the executive branch in the selection of judicial appointees? 

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  The Senate Judiciary interviews judicial appointments.

  
  

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  Congress can reject judicial appointments.

  
  

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  Congress can change the term length of appointments.

  
  

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  The Senate Judiciary committee makes judicial appointments.