Government Final Review

Voting rights have been expanded several times in our history. How did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 help expand these rights for citizens?

• Lowered the minimum age to vote to 18

• Banned charging a poll tax in order to vote

• Prevented the disenfranchisement of eligible voters

• Allowed people to vote directly for their state senators

Why is the Arizona State Constitution better able to change in response to shifting needs of the people compared to the United States Constitution.

• Arizona State Constitution has an amendment process built into it.

• Both the State House of Reps and the State Senate must agree on new laws.

• Arizona Constitution has the processes of initiative and referendum built into it.

• The people directly vote for 100% of all new laws in Arizona.

The Warren Supreme Court was known for being judicially active. The Court's ruling on Brown v Board of Education that overturned the long standing precedent of "separate but equal" illustrates how judicial activism can help society in what way?

• Creating new laws and precedents to rectify injustices the courts observe in society.

• Protecting people from discrimination.

• Ensuring laws are applied in the way they were originally intended.

• Maintains consistency in our legal system.

The 6th Amendment guarantees the accused a speedy and public trial in all criminal cases. How can citizens ensure the accused are able to get this right?

• Staying informed on public issues.

• Performing jury duty.

• Voting regularly in all elections.

• Volunteering in their communities.

“He has affected to render the Military independent of 

and superior to the Civil power.”

~Declaration of Independence 1776

Based on this passage from the Declaration of Independence, why would our founders want the President to be the Commander in Chief of the Military and give the power to declare war to Congress?

• To ensure our President has military training.

• To make the executive branch the most powerful branch.

• To prevent conflicts between the Army and Navy.

• To ensure a civilian controlled the military.

Arizona wants to sue California over water rights. Which Court System will have original jurisdiction in this case?

• Arizona/California Supreme Court

• The US Supreme Court

• The Arizona Court of Appeals

• The 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals

What is the MAIN reason the Founding Fathers made each of the three branches interdependent on each other?

• So citizens can directly control the actions of the government.

• To limit the influence of the federal government over state affairs.

• To prevent one branch of the government from becoming too powerful.

• To make it easy for members of Congress to pass laws for the nation.

Claire was recently selected to be the leader of her country. She is a member of the Tennis Ball Party and, in the last election, she won a seat in the national congress. The Tennis Ball Party won more seats than any other party and, when the congress met to select the leader of the country, Claire's fellow Tennis Ball Party members voted for her. She will now serve as the head of government.

What type of government is this scenario describing?

• Claire is the leader of an autocracy and only has executive power.

• Claire is the leader of an oligarchy and only has legislative power.

• Claire is the leader of a parliamentary democracy and has legislative and executive power.

• Claire is the leader of a presidential democracy and has legislative and executive power.

In his inaugural address, Republican President Ronald Reagan claimed that the government is not the solution but the problem.

Based on this speech, what presidential polices did Reagan try and pursue?

• Reducing the size of the federal government.

• Expand authority over state governments.

• Reducing the power of the executive branch.

• Expanding the regulatory powers the government has over businesses.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
In a unanimous decision, the Court held that Congress had the power to incorporate the national bank and that Maryland could not tax instruments of the national government employed in the execution of constitutional powers.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
The Court concluded that the national government had exclusive power over interstate commerce, negating state laws interfering with the exercise of that power.

What was the effect these two cases had on our government?

• Establishing the precedent of more state and local control over affairs.

• Strengthen the federal government over state governments.

• Granting more power to the states to override federal actions.

• Challenged the new republican form of American government.