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Exam 1 Study Guide

Exam 1 Study Guide

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29 views

Exam 1 Study Guide

Exam 1 Study Guide

Uploaded by

milesnxbones
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PSC 201 Exam 1 Study Guide

Study Guidelines
Beyond focusing on the key terms at the end of the chapters to be tested (chapters 1, 2, 3, and 6),
take time to make sure you are familiar with the following terms and concepts.

Study Information
1. Political institutions
a. Types of rules that describe political institutions.
2. What is a constitution?
3. Role of bargaining and compromise in contemporary politics
4. Authority
5. Power
6. Absolute veto
a. Does the president possess an absolute veto?
7. Revolutionary government
a. Colonial experiences with self-government
i. Were those experiences helpful after the Revolutionary War?
8. Declaration of Independence
a. Who wrote?
b. What is the primary right that Jefferson espoused the Declaration of
Independence establishes?
9. Articles of Confederation
a. Primary weaknesses
10. Constitutional Convention of 1787
a. Primary original purpose
b. The Great Compromise
c. Were the meetings public or secret? Why?
11. Popular sovereignty
12. The Constitution
a. Separation of powers – also known as checks and balances
b. Article 1 – The Legislature
i. Powers
ii. The Commerce Clause
iii. The Necessary and Proper Clause
iv. House of Representatives
1. How many persons did a slave count as for the purposes of
representation?
v. How does the legislature check the executive and the judiciary?
c. Article 2 – The Executive
i. Powers
ii. How does the executive check the legislature and the judiciary?
d. Article 3 – The Judiciary
i. Powers
ii. How does the judiciary check the executive and the legislature?
e. Article 4
i. The Supremacy Clause
13. Passing an amendment to the constitution
a. How did the framers make it challenging?
14. American federalism
a. Under the Articles
i. States conducted their own international trade policies
1. Was this exploited by other countries?
b. Federal versus state power
i. How the balance between the two varies over time
c. States versus states
i. Competition between states to attract business
15. The New Deal
a. What was the purpose?
b. What made it innovative?
16. Environmental Protection Agency
a. National environmental standards and what it means for states
17. Differences between the House of Representatives and the Senate
a. Number of years for each term
b. How they were originally elected (by the people versus by state legislatures)
c. How many Senators does each state get? How many Representatives does each state
get?
i. Which regions of the United States (i.e. South, Midwest, etc.) are growing
the fastest in population and thus receiving more representation in
Congress?
18. Qualifications for holding office
a. Age
b. Oath of office
c. Property holding
d. Religious qualifications
19. Committees
a. Types of committees and roles of each
b. What happens to most bills after they are referred to a Congressional
committee?
c. Coalition building to successfully pass legislation occurs in the details of bills discussed
in committees
20. What is the procedure for Congress to override a presidential veto?
21. Gerrymandering and reapportionment
22. Demographics of Congress
a. Do the people elected to Congress perfectly reflect the demographics of the people of
the United States?
23. Budget
a. How do Congressional committees authorize spending?
b. What is the difference between a deficit and a debt?
24. Congressional staff
a. How has it evolved over the years?
b. What is the purpose of the varied staffers?

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