STUDY GUIDE FOR THE DISTRICT CIVICS FINAL EXAM

  

 1. Early American History leading to the Constitution

  • Boston Tea Party

  • The Declaration of Independence

    • Why was it written

    • Analyze the meaning of its famous introduction:

    • We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

  • The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

  • Anti-federalists, the ratification and adding of the Bill of Rights

    • (Review amendments 1 [religion, speech, press, assembly and petition] and 2 [the right to bear arms])

2. Forms of government. Do you know these?

  • dictatorship

  • republic

  • autocracy

  • direct democracy

  • totalitarian

  • absolute monarchy

  • Presidential vs. Parliamentary democracy

  • oligarchy

    • 3. Active Citizenship

  • What would be the best application of these various examples of citizen action?

    • Go to a city council meeting to express an opinion

    • Boycott a business and urge others to do so…

    • Refuse to vote at a city council election

    • Write a letter to a government official about a matter of concern

    • Work through a volunteer organization to accomplish a task

    • Work through a governmental organization to accomplish a task

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    4. Voting

    • The mechanics of the ballot

    • Primary, general, special elections

    • Political parties

    • Party loyalists - people who always vote Republican or always vote Democratic

    • Cross pressured voter - someone who is normally a Democrat, for instance, but because of his religion, for instance, is influenced to vote in a way a Democrat normally would not. 

    • Straight party ticket -  Someone who only votes for one party in the ballot box.  For instance, a person votes for all the Republicans on the ballot, or all the Democrats.

    • Multi-party systems - For instance, in Britain, there are many parties, not just the two we have, Republican and Democratic. When no party gets a majority of the votes, parties must form a coalition to get a Prime Minister elected, for instance.

    • 3rd party candidates - Someone in America who runs against the candidates from the Republican and Democratic parties. 

    • Major philosophic differences between Republicans and Democrats

    • One-party systems--such as a theocracy might have, or a communist system..there is no real choice because there is only the one party.

    • The Electoral College - the system that elects our President.  A candidate must win 270 of the electoral votes, which is a majority of the 538 total electoral votes that are possible.

    • Formula for calculating electors.  The number of members of Congress (House plus Senate)  = number of Electors from that state.

     

    5. Special interest groups. What are they? What is their danger? (The danger is that only a limited number of people can have a very powerful influence on the legislators, because they have such powerful lobbies. This is undemocratic. )

     

    How are they like and unlike political parties?:

     

    How interest groups and political parties compare Special interest groups.  Examples: the NRA (National Rifle Association) or the Sierra Club (environmental organization)  Political Parties

    (Republican and Democratic)
    How broad are the issues they take up? Special interest groups have a very narrow range on issues.  The NRA is interested in guns.  The Sierra Club is interested in the environment. Political parties have a very broad range of issues they are interested in, almost everything in the political realm: defense, taxes, welfare, foreign affairs
    Who gets involved? A relatively limited number of people get involved in these groups, just those a commitment to the issue. A very wide variety of citizens get involved in the two parties, people from all walks of life with different interests.

     

     

    6. Media

    • The role of media in a democracy

    • Presidential campaign strategies

    • Propaganda techniques, eg. Transfer and testimonial

    • Political cartoons

    7. Structure of the US government Exec – Leg – Jud (review of the US Constitution)

  • Powers of Each branch (Separation of Powers) - Checks and balances -- Federalism

  • Congress: legislate, override vetoes, impeach, consent

  • President: , lead, veto, appoint, carry out laws and defends the rule of law, leader in foreign policy

  • President’s roles: Chief jurist, Chief Legislator, Head of the party, Commander-in-Chief, Head of state

  • Supreme Court – the undemocratic power of judicial review

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    TERMS:

    • NGO, IGO (US, EU, NATO, etc.) Volunteerism