Federal Government Unit IV. Study Guide PDF

Federal Government Unit IV. (Chapters 10-13) Federal Government Unit IV. Study Guide Congress What is Article I of the U.S. Constitution? Why did the Founding Fathers list this branch of government first...

Federal Government Unit IV. (Chapters 10-13) Federal Government Unit IV. Study Guide Congress What is Article I of the U.S. Constitution? Why did the Founding Fathers list this branch of government first? What are the main functions of Congress? What does it mean for a member of Congress to be a representative? What is bicameral? Why does the United States have a bicameral legislative body? What is a constituent? What are the powers of Congress? How many members are in the House of Representatives and the Senate? How long are House and Senate terms? Why do Senators have longer terms? What are the qualifications for being a member of the House of Representatives and the Senators? The House and Senate have different duties; what are they? What does the power of the purse mean? What does it mean that congressional members act like a delegate or a trustee? What are the differences between descriptive and substantive representations? What does it mean that congressional members act as their constituents' agents? Does the Congressional body reflect the U.S. population? Most members of Congress share what occupation before being elected to Congress? What is casework? Why do legislators engage in casework? What are the three major factors affecting who gets elected to Congress? What is the "sophomore surge?" What is the incumbency rate in the House and the Senate? Why does the House have a higher incumbency rate than the Senate? What are safe districts? What are apportionment and reapportionment? Why does the United States engage in this process? What are the differences between redistricting and gerrymandering? What is direct patronage? What is pork barrel legislation? What are private bills? What is the leadership structure in the House and the Senate? Who serves as the president of the Senate, and what are the constitutional powers of this position? What role does the president pro tempore play in the Senate? How is this person selected? Who has the real power in the Senate and the House? How does partisanship affect the leadership of the House and the Senate? What is the purpose of the majority whips and minority whips in both the House and the Senate? What are the four types of committees in Congress? What are congressional subcommittees? What is a bill? What is the process of a bill becoming a law? What is committee markup? What happens when a bill is introduced in the House or the Senate? What percentage of bills die in committees? What are the differences between the "open rule" and the "closed rule" in the House? What is a filibuster? How can a filibuster end? 1|Page Unit IV. Study Guide Federal Government Federal Government Unit IV. (Chapters 10-13) What is the difference between a veto and a pocket veto? Can a veto or a pocket veto be overridden? What is the process of overriding a veto? What factors influence Congressional voting behavior? What is advice and consent, and what chamber has this power? How does the legislative branch check the judicial and executive branches? What is congressional oversight? What role do the House and the Senate play in the impeachment process? The Presidency What is Article II of the U.S. Constitution? What are the qualifications for being president as stated in the Constitution? What is executive privilege? What is the 22nd Amendment? What are the powers of the president? What are the president's emergency powers? What is the War Power Resolution? What are the differences between the president's expressed, delegated, inherent, and implied powers? What does it mean when a president "recognizes" a country? What type of power is this? What are the president's express powers? Know examples of this power. What are the president's military powers? Know examples of this power. What are the president's executive powers? Know examples of this power. What are the president's judicial powers? Know examples of this power. What are ways the president can influence the federal judicial process? What are the president's diplomatic powers? Know examples of this power. What are the president's legislative powers? Know examples of this power. What are the president's implied, delegated, and inherent powers? What are presidents that used their inherent powers during times of war? How does the president's inherent power differ from the president's inherent powers? What is a State of the Union Address? Why does the Constitution require the president to issue them? What are executive orders? How can issuing executive orders increase the power of the president? What are the differences between executive agreements and treaties? When are presidents more likely to make treaties and executive agreements? What are the differences between pocket vetos and vetos? Which type of veto can be overturned? What is required to override vetoes? What is the unitary executive theory? What is advice and consent? What are recess appointments? How many executive "cabinets"/departments are in the federal government, and what is the president's kitchen cabinet? What are the purposes of the departments and the kitchen cabinets? How are cabinet secretaries selected? Are they accountable the Congress? What is the White House staff? What components of presidents' "administrative strategy?" What is popular mobilization? How does "going public" increase the power of the president? What is the Executive Office of the President (EOP)? What is its role? Explain how modern presidents have become more powerful. What is the first lady/spouse's role in the country? What is the main political value of the vice president? What are the constitutional duties of the Vice President? What are legislative initiatives? What is the line of succession for the president? What is presidential approval? What are the president's honeymoon period and the lame-duck year? 2|Page Unit IV. Study Guide Federal Government Federal Government Unit IV. (Chapters 10-13) What are the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Council of Economic Advisers, and the National Security Council? What are signing statements? What checks does the executive branch have on the judicial and legislative branches? Bureaucracy in a Democracy What is the federal bureaucracy? What is a "street-level" bureaucrat? What do bureaucrats do? What does implementation mean? Why can the federal bureaucracy make rules? What are the key characteristics of bureaucracies? What are the 15 departments/cabinets? What are the oldest and newest departments? What are the heads of the departments called? How are they selected? What are independent agencies, government corporations, and independent regulatory commissions? What are examples of each? What is the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883? How does the merit system differ from the spoil system? What is the size of the federal government? Why have the state-level bureaucracies increased? Why has the federal bureaucracy decreased? What is Congressional oversight? What are "police patrol" and "fire alarm" oversight? What are judicial and citizen oversights? Federal Courts/ Judicial Branch What is Article III of the U.S. Constitution? What is the purpose of the Judicial Branch? What are the plaintiff and defendant? What are criminal and civil laws? What are the differences between the two? Who are the plaintiffs in cases involving criminal and civil laws? In criminal cases, can the plaintiffs appeal the decision? What is a plea bargain? What are the differences between state and federal courts? What type of jurisdiction does each court have? Which kind of court hears a majority of cases in the U.S.? What are precedent and Stare decisis? Why is the United States legal system based on precedent? What do the terms jurisdiction, original jurisdiction, and appellate jurisdiction? Which type of court has original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction? What types of cases are heard in Federal Courts? What are the purposes of U.S. District/Trial and U.S. Courts of Appeals? What happens when a Court of Appeals determines that the law was not applied correctly in a case? What happens when a Court of Appeals decides that the law was applied correctly? What are the three types of Federal Courts? How many Federal District/Trial Courts and Courts of Appeals Court are there? What is the total number of District/Trial and Courts of Appeal judges are there? How many appellate circuits are there? What appellate circuit is Texas in? How many judges hear a case in U.S. District/Trial Courts? Why are district courts called trial courts? Why are the U.S. District/Trial Courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals called 3|Page Unit IV. Study Guide Federal Government Federal Government Unit IV. (Chapters 10-13) inferior courts? Are the U.S. District/Trial Courts and U.S. Courts of Appeals discussed in the U.S. Constitution? What branch of government created the inferior courts? What percent of cases are heard in the U.S. Appellate Courts? How many judges usually hear an appeal in the Appellate Courts? Who sets the number of Supreme Court Justices? How many Supreme Court Justices are there? What are the duties of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? What type of jurisdiction does the Supreme Court have? How are federal judges selected? How long do they serve? According to the U.S. Constitution, what are the qualifications for being a federal judge? What is Judicial Review? What U.S. Supreme Court case established judicial review? Can the Supreme Court declares laws created by states unconstitutional? Why does the Supreme Court have this power? What is a writ of certiorari? What is a certiorari pool in the Supreme Court? What does it mean when the Supreme Court Justices decide to grant certiorari? What are the roles of the Solicitor General and the Supreme Court law clerks? How many law clerks does each Supreme Court Justice have? What is an amicus Curiae Brief? Why are they used? What is a brief, and why are they submitted to the Supreme Court? What are oral arguments? How long are the defendants' and plaintiffs' oral arguments in the Supreme Court? What happens during the Supreme Court's conferences? Are these conferences open to the public? What is a Supreme Court Opinion? What are the majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions? What are the differences between judicial restraint and judicial activism? 4|Page Unit IV. Study Guide Federal Government