Fall 2017

Civics Final
Study Guide
Your civics final will range between 175-200 questions. It will cover the chapters noted below, and include multiple choice and
true/false questions. You must take the final to pass the class. To assist you in your preparation, here is a handout which identifies
most of the material which will be covered on the final. The study guide identifies important vocabulary words, and key concepts to
know. Also know that your final will be broken into units and include chapter headings. You are allowed one piece of paper, front
and back, with hand written notes. Or, if you saved all your note cards, you can use those instead. Please give yourself one hour of
study time per chapter, and two hours going over the chapter assessment questions in the book at the end of each chapter.
YOUR TEXTBOOK IS DUE ON THE DAY OF THE FINAL!! NO TEXTBOOK NO SIGNOFF OF YOUR SENIOR CHECKOUT FORM!!

Unit 1: Constitutional Foundations

Chapter 1 Principles of Government
Government public policy legislative power executive power constitution
Judicial power dictatorship democracy state sovereignty
unitary government federal government division of powers
Confederation presidential government parliamentary government compromise

Define government and the basic powers every government holds.

Describe the four defining characteristics of the state.
Identify four theories that attempt to explain the origin of the state.
Understand the purpose of government in the United States and other countries.
Classify governments according to three sets of characteristics.
Define systems of government based on who can participate.
Identify different ways that power can be distributed, geographically, within a state.
Describe a government by how power is distributed between the executive and legislative branches.
Understand the foundations of democracy.

Chapter 2: Origins of American Government

Limited government representative government Magna Carta Petition of Rights English Bill of Rights
Bicameral confederation Albany Plan of Union New Jersey Plan Virginia Plan Fedralists Anti-Federalists

Chapter 3: The Constitution

Preamble articles constitutionalism rule of law separation of powers checks & balances
Veto judicial review unconstitutional federalism amendment formal amendment
Bill of Rights executive agreement treaty electoral college Cabinet Full Faith and Credit
Supremacy Clause

Outline the important elements of the Constitution.

Need to know the articles and amendments.
List the six basic principles of the Constitution.
Identify the four different ways by which the Constitution may be formally changed.
Identify how basic legislation has changed the Constitution over time.
Describe the ways in which the Constitution has already been altered by executive and judicial actions.
Analyze the role of party practices and custom in shaping the Constitution.

Unit 2: Power
Chapter 4: Federalism
Federalism division of powers delegated powers expressed powers implied powers
inherent powers reserved powersexclusive powers concurrent powers interstate compact
Full Faith and Credit Clause extradition Privileges and Immunities Clause

Identify which powers are delegated to and which are denied the National Government.
Describe which powers are delegated to and which are denied to the State.
Understand that the national Government holds both exclusive powers and concurrent powers with the States.
Explain the role of local governments in the federal system.
Examine how the Constitution functions as the supreme Law of the Land.
Examine why States form interstate compacts.
Understand the purpose of the Full Faith and Credit Clause.
Define extradition and explain its purpose.
Discuss the purpose of the Privileges and Immunities Clause.

Chapter 11: Scope of Congressional Power

Tax indirect tax deficit spending public debt commerce power naturalization eminent domain

Chapter 14: Presidential Powers

Executive order ordinance power treaty executive agreement diplomatic recognition pardon reprieve clemency
commutation amnesty

Unit 3: Institutions of Government

Chapter 10: Congress
term, session, adjourn, prorogue, special session, apportion, reapportion, off-year election, single-member district, at-large,
gerrymander, continuous body, constituency, impeachment

Explain why the Constitution provides for a bicameral Congress.

Describe a term of Congress.
Describe the size and terms of the House of Representatives.
Explain how House seats are reapportioned among the states after each census.
Describe a typical congressional district and its representative.
Analyze the formal and informal qualifications for serving in the House.
Compare the size of the Senate to the size of the House of Representatives.
Describe how States have elected Senators in the past and present.
Identify the qualifications for serving in the Senate.

Chapter 12: Congress in Action

Speaker of the House, president of the Senate, president pro tempore, party caucus, floor leader, whip, committee chairman,
seniority rule, bill, discharge petition, subcommittee, engrossed, filibuster, cloture, veto, pocket veto

Compare the roles of the presiding officers in the Senate and the House.
Identify the duties of the party officers in Congress.
Describe how committee chairmen are chosen and explain their role in the legislative process.
Explain how the standing committees function.
Describe the duties and responsibilities of the House Rules Committee.
Compare the functions of joint and conference committees.
List the first steps in introducing a new bill to the House.
Describe what happens to a bill once it enters a committee.
Explain what happens to a bill on the House Floor, and identify the final steps in passing a bill in the House.
Explain how a bill is introduced in the Senate.
Compare the Senates rules for debate to the House rules.
Describe the role of conference committees in the legislative process.
Evaluate the actions the President can take after both houses have passed a bill.

Chapter 13: The President and the Electoral College

Chief of state, executive, administrator, diplomat, legislator, commander in chief
Presidential succession (Act of 1947) presidential electors electoral votes electoral college 12 th amendment presidential
primary winner-take-all proportional representation national convention platform

Understand the Presidential nominations and national convention process.

Understand the primary system and the role of electors.
Evaluate the National Party Conventions and the role they play in electing a president.
Explain the electoral college process.

Chapter 18: The Federal Court System

jurisdiction appellate jurisdiction original jurisdiction appeals court
Marbury v Madison judicial restraint gatekeepers

Weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation.

What type of jurisdiction does the Supreme Court have?
How long are federal judges terms?

Unit 4: Linkage Institutions

Chapter 5: Political Parties
Define a political party and describe the major functions
Identify and describe contemporary mainstream political ideologies.
Evaluate the platforms of the two political parties today
Understand the impact of minor parties on elections.

Chapter 8: Public Opinion, Political Socialization and Mass Media

Explain how various forms of political socialization shape political opinions.
Explain how polls are conducted and what can be learned from them about American public opinion.
Examine the role of mass media in providing the public with political information.
Explain how the mass media influences politics.

Chapter 9: Interest Groups

Describe the role of interest groups in influencing public policy
Explain the three major goals of interest groups in influencing public opinion.
Analyze how interest groups try to influence political parties and elections.
Examine how lobbying brings applies pressure to public policy making.

Unit 5: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

Chapter 4 (FROM AP BOOK)
4.1 Trace the process by which the Bill of Rights has been applied to the States.
4.2 Distinguish the two types of religious rights protected by the First Amendment and determine the boundaries of those rights.
4.3 Differentiate the rights of free expression protected by the First Amendment and determine the boundaries of those rights.
4.4 Describe the rights to assemble and associate protected by the First Amendment and their limitations.
4.5 Describe the right to bear arms protected by the Second Amendment and its limitations.
4.6 Characterize defendants rights and identify issues that arise in their implementation.
4.7 Outline the evolution of a right to privacy and its application to the issue of abortion.
4.8 Assess how civil liberties affect democratic government and how they both limit and expand the scope of government.

Chapter 5 (FROM AP BOOK)

5.1 Differentiate the Supreme Courts three standards of review for classifying people under the equal protection clause.
5.2 Trace the evolution of protections of the rights of African Americans and explain the application of nondiscrimination principles
to issues of race.
5.3 Relate civil rights principles to progress made by other ethnic groups in the United States.
5.4 Trace the evolution of womens rights and explain how civil rights principles apply to gender issues.
5.5 Show how civil rights principles have been applied to seniors, people with disabilities, and gays and lesbians.
5.6 Trace the evolution of affirmative action policy and assess the arguments for and against it.
5.7 Establish how civil rights policy advocates democracy and increases the scope of government.

Supreme Court Cases

Refer to the evolution of liberties packet as well as the many notes taken from Unit 5. All cases on the final are cases we have
discussed in class, read about, and were twice tested on. Your level of knowledge on the Supreme Court cases includes:
amendments the cases are related to, the courts rulings, significant quotes from the rulings, as well as the overall impact a case
ruling had.

The United States Constitution

This entire class is dedicated to better understanding the development and contents of the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, please be
sure to review key elements that will show up on the final. Most of this is covered in Chapter 3, but you may encounter other
provisions/clauses in other parts of the test like Supreme Court Cases.

Final Exams Schedule

Final Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

Schedule 12/19 12/20 12/21
8:10-10:15 1 3 5
10:36-12:34 2 4 6