Study Set taken from the book "American Government in Christian Perspective". Some definitions may be direct quotes from the book. Overviews basic government types, basic government, and the role of Congress in American government.
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| 996752448 | Limited Government | A limited government is a government that exercises its power under restriction, usually by means of a constitution | |
| 996752452 | Puritan or Protestant Work Ethic | A work ethic that finds it's roots in the Judeo-Christian society, based on the biblical mandates for diligent labor. This work ethic was one of the most important factors in America's success. "Whatsoever your hand shall find to do, do with all your might;" Ecclesiastes 9.10 | |
| 996752454 | The Star-Spangled Banner | America's national anthem, written by Francis Scott Key in 1812. It was made the national anthem in 1931. | |
| 996752457 | Patriotism | Love for one's country, and loyalty to that country. | |
| 996752460 | Patriotism as defined in 1890 | Patriotism is that love for country in the hearts of the people which shall make that country strong to resist foreign opposition and domestic intrigue- which impresses each and every individual with a sense of the inalienable rights of others and prepares him for the responsibility of protecting those rights. American Tribune, March 1890 | |
| 996752463 | Nationalism | Nationalism and Patriotism are two separate ideas- nationalism is the blind promotions of one's own nation and government regardless of moral considerations. | |
| 996752465 | Capital Punishment | The death penalty for murder. | |
| 996752467 | Autocracy | Rule by one person whose will is supreme. | |
| 996752469 | Theocracy | A government systems (such as referenced in the Old Testament) when God would rule directly or through a specifically chosen representative (i.e Moses). | |
| 996752471 | Democracy | Rule by the people | |
| 996752473 | Monarchy | Rule by one person | |
| 996752475 | Dictatorship | A system of government where a ruler acquires power through a means other then inheritance and rules with absolute authority. | |
| 996752477 | A totalitarian dictatorship | A dictatorship in which the dictator controls all aspects of society. | |
| 996752478 | Socialism | Socialism is a political, social, economic, and religious theory. With regards to economics, it holds that the government, not individuals, should own or control a nation's resources and means of production. Politically, it brings about socialist change through legislation and government regulation. Socially, it maintains that the individual means nothing in comparison to the welfare of the group, and religiously, it insists that man is basically good, and an appropriate government/social scenario will return him to his innate state of goodness. | |
| 996752479 | Fascism | A form of socialism where all power is vested in a dictator and a single political party. It allows for some private property but calls for total government control of all political, economic, cultural, religious, and social activities. | |
| 996752480 | Constitutional Republic | A form of democracy wherein the people and their representatives are limited by a constitution. | |
| 996752481 | Communism | A totalitarian dictatorship by one or more persons that advocates the violent, revolutionary overthrow of the existing economic, political, social, and religious order and sets up a tyrannical state of government that dominates the person, property, and intellect of it's citizens by means of physical and psychological force and terror. | |
| 996752482 | Trial by Jury | Originally founded in England, it is the process by which a man in judged guilty or innocent by a group of his peers. | |
| 1001368675 | In England, what laid the foundation for limited government? | Historically, it was groups such as the Witan, the Great Council, the King's Court, Parliament, Model Parliament, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. It also stemmed from documents like the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights of 1689, the Mayflower Compact. | |
| 1010766589 | Amendment I | Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. | |
| 1010766590 | Amendment II | A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed. | |
| 1010766591 | Amendment III | No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. | |
| 1010766592 | Amendment IV | The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. | |
| 1010766593 | Amendment V | No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. | |
| 1010766594 | Amendment VI | In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense. | |
| 1010766595 | Amendment VII | In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. | |
| 1010766596 | Amendment VIII | Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. | |
| 1010766597 | Amendment IX | The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. | |
| 1010766598 | Amendment X | The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. | |
| 1010766599 | What two houses make up congress? | The House of Representatives and the Senate. | |
| 1010766600 | The House of Representatives | The House of Representatives is known as the lower house. It consists of 435 members. Each representative is elected for a two-year period by the voters in their district. | |
| 1010766601 | How are Representatives in the house chosen? | Through apportionment. States are given seats in the house based on their population; since population levels are constantly changing, reapportionment must be done, by taking a census. | |
| 1010766602 | Gerrymandering (Source: Wikipedia) | In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries to create partisan advantaged districts. | |
| 1010766603 | The Sentate | Known as the upper house. | |
| 1010766604 | An overview on Senators | Senators are elected at large, by all voters in their state. They have six year terms; each state can have two senators. | |
| 1010766605 | General Election Day | In 1872, Congress declared that all states are to hold congressional elections on the same day- Tuesday following the first Monday in November in even numbered years. This day is referred to as General Election Day. | |
| 1012124946 | Floor Leaders | Each political party in Congress has a floor leader; consequently there is a majority and minority floor leader for the House and the Senate | |
| 1012124947 | Whip | Each floor leader has a party 'whip' that assists him in his responsibilities. The whip has the responsibility to 'keep the party/pack together' by urging party members to vote with the party on key issues. He also makes sure that party members are informed on the party's agenda, educated on important issues, and informs then on how other party members are voting. | |
| 1012124948 | Political Caucus | A private meeting of political part members to decide on a policy or to choose candidates. | |
| 1012124949 | When does Congress usually take a recess? | Generally during national holidays | |
| 1012124950 | How often must Congress meet? | At least once each year- there are two regular sessions of Congress each year. | |
| 1012124951 | Quorum | The required number of Congressmen to do business. Made up of the simple majority. | |
| 1012124952 | Simple Majority | One more then half of the number | |
| 1012124953 | Censure | The Senate and the House can both censure, or officially condemn, a member for misconduct. | |
| 1012124954 | Expulsion | The process of expelling a member of Congress. Expulsion requires a 2/3s vote and is very rarely used. | |
| 1012124955 | Franking Privilege | The privilege that Congressmen are charged no postage on official mail. | |
| 1012124956 | What is the chief responsibility of the Legislative Branch? | Legislation or lawmaking is the chief responsibility of the House and the Senate. Less then 10% of bills and resolutions introduced during each session will be adopted. | |
| 1012124957 | Public Bills | Bills that apply to the nation at large, such as tax measures, copyright law amendments, or armed service appropriations. | |
| 1012124958 | Private Bills | Bills that apply only to individual citizens or groups of people. | |
| 1012124959 | The Life of a Bill Part 1 | 1. Drafted 2. Introduced 3. Read by title, numbered, registered and printed 4. Referred to a committee 5. Referred to a subcommittee | |
| 1012124960 | The Life of a Bill Part 2 | 6. Reported to a full committee 7. Reported to the whole House. 8. Acted upon by the entire house. 9. Acted upon by the opposite house. 10. Examined by a conference committee 11. Delivered to the President to be signed into law. | |
| 1012124961 | Discharge Petition (Source: Wikipedia) | A discharge petition is a means of bringing a bill out of committee and to the floor for consideration without a report from the committee and usually without cooperation of the leadership. Discharge petitions are most often associated with the U.S. House of Representatives, though many state legislatures have similar procedures... A successful petition "discharges" the committee from further consideration of a bill or resolution and brings it directly to the floor. The discharge petition, and the threat of one, gives more power to individual members of the House and usurps a small amount of power from the leadership and committee chairs. The modern discharge petition requires the signature of an absolute majority of House members (218 members). Only twice has it been used successfully on major legislation in recent history. | |
| 1012124962 | Filibuster | An attempt to kill a bill by stalling the vote on it. The most famous filibuster was done by Strom Thurmond- he held the floor for 24 hours. | |
| 1012124963 | Cloture Rule | The only real way to prevent a filibuster is the invoke Cloture Rule. If 3/5s of the senators vote to invoke CR, each senator is limited to a maximum of one hour to speak on the bill under consideration. They are seldom successful. | |
| 1012658417 | There are two general views on representation. What are they? | Trustee or Delegate. In the trustee position, the representative votes according to his personal judgment and conscience on an issue, having been educated and advised by his contingency. In the delegate position, the representative votes according to the desire of his contingency rather then his personal judgment or conscience. | |
| 1014784635 | Oversight | The Congressional monitoring of the bureaucracy to ensure that the laws are being faithfully executed. | |
| 1014784636 | Powers of Congress #1 | To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises | |
| 1014784637 | Powers of Congress #2 | To borrow money | |
| 1014784638 | Powers of Congress #3 | To regulate commerce | |
| 1014784639 | Powers of Congress #4 | To regulate rules for naturalization | |
| 1014784640 | Powers of Congress #5 | To regulate rules for bankruptcy | |
| 1014784641 | Powers of Congress #6 | To coin money and set the value of domestic and foreign coins. | |
| 1014784642 | Powers of Congress #7 | To punish counterfeiters of coin and securities. | |
| 1014784643 | Powers of Congress #8 | To fix the standard of weights and measures. | |
| 1014784644 | Powers of Congress #9 | To punish piracy and felonies committed on the seas and those that violate international law. | |
| 1014784645 | Powers of Congress #10 | Establish a post office and post roads | |
| 1014784646 | Powers of Congress #11 | To issue patents and copyrights to inventors and authors. | |
| 1014784647 | Powers of Congress #12 | To create federal courts below the Supreme Court. | |
| 1014784648 | Powers of Congress #13 | To declare war | |
| 1014784649 | Powers of Congress #14 | To raise and support an army and navy and make rules for their government. | |
| 1014784650 | Powers of Congress #15 | To call fourth the militia and provide for it's organization, arming, and discipline. | |
| 1014784651 | Powers of Congress #16 | To govern and administer the seat of government. | |
| 1014784652 | Powers of Congress #17 | To govern and administer all federal property. |
