REVIEW FOR THE

UNIT 1 TESTCHAPTER 1CHAPTER 2

INSTRUCTIONS: Go through the slides and answer each question in

the packet; the slide numbers are listed for each question

REVIEW FOR THE

UNIT 1 TEST

A government is the institution through which a state (a country or nation) makes and enforces

laws that run the state

A “state” is a body of people living in a defined territory; they are organized politically and are able to independently make and enforce laws

Each of the clearly defined

territories on this map of

modern Europe is a

state

A constitution is the plan of government that establishes the basic structure, powers, and

duties of the government

An autocracy is a system of

government in which a single person holds

unlimited political power

Divine right is the view that God granted

those of royal birth the right to rule their people

A democracy is a form of government in which the supreme authority to exercise power rests with the people of the state

Politics is the struggle among groups with differing ideologies to control or influence the

conduct and policies of a government

The term “sovereignty” refers to the supreme and absolute authority of a state within its

territorial borders

A “sovereign state” has the authority to determine its own form of government; no outside state

decides this for another sovereign state For example, when America was

Britain’s 13 Colonies, America was NOT “sovereign”; Britain had

“sovereignty” here

After the British were defeated in the Revolutionary War, however, the American colonies became

states and had sovereignty

The unitary system is a

form of government in which all the

key powers are given to a

national or central

government

An oligarchy is a type of

government where a small

number of elite hold the

power

The “Framers” refers to the framers of the U.S. Constitution, a group of delegates who attended

the Philadelphia Convention

The formation of the United States’

government was most influenced by the “social contract”

theory of the Enlightenment (most notably, the ideas of

John Locke)

A federal government divides power between a central government and several state-level, regional-level, and local-level governments

This chart illustrates the three levels of a

federal government in Australia

The form of government the United States has is a representative democracy (also known as a “republic”),

NOT a direct democracy

In a representative democracy, voters express their approval or disapproval of the actions of public officials by casting ballots in elections

A “confederation” is an alliance of virtually independent states loosely joined together for a common purpose

For example, 39 different German-

speaking states formed the

German Confederation in the early 1800s; they would fully unite to form the nation-state of

Germany in 1871

Most governments have three basic types of power: legislative (makes laws), executive (carries out laws),

and judicial (evaluates laws)

The Articles of Confederation was the first attempt by the former colonies (which became the new United States)

to unite under a government

The Articles of Confederation

had many weaknesses;

these weaknesses resulted in

bickering among the states and

economic chaos

Federalists supported the ratification of the new Constitution because they favored a strong central

government; Federalists felt the Articles of Confederation made the government too weak

Anti-Federalists opposed ratifying the new Constitution because they feared a strong central government would

take away individual freedoms; they wanted a Bill of Rights that would guard individual freedoms

James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote a collection of 85 essays called the “Federalist

Papers” in support of the new Constitution

The English developed

three types of colonies in

America: royal, proprietary, and charter

A unicameral legislature (lawmaking body) is a single-house body

A bicameral legislature (lawmaking body) has two houses

The British policy that most upset the American colonists was being taxed by England without any American colonists representing the colonies in Parliament

Their slogan became: “No taxation without representation”

The Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, and the English Bill of

Rights are among the English

documents that helped shape the

government of the American

colonies

The Declaration of Independence (when the American colonists announced their break from Britain) was

signed on July 4th, 1776

Under the Articles, Congress had no power to tax and could not raise money,

which made Congress go deeply into debt

The main goal of the Constitutional Convention (also known as the Philadelphia Convention) was to create a new

government that had greatly expanded powers and the ability to enforce its decisions

James Madison became known as the “Father

of the Constitution” because he contributed more than

anyone to the Convention and

to the document itself

The most heated debate between large states and small states at the Constitutional Convention was over

HOW the states would be represented in Congress

The Virginia Plan called for a two-house Congress with representation of both houses based on population

The New Jersey Plan called for equal representation in Congress (one vote per

state) and benefited the smaller states

The Great Compromise (also known as the Connecticut Compromise) solved the dispute over

representation in Congress

The Slave Trade Compromise (also

known as the Commerce

Compromise) prevented Congress from taxing exports

or abolishing the slave trade for at

least twenty years

A mixed economy is when private enterprise exists in combination with some government regulation

A presidential government features separation of powers between executive and legislative branches

During Colonial times, to gain the right to vote, one had to be (1) White (2) male (3) a property owner

The Stamp Act Congress was the group that sent King George III the Declaration of Rights and Grievances that protested the new British policies (this was the

first time the colonies opposed Britain)

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATIONSTRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

Make war and peace One vote for each state regardless of size

Send and receive ambassadors

Congress had no power to tax

Make treaties No executiveBorrow money No national courts

(judicial)Set up money system Amendments only with

consent of all the statesEstablish post offices 9/13 majority needed to

pass lawsCan settle disputes among

statesWeak central government

Can ask states to supply troops

Cannot order states to supply troops 

When the colonists from England arrived in America, they brought the English idea of an ordered, limited, and representative form of government with them

IF YOU HAVE CORRECTLY

ANSWERED ALL OF THE QUESTIONS ON

YOUR REVIEW PACKET, YOU WILL BE READY FOR THE

UNIT 1 TEST

Originally created byChristopher Jaskowiak

Assisted byJosh Allen