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U.S. Government - Leaderboard
U.S. Government - Details
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55 questions
| 🇬🇧 | 🇬🇧 |
| The Two main purposes of the US Constitution | Establishes how the government is organized and its functions It guarantees many liberties and freedoms for citizens |
| What does the Federal System do? | It distributes power to the national and state governments. |
| How does the US Constitution help the Federal System? | It develops the Federal system by setting up the 3 branches of Government and giving directions on how the Federal system works |
| What are the three branches of government and what do they do? | 1) The Executive branch - Enforces the law 2) The Judicial Branch - Interprets the law 3) Legislative Branch - Makes the Laws |
| What are Personal rights? | Rights that allow a person to choose to do what he or she wants as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others |
| What are Political rights? | Rights that guarantee our freedom to engage in the political process in the United States. |
| What are Economic rights? | Rights to buy and sell property, and use their private property as they see fit without unreasonable government interference. |
| What are Personal Responsibilities? | Obligations that a person assumes for themselves - taking on responsibilities based on the choices we make in life. |
| What are Civic Responsibilities? | The duties that each person has to society such as voting and paying taxes. |
| What did the Founders believe was the main purpose of government? | To protect people's basic rights. |
| What is the concept of "jus sanguinis"? | “Law of the blood”, which means that a child inherits the citizenship of its parents. |
| What is the concept of "jus soli"? | “Law of the soil” or “right of birthplace”, means that any child born in the United States, no matter the citizenship status of his or her parents, is a citizen of the United States. |
| What is Naturalization? | The process by which U.S. citizenship is granted to foreign citizens or nationals after they fulfill the requirements. |
| What are the requirements to vote in the U.S.? | To be least 18 years of age and a legal resident of the state in which they are voting. |
| What is the purpose of an Interest group? | To encourage or prevent changes in public policy by providing a collective voice for its members, educating the public and electing candidates who support a common cause. |
| What are some basic goals of interest groups? | Economic: Impacting on the economic and business decisions that lawmakers make. Ideological: Bringing social change to society; promoting civil liberties and civil rights. Public Interest: Working to improve U.S. society with a broad range of issues. |
| What is Direct Lobbying? | Groups provide information about topics, write legislation for legislators about issues, and testifies in committee hearings about legislation that the committee is working on. |
| What is Indirect Lobbying? | Groups tell legislators about their citizens’ views on an issue. Legislators want and need citizens’ votes to be re-elected and interest group members want to make sure the legislator is representing their group’s interest. |
| What is Electioneering? | Campaigns on behalf of a candidate who supports their stance/position on an issue. |
| What is Litigation? | It advances the interest group’s goals by using the court system. Strategy - amicus curiae briefs to influence court decisions (e.g. lawyers for the interest group write the brief to educate the judge about how the court’s decision will impact the interest group members) - Use class-action lawsuits, which combine plaintiffs with similar circumstances into one court case. Allowing plaintiffs to share costs and case information |
| How do Interest groups get public attention? | Engage with traditional media and social media. |
| What is the function of a Political Party? | To link citizens with similar viewpoints or opinions (party platforms) of how the government and society should be governed to the government. |
| What do Political Parties do? | • Engage citizens and recruit individuals to run for public office. • Inform the public about topics that affect the country or world and what their solution to the issue would be. • Act as a check on the power and influence of the other major party. • Run the government, and control the legislative agenda. |
| What is the purpose of an Election? | It links people to their government and government to the people to ensure legitimacy in a governmental system. |
| What are the three main types of elections? | General, primary and special elections. Presidential elections also involve national conventions and the electoral college. |
| What can people do to change local laws besides an election? | They can utilize initiatives, referendums, and recalls to create changes in the laws and government, too. |
| What is a Party Platform? | A formal set of principal goals that are supported by a political party or individual candidate |
| What is a watchdog? | A group that watches the activities of a particular part of government in order to report illegal acts or problems |
| What is a Primary election? | An election that narrows the field of candidates to a single person to represent the political party |
| What is a Caucus? | A local meeting where registered members of a political party in a city, town or county gather to vote for their preferred party candidate |
| What is an open primary? | An election that allows voters to select which party’s primary to participate in on the day of the election |
| What is a closed primary? | An election that allows only registered party members to vote in the party’s primary election |
| What is a Blanket Primary? | An election that allows voters to participate in all party’s primary elections by putting them on one ballot |
| What is a Run-off Primary? | An election that is used if no clear winner emerges with a majority of the votes from the first primary |
| What is a National Convention? | A convention of a major political party, especially one that nominates a candidate for the presidency |
| What is an initiative? | It allows citizens of a state to place a proposal on the ballot for the voters of the state to decide the outcome |
| What is a referendum? | A vote used by a state legislature if the body needs the approval of the voters before a law can go into effect |
| What is a recall? | A vote used to remove an elected official from office by a vote of the public |
| What is gerrymandering? | When politicians change the size and borders of an area before an election, so that one person, group, or party has an unfair advantage |
| What are the five primary functions of Media? | Gatekeeper - person or group that controls access to something Political tool National agenda promoter Watchdog - an independent organization responsible for making sure that companies in a particular industry or business do not do anything illegal Scorekeeper - the media report who is ahead or behind. Winners or Losers |
| What is the impact of Social Media? | A powerful place from which people from all walks of life can interact and share their thoughts and opinions. Recently, the court system has heard cases involving the use of social media by politicians. |
| What is a dissenter? | A person or organization that disagrees with an official decision or an accepted opinion. |
| What is political bias? | An opinion about whether a person, group, or idea is good or bad that influences how you deal with it. |
| What is political transparency? | When a political party or the government is open and honest, without holding secrets. |
| What is a constituent? | Someone who votes in a particular area |
| What is the Bill of Rights? | The first 10 amendments that were added to the constitution in order for it to be ratified (agreed upon) by 3/4 of the 13 states. |
| What were the Reconstruction/ Civil War Amendments? | The amendments added after the American Civil War to extend rights to former slaves and people of color. 13th - The right to Liberty/ Freedom 14th - The right to civil liberties and rights guaranteed to all American citizens 15th - the right to vote |
| What was the 19th Amendment? | Women’s suffrage (right to vote) |
| What was the 26th Amendment? | The lowering of the voting age to 18 |
| Which minority groups were not involved in the writing of the constitution? | Women, Native Americans, and African Americans among others. |
| Which were the three main civil rights movements? | O African American Civil Rights Movement o Native (American) Civil Rights Movement o Women’s Rights Movement |
| What is segregation? | When people of different races, sexes, or religions are kept apart so that they live, work, or study separately |
| What does the term indigenous mean? | Indigenous people or things have always been in the place where they are, rather than being brought there from somewhere else |
| What is a boycott? | It is a refusal to buy something, use something, or take part in something as a way of protesting |
| What is picketing? | It is when a group of people stand or march in front of a shop, factory, government building etc to protest about something or to stop people from going in during a strike |