Congress Structure & Leadership
Question: What compromise created a two-house Congress to balance representation between large and small states?
Answer: The Great Compromise
Question: What is Congress's most important power according to the Constitution?
Answer: Making laws (legislative power)
Question: What are the three qualifications to become president of the United States? Name two
Answer: Natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, lived in U.S. for 14+ years
Question: Name three of the six major presidential roles.
Answer: Chief Executive, Commander in Chief, Diplomatic Leader, Legislative Leader, Chief of State, Party Leader
Question: What is a bureaucracy, and what does delegation mean?
Answer: An administrative system staffed by nonelected officials; entrusting tasks to others
Question: What is the term for redrawing districts to favor a political party?
Answer: Gerrymandering
Question: What two types of taxes can Congress impose according to enumerated powers?
Answer: Duties (taxes on imports) and excises (taxes on internal production)
Question: What are the two types of primary elections, and what is the key difference?
Answer: Closed (must declare party membership) and open (no declaration required)
Question: What is a pocket veto, and how does it work?
Answer: A bill dies if the president doesn't sign it during a Congressional recess
Question: What act passed in 1883 established merit as the hiring standard for federal employees?
Answer: Pendleton Act
Question: What are the requirements to serve in the House of Representatives? Name two of the three
Answer: At least 25 years old, U.S. citizen for 7+ years, state resident
Question: What amendment in 1913 gave Congress the power to collect income tax?
Answer: 16th Amendment
Question: What event in March is called "Super Tuesday" in presidential primaries?
Answer: The date when most primaries occur
Question: What amendment limited presidents to two terms?
Answer: 22nd Amendment (passed after Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms)
Question: Name three of the five key foreign policy agencies.
Answer: National Security Council (NSC), State Department, Defense Department, Department of Homeland Security, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Question: What is the most powerful position in Congress? (House of Representatives)
Answer: Speaker of the House
Question: What act passed in 1973 attempted to limit the president's war powers?
Answer: War Powers Act
Question: What is the Electoral College, and how many electoral votes are needed to win the presidency?
Answer: The group that officially determines the president; 270 out of 538 votes needed to win
Question: What is a lame duck president, and when does this status occur?
Answer: A president who has been beaten in an election or is ineligible to run; loses power and influence
Question: What is the Monroe Doctrine, and what was its main purpose?
Answer: U.S. policy of neutrality in European affairs and opposition to European interference in Latin America (1790–1890)
Question: Name two of the four controversial perks of Congress members that have been criticized.
Answer: High pay, franking privilege (free postage), large staff, junkets (any)
Question: What is the "Necessary and Proper Clause," and what power does it provide Congress?
Answer: Clause 18; it is the basis for implied powers and greatly expanded federal government authority
Question: What is a brokered convention, and when did it last occur?
Answer: A convention where no candidate wins a majority on the first ballot; candidates bargain and compromise for the nomination
Question: What is the Cabinet, and how many divisions does it currently have?
Answer: A body that assists the president in constitutional duties; 15 cabinet divisions
Question: What is containment, and which Cold War strategy included Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)?
Answer: Preventing communism from expanding; Nuclear deterrence strategy included MAD (neither side attacks due to certainty of destruction)