Civics and Government
The big picture
Civics questions test how the U.S. government is built and how power is limited. Learn the three branches and their core functions: Congress makes laws and controls spending; the president carries out laws, commands the military, and appoints officials; courts interpret laws and decide cases.
Concepts to master
- Popular sovereignty, limited government, rule of law - authority comes from the people, and no official is above the law.
- Separation of powers vs. federalism - the first divides power among branches at the same level of government; the second divides power between the national government and the states.
- Checks and balances - veto and override, judicial review, Senate confirmation, impeachment.
- Bill of Rights and later amendments - speech, religion, due process, equal protection, voting rights.
- Civic participation - voting, jury service, paying taxes, petitioning government.
Traps
Many items describe a scenario and ask which principle it illustrates; the wrong choices are real principles that simply do not fit. Others ask which branch takes a specific action, or blur a right (protected) with a responsibility (expected).
Worked example
The Supreme Court strikes down a federal law as unconstitutional. Which principle is shown? Name the actors: the Court and Congress - two branches at the same level. That is checks and balances (judicial review), not federalism. If instead a state law conflicts with a federal law and the federal law prevails, the actors are national versus state, and the answer is federalism.