Civics and Government
What this domain tests
Civics and Government tests the Constitution, federalism, institutions, civil liberties, elections, and public policy. You should explain how power is granted, limited, and contested, and apply principles to scenarios rather than recite definitions.
Core rules and concepts
- Popular sovereignty, limited government, separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and individual rights are core constitutional principles.
- Congress makes laws, the president executes them, and courts interpret them. Each branch checks the others: veto and override, Senate confirmation, judicial review, and impeachment.
- Federalism divides power between national and state governments. The elastic clause and commerce clause expanded national authority; the Tenth Amendment reserves other powers to the states.
- The Bill of Rights originally limited the federal government. Through incorporation, most protections now apply to states via the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause.
- Elections, political parties, interest groups, media, and public opinion connect citizens to government. Policy moves through agenda setting, formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation.
- Judicial review, established in Marbury v. Madison (1803), lets courts invalidate laws inconsistent with the Constitution.
Worked example: Congress passes a bill, and the president vetoes it. Congress then votes to override. Explain the constitutional logic. The presentment and veto are part of lawmaking under Article I; the Constitution allows a two-thirds override in each chamber, which checks the president. If the law is challenged, courts may review its constitutionality. The reasoning: identify the branch, the constitutional power, and the check being used.
Traps that cost marks
Do not confuse separation of powers with checks and balances; separation assigns functions, checks let branches restrain one another. Do not say the Bill of Rights always bound the states. Avoid treating an executive order as a statute, and remember that state and national governments both have separate spheres and shared powers.