The Supreme Court, Federalism and the Reagan Presidency ...



The Supreme Court, Federalism and the Reagan Presidency, and the Federal Government’s Role in Today’s Economy Study Guide

Directions: On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following questions in short form.

1. In what three ways has the United States Supreme Court played a key role in recent decades?

2. How has the membership of the U.S. Supreme Court changed over time?

3. In 1967 who did President Lyndon B. Johnson appoint as the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court?

4. In 1981 who did President Ronald Reagan appoint as the first woman justice of the Supreme Court?

5. Who became the second African-American justice in 1991?

6. Who became the second female justice on the Supreme Court?

7. What two women has President Barack Obama appointed to the United States Supreme Court?

8. Who is the first Hispanic justice on the United States Supreme Court?

9. How have the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court affected individual rights since the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision?

10. What provided a model that groups of Americans have used to extend civil rights and equal justice?

11. How have the federal courts consistently protected employment opportunities for American women?

12. What were the facts of the 1971 case of Reed v. Reed?

13. What was the Supreme Court’s decision in Reed v. Reed?

14. What legal precedent did the Reed v. Reed decision set?

15. Give one example of a decision by which the U.S. Supreme Court has continued to protect the individual rights enumerated or listed in the Constitution.

16. How did the Supreme Court rule in the 1989 case of Texas v. Johnson?

17. According to the Supreme Court what constitutional amendment protects an American’s right to burn the American flag?

18. How did the Supreme Court respond to congressional passage of the Flag Protect Act of 1989?

19. What did the Supreme Court rule in the 1990 case of United States v. Eichman do?

20. What other individual right has the United States Supreme Court identified in recent decades?

21. What is the Supreme Court’s most famous right to privacy decision?

22. How did the Supreme Court rule in the case of Roe v. Wade?

23. What was the constitutional basis of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision?

24. According to the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, what does the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause protect?

25. During the last several decades, what legislative acts and executive actions has the Supreme Court invalidated?

26. What constitutional principles has the Supreme Court protected by using the power of judicial review to overturn actions by government officials?

27. What facts were involved in the case of United States v. Nixon?

28. What principle did President Nixon claim in the case of United States v. Nixon?

29. What was the Supreme Court’s 1974 decision in United States v. Nixon?

30. What effect did the Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Nixon have on Richard Nixon’s presidency?

31. What is federalism?

32. Under the Constitution, what is the result of the principle of federalism?

33. Explain power sharing between the federal government and the states under the principle of federalism.

34. How long have Americans held conflicting opinions on the issue of federal vs. state power?

35. Who was elected president in 1980?

36. What have some observers called the two terms of the Reagan presidency?

37. To what political party did Ronald Reagan belong?

38. What was Reagan’s political philosophy, and what did this philosophy oppose?

39. To what type of re-evaluation did Reagan’s conservative political philosophy lead?

40. What four actions did the “Reagan Revolution” advocate or promote?

41. What was President Reagan’s hope?

42. What was Ronald Reagan’s belief regarding national defense, and how did this belief influence his position on military spending?

43. According to the 2008 Virginia and United States History Curriculum Framework, did the “Reagan Revolution” extend beyond President Reagan’s eight years in office?

44. According to the 2008 Curriculum Framework, what four facts support the historical interpretation that the “Reagan Revolution” lasted longer than Reagan’s tenure in office?

45. Does the federal government have the ability to influence the American economy today?

46. On what factors does the federal government base its decisions regarding economic policy?

47. What is GDP?

48. How is GDP defined?

49. What are exchange rates?

50. What determines the value of the American dollar on the international currency market?

51. Define inflation.

52. What two types of policy does the federal government use to promote a healthy economy characterized by full employment and low inflation?

53. What institution controls monetary policy?

54. Who controls fiscal policy?

55. Define monetary policy.

56. To what does the term “monetary policy” refer in the United States?

57. What is America’s central bank?

58. What action does the Federal Reserve take if it believes the American economy is slowing down?

59. How do lower interest rates stimulate or fuel economic growth?

60. What action does the Federal Reserve take if it believes the American economy is overheating and thereby causing inflation?

61. How do higher interest rates slow down inflation?

62. Define fiscal policy.

63. Under fiscal policy, what actions may the President and Congress take if the American economy is slowing down?

64. How does cutting taxes stimulate economic growth?

65. How does increased federal spending stimulate economic growth?

66. Under fiscal policy, what actions may the President and Congress take if they believe the American economy is overheating and thereby causing inflation?

67. How does raising taxes slow down inflation?

68. How does cutting federal spending slow down inflation?

69. Who makes fiscal policy decisions?

70. What can the President and Congress regulate by means of their fiscal policy decisions regarding the levels of government taxation and spending?

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