Many scholars argue that the foremost factor in determining how people vote is
a. debate performance.
b. perception of the best candidate.
c. campaign spending.
d. a candidate’s image.
e. party identification.
Political polarization among the American public is/was a notable feature of
a. the Korean War.
b. the Vietnam War.
c. the war in Iraq.
d. World War II.
e. the Mexican War.
__________ of registered voters has typically participated in presidential elections
since 1968?
a. Twenty-five percent
b. Thirty-five percent
c. Fifty percent
d. Sixty percent
e. Seventy percent
The modern Republican Party
a. was founded by Thomas Jefferson to oppose the policies of Alexander Hamilton.
b. was originally called the Antifederalist party.
c. emerged as a major party only after the Civil War.
d. emerged around 1824 with Andrew Jackson’s first run for the presidency.
e. was founded in the South.
The term used to describe a two house legislative body.
a. Unicameralism
b. Bicameralism
c. Federation
d. Republic
e. Democracy
In a confederation, the national government derives its power from
a. the people.
b. the states.
c. the Congress.
d. the courts.
e. None of the above is true.
From time to time during the nineteenth century, federal officials might be blamed for,
and thrown out of office because of
a. crime rates.
b. the economy.
c. the environment.
d. civil rights.
e. All of the above are true.
The national event held on April 22, 1970, that celebrated the new environmental
movement wascalled __________ Day.
a. Global Awareness
b. Greenpeace
c. National Conservation
d. Cosmos Appreciation
e. Earth
Sometimes money affects legislative behavior not so much by buying votes as by
ensuring
a. access.
b. veto power.
c. procedural fairness.
d. favorable implementation.
e. sympathy in administrative hearings.
In Federalist paper No. 78, Alexander Hamilton described the Supreme Court as
a. the least dangerous branch.
b. the center of power.
c. the vital check on the power of the president.
d. a unique body.
e. the most productive court.
In 1808 Congress gave __________ to the states to pay for their militias, with the states
in charge of size, deployment, and command of these troops.
a. $250
b. $3,500
c. $25,000
d. $200,000
e. $500,000
Which of the following statements concerning military courts is incorrect?
a. They involve the use of military commissions of officers.
b. They can operate in secret.
c. Two-thirds of a commission must agree in order for a suspect to be convicted.
d. A suspect can appeal to the attorney general.
e. A suspect can appeal to the president.
This basic element of U.S. political culture holds that people ought to take community
affairs seriously and help out when they can.
a. Liberty
b. Democracy
c. Individualism
d. Civic duty
e. Economic equality
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg votes with a majority of Supreme Court justices on a
particular case, even though her reasoning differs from the others. She may choose to
express her reasons in a(n)
a. dissenting opinion.
b. concurring opinion.
c. opinion of the Court.
d. per curiam opinion.
e. plurality opinion.
George Washington limited himself to two terms, and no president served more until
a. Ulysses S. Grant.
b. Woodrow Wilson.
c. Franklin Roosevelt.
d. Harry Truman.
e. Herbert Hoover.
Which of the following is a characteristic of the New System?
a. A large policy agenda
b. The diffusion and decentralization of power in Congress
c. The multiplication of interest groups
d. The end of debate over the legitimacy of government action
e. All of the above
In 1980, about two-thirds of those who said they had become worse off economically
voted for Ronald Reagan, the challenger, while over half of those who felt they had
become better off voted for __________.
a. Gerald Ford
b. Walter Mondale
c. Jimmy Carter
d. George W. H. Bush
e. Bill Clinton
Which of the following would probably have the most difficulty raising money?
a. A lobbying organization representing a nonprofit organization
b. A lobbying organization representing a for-profit organization
c. A membership organization relying on appeals to purpose
d. A membership organization relying on solidary incentives
e. A lobbying organization representing a collection of Fortune 500 companies
Which of the following statements concerning attitudes and opinions expressed by
Americans in surveys is incorrect?
a. They have greater faith in political institutions than citizens of other nations.
b. They are more likely to be patriotic than citizens of other nations.
c. They have greater faith in private institutions than citizens of other nations.
d. Their trust in government has declined in recent years.
e. None of the above is true.
How did Aristotle define democracy?
a. Rule of the few
b. Rule of the one
c. Rule of the powerful
d. Rule of the many
e. Rule of the intelligent
The plurality electoral system in the United States means that
a. the party system will be competitive.
b. every party must be a broad-based coalition.
c. politics will be more ideological than it would otherwise be.
d. the risk of electoral corruption is less than in Europe.
e. smaller parties have a greater chance of winning at least some seats.
The culture war differs from other political disputes in that
a. money is not always at stake.
b. compromises are almost impossible to arrange.
c. conflict is more profound.
d. None of the above is true.
e. All of the above are true.
When Congress passed a law that forbade anyone from carrying a gun near a school,
the Supreme Court declared the law invalid because such behavior
a. was protected by the First Amendment.
b. did not affect interstate commerce.
c. was not proven to be dangerous.
d. was jealously guarded by NRA lobbyists.
e. could only violate state law.
Which of the following would have probably been least affected by the choice of a
parliamentary system by the Founders?
a. Centralization of authority
b. Foreign policy
c. Executive power
d. Taxation
e. Social welfare policies
As its rationale for the decision in Brown, the Supreme Court relied primarily on
a. the intent of the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment.
b. the intent of Congress in the Fourteenth Amendment.
c. social science evidence.
d. a narrow interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.
e. the redress of grievances clause in the First Amendment.
Which of the following statements about a president’s serving more than two terms is
correct?
a. It has been done by only one president.
b. It is neither prohibited nor encouraged by the U.S. Constitution.
c. It is illegal under Article II of the U.S. Constitution.
d. It has never been done by a president.
e. It has been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The text suggests that the New System began in the __________ but did not take its
current form until the __________.
a. 1910s; 1950s
b. 1920s; 1960s
c. 1930s; 1970s
d. 1940s; 1980s
e. 1950s; 1990s
In this seminal decision, the Supreme Court held that a “right to privacy” is “broad
enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy.”
a. Griswold v. Connecticut
b. Webster v. Reproductive Health Services
c. Planned Parenthood v. Casey
d. Roe v. Wade
e. Gonzales v. Carhart
A major development in the changing influence of the federal government was the new
manner in which the Supreme Court interpreted
a. the Bill of Rights.
b. its previous rulings on checks and balances.
c. the Preamble to the Constitution.
d. the Eighth Amendment.
e. the Seventh and Eighth Amendments.
In most states, candidates for office are chosen by
a. the people.
b. party leaders.
c. primary elections.
d. conventions.
e. delegations.
Which best describes the Framers’ opinion on the role of public opinion in government?
a. The Framers thought that public opinion should play only a limited and indirect role
in making public policy.
b. The Framers favored a direct role for the public in policy making.
c. The Framers felt that our experience as colonies of Great Britain showed us that the
public needs to vote on most major issues of government.
d. The Framers wanted the United States to be a direct democracy.
e. The Framers felt that the public’s role should be limitless.
Which is a procedure that enables voters to reject a measure adopted by the legislature?
a. Initiative
b. Referendum
c. Recall
d. Logrolling
e. Rollback
An example cited by the text of how grassroots opposition to a governmental action can
influence Congress is
a. the Food and Drug Administration’s banning of saccharin.
b. the Forest Service’s banning of campfires in national parks.
c. the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of acid rain.
d. the Central Intelligence Agency’s approval of strategic assassination.
e. the Internal Revenue Service’s approval of electronic filing.
Of the following, who advocated for consumer and environmental protections?
a. Ralph Nader
b. Dr. Harvey Wiley
c. Senator Estes Kefauver
d. Senator Edmund Muskie
e. All of the above are true.
A categorical grant is one made for a specific purpose defined by federal law.
In a classic study, Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba found that citizens in Germany
and Great Britain were more likely to state that they would protect an unjust regulation
than citizens in the United States.
As government gets bigger, its members must spend more time debating at length new
ideas and less time managing the consequences.
Today, Americans have less trust in government than they once did.
Under the Espionage and Sedition Acts of 1917 and 1918, thousands of individuals
were prosecuted, imprisoned, or deported.
A progressive tax is one that requires those who are better off to pay more as a
percentage of theirincome.
Congressional power is exercised primarily by committee chairs.
States were generally aggressive about malapportionment until courts restricted their
ability to address the problem.
The government cannot employ prior restraint (or censorship) on the press in any
circumstance.
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson wrote the governor of Pennsylvania requesting
that the governor prosecute newspaper publishers for the “licentiousness” of their
papers.
The 2008 presidential election featured a record level of voter turnout among young
persons (below thirty years of age).
Keeping informed about government and politics would be an example of political
participation.
Discuss the unique features of U.S. environmental politics and how these features shape
environmentalpolicy.
The current size of the House at 435 members was set in the year 1911.
Discuss the public’s opinion of Congress compared to the public’s view of the Supreme
Court and thepresidency.
Americans are more likely to join religious and political organizations than labor or
business groups.
Explain how Madison, Jefferson, and John C. Calhoun defined the doctrine of
nullification.
During the ratification debate, the supporters of the U.S. Constitution called themselves
Federalists.
Explain why federal agencies originally emphasized a service role.