The doctrine of ______ rests on the assumption that the courts should defer to the
decisions made by the legislative and executive branches.
a. judicial restraint
b. judicial activism
c. habeas corpus
d. the rule of four
e. stare decisis
An issue that a court believes should be decided by the executive or legislative branch
is a(n)
a. unpopular question.
b. ineligible question.
c. political question.
d. hypothetical question.
e. public question.
In almost all states, the ________ branch was predominant.
a. military
b. bureaucratic
c. judical
d. executive
e. legislative
In the history of the United States, no president has ever
a. been impeached and acquitted.
b. died while in office.
c. been impeached and convicted.
d. resigned from office.
e. been impeached.
The bad tendency rule meant that
a. speech may be curtailed if there is a possibility that such expression might lead to
some evil.
b. Congress could prevent any speech it did not like.
c. if some people could be hurt by what was said, such speech was not protected.
d. anyone could advocate the overthrow of the U.S. government.
e. repeat criminal offenders could be preemptively detained.
All of the following are true of libertarians EXCEPT
a. libertarians oppose government attempts to promote moral values.
b. libertarians advocate redistribution of income.
c. libertarians support laissez-faire capitalism.
d. libertarians oppose most government activities.
e. libertarians support property rights.
One type of government corporation is the ______, a business created by the federal
government itself, which then sells part or all of the corporation’s stock to private
investors.
a. collaborative company
b. temporary agency
c. federal takeover
d. government-sponsored enterprise
e. public-private partnership
The first permanent English colony in the Americas was a settlement at
a. Massachusetts Bay.
b. Roanoke.
c. Jamestown.
d. Charles Town.
e. Philadelphia.
Which of the following best describes the President’s appointment power?
a. The President has executive power to enforce the laws.
b. The President appoints cabinet and subcabinet jobs, federal judgeships, agency
heads, and several thousand lesser jobs.
c. The President can veto laws.
d. The President can terminate appointments with a three-quarter Congressional
approval.
e. The President can receive ambassadors or other foreign officials.
Which of the following is true regarding political socialization?
a. Older Americans tend to be more liberal than younger Americans.
b. The experience of marriage and raising a family has a measurable liberalizing effect.
c. A more important factor than age is the impact of momentous political events that
shape the political attitudes of an entire generation.
d. Voters who grew up during the Great Depression were likely to form lifelong
attachments to the Republican Party.
e. The years of economic prosperity under Ronald Reagan in the 1980s led many young
people to identify with the Democratic Party.
Which of the following best explains the relationship between education and interest in
politics?
a. The less education a person has, the more likely s/he will be interested in politics.
b. The more education a person has, the more likely s/he will be interested in politics.
c. The more interest a person has in politics impacts the amount of education s/he will
receive.
d. Uneducated people vote the most.
e. Highly educated people are the most apathetic about politics.
According to critics of the Bush Doctrine,
a. it does not go far enough in protecting U.S. interests.
b. it does not protect U.S. interests.
c. it is a contradiction of democratic values.
d. it violates the idea of political realism.
e. it signals U.S. weakness.
In Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, the Supreme Court ruled that states may
a. ban the use of public hospitals for performing abortions.
b. require public employees to assist in abortions.
c. ban second trimester abortions even if the woman’s life is at risk.
d. require a waiting period of twenty-four hours.
e. prevent teenagers from obtaining contraceptives without parental consent.
The number of eligible voters who cast ballots on Election Day is referred to as the
a. political education rate.
b. voter turnout.
c. political participation rate.
d. voter dissatisfaction rate.
e. voter impact.
All of the following concerning the Lemon v. Kurtzman case is true EXCEPT
a. government aid to religious schools is constitutional.
b. the nature of government aid to schools must be secular.
c. government aid to schools could not have the primary effect of advancing or
inhibiting religion.
d. government, in aiding schools, cannot become excessively entangled with religion.
e. government aid to religious schools has to be religious in nature.
Which of the following groups are more likely to vote Republican?
a. Factory workers
b. Union members
c. Small-business owners
d. Attorneys
e. College instructors
Gag orders have been used to
a. prohibit one criminal from testifying against another.
b. restrict the publication of news about a pretrial hearing.
c. restrict what a juror may say to the press after the trial.
d. restrict what evidence must be shown to defense lawyers.
e. prevent publication of obscene material depicting bondage.
Blogs and the Internet have
a. improved candidates’ management of sound bites.
b. made it more difficult for candidates to manage the news coverage of their
campaigns.
c. prevented news organizations from using video clips and other online materials.
d. had little effect on campaigns.
e. made it more difficult for campaigns to raise funds.
Iron triangles are made up of
a. economic interests, citizen activists, and government interest groups.
b. lobbyists, interest groups, and court cases used to promote government action to help
the interest of these groups.
c. legislators, bureaucrats, and interest groups that make or preserve policies that benefit
their respective interests.
d. political parties, interest groups, and voters who want their candidates to win.
e. watchdog citizens, presidential advisors, and members of the federal bureaucracy that
make policies that benefit their respective interests.
A reprieve is
a. when the President forgives someone of a crime.
b. when the President issues a formal postponement of the execution of a sentence
imposed by a court of law.
c. when the President makes a sentence less severe.
d. when Congress metes out a symbolic punishment delivered to any of its members
who criticize the president.
e. unconstitutional.
If the results of an opinion poll look like the following: (Favor: 44%; Oppose: 45%; No
opinion: 11%), the results show an example of _______ opinion.
a. consensus
b. divided
c. dubious
d. favorable
e. unified
Which of the following best describes a major problem with the role of the instructed
delegate function of a member of Congress?
a. The public might not support the President’s policies.
b. The constituents likely do not actually have well-formed views on the issues that are
decided in Congress.
c. Constituents may not be in the same political party as the representative.
d. Members of Congress are often clueless about legislation.
e. Congressmen and women have a hard time cooperating.
An individual’s trial rights include all of the following EXCEPT
a. the right to an impartial jury selected from a cross-section of the community.
b. the right to a speedy and public trial before a jury.
c. the right not to be subject to lengthy questioning.
d. no compulsory self-incrimination.
e. a trial atmosphere free of prejudice.
When the top two candidates in a primary compete in another primary for a majority of
votes, it is called
a. a closed primary.
b. an open primary.
c. a run-off primary.
d. a blanket primary.
e. a caucus.
Because so many people are in the United States and it’s impracticable to poll everyone,
people interested professionally in looking at public opinion describe the ______ of
opinions about a particular question.
a. number
b. reliability
c. validity
d. distribution
e. standard deviation
What percent of federal employees have been fired for incompetence in recent years?
a. Fewer than 0.1%
b. 10%
c. 12%
d. 5%
e. More than 50%
According to the Constitution, the minimum age to be President is
a. twenty-five years.
b. thirty years.
c. thirty-five years.
d. forty years.
e. forty-five years.
In 1980, China was granted _____ for tariffs and trade policy on a year-to-year basis.
a. normal trade relations status
b. most-favored nation status
c. favorite nation status
d. superior trade relations status
Which of the following best describes President Obama’s original stand on gay men and
lesbians in the military?
a. He promised to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
b. He stood against gays and lesbians in the military.
c. He supported the Defense of Marriage Act.
d. He advocated not questioning gay and lesbian recruits about their sexual orientation.
The transfer of powers from a national or central government to a state or local
government is called
a. reduction of burden.
b. identity politics.
c. devolution.
d. evolution.
e. dissemination.
In regard to control over the foreign policy process, Edwin S. Corwin once observed
that the U.S. Constitution created between the president and Congress a(n)
a. “unchecked union.”
b. “patriotic display of cooperation.”
c. “symbiotic partnership.”
d. “opportunity for compromise.”
e. “invitation to struggle.”
To be elected president, a candidate must obtain
a. a majority of the popular vote.
b. a majority of the electoral vote.
c. more popular votes than any other candidate.
d. more electoral votes than any other candidate.
e. every electoral vote.
Before the latter half of the nineteenth century, abortion was
a. legal at any point before the onset of labor.
b. a criminal offense at any point in the pregnancy.
c. not a criminal offense before the first movement of the fetus in the uterus.
d. not a criminal offense if the woman’s husband agreed to it.
e. completely unregulated by the legal system.
Which of the following is the largest and most famous government corporation?
a. Amtrak
b. The Department of Homeland Security
c. The U.S. Postal Service
d. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation
e. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting
After each presidential election, all of the jobs that usually go to the politically
well-connected are listed in what is informally known as the
a. Most Wanted List.
b. Beige Book.
c. Congressional Quarterly.
d. Federal Register.
e. Plum Book.