The Department of Homeland Security is the newest Cabinet department.
Following the French and Indian War, the British government and the colonists agreed
that westward expansion and settlement should be curtailed.
The notion of southern states opposing a national takeover of health care parallels the
views of their representatives during the Constitutional Convention.
Preemption is one way for states to prevent federal usurpation of their power.
Congress ratified the Treaty of Versailles, ending World War II and establishing the
League of Nations.
Proceeds from the Permanent University Fund are exclusively used to help finance the
University of Texas and Texas A&M University systems.
Young voters’ support for Barack Obama in his 2008 presidential campaign likely
stemmed from his use of social networking sites.
The Texas Supreme Court is the final appellate jurisdiction for civil and criminal cases
in the state.
The Constitution sets the number of justices on the Supreme Court at nine.
The Twelfth Amendment provided separate elections for the offices of president and
vice president.
Only the Senate can impeach civil officers, who are tried by the House of
Representatives.
The creation of the Texas Rangers was meant to control the haphazard grazing of cattle
in pristine farmlands.
The International Monetary Fund was created shortly after World War I.
States’ unwillingness to follow provisions of the health care reform laws put forth by
Congress is an example of nullification.
Transaction theory involves an exchange of money for votes.
A higher relative percentage of Democrats watch MSNBC than CNN.
Political scientist James David Barber classified President Richard M. Nixon as an
active/negative president.
U.S. sanctions against suppliers of nuclear technology to North Korea would be an
example of dtente.
Efforts to create alternative energy and stimulate the technology industry in Texas have
come about through cooperation between public and private initiatives.
The Hatch Act attempted to limit political participation by federal employees.
Economic conditions were so poor in 2008 that Congress passed President George W.
Bush’s bailout plan with bipartisan support after only one draft.
During the first two-thirds of the twentieth century, most Texas legislators were
Democrats.
The U.S. economy is characterized by private ownership of property, private enterprise,
and marketplace competition.
The use of criminal plea bargains and civil negotiated settlements are rare in the district
courts of Texas.
A defendant’s court-provided attorney may sleep through a trial.
Legislators’ need for campaign money and the vast sums of money raised by successful
lobbyists, particularly for business interests, make for a perfectly legal symbiotic
relationship between the legislature and the lobby.
Justice Elena Kagan served as solicitor general before she became an associate justice.
Interest groups have failed to point out flaws in the Texas Constitution.
The judicial branch of the Republic of Texas under the Constitution of 1836 called for
the Congress to create a supreme court and inferior courts with judges appointed by
Congress, and for counties to create county and justice of the peace courts with judges
popularly elected.
States are often parties to the treaties with American Indian nations.
American citizens who are permanently disabled might rely on the Supplemental
Security Income program to help support themselves.
According to the authors of the textbook, the process of selecting a trial jury, known as
voir dire, is essentially a process of elimination.
The size of the federal workforce decreased under President Bill Clinton.
People with lower incomes are less likely to vote because they feel alienated by the
political process.
Candidates can give as much money toward their own campaigns as they wish.
Block grants are federal monies given to the states with few strings attached.
If you live in Houston, you breathe some of the dirtiest air of any major city in the
United States.
In Gibbons v. Ogden, the Supreme Court decided that the interstate commerce clause
allowed New York to grant a monopoly to a steamboat operator.
Interest groups play a negligible role in American politics.
Samuel Adams founded the Committees of Correspondence to help with the war effort.
If a member of the Texas House of Representatives or Texas Senate goes into active
military service, he or she may
A) vote absentee via the Internet on pending legislation that has reached a floor vote.
B) appoint a temporary replacement legislator.
C) is considered to have resigned her or his seat and a special election is called to fill
the vacancy.
D) designate a fellow legislator in the chamber in which she or he serves, to act and
vote in her or his place during the session.
E) cast votes in the Texas legislature remotely through a highly secure electronic
system.
Of the three branches of government, which of the following is the LEAST media
friendly?
A) Executive
B) Judicial
C) Legislative
D) Interest groups
In 2007, Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment which abolished which
county office in Texas?
A) County treasurer
B) Constitutional county court judge
C) County inspector of hides
D) County auditor
E) County tax assessor-collector
The wage gap between men and women
A) is growing every year.
B) is shrinking dramatically every year.
C) remains around 80 percent.
D) is virtually closed.
E) was ended by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Which of the following best describes the Texas economy?
A) The Texas economy remains dependent on “the big three”cotton, cattle, and
petroleum.
B) The Texas economy is the third largest in the United States.
C) The Texas economy soared while the U.S. economy tanked in the most recent
recession.
D) The Texas economy has raised the standard of living for nearly all Texans.
E) The Texas economy is mainly based on tourism, entertainment, and soybeansthe
“new big three.”
A document containing the collected legal arguments in a case that is filed with a court
prior to trial is called
A) a petition for a writ of certiorari.
B) a petition of habeas corpus.
C) a writ of mandamus.
D) an amicus curiae brief.
E) a brief.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
A) gave African Americans the right to vote.
B) gives state governments the right to monitor discriminatory voting practices.
C) was not renewed in 2006.
D) bans any procedure that impinges upon minorities’ right to vote.
E) allowed Hispanics applying for U.S. citizenship the right to vote.
According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, approximately what
percentage of Texas children lived in families below the poverty level in 2008?
A) 1.7
B) 3
C) 8
D) 14
E) 23
Almost ____ percent of voters declared themselves independents in 2008.
A) 15
B) 20
C) 25
D) 30
E) 35
Most cases in Texas municipal courts involve
A) public drunkenness.
B) domestic abuse.
C) adoptions, wills, and probates.
D) traffic and parking violations.
E) felonies.
Which of the following is NOT an activity of political parties?
A) Mobilizing support and getting out the vote
B) Refusing to cooperate with the other party
C) Furthering accountability and unity
D) Formulating and promoting policy
E) Organizing coalitions in government
Which of the following is a likely reason Protestants are becoming increasingly
Republican?
A) Barack Obama proposed sweeping health care reform.
B) Catholics are growing increasingly Democratic.
C) There has been an increase in self-proclaimed social conservatives.
D) Anglican bishops have begun campaigning for Republicans.
E) The Democratic Party has begun condemning religious practices.
The Attorney General of Texas is LEAST involved in which of the following activities?
A) Defending the state against lawsuits
B) Issuing legal opinions interpreting state laws
C) Enforcing compliance with consumer protection laws such as the Deceptive Trade
Practices Act
D) Prosecuting individuals accused of serious crimes
E) Enforcing open records requirements
As a state legislator, to avoid taking a stand on legislation which would adversely affect
you regardless of whether you vote for or against the bill, what action might you
strongly consider?
A) Logrolling
B) Gutting
C) Backscratching
D) Taking a walk
E) Gerrymandering
________ has been referred to as the Court’s “ninth and a half” member.
A) The U.S. solicitor general
B) The U.S. attorney general
C) The U.S. surgeon general
D) The U.S. Department of Justice
E) The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee
The absence of civic virtue was grounds for stoning in the colonial era.
Which of the follow is NOT a primary function of county government in Texas?
A) Maintaining roads
B) Ensuring public safety
C) Ensuring public health
D) Conducting elections
E) Regulating inter-county commerce
Primary elections are
A) government elections.
B) interest group elections.
C) social movement elections.
D) party elections.
E) held after the general election.
What are the main tasks for the party organization at the county and precinct level?
A) Campaigning and getting voters to the polls
B) Fund-raising and advising statewide candidates
C) Candidate recruitment and retention
D) Training and organizing unions
E) Issue analysis and purging inactive voters from the electoral rolls
Social Security was created in the
A) 1790s.
B) 1860s.
C) 1930s.
D) 1960s.
E) 1970s.
One way government differs from business is that
A) government promotes the public good, while businesses promote profits.
B) bureaucrats are elected while businesses hire based on merit.
C) divisions of responsibility are clearer in government than in business.
D) most public employees find their jobs in jeopardy when administrations change.
E) government can learn little from business but business has much to learn from
government.
The weighty, detailed work of the legislaturesuch as hearings, testimony, deliberation,
and marking up proposed legislationis done
A) on the floor.
B) by the House of Representatives.
C) in the lobby.
D) in committees.
E) in the Senate.
The 1999 constitutional revision effort resulted in which of the following?
A) Increased the terms of both houses, to 4 and 6 years
B) Instituted term limits for all elected state officeholders
C) Created a veto session for the legislature (to meet after a post-session gubernatorial
veto)
D) Consolidated power in the executive by creating a nine-member cabinet
E) None of the above. The legislature never considered the proposed 1999 constitution.
Most of the earliest American groups were
A) multi-issue groups.
B) single-issue groups.
C) abolitionist groups.
D) temperance groups.
E) environmental groups.
Journalists, political scientists, economists, and specialists in a government agencies or
policy think tanks could all be involved in
A) public policy analysis.
B) public policy implementation.
C) an iron triangle.
D) the appropriation process.
E) public policy funding.
The catalyst for formation of the modern Tea Party movement was the
A) Cash for Clunkers program.
B) high cost of the Iraq war.
C) so-called “bailout bill.”
D) health care reform bill.
E) high tax on beverages with sugar including tea.
________ was among the attendees at the Constitutional Convention who owned the
most slaves.
A) Thomas Jefferson
B) Benjamin Franklin
C) Alexander Hamilton
D) George Washington
E) James Madison
In hindsight, which presidents would be the MOST likely to be disappointed in their
nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court?
A) George Washington
B) Franklin D. Roosevelt
C) Dwight D. Eisenhower
D) Bill Clinton
E) Barack Obama
Women
A) have always outvoted men.
B) won the right to vote with the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment.
C) currently make up a majority of the U.S. electorate.
D) have always voted at a lower rate than men.
E) won the right to vote with the ratification of the Twenty-Second Amendment.
Which of the following are likely effects of celebrities testifying before Congress?
I. Increasing the visibility of an issue
II. Inspiring fans to become involved with an issue
III. Providing expert testimony to bolster a cause
IV. Opening the door for celebrities to run for office
A) III only
B) I and II
C) II and IV
D) I, II, and IV
E) I, II, III, and IV
Why are Texas legislators unlikely to limit their own terms?
A) Because the Texas Constitution of 1876 explicitly forbids it
B) Because many legislators would like to stay in office for a long time
C) Because of the high salary paid members of the legislature
D) Because most legislators in Texas are Democrats, and the Democratic Party
traditional opposes term limits
E) Because an amendment to the state constitution would be required to establish
legislative term limits, and Texas legislators are loath to amendment the state
constitution.
Texas is part of the ________ judicial circuit.
A) second
B) fifth
C) ninth
D) tenth
E) eleventh
Texas cities obtain nearly 58 percent of their operating funds from
A) fees on the performance of state services.
B) sales tax revenues.
C) revenue from property taxes and sales tax combined.
D) federal block grants.
E) municipal income taxes.
There are ________ federal district courts.
A) forty-seven
B) fifty-six
C) eighty-seven
D) ninety-four
E) 104
The international financial system devised shortly before the end of World War II that
created the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund is known as
A) the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
B) the Deregulation System.
C) the Bretton Woods System.
D) containment.
E) Keynesian economics.