Basically, the New Jersey Plan was
a. the result of the Great Compromise.
b. a way for large states to grab power.
c. simply an amendment of the Articles of Confederation.
d. simply an amendment of the Mayflower Compact.
e. the Constitution.
In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), the U.S. Supreme Court
a. declared that minorities have no rights to equal treatment.
b. ruled that segregation of races in the public schools is unconstitutional.
c. prohibited the national government from taking action against local school boards.
d. allowed that segregation for educational purposes is constitutional.
e. declared that African Americans could be denied the right to a college education.
The type of media that has the least First Amendment protection is
a. motion pictures.
b. radio and television broadcasting.
c. newspapers.
d. magazines.
e. self-published pamphlets.
Which of the following best describes the Supreme Court’s rationale for deciding to
hear a particular case?
a. They must select from a list of acceptable reasons for refusing a case, due to an act of
Congress.
b. They have to explain their reasons to the President, but do not have to do so publicly.
c. They explain their reasons through press statements.
d. They must reveal their reasoning.
e. They never explain their reasons.
The national convention of a national political party
a. is held every nine years.
b. officially nominates the presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
c. works behind closed doors.
d. purges its membership regularly.
e. promotes the development of third parties.
A defendant’s pretrial rights include all of the following EXCEPT
a. to be informed of the charges.
b. the right to legal counsel.
c. the right to remain silent.
d. negotiable bail.
e. prompt arraignment.
A limited government is one in which
a. political participation is limited only to individuals who are educated.
b. government powers are limited, either through a written document or through widely
shared beliefs.
c. many seats in the legislature are vacant.
d. government has the power only to make decisions regarding international and
defense policy.
e. there is no higher authority than the local level of government.
Enumerated powers are
a. powers that the executive branch has.
b. powers that allow the president to do whatever he likes, as long as it carries out the
Constitution.
c. powers that are specifically granted to the national government by the Constitution.
d. Supreme Court decisions.
e. spelled out in the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution.
Which of the following best describes an opinion poll?
a. The amount of deviation in the sample of the population chosen from the real opinion
b. A method of systematically questioning a small, selected sample of respondents who
are deemed representative of the total population
c. The total number of people surveyed
d. When the people surveyed have an inherent bias that affects the results of the poll
e. When pollsters take voter information and analyze it to predict other trends than
simple opinions
In January 2006, ____ won a majority of the seats in the Palestinian legislature, an
alarming development since it has called for the destruction of Israel.
a. the militant group Hamas
b. the Kurdish People’s Liberation Front
c. the militant group Hezbollah
d. the Palestine Liberation Organization
e. the extremist group Free Jerusalem Now
The party organization is
a. the members of the general public who identify with a political party.
b. the formal structure and leadership of a political party.
c. all of the elected and appointed officials who identify with a party.
d. the urban machines that distribute social benefits.
e. responsible only for mundane matters such as printing signs and scheduling events.
To say that authority is legitimate is to
a. state the obvious.
b. say that authority is broadly accepted.
c. imply that the ruler has not always been perceived as the legal power.
d. suggest that decisions are of little practical value.
e. imply that those in power do not have the good of the public in mind when making
important decisions.
The supremacy clause of the Constitution means that
a. the original Constitution is superior to any amendment.
b. the original states have a superior status when dealing with states created after 1789.
c. states cannot use their powers to thwart national policies.
d. Congress cannot pass legislation that would violate state laws or constitutions.
e. treaties with foreign governments cannot overturn state laws.
The concept of senatorial courtesy refers to the
a. Senate approving judges only if they belong to the same party that is in control of the
Senate.
b. practice of allowing senators to have the exclusive right to nominate candidates for
the federal district courts in their state.
c. practice of allowing members of the House to participate in the nomination process.
d. practice of allowing a senator to veto a judicial appointment for federal district courts
in his or her state.
e. Senate’s deferring to the president and routinely approving his or her nominees.
The State of the Union message is
a. delivered by the president to the General Assembly of the United Nations at least
once every four years.
b. a policy statement of Congress over which the president seldom has influence.
c. required by the Constitution and gives a broad view of what the president wishes the
legislature to accomplish during its session.
d. an effective tool used by the president to limit other countries’ foreign policy
endeavors in this hemisphere.
e. constitutionally limited to reviewing the events of the last year.
In contrast to government bureaucracies, private corporations
a. are subject to the dictates of Congress for their funding.
b. have a single set of leaders.
c. require a division of labor to handle complex problems, while governments do not.
d. are supposed to perform their functions efficiently to conserve taxpayer dollars.
e. cannot be considered bureaucratic organizations.
Because Congress felt it was unable to handle the complexities and technicalities
required to carry out specific laws in the public interest, it created
a. cabinet departments.
b. independent executive agencies.
c. independent regulatory agencies.
d. government corporations.
e. private associations.
In the area of freedom of speech, which of the following is NOT true?
a. High schools can impose restrictions on speech that are not allowed in colleges.
b. High school officials may censor school publications.
c. Some universities have prohibited “hate speech.”
d. Campus speech restrictions have usually been ruled unconstitutional.
e. The Supreme Court ruled that universities may not impose mandatory student activity
fees.
A representative who is performing the role of a trustee is
a. mirroring the views of the majority of the constituents who elected him or her.
b. supporting the president on all of his or her legislative programs.
c. acting according to the broad interests of the entire society.
d. supporting his or her political party.
e. representing other members of Congress.
The selection of electors is governed by
a. the Bill of Rights.
b. the Freedom of Information Act.
c. the National Electoral College Selection Act.
d. local laws.
e. state laws.
The Medicare program is
a. the government health care program set up primarily for the poor.
b. the most costly domestic spending program.
c. the government health care program set up primarily for children.
d. the second largest domestic spending program.
e. part of New Deal legislation introduced by Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s.
With regard to candidates for office, all of the following are true EXCEPT
a. until recently, women were considered to be appropriate candidates only for
lower-level offices.
b. today, only 35 percent of Americans say they would vote for a qualified woman for
president.
c. most candidates are white and male.
d. the number of women running for office is increasing.
e. candidates are likely to be professionals.
Incorporation theory refers to
a. the view that the Bill of Rights applies to the states as well as the Federal
Government.
b. when corporations are treated as people in terms of free speech in political
campaigns.
c. what allows the government to practice eminent domain.
d. when state constitutions are used exclusively to define civil rights.
e. what destroyed the glass ceiling as it related to women in the 1970s.
Which of the following BEST defines the spoils system?
a. Using civil service exams to hire qualified individuals
b. The brainchild of President Abraham Lincoln
c. Making the impounding of federal spending illegal
d. The awarding of government jobs to political supporters and friends
e. Cutting entire agencies that are considered “spoiled” by corruption
The job of a conference committee is to
a. originate appropriations bills.
b. write a compromise bill, if the House and Senate bills contain different provisions.
c. set the rules of debate for a bill.
d. determine the committee path of a bill.
e. override a presidential veto.
The system of interest group politics has been accused of leaving out which of the
following groups?
a. The middle class
b. The unorganized poor
c. Professionals
d. The public sector
e. Consumers
When the economy is faced with inflation, according to monetary policy, what should
the government do?
a. It should follow a loose monetary policy.
b. It should raise taxes.
c. It should follow a tight monetary policy.
d. It should lower taxes.
e. It should take total control of the economy.
What do tax loopholes allow individuals and corporations to do?
a. They allow them to reduce their tax liabilities legally.
b. They choose the state where they pay taxes.
c. They complain to the IRS.
d. They only pay taxes on investment income.
e. They commit crimes without getting tried.
Under Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic Party
a. rejected progressivism.
b. continued to adhere to the same basic policies that it did in the nineteenth century.
c. began a radical change by becoming at least as receptive as the Republicans to
government action in the economy.
d. permanently split into three antagonistic factions.
e. adopted a policy of isolating the United States from the affairs of the rest of the
world.
Sampling error occurs when
a. a whole generation of voters uniformly believe that something is based on a
commonly shared experience.
b. socioeconomic status influences what types of answers are given in a survey.
c. an interviewer presents survey questions with a good deal of bias.
d. there is a difference between the sample result and what the sample really responded.
e. there is a difference between a sample result and the true result if the entire
population had been interviewed.
People in large cities tend to be
a. evenly split between Republican and Democratic voters.
b. conservative and Republican.
c. liberal but vote Republican.
d. conservative but vote Democratic.
e. liberal and Democratic.
All of the following statements about the early Democratic Party are true EXCEPT
a. it came into existence when the Republican Party split in two.
b. it was organized by supporters of Andrew Jackson.
c. it favored personal liberty and opportunity for the “common man.”
d. its hostility toward African Americans was an important force holding it together.
e. it supported a policy of federal spending on “internal improvements” such as roads.