Americans’ views on the news media have become
A) more favorable in the past few decades.
B) more ambivalent.
C) more neutral, especially with regard to television news.
D) increasingly unfavorable in recent years.
E) polarized in the last ten years.
A certificate of indebtedness issued by a city that creates a legal obligation to repay the
principal of the loan plus accrued interest is called
A) an ordinance.
B) sales tax.
C) a homestead exemption.
D) a bond.
E) a capital expenditure.
Which of the following does NOT describe democracy?
A. It exists in a direct form in the federal government of United States.
B. It can be both direct and indirect.
C. It is one of Aristotle’s classifications of government.
D. It is similar to a polity in terms of who governs.
E. It is the most common form of government in the world.
Which of the following was NOT a provision of the Texas Constitution of 1836?
A) A declaration of rights
B) A bicameral Congress
C) An Executive branch
D) Homestead protection
E) Universal male citizenship
The Great Depression led to
I. a variety of innovative programs to combat unemployment.
II. a new philosophy about the role of government.
III. a growth in national government activity.
IV. a provision allowing the election of FDR for four terms.
A) I and II
B) I and IV
C) I, II, and IV
D) I, II, and III
E) I, II, III, and IV
Targeting media programming at specific populations within society is
A) a direct result of the growth of radio.
B) the objective of most news networks today.
C) narrowcasting.
D) how Twitter functions.
E) on the decline to increase objectivity, particularly on cable news.
If you are a member of the Public Utilities Commission, how did you obtain your
office?
A) Election by a state-wide vote
B) Appointment by the governor
C) Appointment by the Texas Supreme Court (because the PUC is a quasi-judicial
entity)
D) Nomination by the Texas House with approval by the Texas Senate
E) Appointment by a non-partisan board created by the legislature in 1995
The gender gap became prevalent in American politics in
A) 1964.
B) 1976.
C) 1980.
D) 1992.
E) 2000.
Today, opponents of the League of Nations would MOST likely align with _______.
A) proponents of globalization.
B) economic liberals.
C) isolationists.
D) the Democratic Party.
E) anarchists.
New media has changed the face of political campaigns by
I. providing a lot more transparency of candidates’ lives and ideas.
II. allowing for more immediate results and responses to strategies.
III. giving campaigns the ability to research more efficiently.
IV. providing an outlet for free media to reach scores of potential voters.
A) I and II
B) II and III
C) I, II, and IV
D) II, III, and IV
E) I, II, III, and IV
The Ninth Amendment has been used as the basis for
A) the death penalty.
B) the right to an abortion when coupled with other guarantees.
C) states’ rights.
D) many Federalist complaints.
E) affirmative action.
In the 1970s, the price of oil skyrocketed in the United States because
I. the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries instituted an embargo of oil
shipments to any nation that supported Israel during its war.
II. the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries raised the price for oil
worldwide.
III. the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries raised the price for oil
worldwide.
IV. the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries instituted an embargo of
oil shipments to any nation that supported Israel during its war.
A) I and II
B) II and III
C) I and III
D) III and IV
E) II and IV
Australia __________ indigenous people.
I. once forcibly assimilated its
II. sent tens of thousands of children away from families of the nation’s
III. has removed the criminal status of the traditional behaviors of
IV. has provided full reparations to
A) III only
B) I and II
C) I, II, and III
D) I, III, and IV
E) I, II, III, and IV
Suppose you are a politician who wants to disseminate a brief statement to reach the
public at large, including news networks. Which of the following is the quickest,
easiest, and most effective way to receive a near-instant response?
A) Hold a press conference
B) Grant an interview to CNN or FOX News
C) Post a status on Facebook
D) Post a tweet on Twitter
E) Send an e-mail to your closest supporters
Traditionally, the Supreme Court has handed down more than 100 cases per term. The
Roberts Court
A) has been far more active, handing down 150 cases per year.
B) decided exactly 100 cases in most recent years.
C) handed down fewer than 80 opinions in most recent years.
D) decided less than 50 cases in most recent years.
E) varies dramatically in the number of cases they address and opinions they issue.
In the council-manager form of city government, who hires and supervises city
employees?
A) City council
B) City manager
C) Mayor
D) City commissioner
E) Commissioners court
In the 1976 debate, President Gerald R. Ford incorrectly claimed that
A) East Germany was not under Soviet domination.
B) East Germany was under U.S. domination.
C) China was under Soviet domination.
D) Poland was under Soviet domination.
E) Poland was not under Soviet domination.
In 1955, the AFL-CIO
A) was created by the merger of several unions.
B) was devastated by the disappearance of its leader, Jimmy Hoffa.
C) was founded to improve health benefits.
D) vowed not to engage itself in electoral politics.
E) concentrated its efforts mainly at the state and local levels.
The first real economy of Texas was
A) inherited from the Mexicans and was based on energy production.
B) created by southern planters and based on cotton, a money crop.
C) exclusively based on the barter system with Native Americans.
D) not developed until the industrial revolution and the urbanization of the state.
E) confined exclusively to the coastal region and based on shipping and trade.
Which president has traveled overseas more than any other president in his first year?
A) Ronald Reagan
B) George H.W. Bush
C) Bill Clinton
D) George W. Bush
E) Barack Obama
The Pendleton Act established the principle of ________ in federal hiring.
A) patronage
B) merit
C) civility
D) partisanship
E) gender equality
Hispanics are
A) dramatically underrepresented in the federal workforce.
B) not as well represented as Asian and Pacific Island Americans in the federal
workforce.
C) as well represented as African Americans in the federal workforce.
D) far better represented than whites in the federal workforce.
E) not as well represented as American Indians in the federal workforce.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided that a certain film was not obscene because it failed to
meet the criteria for obscenity established by Miller v. California. This is an example of
A) precedent.
B) being overruled.
C) a constitutional mandate.
D) appellate jurisdiction.
E) a seriatim decision.
Committees to which proposed bills are referred and that continue from one Congress
to the next are called ________ committees.
A) standing
B) conference
C) ad hoc
D) joint
E) special
Executive branch employees
A) are not regulated by federal law.
B) may lobby the executive branch one year after they have left their agency post.
C) may lobby members of the executive branch two years after they”ve left their posts.
D) may lobby members of Congress without restrictions.
E) are governed by the same laws as judicial lobbyists.
A trend in the Texas legislature is toward
A) more power in the hands of the liberal members.
B) increased partisan rancor and partisan structural organization.
C) a decrease in the power of the Speaker over committees.
D) a decrease in the role of party caucuses.
E) higher annual salaries for members.
The federal government has worked to regulate campaign finance
A) since the country’s inception.
B) for more than a century.
C) since the 1950s.
D) since the 1970s.
E) for about five years.
Most Supreme Court observers thought that the addition of John G. Roberts Jr. and
Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Court would pull it in a conservative direction.
Frustrated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s opposition to many New Deal programs,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed
A) impeaching the entire Supreme Court.
B) reducing the pay of sitting Supreme Court justices.
C) increasing the number of justices from nine to thirteen.
D) packing Congress with his friends.
E) reducing the number of justices from nine to seven.
The first governor of Texas was
A) Sam Houston.
B) William B. Travis.
C) Mirabeau B. Lamar.
D) Anson Jones.
E) James Pinckney Henderson