The doctrine that was born of the Plessy v. Ferguson case was known as
a. equal opportunity.
b. affirmative action.
c. separate-but-equal.
d. full equality under the law.
e. equal suffrage.
The ______ is one by which all of a state’s electoral votes are cast for the presidential
candidate who receives a plurality of the votes in that state.
a. patronage rule
b. straight-ticket rule
c. apportionment rule
d. winner-take-all rule
e. unit rule
In the United States, universal suffrage for all citizens has
a. always been part of our election process.
b. never been that important.
c. come under fire recently.
d. developed over time.
e. been available since the 1920s.
The Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996 and the Children’s Online Protection
Act of 1998
a. were both ruled constitutionally acceptable.
b. require public schools to block adult Internet content through filtering devices.
c. were vetoed by President Clinton.
d. have been blocked on constitutional grounds.
e. outlaw computer-generated images of minors engaging in lewd behavior.
In 1918, the Supreme Court ruled that an earlier national law banning child labor was
unconstitutional, because
a. the rights of children are no different from those of adults.
b. it attempted to regulate a local problem.
c. it gave too much discretion to states.
d. it was unenforceable.
e. it interfered with national security.
What is a plurality system?
a. Whoever gets the most votes wins.
b. Candidates must get more than 50 percent of votes cast to win.
c. Votes are allocated to candidates on a proportional basis.
d. Only parties receiving more than 5 percent of the vote are allocated seats.
e. A party must have competed in a previous election to be placed on the ballot.
In terms of numbers, each cabinet department is served by
a. a handful of individuals, selected directly by the president.
b. dozens of individuals.
c. hundreds of individuals, a few of whom are under Presidential control.
d. thousands of individuals, a few of whom are under Presidential control.
e. hundreds of individuals.
Reapportionment is
a. the allocation of seats in the House to each state after each census.
b. the redrawing of district boundaries within each state.
c. a court order to hold new elections because of voting irregularities.
d. altering a legislative formula that apportions spending among the states.
e. a budget procedure used in the House.
In recent years, Protestants and Catholics have
a. both become more likely to abstain from voting.
b. both become more likely to vote Democratic.
c. moved toward Jewish voters politically.
d. moved farther apart from each other politically.
e. grown closer to each other politically.
An economic downturn, usually characterized by a fall in the GDP and rising
unemployment, is called
a. a Keynesian economy.
b. “hidden unemployment.”
c. inflation.
d. a depression.
e. a recession.
Which of the following statements best describes the number of signed opinions issued
by the Supreme Court each term in the twentieth century?
a. They have increased dramatically since the early 1950s.
b. They have hovered around 150 cases since the mid-1980s.
c. They have remained constant since the Civil War.
d. They dwindled notably since the 1980s.
e. They have fallen 50 percent since Barack Obama became president.
Which of the following is true about Presidential emergency powers?
a. They are listed in the Twenty-second Amendment.
b. They have never been exercised.
c. They are listed in each amendment of the Bill of Rights.
d. They were first enunciated in the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v.
Curtiss-Wright Export Corp.
e. They are not outlined in the Constitution.
Which of the following statements about the filibuster is false?
a. Filibusters were rare.
b. Recently, filibusters could start without senators having to make any speeches.
c. Senators threaten to filibuster almost every significant piece of legislation that comes
before the Senate.
d. A new rule has been made to mandate that sixty Senators support major pieces of
legislation, because of constant filibuster threats.
e. Senators like filibusters, and do not want to abolish the practice.
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.
Moral idealism is a philosophy that
a. views nations as normally willing to cooperate and agree on moral standards for
conduct.
b. mandates noninterference with the internal policies of sovereign nations.
c. supports steps to establish a single world government.
d. views each nation as acting in its own interest regardless of moral considerations.
e. contends that spreading Christianity ought to be a major goal of U.S. foreign policy.
Which of the following best describes the people who have been elected president?
a. Older and from western states
b. Primarily Catholics and Jews
c. Military commanders from the South
d. White, male, Protestants
e. California natives
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 statements about the people who work for Congress is false?
a. They include office clerks, assistants, and professionals who deal with media
relations and draft legislation.
b. There are a larger number of staffers for House members than for senators.
c. The total number of staff members has increased dramatically since 1960.
d. About half of the people employed in the Capitol Hill bureaucracy are personal and
committee staff members.
e. Some staffers maintain local offices in the member’s home state or district.
When people generally agree on an issue, the agreement itself is called
a. a consensus.
b. an opinion.
c. unanimity.
d. reliability.
e. validity.
All of the following statements concerning a federal system of government are true
EXCEPT
a. they always have a bicameral legislature.
b. they are divided between a central government and regional, or subdivisional,
governments.
c. some powers are bestowed upon the central government, and others are granted to the
regional governments.
d. power is not concentrated in a unicameral legislature within a strong central
government.
e. power is exercised by the national government only insofar as these powers are
granted by the states.
Felons and ex-felons, and new immigrants who are not yet citizens, are included in the
a. voting-age population.
b. vote-eligible population.
c. local election turnout numbers.
d. state election turnout numbers.
e. demographics usually targeted by minor parties.
When the Supreme Court decides an issue, ______ are obligated to abide by the Court’s
decision.
a. only other federal courts
b. only individual state supreme courts
c. all of the nation’s courts
d. all courts in every country with a common law tradition
e. only Washington, D.C. courts
The value of all taxes collected by the various levels of government in the United States
is
a. over half of the nation’s income.
b. higher than what most other countries collect.
c. subject to a ceiling imposed by Congress.
d. about 27 percent of the gross domestic product.
e. inevitably enough to run the government and still have a budget surplus.
Government spending in 2007 increased mostly due to legislation designed to address
a. infrastructure spending.
b. education spending cuts.
c. foreign aid.
d. the “Great Recession.”
e. the stock market crash of 1929.
All of the following are principles of democratic governments EXCEPT
a. universal suffrage.
b. majority rule and protection of minority rights.
c. free, competitive elections.
d. limited government.
e. limited right to vote.
A procedure used by the Supreme Court in determining which cases it will hear is
called ______, after the number of justices who must vote to grant a petition for review.
a. the rule of four
b. the gang of four
c. the sign of four
d. the rule of six
e. the sign of five
The part of the First Amendment prohibiting the national government from interfering
with religious practices is called the
a. church-state separation clause.
b. diversity clause.
c. free exercise clause.
d. religious freedom clause.
e. establishment clause.
Which part of the federal government employs most of the government’s staff?
a. The judiciary
b. The legislative branch
c. The federal courts
d. The executive branch
e. The Internal Revenue Service
The presidential power known as diplomatic recognition
a. is a relatively meaningless tradition.
b. has seldom been used by any president.
c. is the power of the president to recognize, or not recognize, foreign governments.
d. is a simple and uncontroversial part of the president’s duties.
e. has been used more by Congress than by the president.
Candidates in state and local elections are mostly chosen by
a. who looks the best on TV.
b. Republican Party caucuses.
c. superdelegates from the Democratic Party.
d. direct primaries.
e. indirect primaries.
The public agenda is
a. decided by the public through ballot initiatives.
b. issues that are perceived by the political community as meriting public attention and
governmental action.
c. never influenced by the mass media.
d. also called the Massachusetts ballot.
e. an explicit agreement among media providers about what topics to cover and how.
Which of the following best describes de facto segregation?
a. Segregation that occurs because of patterns of racial residence and similar social
conditions
b. Segregation based on laws
c. Segregation that happens because of administrative decisions
d. Segregation based on physical characteristics
e. Partial segregation
The number of political action committees (PACs)
a. has remained stable since the 1970s.
b. grew after 1976 but declined in the 1990s.
c. grew significantly after 1976 but has leveled off since the 1990s.
d. grew significantly between 1900 and 1950 but leveled off in the 1960s.
e. has grown exponentially since 1976 to more than 20,000 today.
All of the following statements regarding federal mandates are true EXCEPT
a. requirements in federal legislation have been passed that force states to comply with
certain rules.
b. the Federal Government has mandated that states take action with respect to voter
registration.
c. federal mandates always are accompanied by federal funding.
d. an Act of Congress requires the Congressional Budget Office to identify mandates
that cost more than $50 million to implement.
e. states may not ignore federal mandates.