In an important recent decision, the Supreme Court upheld a voucher program for
students attending religious and other private schools in Cleveland, Ohio, because
a. the schools promised to teach no course involving religion.
b. the aid was not given to particular schools but to the families who chose the schools.
c. the schools removed all religious symbols and artifacts.
d. the aid was given directly to the particular schools.
e. the teachers were certified by the state.
The state of affairs in Pennsylvania seemed to suggest that
a. state constitutions were generally successful.
b. the rights and liberties of citizens were secure in a confederation.
c. unitary systems were more liberal than confederations.
d. democracy and tyranny might not be all that far apart from one another.
e. it is not a good thing to create a separate, independent executive.
Leading up to the 1936 presidential election, this politician was proposing a radical
economic plan entitled “Share Our Wealth.”
a. Upton Sinclair
b. Herbert Hoover
c. Huey Long
d. Alf Landon
e. Dr. Francis E. Townsend
No Democratic candidate for president has won a majority of white southern votes
since
a. Bill Clinton
b. Jimmy Carter
c. John Kerry
d. Al Gore
e. Lyndon Johnson
Which of the following statements about economic equality applies most accurately to
Americans?
a. Most Americans believe that all people should be paid on the basis of their economic
needs: “equality of results.”
b. Most Americans believe that everyone has the right to get ahead: “equality
ofopportunity.”
c. Most Americans believe in the preferential treatment of women and minorities in
hiring: “equality of access.”
d. Most Americans believe in the idea of having a top limit on what people can earn:
“equality of wealth.”
e. Most Americans believe that citizens who participate in politics should have
guaranteed income: “equality of participants.”
One proposed explanation for why congressional seats have become less marginal is
that
a. the growing strength of the party system makes it less likely for challengers to appeal
to average voters.
b. incumbents can use their powers to get programs passed that benefit their districts,
and thereby themselves.
c. incumbents are less likely than challengers to become associated with the “mess”
inWashington.
d. changing demographics have made an increasing number of districts overwhelmingly
Democratic or Republican.
e. incumbents are less ideological than challengers and link themselves with Congress
as aninstitution.
Because they are usually the only ones that can report out bills, the most important
committees are the __________ committees.
a. joint
b. conference
c. standing
d. select
e. rejoinder
Based on the 2009 survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, this nation had the
lowest percentage of individuals who held a favorable view of the American people.
a. Pakistan
b. Jordan
c. France
d. South Korea
e. Turkey
The text suggests that the Antifederalists might have been more accurately called the
a. nationalists.
b. states’ rights advocates.
c. monarchists.
d. loyalists.
e. anarchists.
Today, the government is held responsible for
a. crime.
b. the economy.
c. the environment.
d. civil rights.
e. All of the above are true.
The “state of nature” refers to
a. society without government.
b. government without society.
c. formation of government along the lines of natural law.
d. the clash between government and society.
e. the very highest form of government.
Lyndon Johnson’s legislative program was called the
a. New Deal.
b. Square Deal.
c. New Frontier.
d. Great Society.
e. Fair Deal.
Presidential success with Congress on foreign policy matters, compared with
presidential success on domestic matters, is
a. impossible to determine.
b. about the same.
c. decidedly less.
d. somewhat greater.
e. decidedly greater.
Brown v. Board of Education is an example of a
a. taxpayer suit.
b. class-action suit.
c. Section 1983 suit.
d. reapportionment suit.
e. client participatory suit.
There have only been _________ chief justices of the United States Supreme Court.
a. sixteen
b. twenty
c. thirty
d. fifty
e. sixty
Americans have a comparatively low degree of
a. material acquisitiveness.
b. social conformity.
c. class consciousness.
d. geographic mobility.
e. capitalist instinct.
__________ is a type of alliance described by Hugh Heclo that consists of people in
Washington-based interest groups, on congressional staffs, in universities and think
tanks, and in the mass media, who regularly debate a particular government policy.
a. Red tape
b. Issue networks
c. Iron triangles
d. Fluid networks
e. Laissez faire
A study of the political slant of 400 daily newspapers found that coverage was generally
a reflection of the views of ____________.
a. owners
b. reporters
c. editors
d. columnists
e. readers
Compared with the average European, the average American is more likely to
a. believe in God.
b. pray on a daily basis.
c. acknowledge clear standards of right and wrong.
d. All of the above are true.
e. None of the above is true.
Of the following statements, which one describes earmarks?
a. They have always existed.
b. They became more common in the 1970s and afterward.
c. Their expansion was prompted, in part, by the growth of the federal government.
d. Their expansion was prompted, in part, by the efforts of lobbyists.
e. All of the above are true.
Edward Corwin describes the Constitution’s treatment of the authority of the president
and of Congress in foreign affairs as
a. a recipe for disaster.
b. strong unity.
c. an invitation to struggle.
d. a call for cooperation.
e. vague as possible.
A political culture exists where
a. there is a distinctive and patterned way of thinking about political and economic life.
b. the demographics of a nation suggest the presence of a fairly homogeneous group.
c. a constitution creates an orderly society.
d. there is a large amount of agreement among the public.
e. there is elite guidance in matters related to politics.
Democratic judges are more likely to make __________ decisions than Republican
judges.
a. quick
b. timely
c. traditional
d. conservative
e. liberal
A person appointed to a government position after passing an examination is probably
joining the
a. excepted service.
b. competitive service.
c. patronage system.
d. Department of State.
e. Department of Justice.
By 2010, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid together accounted for _________ of
the federal budget.
a. 5 percent
b. 10 percent
c. 20 percent
d. 30 percent
e. 40 percent
When people care more about an issue than other people do, they are said to have
a. opinion curiosity.
b. opinion policy congruence.
c. opinion stability.
d. opinion saliency.
e. opinion agreement.
When an individual’s views are consistently conservative or liberal, we say that person
is ideologically
a. tuned.
b. constrained.
c. aligned.
d. placed.
e. sealed.
The textbook discusses how the growing political strength of southern blacks is evident
because
a. more than 10,500 blacks hold elective office in the south.
b. four southern governors are black.
c. six southern senators and twelve southern House members are black.
d. two blacks from the same southern state have been elected to the Senate and House.
e. three state have black supreme court justices.
In this Supreme Court decision, the Court held that the federal guarantees of free speech
and free press also applied to the states.
a. Marbury
b. Barron
c. Gitlow
d. McDonald
e. Heller
The National Security Council includes all of the following except the
a. Speaker of the House.
b. president.
c. vice president.
d. secretary of state.
e. secretary of defense.
When the Supreme Court declares that a feature of the Bill of Rights is applicable to the
states as well as the federal government, we say that feature has been
a. excised.
b. truncated.
c. bifurcated.
d. redacted.
e. incorporated.
A modern example of direct democracy would be
a. citizens electing local boards to make decisions.
b. citizens running for political office.
c. citizens affected by some program participating in its formulation.
d. citizens writing elected officials to express opinions on policy.
e. citizens working for politicians.
The Court of International Trade is a specialized
a. constitutional court.
b. district court.
c. court of appeal.
d. legislative court.
e. supreme court.
In the culture wars, a progressive is more likely to
a. value personal freedom as much as traditional rules.
b. hold that morality is independent of individual preferences.
c. believe that moral rules derive from the commands of God.
d. believe that notions about right and wrong are clear and unchanging.
e. believe that moral rules are more important than self-expression.
__________ is a political system in which the national government shares power with
local governments.
a. A unitary government
b. Federalism
c. A confederation
d. A parliamentarian government
e. A republic
The District of Columbia receives three electoral votes even though it has no
representatives in Congress.
Social class is probably a better indicator of political attitudes in Great Britain or France
than in the United States.
Representative democracy is sometimes referred to as the “elitist theory of democracy.”
Congress tends to be a decentralized institution, with all members more interested in
their own views and those of their voters than with programs proposed by the president.
Explain the difference between the judicial restraint approach and the activist approach.
Activism in government can be a cause of declining voter turnout.
When the voting age was lowered to eighteen, those eighteen to twenty-one years of
age voted in impressive numbers.
Alexander Hamilton was a strong supporter of the government set up by the Articles
ofConfederation.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Virginia Military Institute when its tradition of
admitting only male cadets was challenged.
Writing a letter to the editor would be an example of political participation.
What explanations does William G. Mayer provide for why conservative radio talk
shows are socommon?
Summarize the two forms of sexual harassment defined in rulings by the Equal
Employment Opportunities Commission.
The Constitution specifies that the number of justices on the Supreme Court should be
between six and nine.
Most young Americans regularly read newspapers.
None of the Founders was particularly concerned about the government being too
democratic.
All measures dealing with taxes or appropriations must originate in the Senate.
Federal courts have ruled that Indian tribes using the drug peyote in religious
ceremonies are exempt from any state laws that ban such use.
Identify the areas that the Founders probably felt were to be limits of federal
government.
Identify the three arenas in which political parties can be found.