A dissenting opinion is written by a justice who agrees with the decision of the majority,
but disagrees with the rationale.
Party conventions have hosted delegates casting Electoral College votes to select
presidential nominees since 1832.
Bureaucrats often have considerable discretion in the implementation of federal laws.
Simple random samples are not very useful for predicting voting outcomes because
they may undersample or oversample key populations not likely to vote.
Rotating three-judge panels decide cases in the federal courts of appeals.
Candidates can give as much money toward their own campaigns as they wish.
The U.S. Constitution prohibits the use of taxing and spending to influence the national
economy.
The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over cases in which the United States is a
party.
Talk radio is making a resurgence because many of its top shows appeal to
conservatives.
The federal system established in the United States was a direct response to the
ineffective national government under the Articles of Confederation.
Although the Constitution allows states to create their own legislative boundaries,
gerrymandering in favor of any partisan or racial group is expressly forbidden by law.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first to use radio as a medium to connect with
the American public.
A constitution is a written document establishing the structure, functions, and
limitations of a government.
Congress has the sole authority to declare war.
The main weakness of the Articles of Confederation was the lack of a strong national
government.
Approve-or-disapprove survey questions measure respondents’ intensity of feeling
better than other types of questions.
The exclusionary rule prohibits police from using illegally seized evidence at trial.
The New Jersey Plan proposed a powerful central government with three branches.
The Constitution gives states the power to issue state coinage in addition to the coinage
issued by the federal government.
News media predate the United States.
The majority of individuals earning an annual income of more than $75,000 identify as
independents.
Over the course of the twentieth century, the federal government has grown
considerably in response to the need for new government agencies.
Indigenous peoples had been living in North America for more than 30,000 years before
the arrival of the first European colonists.
Membership in labor unions has increased over the last several decades.
Planned Parenthood v.Casey held that a state court could limit abortions as long as the
regulation did not pose an undue burden on pregnant women.
The Supremacy Clause establishes that state laws will prevail over conflicting federal
laws.
While enemy combatants have a reduced right to habeas corpus, they have the same
right to a jury trial as other accused criminals.
When the federal government creates programs without providing sufficient funds,
these are called unfunded mandates.
Judicial federalism requires that when governmental powers conflict, it is the Court’s
job to determine which government is supreme.
Many colonists were uncomfortable with the term democracy because it conjured up
fears of the people and mob rule.
Only the Supreme Court can review the decisions of state courts.
The passage of the Equal Rights Amendment has helped ensure women’s equality in the
workplace.
The House minority leader __________.
a. has authority over the selection of the president pro tempore
b. has joint authority over which legislation goes to the floor
c. is elected by the minority party
d. is selected by the majority leader
e. is selected by the Speaker of the House
Which of Max Weber’s characteristics of bureaucracy is illustrated by a government
agency in which the greatest authority resides with the agency head?
a. administrative discretion
b. the merit principle
c. division of labor/task specialization
d. hierarchy/chain of command
e. goal orientation
Which is true of citizens who are highly interested in politics?
a. They are usually in their early twenties.
b. They are less likely to join a civic organization.
c. They tend to be secular rather than religious.
d. They constitute a small percentage of the population.
e. They rarely vote.
In 2004, the Supreme Court ruled that detainees have a right to which of the following?
a. due process
b. the assistance of counsel
c. equal protection
d. habeas corpus
e. a bill of attainder
What did the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 achieve?
a. a ban on gifts and honoraria to members of Congress and their staffs
b. a requirement that anyone hired to lobby any member of Congress must register and
file quarterly financial reports
c. a requirement that lobbyists register with the clerk of the House and the secretary of
the Senate
d. a requirement that lobbyists report their clients and issues and the agency or house
they lobbied
e. a strict definition of lobbyist as one who devotes at least 20 percent of a client’s or
employer’s time to lobbying activities
What does the Sixth Amendment guarantee to those accused of a crime?
a. assistance of counsel
b. access to law books
c. a jury trial
d. assistance by the press
e. a written indictment
What distinguishes the modern presidency from the institution originally envisioned by
the Framers of the Constitution?
a. The modern presidency has become the central focus of American politics since the
1930s, supplanting Congress as the “first branch” of government.
b. The modern presidency is less involved in the development of foreign policy than the
Framers intended.
c. Modern presidents exhibit a greater level of deference to Congress in budgetary
matters than the Framers intended.
d. Modern presidents are much less democratic than the Framers intended.
e. Modern presidents are more cautious in advocating for their legislative agendas than
the Framers intended.
How might presidents use their powers of persuasion in the legislative process?
a. in leading public opinion to support their policy agendas
b. through the impoundment of funds to prevent the implementation of specific laws
c. in leading public opinion to support signing statements on key pieces of legislation
d. in selecting majority and minority leaders in Congress
e. through direct lobbying of regulatory bureaucrats on the implementation of policy
details
In the context of public opinion polls, what is self-selection?
a. a reference to the timing of public opinion polls that may skew survey results
b. a reference to underrepresented groups in public opinion polls that may bias survey
results
c. a reference to long-term studies of the electorate invalidated by short-term biases
d. a reference to short-term studies of the electorate invalidated by long-term biases
e. a reference to highly motivated respondents who decide for themselves whether or
not to participate in surveys
In Gibbons v. Ogden, the Supreme Court held that Congress has the power to regulate
__________ activity.
a. commercial
b. educational
c. holiday
d. interstate
e. local
Which Amendment to the U.S. Constitution lowered the voting age to eighteen?
a. Thirteenth
b. Fifteenth
c. Nineteenth
d. Twenty-First
e. Twenty-Sixth
Under our constitutional system, the president has the authority to __________.
a. abolish existing programs and agencies
b. force agencies to respect the rights of individuals
c. investigate agency activities and compel bureaucrats to testify about them
d. make changes in an agency’s annual budget proposals
e. refuse to appropriate funds for certain programs
A public official has the most control over the spin of his or her message __________.
a. during a press briefing
b. during a press conference
c. in an interview
d. in a general template
e. in a press release
According to your text, what is the general purpose of elections?
a. to advance special interest agendas
b. to check the influence of the federal and state judiciaries on the policy process
c. to confer legitimacy on government
d. to ensure social accountability on the part of government
e. to ensure that everyone is treated equally by the law
The Thirteenth Amendment bans slavery. When was it passed?
a. when the South seceded from the Union
b. during the Civil War
c. immediately after the Civil War
d. immediately after Reconstruction
e. during the civil rights movement
In what year was the Declaration of Independence signed?
a. 1776
b. 1801
c. 1797
d. 1789
e. 1805
In which court do cases generally begin?
a. trial
b. appellate
c. original
d. constitutional
e. state
What are republics?
a. representative democracies
b. direct democracies
c. a hallmark of unitary governments
d. forms of government frequently found in totalitarian regimes
e. another name for states
When the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear a case appealed to it from a circuit court,
it is exercising its __________ jurisdiction.
a. original
b. constitutional
c. mandatory
d. appellate
e. legislative
What occurs during the appropriations process?
a. Congress grants funds to federal agencies and programs.
b. Congress makes laws.
c. Congress acquires requested oversight material from the executive.
d. Congress instructs the president to eliminate federal agencies.
e. Congress creates new federal agencies.
How has the Equal Rights Amendment affected women’s civil rights?
a. It has ensured that men and women are treated equally in the workplace.
b. It has ensured that the courts evaluate gender discrimination using the strict scrutiny
test.
c. It has eliminated gender discrimination in the military.
d. It solidified the civil rights women had earlier won through legal victories.
e. It has had little effect because it was not formally adopted.
Which constitutional amendment allowed voting for citizens who were eighteen or
older?
a. Twenty-Sixth
b. Fifteenth
c. Twentieth
d. Twenty-Seventh
e. Nineteenth
What was the purpose of the Hatch Act?
a. to prohibit federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity
b. to promote transparency in the federal bureaucracy
c. to limit congressional control of the federal bureaucracy
d. to prohibit awarding government jobs based on partisan loyalty
e. to authorize greater use of discretion in bureaucratic decision-making
In which of the following areas is the United States most likely to become embroiled in
a dispute with China?
a. trade policy
b. antiterrorism policy
c. military conflict
d. immigration policy
e. environmental policy
When a case that an interest group is interested in, but not actually sponsoring, comes
before a court, the group can __________.
a. meet with judges to explain the group’s policy preferences
b. file an amicus curiae brief to present the group’s analysis of the case
c. file an appeal to move the case to a different court
d. file a petition to get the group added to the list of plaintiffs
e. offer monetary incentives to the judges in the case
The free exercise clause guarantees that the national government will not interfere with
which of the following?
a. education
b. finance
c. business
d. speech
e. religion
What is the typical trajectory of a bill in the Senate?
a. introduction, committee referral, subcommittee, full committee report, rules
committee, conference committee, send to president, full Senate vote
b. introduction, committee referral, subcommittee, full committee report, full Senate
debate and vote, conference committee, send to president
c. introduction, committee referral, subcommittee, rules committee, full committee
report, conference committee, full Senate vote, send to president
d. introduction, committee referral, rules committee, subcommittee, full committee
report, full Senate vote, conference committee, send to president
e. introduction, subcommittee, committee referral, full committee report, rules
committee, full Senate vote, conference committee, send to president
The __________ Amendment says that says that those powers not given to the federal
government and not prohibited to the states by the Constitution are reserved for the
states and the people.
a. First
b. Eighth
c. Tenth
d. Eleventh
e. Fourteenth
Which of the following can be found in Article I?
a. Electoral College
b. procedure for presidential impeachment
c. necessary and proper clause
d. supremacy clause
e. penalty for treason
As shown in Figure 12.1, which shows how PACs allocate their campaign
contributions, if you are challenging an incumbent and looking for PAC money to
support your campaign, you can expect to receive __________.
a. significantly less money than if you were an incumbent
b. significantly more money as a challenger than as an incumbent
c. about the same money as an incumbent
d. more money if you are a Republican
e. more money if you are running for president
When is a child’s peer group most politically influential?
a. when the child enters preschool
b. when the child enters early elementary school
c. when the child enters late elementary school
d. when the child enters middle school or high school
e. when the child leaves high school
Which of the following is an example of monetary policy?
a. decreasing federal spending
b. increasing food and drug regulations
c. increasing taxes on wealthy Americans
d. lowering interest rates
e. lowering state property and sales tax
The __________ problem occurs when people fail to join a group because they can get
the benefits the group offers without contributing to the group’s efforts.
a. free rider
b. pluralist
c. collective good
d. group coordination
e. group formation
The provision of the Fourteenth Amendment that prohibits any state from denying “any
person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” is known as the
__________ clause.
a. due process
b. jurisdiction
c. grandfather
d. equal protection
e. privileges and immunities
What was the turning point that gave rise to the modern institutional presidency?
a. the social strife arising from the civil rights movement
b. the economic and social turmoil of the Great Depression
c. the demands of managing a modern army during World War I
d. the rise and importance of television as a mechanism that brought the president into
the living rooms of American citizens
e. the rapid contraction of government following the conclusion of World War II
What is fiscal policy?
Explain the “rule of four” and its relationship to review in the Supreme Court.
Compare and contrast the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). How did the two
organizations differ in origins and strategy? Describe the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC), including how it developed and what strategies its
members used. How did it differ from the SCLC? Do you think the techniques of one of
these organizations were more successful than those of the others? Why or why not?
How well would the techniques used by these groups transfer to current efforts to
expand civil rights for gays and lesbians?
One of the arguments that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment is that it is
applied disproportionately to __________.
How do we know that the Framers intended the Bill of Rights to limit federal
government’s power to infringe on the rights and liberties of citizens?
Describe the primary strengths of a federal system.
How is the European Union similar to and different from the North American Free
Trade Agreement?
An article accusing Barack Obama of being a drug addict is an example of __________.
Describe the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Why were
they necessary, given that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were enacted
decades beforehand?
What is the long-term concern regarding the Social Security Trust Fund.
Define unfunded mandates. Why are unfunded mandates problematic?
Due to governmental programs and protections, many Americans have a __________
standard of living.
The president would seek the advice of the __________ regarding how much the
administration should propose to spend for each government program.
What role has literature played in the civil rights movement? Give some examples of
books that have been important, and describe what effect they had on particular
movements.
__________ had to pay poll taxes.
The president, with the __________ and __________ of the Senate, appoints all federal
judges.