In his ruling on Gibbons v. Ogden, Marshall defined commerce as
a. any business dealings between legally incorporated organizations.
b. any business dealing requiring an operating license.
c. all business dealings having to do with the physical exchange of currency.
d. all business dealings, including navigation and the transport of people.
e. only the shipment of goods.
The separation of government powers into three branches (executive, legislative, and
judicial) is sometimes called the
a. Compromise model.
b. American model.
c. Washingtonian model.
d. Madisonian model.
e. Jeffersonian model.
The American Revolution ended when Britain recognized American independence in
the
a. Treaty of Paris.
b. Treaty of Bretton Woods.
c. Treaty of Geneva.
d. Treaty of Stockholm.
e. Declaration of Independence.
Which of the following best explains the relationship between education and interest in
politics?
a. The less education a person has, the more likely s/he will be interested in politics.
b. The more education a person has, the more likely s/he will be interested in politics.
c. The more interest a person has in politics impacts the amount of education s/he will
receive.
d. Uneducated people vote the most.
e. Highly educated people are the most apathetic about politics.
One of the original purposes of government is
a. maintaining security or order.
b. ensuring liberty or freedom.
c. promoting equality among citizens.
d. promoting economic development.
e. promoting development of cultural capital.
All of the following are true about the case of McCulloch v. Maryland EXCEPT
a. the case dealt with the issue of implied powers of the federal government.
b. one issue was whether the federal government could create a national bank.
c. the decision allowed the federal government to grow and expand.
d. the decision upheld the right of the federal government to use the necessary and
proper clause.
e. the Supreme Court ruled the national government could only use its express powers.
A political advisor who tries to convince journalists of the truth of a particular
interpretation of events is called a
a. news consultant.
b. flip-flopper.
c. spin doctor.
d. fact checker.
e. win engineer.
______ occurs when an employee is subjected to sexual conduct or comments that
interfere with the employee’s job performance.
a. Gender discrimination
b. Wage discrimination
c. Hostile-environment harassment
d. Suffrage
e. Criminal sexual assault
Which of the following statements is true of policy evaluation?
a. After a policy has been implemented, it is often challenged in the Supreme Court.
b. Policy evaluation is just an academic exercise and has no real-world consequences.
c. Groups inside and outside government conduct studies to determine how the program
actually works after a policy has been in place for a period of time.
d. By 2011, the health-care reforms had been thoroughly evaluated.
e. After a period of evaluation, the president implements and executes the law.
U.S. foreign-policy isolationism can be said to have ended completely when
a. The Great Depression began.
b. Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor.
c. the United Nations was founded.
d. France and the United States signed a mutual alliance pact during the American
Revolution.
e. the Korean War started.
Iron triangles are made up of
a. economic interests, citizen activists, and government interest groups.
b. lobbyists, interest groups, and court cases used to promote government action to help
the interest of these groups.
c. legislators, bureaucrats, and interest groups that make or preserve policies that benefit
their respective interests.
d. political parties, interest groups, and voters who want their candidates to win.
e. watchdog citizens, presidential advisors, and members of the federal bureaucracy that
make policies that benefit their respective interests.
An issue that a court believes should be decided by the executive or legislative branch
is a(n)
a. unpopular question.
b. ineligible question.
c. political question.
d. hypothetical question.
e. public question.
The fertility rate is best defined as the average number of children
a. born to each family during a given year.
b. born during a specified census period.
c. women in a particular group will have during a given year.
d. women in a particular group will have over a lifetime.
e. born in relation to the average number of deaths in a given year.
Justices who believe in ______ look to the “letter of the law” when they attempt to
interpret the Constitution or a particular statute.
a. Democratic ideology
b. Republican ideology
c. judicial activism
d. broad construction
e. strict construction
Regarding the chief executive, the writers of the Constitution
a. were all in agreement about the necessity of a powerful executive for the new
republic.
b. modeled the presidency of the United States after the Prime Minister of France.
c. had no models to follow when they created the presidency of the United States.
d. originally wanted a king.
e. created a leader with unchecked powers.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the federal government used ______ to force the states to raise
their minimum alcoholic beverage drinking age to 21.
a. new legislation
b. conditions attached to federal highway grants
c. a Supreme Court ruling
d. international standards
e. a series of lawsuits
George Washington viewed political parties as a
a. necessity for the functioning of democracy.
b. tradition from colonial times that would always exist.
c. threat to national unity and the concept of popular government.
d. legitimate means for interest groups to attempt to gain control of the government.
e. vestige of politics under Great Britain and thus a thing of the past.
Legislation that allows the government to conduct “roving” wiretaps has raised issues
under the
a. time, place, and manner test.
b. First Amendment.
c. conflict-with-legitimate-governmental-or-social-interests test.
d. “fighting words” test.
e. clear and present danger test.
All of the following about the First Continental Congress is true EXCEPT
a. it was comprised of delegates from twelve colonies.
b. the delegates spoke very little about declaring independence.
c. the delegates declared independence from Great Britain.
d. it resolved to petition King George III.
e. it was condemned by the British government as rebellious.
Recently, having more than a bachelor’s degree
a. is associated with a greater tendency to vote for Republicans.
b. is associated with a greater tendency to vote for Democrats.
c. is associated with a greater tendency to vote for Independents.
d. has no influence on voting behavior.
e. is associated with a greater tendency to abstain from voting.
Gag orders have been used to
a. prohibit one criminal from testifying against another.
b. restrict the publication of news about a pretrial hearing.
c. restrict what a juror may say to the press after the trial.
d. restrict what evidence must be shown to defense lawyers.
e. prevent publication of obscene material depicting bondage.
One of the most powerful agencies in Washington, the _______ assembles the budget
documents and monitors federal agencies throughout each year.
a. Council of Economic Advisers
b. Senate Budget Committee
c. Department of Budget and Commerce
d. House Ways and Means Committee
e. Office of Management and Budget
The modern movement for gay and lesbian rights began
a. when gay veterans of World War II organized in the 1950s.
b. with the growth of the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1960s.
c. in 1969, following the Stonewall Inn incident.
d. in 1986, with a campaign against sodomy laws.
e. in 1996, with the campaign for same-sex marriage.
Which of the following best describes bias?
a. An inclination or preference that interferes with impartial judgment
b. Information that is the personal property of someone
c. The news media injecting opinions into reporting to reflect the political attitudes of
its consumers
d. Networks such as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
e. None of the above
To ensure that majority rule does not become oppressive, modern democracies
a. limit political participation to individuals who are properly educated.
b. provide guarantees of minority rights.
c. make voting mandatory.
d. apply term limits to elected officials.
e. require two-thirds support of the legislature before a law can be enacted.
A major development in the run-up to the 2010 elections was the growth of the ______
movement.
a. Tea Party
b. Socialist
c. Atheist
d. Neo-Whig
e. Labor
Which of the following independent regulatory agencies was the first one created by
Congress?
a. The National Wildlife Service.
b. The Federal Reserve.
c. The Department of Health and Human Services.
d. The Office of Management and Budget.
e. The Interstate Commerce Commission.
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.
The legislation resulting from the Civil Rights Movement
a. only benefited African Americans.
b. has corrected economic disparities between whites and minority groups.
c. has eliminated poverty in most minority groups.
d. ultimately benefited almost all minority groups.
e. has had less of an impact on minority rights than anticipated.
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.
Discrimination against individuals who are NOT members of a minority group is called
a. racial profiling.
b. reverse discrimination.
c. quota-busting.
d. anti-bias civil rights.
e. adverse minority preference.