The federal judiciary was given form and substance by
A) Article IV.
B) the Judiciary Act of 1789.
C) the Alien and Sedition Acts.
D) the Supreme Court.
E) the president.
The number of judges of the various U.S. Court of Appeals
A) is thirty per circuit.
B) varies at the president’s discretion.
C) varies from circuit to circuit.
D) is set after recommendations by the U.S. attorneys in each circuit.
E) is approximately sixty per circuit.
According to the interest group theory of public policy making,
A) government can become an equilibrium point among competing interests.
B) there are relatively few pressure points among the three branches of government.
C) elites make public policy.
D) interest groups have little impact on most policy arenas.
E) bureaucrats control the governmental process.
Getting married, buying a house with a white picket fence, and having the ability to pay
for children’s college is one way a person may view what is/are termed the
A) American norms.
B) American dream.
C) American ideals.
D) American standard of living.
E) American illusion.
More than any other incident, what event in Texas history exemplifies Texans’ passion
for liberty?
A) The battle of San Jacinto
B) The battle of the Alamo
C) The discovery of oil at Spindletop
D) The signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836
E) The adoption of the Texas Constitution of 1876
A president can best set national policy and priorities through
A) his budget proposals and continued insistence on their congressional passage.
B) the introduction of bills in Congress.
C) the line-item veto.
D) personal charm.
E) executive agreements.
Most researchers now study the gender gap by
A) considering why women don’t care about military issues.
B) considering why men don’t care about social welfare issues.
C) considering why Republicans have trouble attracting women.
D) considering why Democrats have trouble attracting white men.
E) considering why women are unconcerned about social justice.
Democrats united behind Barack Obama because
A) he was a charismatic candidate.
B) he used Clintonian fundraising strategies.
C) they thought Obama had the best chance of beating McCain.
D) he was the most liberal candidate.
E) he was the most conservative candidate.
Referenda
A) can be political instruments used to protect politicians.
B) work similarly to the Electoral College.
C) are ways for citizens to propose new legislation.
D) are the way most laws are passed in state governments.
E) are exceedingly rare in politics.
Cities, counties, and states actively lobby Congress to
A) get more representatives.
B) obtain earmarks.
C) obtain fewer block grants.
D) identify members who will be running for reelection.
E) find new leaders.
The process of nominating and confirming a justice to the U.S. Supreme Court includes
all of the following EXCEPT
A) an FBI investigation.
B) an investigation by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
C) a requirement that the nominee be unanimously rated as at least “Qualified” by the
American Bar Association.
D) a vote of at least a majority of the Senate.
E) a formal selection and endorsement by the president.
In 2007, Senator Mary Landrieu put a hold on legislation that would allow the District
of Columbia’s city government to take control of its public schools. Such holds
A) are common in the House and Senate.
B) were attacked by Senator Barack Obama in 2002 as being unprofessional.
C) are ways to, in effect, stop further action.
D) are routinely used to block nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court.
E) are usually overturned quickly by a floor vote.
The proposed Equal Opportunity to Govern Amendment would
A) require that women hold 50 percent of seats in the legislature.
B) allow foreign-born citizens to run for president.
C) repeal age requirements for holding certain political positions.
D) create a presidential recall.
E) allow members of Congress to also serve as state governors.
In 2009, Americans spent about _____ times more per capita on health care than they
did in 1970.
A) two
B) five
C) ten
D) fifteen
E) twenty
The process of amending state constitutions tends to be
A) complex and time-consuming.
B) similar to the national process.
C) difficult and not often used.
D) relatively easy.
E) lengthy.
According to the text, one dilemma that reporters face is how to deal ethically with
A) uncooperative politicians.
B) sources.
C) questionable but appealing news leads.
D) libel.
E) slander.
In Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court ruled that the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth,
and Fourteenth Amendments cast penumbras, thereby creating
A) zones of privacy.
B) a constitutional right to abortion.
C) the Bill of Rights.
D) civil liberties.
E) areas of life subject to governmental regulation or control.
The most powerful position in the House of Representatives is called the
A) majority leader.
B) president of the House.
C) Speaker of the House.
D) president pro tempore.
E) party whip.
The largest national health insurance program in the United States is
A) Medicare.
B) Medicaid.
C) MedicAlert.
D) Tri-Care.
E) National Health Service.
The issue of ________ led to the demise of the Whig Party.
A) free soil
B) gold standard
C) corruption at Tammany Hall
D) slavery
E) tariffs
Republics are
A) representative democracies.
B) direct democracies.
C) a hallmark of unitary governments.
D) frequently found in totalitarian regimes.
E) another name for states.
Why did James Madison MOST likely oppose political parties, especially a two-party
system?
A) He probably would have not fit in with either party.
B) The majority party could become too powerful and quash opposing interests.
C) It is too close to the British system.
D) There would be few ways in which parties could agree.
E) Too many third parties would crop up as a result of factions within the major parties.
Historians have ranked ________ and ________ as the best and worst presidents.
A) George Washington/George W. Bush
B) Franklin D. Roosevelt/Warren Harding
C) Theodore Roosevelt/Franklin Pierce
D) Harry S Truman/Andrew Johnson
E) Abraham Lincoln/James Buchanan
Which of the following is NOT a power the governor can use to influence the Texas
legislature?
A) Calling a special session and setting its agenda
B) Making emergency proclamations
C) Appointing a political ally as lieutenant governor to control the Senate on the
governor’s
behalf
D) Threatening a veto
E) Making a direct appeal to voters
The smaller states presented a plan at the Constitutional Convention basically
advocating the strengthening of the Articles of Confederation. The plan was presented
by
A) Rhode Island.
B) New Jersey.
C) Texas.
D) Virginia.
E) Delaware.
Policy Coordinating Committees (PCCs) exist
A) to do away with iron triangles.
B) to do away with interagency councils.
C) because President Bill Clinton viewed them as a way to stop territorial conflicts
among policy makers.
D) to handle policy problems within single departments and/or agencies.
E) to handle large-scale problems such as terrorist financing and space shuttle disasters.
The Civil War
A) led to the creation of the Department of Defense.
B) prompted President Lincoln to call on Congress to double the size of the
bureaucracy.
C) led to growth in the size of the bureaucracy.
D) facilitated making the Attorney General part of the Cabinet.
E) ended with the Department of Agriculture being given full Cabinet status.
The movement that advocated direct voter participation and bypassing traditional
political institutions was called
A) populist.
B) prohibition.
C) progressive.
D) participatory.
E) communism.
The idea that governments draw legitimacy and power from the governed is referred to
as
A) majority rule.
B) direct democracy.
C) capitalism.
D) popular consent.
E) popular control.
In some states, incumbents can be removed from office in the middle of their term by a
popular vote called a/an
A) impeachment.
B) indictment.
C) plebiscite.
D) referendum.
E) recall.
Which of the following most accurately describes the tax system in Texas?
A) Among the most progressive in the country
B) One of the fairest and most equitable in the country
C) Among the most regressive in the country
D) One of the most effective and least complicated in the country
E) Among the top ten in the country for producing income for social programs