Allowing states to decide how to deal with an oil spill follows the principle of
progressive federalism.
According to Thomas Hobbes, the state of nature is peaceful coexistence.
The ultimate goal in a political campaign is winning.
Gays and lesbians have, on average, far lower incomes than other groups.
The federal government has laid out clear standards for regulating speech on the
Internet.
If you are president of the United States and held a position in a nonprofit organization,
you must, by law, disclose that position.
Australia prohibits private contributions to candidates in electoral cycles.
Logrolling is another term for vote trading.
Civil liberties guarantee freedom from governmental actions such as discrimination.
If you are the mayor of your city, you may seek approval of new local bond proposals
through a special election.
The Internet has enabled candidates to disseminate information more quickly than ever
before.
Judicial restraint was evident in Roe v. Wade.
Home-rule municipalities sometimes face state laws passed to restrict their authority to
govern themselves.
The judicial branch was so inconsequential that the architects of Washington D.C.
consciously decided not to provide office space for the Supreme Court.
Committee chairs in the House of Representatives are no longer selected by seniority.
Both the Works Progress Administration and the economic stimulus payments plan
follow the theory that the government has a responsibility to prevent economic
downturns.
Before 1962, a larger percentage of Texas voters participated in the Democratic primary
election than the general election.
President Barack Obama has reversed many of the civil liberties curtailments put forth
by the George W. Bush administration.
Even though the introduction of tobacco as a cash crop in 1612 brought economic
prosperity, the conditions in Jamestown remained dismal.
The first of the Baby Boomers became eligible for Social Security in 2011.
One of the best ways to improve public perception of a candidate is to have the
candidate face the media directly when bad news about him or her arises.
The gender gap is only applicable in contests between Democrats and Republicans.
Based on past actions, the Senate would likely approve a new treaty set forth by the
president between the United States and Great Britain.
The number of self-described independent voters has hovered around 35 percent in the
past decade.
If you were a delegate to the Texas constitutional convention of 1875, you were likely
not a native Texan.
In 2009, fewer than one-fourth of Texas legislators were women.
Democrats in Congress were universally supportive of the health care reform bill.
The U.S. courts of appeals used to be known as circuit courts of appeals.
The federal bureaucracy continued to grow even after President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s
New Deal.
Standing committees do most of the work during legislative sessions.
The battle for the Alamo exemplifies Texans’ passion for liberty.
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 eliminated tensions over slavery.
There are over 500 recognized American Indian nations in the United States.
Analogous policy formulation draws on experiences of the past to solve modern-day
problems.
Texas has a history of improving social programs only after being required to do so by
the courts.
If a small newspaper writes an incendiary expos about a candidate, the person on staff
who most needs to be made aware of it is the communications director.
Over time, the supremacy clause has been
I. questioned by the Federalists.
II. nullified by state legislative actions.
III. clarified by the Supreme Court.
IV. used to justify expansion of federal power at the expense of the states.
A) I only
B) IV only
B) I and IV
D) II and III
E) III and IV
Evening news shows on the major networks experienced decreased viewership
beginning
A) in 1980.
B) with the retirement of Walter Cronkite.
C) in 1990.
D) with the advent of the Internet.
E) after their length increased from fifteen to thirty minutes.
Which of the following is/are among the critical policy areas President Obama
identified for the U.S. regarding the developing world?
I. Supporting strong and sustainable democratic goals
II. Eliminating the illegal drug trade
III. Providing economic opportunities for all
IV. Resolving conflicts and holding war criminals accountable
A) III only
B) II and III
C) III and IV
D) I and IV
E) I, II, and IV
After 2010, Democratic President Barack Obama faced a Republican-led House of
Representatives. This scenario is an example of
A) coalition government.
B) divided government.
C) adversarialism.
D) unified government.
E) factionalism.
The constitutional provision preventing the use of any “religious test” for public office
A) is found in the First Amendment.
B) is found in Article III.
C) prevents members of non-Christian religions from being elected to public office.
D) reflects the Framers’ concern that too many Roman Catholics might be elected to
public office.
E) is found in the Sixth Amendment.
Which of the following has only recently become a factor in the development of
coalitions in the Texas Senate?
A) Loyalty
B) Personal relationships
C) Partisanship
D) Leadership
E) The Speaker’s race
Which of the following has sole and complete responsibility for regulating railroad
freight and railroad passenger service in the state of Texas?
A) Texas Railroad Commission
B) General Land Commission
C) Texas Secretary of State
D) Texas Agriculture Commissioner
E) No commission, agency, or department in Texas government has this power
Chief Justice John Marshall tried to transform the Court into a coequal branch of
government through key decisions such as McCulloch v. Maryland that
A) outlawed seriatim opinions.
B) made the Court the final arbiter of constitutionality.
C) declared federal laws invalid.
D) broadly interpreted the necessary and proper clause.
E) applied the Bill of Rights to both the federal and state governments.
The winter of 1609-1610 was deemed
A) “The Starving Time.”
B) “The Rogue Time.”
C) “The Wasting Time.”
D) “The Vanishing Time.”
E) “The Desolate Time.”
Correct
The first major federalism decision by the Marshall Court was
A) Marbury v. Madison.
B) Gibbons v. Ogden.
C) McCulloch v. Maryland.
D) Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee.
E) Madison v. Marshall.
Who is the current Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice?
A) William Rehnquist
B) Tom Phillips
C) Wallace Jefferson
D) Alberto Gonzales
E) John Roberts
Which of the following is NOT a benefit of e-government?
A) Greater accessibility of government
B) Increased government responsiveness
C) Increased government accountability
D) Tremendous cost savings
E) A more customer-oriented focus by government employees
The Weekly Reader poll only once incorrectly predicted the election of
A) Ronald Reagan
B) George Bush
C) Bill Clinton
D) George W. Bush
E) Barack Obama
What is the purpose of the Legislative Redistricting Board?
A) To redraw legislative districts if the legislature fails to do so
B) To redraw legislative districts immediately before the Census
C) To advise the governor on redistricting
D) To reapportion congressional districts in Texas
E) To prevent the legislature from gerrymandering legislative districts
Which of the following best describes the reforms to the juvenile justice system
advocated by then-Governor George W. Bush in the 1990s?
A) An increased focus on addressing the root causes of crime, including education,
health care, and poverty
B) Giving juvenile offenders more benefit of the doubt and increased chances at
rehabilitation
C) An increase in the age at which offenders are considered juveniles
D) A major crackdown on juvenile crime
E) Shortening prison terms for juvenile offenders and expanding alternative sentencing,
such as vocational training and English-as-a-second-language courses
Which of the following sectors of the Texas economy began a serious decline in the
1980s?
A) Cotton
B) Cattle
C) High technology
D) Petroleum
E) Insurance
The Supreme Court has defined obscenity
A) consistently using English common law standards.
B) as knowing it when they see it.
C) as consistently unconstitutional.
D) narrowly, being only applicable to motion pictures.
E) differently in different periods of time.
In Lawrence v.Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that
A) the Boy Scouts could prevent homosexuals from becoming troop leaders.
B) there was a homosexual agenda in the United States.
C) the equal protection clause prohibits discrimination against gay Americans.
D) a Texas law criminalizing sexual behavior was unconstitutional.
E) gay marriage represented an issue best left to the states.
Which of the following did NOT lead to American settlement in the seventeenth
century?
A) Questioning the divine right of kings
B) The split from the Church of England
C) Belief in self-government
D) Belief in intelligent design
E) Hobbes and Locke’s social contract theories
Categorical grants
A) were most used during the Reagan administration.
B) allocate federal dollars by a precise formula.
C) have few restrictions or limitations.
D) were commonplace during the era of New Federalism.
E) were not used until after the 1960s.
The Texas Constitution requires
A) ghost voting in the Texas legislature.
B) recorded votes on final passage in the Texas legislature.
C) that legislators use a fingerprint verification voting mechanism.
D) that lobbyists refrain from lobbying on behalf of legislation currently under
consideration in the legislature.
E) that members of the legislature refrain from voting in elections for which they are
candidates or otherwise appear on the ballot.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 most notably rescued state
A) pension programs.
B) school districts.
C) tax shelters.
D) legislators’ salaries.
E) parks.
Proportional representation primaries are favored MOST by
A) small states.
B) large states.
C) Democrats.
D) Republicans.
E) southern states.
Why did southern states want slaves to be counted as part of their population?
A) It would ensure that slaves would receive certain inalienable rights.
B) Northerners were advocating for the deportation of slave labor.
C) It would increase southern representation in the House of Representatives.
D) Slaves could then be forced to serve in the military.
E) The South would then have a greater number of voters.
The highest rates of execution occur in the
A) Northeast.
B) Southwest.
C) West.
D) Midwest.
E) South.
In spite of its limitations, the justices of the first U.S. Supreme Court took several
actions to mold the new nation, including
A) giving advice to President Washington.
B) issuing circuit court rulings that became national precedent.
C) refusing to give advice in cases that might later come before the Court.
D) issuing writs of mandamus for the executive branch.
E) promoting state supremacy over the federal government.
A doctrine that society should be governed by certain ethical principles that are part of
nature and can be understood by reason is called
A) ethical law.
B) contract law.
C) natural law.
D) Newton’s law.
E) constitutional law.
Before any state or federal court can hear a case, it must have ________, the authority
to hear the case as defined by law or constitution.
A) jurisdiction
B) legal approval
C) controversy
D) legitimacy
E) standing
Why was the Civil Rights Act of 1866 passed?
A) It superseded state Black Codes.
B) It gave women the right to vote.
C) It banned slavery.
D) It ended the Civil War.
E) President Johnson urged its passage.
A photo in your textbook illustrates “white” and “colored” ________ to symbolize
southern segregation.
A) water fountains
B) schools
C) trains
D) streets
E) houses
Which of the following is NOT a job of the legislative staff?
A) Provide constituent services
B) Provide administrative support
C) Assist in drafting legislation
D) Negotiate with lobbyists
E) Formally introduce bills in the House in the absence of a representative
Why do the wealthy participate in politics and government more frequently than the
poor?
A) The wealthy are usually bred with a sense of noblesse oblige.
B) Politics and government have a greater effect on their lives than on the lives of the
poor.
C) The wealthy consider it a sport.
D) The wealthy tend to be more aware of what they could lose or gain through policy
changes.
E) The concerns of the wealthy are more communal, while the concerns of the poor are
more individualistic.