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The Equal Rights Amendment was
a. ratified by the final state and became part of the Constitution on July 13, 1981.
b. not ratified by the necessary thirty-eight states.
c. vetoed by President Ronald Reagan.
d. not approved by the Senate.
e. first introduced in Congress in 1972.
When Sonia Sotomayor was appointed to the Supreme Court,
a. she became the second female Supreme Court justice ever appointed to the Court.
b. justices became more conservative in their ideological orientations.
c. the commerce clause was struck down by liberal justices.
d. she became the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.
e. the Supreme Court lost its swing votes.
A writ of certiorari by the Supreme Court orders
a. both parties in a case to reach agreement without further litigation.
b. state courts to abide by the decisions of the Supreme Court.
c. a lower court to send up the record of a case for review.
d. Congress to rewrite unconstitutional legislation.
e. that a prisoner be brought before the court and the reasons for the detention be
provided.
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
a. The majority of Hispanic Americans vote Democratic.
b. Cuban Americans are usually Republican.
c. Most Asian American groups lean toward the Democrats.
d. A majority of Muslim Americans of Middle Eastern ancestry voted Republican in
2000.
e. African Americans have voted principally for Democrats since the 1880s.
Justiciable controversies are those which
a. are no longer valid.
b. are real and substantial, as opposed to hypothetical or academic.
c. arise when the opinions on the Supreme Court are unanimous.
d. can be found in a case's dissenting opinion.
e. are hypothetical or academic questions, as opposed to controversies that are real and
substantial.
Which of the following groups comprise a majority of the population of Iraq?
a. Sunni Arabs
b. Kurds
c. Shiite Arabs
d. Turkoman
e. Baath
The personal office of the president is
a. the Office of Economic Advisers.
b. the cabinet.
c. the Executive Office of the President.
d. the White House Office.
e. the Domestic Policy Council.
Which of the following statements best defines agenda building?
a. Making Congress aware that a problem requires congressional action
b. When government officials and the people discuss a proposal
c. When a specific proposal is discussed
d. When policymaking is implemented by bureaucrats, the courts, police, and individual
citizens
e. When action is taken by Presidential officials when Congress passes a law
Which of the following happens with a progressive tax system?
a. All taxpayers pay taxes at the same percentage rate.
b. People with higher incomes pay taxes at a higher rate.
c. People with higher incomes pay taxes at a lower rate.
d. The tax burden consists mostly of property and sales taxes.
e. The tax rates increase by a set percentage every year.
To be elected president, a candidate must obtain
a. a majority of the popular vote.
b. a majority of the electoral vote.
c. more popular votes than any other candidate.
d. more electoral votes than any other candidate.
e. every electoral vote.
Which of the following best describes the doctrine of stare decisis?
a. Higher courts can reverse lower court rulings.
b. Courts do not have jurisdiction in a case.
c. The court may refer a case to the next lowest court.
d. Judges must follow the precedents established by past decisions.
e. Judges must be guided by strict interpretation.
The principle of randomness in sampling means that
a. every person should have a known chance, and especially an equal chance, of being
sampled.
b. there is no preplanning in the selection process.
c. every person in the target population who is encountered is selected.
d. researchers decide how many persons of certain types they need in the survey.
e. the poll is unscientific.
Which of the following best describes prior restraint?
a. Refusing to read a suspect's Miranda rights.
b. Restraining activities in the process of occurring.
c. Restraining an activity after that activity has actually occurred.
d. Restraining an activity before that activity has actually occurred.
e. Detaining people before they appear before a judge.
During the Civil War crisis, the Supreme Court
a. was drastically reduced in its influence within the United States.
b. continued as the legitimate constitutional umpire.
c. gained additional power, along with the rest of the national government.
d. ruled that the initial plan of Congress to reconstruct the South was unconstitutional.
e. had supported the abolition of slavery in the years leading up to the war.
Unlike in a democratic republic, in a representative democracy
a. there is no founding document.
b. there is universal suffrage.
c. all national policy decisions are made by the Senate.
d. the monarchy may be retained in a largely ceremonial role.
e. the people do not hold ultimate power over government.
Which of the following best describes sampling error?
a. Any given poll will result in as certain percentage point variation from the true
answer as pollsters could not really interview everyone.
b. Researchers take a random number of people and survey them.
c. Pollsters get a sample of people using demographic or geographical software to yield
a high level of accuracy.
d. Researchers take a sample of voters and slant the results in order to influence future
polls.
e. Pollsters make up the survey results.
Domestic policy is best defined as
a. policies that affect major economic variables.
b. all policies that affect housing.
c. all the laws, government planning, and government action that concern internal issues
of national importance.
d. matters relating to law enforcement.
e. the activities of the government concerning relations with foreign countries.
Which of the following best describes the War Powers Resolution?
a. The Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp.
b. The requirement that the President report to Congress within forty-eight hours of
sending troops into action, and then obtain the approval of Congress within sixty days
c. An Act of Congress that gives the President sweeping powers to defend the nation
against terrorists, subversives, and any enemy combatant of the United States
d. A policy pronounced by President Ronald Reagan that supported aid to any country
or people resisting Communism
e. Resolution explained in Article II of the Constitution
Which groups are involved in proposing and ratifying amendments to the Constitution?
a. The state legislatures, the president, and Congress
b. The Senate, the Supreme Court, and the House of Representatives
c. Congress, the president, and the people
d. The Senate, the House of Representatives, and the state legislatures
e. The House of Representatives, the president, and the Senate
Once appointed to a judgeship, federal judges
a. cannot be removed from their position for any reason.
b. must face annual performance reviews.
c. must face recall elections every 4 years.
d. must face recall elections every 10 years.
e. hold that job for life.
The original government bureaucracy included the Attorney General's Office and the
departments of
a. Security, Treasury, and the Interior.
b. State, War, and Energy.
c. State, War, and Treasury.
d. Treasury and Transportation.
e. Defense and Education.
An opinion leader is
a. one who is able to influence the opinions of others because of position, expertise, or
personality.
b. a pollster.
c. always someone whose job is to sway public opinion, such as a member of Congress.
d. a public relations expert.
e. someone who relies on position, or expertise, rather than something like personality.
Which of the following requirements exist under the Freedom of Information Act?
a. Government agencies have to tell the media if budgets are exceeded.
b. Federal agencies must disclose to individuals information contained in government
files.
c. The Act made obsolete the Government in the Sunshine Act.
d. Executive agencies must release all information to congressional committees.
e. Surveillance by the National Security Agency on individual Americans is prohibited.
An important function of the House majority leader is to
a. report all legislation to the president.
b. deliver the bill to the White House.
c. provide opposition to the president pro tempore of the Senate.
d. foster cohesion among party members.
e. preside over meetings of the House of Representatives.
Those with high incomes tend to
a. lean toward the left.
b. vote Democratic.
c. favor government action to promote economic equality.
d. oppose government intervention in the economy.
e. favor government action to benefit the poor.
One major provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was that it
a. outlawed discriminatory voter-registration tests.
b. permitted state governments to pass laws that allowed considerable discrimination
toward ethnic minorities.
c. created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
d. expanded the power of the Civil Rights Commission.
e. included a constitutional amendment changing the voting age.
In 2011 in Egypt and Tunisia, regime change finally came when
a. soldiers resorted to violence against demonstrators.
b. the populace became more educated.
c. international governments intervened.
d. the rulers lost legitimacy.
e. the rulers lost authority.
A model of federalism in which the states and the national government work together to
solve problems is called
a. New Deal federalism.
b. compromise federalism.
c. continental federalism.
d. dual federalism.
e. cooperative federalism.
According to the Separatists, the Mayflower Compact was necessary because it
a. limited the power of women in the colonies.
b. imposed some form of public authority on the colonists.
c. protected the colonists from England.
d. protected the colonists from other foreign governments.
e. imposed religious order on the colonies.
Significant deregulation was initiated during the presidency of
a. John F. Kennedy.
b. Richard Nixon.
c. Jimmy Carter.
d. George H.W. Bush.
e. Barack Obama.
Basically, the New Jersey Plan was
a. the result of the Great Compromise.
b. a way for large states to grab power.
c. simply an amendment of the Articles of Confederation.
d. simply an amendment of the Mayflower Compact.
e. the Constitution.
A statute enacted by Congress that authorizes the creation of an administrative agency
is
a. an appropriations authorization.
b. enabling legislation.
c. an executive order.
d. statutory authorization.
e. the Civil Service Act of 1978.
Consent of the people means
a. governments and laws derive their legitimacy from the consent of the governed.
b. the people must consent to everything the government does.
c. government must get consent of the people before it can go to war.
d. universal suffrage.
e. only Congress needs to get consent from the people.
An interest group is
a. any association of individuals.
b. an organized group of individuals who want to gain control of the government.
c. an organized group of individuals sharing common objectives who actively attempt
to influence policymakers.
d. any organization that requires members to pay dues.
e. an organized group of individuals who support a specific candidate for public office.
In the 2003 decision of Lawrence v. Texas, the United States Supreme Court
a. upheld a Texas law that made homosexual conduct a crime.
b. held that laws against sodomy violate the due process clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment.
c. invalidated antidiscrimination laws that protect homosexuals.
d. upheld the Court's previous decision in Bowers v. Hardwick.
e. indicated that states could declare homosexuality a crime.
How have courts and legislative bodies at both the federal and state level attempted to
address issues concerning the rights and status of homosexuals?
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
Explain how the United States Supreme Court decides cases and explains its decisions.
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
Did the government under the Articles of Confederation do more to preserve individual
liberty than that of the federal government under the Constitution? Why or why not?
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
THINK: Choose an important issue such as child care, health care, abortion,
immigration, or welfare, and discuss a government policy a liberal and a conservative
might design to help solve this issue.
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
Compare the membership of Congress and the "typical" American citizen.
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
Why does the mandate of equal treatment for all groups of Americans sometimes come
into conflict with the concept of liberty?
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
Should there be more regulation of lobbyists and interest groups? Explain your answer.
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
Describe the difference between consensus and divided opinions. Can politicians use
either one more effectively than the other to form public policy? Why or why not?
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
Explain the indirect techniques used by interest groups. Which techniques are more
influential?
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
Some suggest that American adolescence is now widening into the early twenties.
Should the voting age, therefore, be raised to 21 years of age? Why or why not?
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
What basic rights do all Americans accused of a crime have? Are they uniformly
enforced across racial, ethnic, or gender lines? Why or why not?
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
What advantages and disadvantages exist for a nation that has a large immigrant
population?
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
Explain the emergence of terrorism as the strategy of choice for groups in the
late-twentieth and early-twenty-first centuries and how governments have attempted to
battle terrorists.
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
The Constitution's ratification process included arguments for and against ratification
by Federalists and Anti-Federalists, respectively. Describe and evaluate the arguments
expressed by both of these groups.
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
How did the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education impact
education? Did it create any new problems? If so, what were they, and why?
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
The process of amending the U.S. Constitution is an intentionally difficult one. Yet
those in each branch of government have found ways in which the Constitution can be
changed informally. Describe the methods, both formal and informal, of constitutional
change.
Answer:Students' answers may vary.
