This procedure, which is in effect in over 20 states, permits voters to remove an elected
official fromoffice.
a. Initiative
b. Referendum
c. Recall
d. Logrolling
e. Rollback
Which president considered himself an “outsider” and boasted of it?
a. John F. Kennedy
b. Lyndon Johnson
c. Richard Nixon
d. Gerald Ford
e. Jimmy Carter
Compared with European countries, environmental policymaking in the United States
tends to be
a. more regional.
b. less centralized.
c. more adversarial.
d. less client centered.
e. more uniform.
In 1776, one important reason that colonists regarded independence as a desirable
alternative wasthatthey
a. no longer had confidence that the British government would protect their liberties.
b. could no longer afford the price of British exports.
c. had come to reject the philosophy of John Locke.
d. had come to reject British ideas of individual rights.
e. were struggling economically.
Clear realignments, like the one that occurred in 1932, may not occur again because
a. voter turnout has consistently decreased over the last forty years.
b. presidential candidates are rarely as popular with the voters as they used to be.
c. the electoral college is malapportioned.
d. voters are less attached to party labels today than in the past.
e. economic issues rarely dominate presidential campaigns.
For Fiscal Year 2012, Barack Obama proposed a budget with an estimated deficit of
more than $__________.
a. 1 trillion
b. 400 million
c. 100 million
d. 20 million
e. 6 million
By 1776, eight states
a. had strong executive leaders.
b. had written constitutions.
c. had expanded voting rights considerably.
d. continued to rely on colonial charters.
e. had abolished elective offices.
America’s general bent toward isolationism and attitudes about the War in Europe
changed dramatically with
a. Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia.
b. Hitler’s invasion of Poland.
c. the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
d. the international conference at Munich.
e. Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union.
One can find elements of government by proxy in the administration of
a. Social Security.
b. Medicare.
c. environmental protection.
d. collection of income taxes.
e. All of the above are true.
In a 2003 case involving admissions practices at the University of Michigan, the
Supreme Court reaffirmed its decision in Bakke by rejecting the use of
a. a numerical goal.
b. an exact numerical advantage.
c. a plus factor.
d. a racial measure.
e. an ethnic policy mark.
Today, a primary source of legitimate political authority in the United States is the
a. Bill of Rights.
b. will of the people.
c. U.S. Constitution.
d. concept of civil liberty.
e. notion of civil rights.
What was the public’s response when police roughed up antiwar demonstrators at the
1968 Democratic convention?
a. Only older people were overwhelmingly on the side of the demonstrators.
b. The public was nearly evenly split in its sympathies.
c. The public was overwhelmingly on the side of the demonstrators.
d. Only younger people were overwhelmingly on the side of the demonstrators.
e. The public was overwhelmingly on the side of the police.
Voter turnout rates in America today are
a. higher than they were for previous generations.
b. lower than they were for previous generations.
c. higher than most European democracies.
d. about the same as previous generations.
e. not recorded by scholars.
In order to win the presidency today, a candidate must win _________ electoral votes.
a. 538
b. 438
c. 300
d. 270
e. 100
In their struggle for equal treatment, women, unlike blacks, had to deal with a legal
tradition that
a. claimed to be protecting them.
b. regarded them as chattel.
c. had always treated them as equal in theory.
d. had consistently ignored them.
e. had accorded them special rights and responsibilities.
The central issue in the framing of the U.S. Constitution was that of
a. how strong to make the national government.
b. how best to divide powers among the branches of government.
c. how best to break with Great Britain.
d. how to adopt liberty but still allow slaveholding.
e. how to create a truly independent judiciary.
Campaigners are distinguished from the general population by their
a. higher education levels and stronger opinions.
b. lower education levels and stronger opinions.
c. higher education levels and weaker opinions.
d. lower education levels and weaker opinions.
e. lack of party identification and distaste for conflict.
Most of the money that individual candidates spend during the course of a campaign is
directed toward
a. media-related activities.
b. campaign staff and advisors.
c. travel-related expenses.
d. campaign literature.
e. the national convention.
Direct democracy is impractical because
a. citizens do not have enough time.
b. citizens do not have enough information or policy expertise.
c. citizens lack the energy to participate the required amount.
d. citizens lack the interest to be so involved in politics.
e. All of the above are true.
The most important power of presidents is the power of persuasion because of their
a. limited staffs.
b. opponents within the party.
c. lack of ensured legislative majorities and opponents within the party.
d. vague constitutional powers and lack of ensured legislative majorities.
e. limited staffs.
In the nineteenth century, a large fractionoften a majorityof congressmen served
a. two terms.
b. for decades.
c. only one term.
d. for life.
e. three terms.
In America, more than 80% of adults identify as
a. White.
b. Democrats.
c. Republicans.
d. Hispanic.
e. Christian
According to the text, the most important check on presidential war power is
a. the Supreme Court.
b. the State Department.
c. the governors.
d. the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
e. the control of Congress over the purse strings.
Ralph Nader became famous after testifying in favor of a bill regarding
a. Social Security.
b. air pollution.
c. workers’ compensation.
d. automobile safety.
e. gun control.
In practice, the reforms of Democrats have allowed reimbursements for travel by
lobbyists if
a. the travel consists of one-day trips.
b. the lobbyists do not initiate the trip.
c. the lobbyists do not make the reservations.
d. the lobbyists do not pick up incidental expenses unrelated to the visit.
e. All of the above are true.
One factor that contributed to the feasibility of an all-volunteer force was
a. the absence of a credible threat to U.S. soil.
b. rising civilian unemployment.
c. the generally low level of skills and education of volunteers.
d. the absence of qualified women volunteers willing to face combat.
e. increased levels of education.
In 2011, Standard & Poor’s, a credit ratings agency, issued
a. a warning about the U.S. housing market.
b. an opinion in support of the U.S. Congress and its efforts to lower the federal debt.
c. a first-ever warning about America’s national debt.
d. a call to focus on a measure other than GDP growth.
e. a call for the U.S. federal government to spend more.
In 2000, George Bush chose __________ as a theme for his campaign.
a. the need for change
b. trust
c. compassionate conservatism
d. competence
e. strength
When the Supreme Court upheld the right of the police to search newspaper offices,
Congress responded by passing legislation that
a. encouraged such searches.
b. made it easier for the police to lawfully conduct future searches.
c. forbade such searches, except in special cases.
d. completely banned the police from securing records of newspaper offices.
e. police could still search the offices, but they must obtain a search warrant first.
James Madison wrote Democracy in America.
Which Think Tank is associated with liberal causes?
a. Cato Institute
b. Heritage Foundation
c. Hudson Institute
d. Center for American Progress
e. American Enterprise Institute
If voting were only a matter of party identification, the Democrats would just about
always win presidential elections. Why hasn”t this been the case?
Young Americans are closer to being “political dropouts” than they are to being
“engaged citizens.”
Discuss a few of the scenarios covered in the textbook where a lawful search can be
conducted without a warrant.
In the late 1800s, the Supreme Court struck down a law that required that juries consist
only of whitemales.
Discuss the difference between the two kinds of interest groupsinstitutional and
membershipinterests.
Mass opinion on world affairs tends to be both more liberal and more internationalist
than eliteopinion.
Describe some of the principles that caused the colonists to fight the Revolutionary
War.
What is the sophomore surge? Discuss the explanations that the author offers for this
aspect of elections.
Explain the difference between position issues and valence issues. Summarize the
trends regarding each in recent elections.
It can be said that most Americans trust the Supreme Court, respect the presidency
(whether or not you like the president), and dislike Congress.
A higher percentage of Democrats than Republicans vote in elections.
In 2012, Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay politician elected to the U.S.
Senate.
Explain the restrictions that federal law places on contributions to candidates by
individuals and PACs and the rules of eligibility for federal matching grants.
If you run for a seat in the House against the incumbent, the odds are very much against
you.
Most scholars agree that the legislative output of Congress declined during the 1980s
and 1990s.