The president of the 1974 Constitutional Convention referred to members of the
convention who opposed any revision of the existing constitution as
A) revisionists.
B) cockroaches.
C) nay-sayers.
D) anarchists.
E) obstructionists.
All of the following are theories that have been offered to explain how public policy is
made EXCEPT
A) bureaucratic theory.
B) interest group theory.
C) pluralist theory.
D) libertarian theory.
E) elite theory.
Why do reporters prefer to interview public officials, rather than attending press
conferences?
I. The topics of press conferences are driven by officials, not the reporter.
II. Questions can be evaded more easily in a press conference.
III. Officials can spin facts more easily before a pool of reporters instead of a
one-on-one intimate interview.
IV. Reporters in press pools continually interrupt each other and speak out of turn.
A) I and II
B) II and III
C) I, II, and III
D) I, III, and IV
E) I, II, III, and IV
The single greatest influence on an individual’s first party identification is
A) parents.
B) age.
C) race.
D) gender.
E) income.
As late as 1970, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to
I. apply the equal protection clause to discrimination against women.
II. allow women to be firefighters.
III. allow women to sit on juries.
IV. support the creation of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women.
A) I only
B) II only
C) II and III
D) I and III
E) I and IV
Constitutional revision that unfolds slowly by adding one amendment at a time, with
each making a minor change is known as
A) comprehensive revision.
B) piecemeal revision.
C) itemized revision.
D) line item revision.
E) ad-hoc revision.
Which of the following is NOT a benefit of a think tank?
A) They are generally independent of the government.
B) They include academics as well as former practitioners of the policies they study.
C) They frequently have staff members within the DNC, RNC, or Congress.
D) They provide the parties as well as the government information on an array of areas.
E) Some have nonpartisan approaches to public policy, while others cater to certain
party or ideological affiliations.
Moderates fall to the __________ of the political spectrum.
A) far left
B) left
C) center
D) right
E) far right
Although judicial review was not mentioned in the Constitution, ________ publicly
endorsed the idea in Federalist No. ________.
A) John Jay/10
B) John Jay/50
C) James Madison/50
D) Alexander Hamilton/78
E) John Marshall/51
About one-third of municipalities have an appointed, professional manager and an
elected city council. This form of government follows the
A) mixed system of municipal government.
B) at-large model.
C) modified district system.
D) progressive model of government.
E) mayor-manager system.
The 1845 Texas Constitution established what trait of Texas government that still exists
today?
A) A unicameral legislature
B) A legislature that meets biennially
C) A 2-year term for governor
D) Three justices on the Supreme Court
E) Term limits for the governor (no more than four years out of every six)
During the constitutional convention of 1875, “retrenchment and reform” was the motto
adopted by
A) the Texas Rangers.
B) the Frontiersman.
C) the Grange.
D) the Patrons of Texas.
E) the Barbarians.
Assume you want to be a judge in Texas, but you are not a lawyer, nor do you have a
law degree. Of the following, which office may you hold?
A) County court at law judge
B) Constitutional county judge
C) District judge
D) Intermediate court of appeals judge
E) Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge
The temporary party organization consists of
A) standing committees.
B) conventions.
C) party chairpersons.
D) volunteers.
E) elected officials.
What has brought the American people closer to our presidents and made them seem
more human?
A) Television
B) Airplanes
C) Newspapers
D) Space exploration
E) Talk radio
Which of the following can be purchased using food stamps in Alaska?
I. Prepared hot foods sold in stores
II. Vitamins
III. Herb seeds
IV. Candy
A) II only
B) II and III
C) III and IV
D) I and IV
E) I, III, and IV
Under the Articles of Confederation,
A) there were three branches of government.
B) there was no executive branch.
C) there were eighteen presidents with significant authority.
D) George Washington served temporarily as president.
E) the national government was supreme over the states.
The Embargo Act was designed to
A) halt the British practice of impressment.
B) end the Napoleonic wars.
C) convince the United States to become militarily involved in Europe.
D) keep the Barbary pirates from docking in the Americas.
E) halt the practice of embargoes by the French.
Why did President George W. Bush likely have the highest popularity rating?
A) The economy
B) The September 11 terrorist attacks
C) The War in Iraq
D) His “Mission Accomplished” speech
E) Successful domestic policies
Originally, each member of the House of Representatives represented ________
citizens.
A) 20,000
B) 30,000
C) 40,000
D) 50,000
E) 70,000
Some delegates to the Constitutional Convention believed that the new nation was in
such dire straits that they were willing to
A) take up arms against Indians on the western front.
B) develop a looser league of friendship among the states.
C) risk potential charges of treason.
D) muzzle Benjamin Franklin.
E) establish an American “monarchy.”
The requirement that two-thirds of the members of a chamber must be present in order
to conduct legislative business on the floor is known as which of the following?
A) Majority
B) Quorum
C) Enrollment
D) Plurality
E) Calling the question
A 1997 law concerning Texas university admissions policies allowed university
officials deciding which students would be admitted to consider criteria such as
A) a student’s family income and individual income, and a parent’s employment.
B) a parent’s education level and income level, and the student’s employment.
C) a student’s high school class standing and income level, and a parent’s employment.
D) a student’s family income and high school standing, and a parent’s education level.
E) a parent’s education and employment, and a student’s employment in the armed
forces.
The Electoral College was created in part because
A) George Washington would be first president under the new system.
B) the Framers did not trust the people to directly elect a leader.
C) the American public demanded it.
D) the Twelfth Amendment did not adequately outline the electoral process.
E) it created a formal role for political parties.
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, states have the authority to design their
educational systems as they wish, but they must comply with certain national standards
to receive funding. This division of power is an example of
A) federalism.
B) unitarism.
C) pluralism.
D) confederation.
E) constitutionalism.
Statutory county courts were created to
A) relieve county judges in urban Texas counties of their judicial duties to allow them
to focus on their county administrative duties as presiding officer of the commissioners
court.
B) minimize the problems created by the many jurisdictional responsibilities of county
courts overlapping those of justice of the peace courts and district courts in Texas.
C) to assure a more efficient administration of justice on the county level since county
judges are not required to be attorneys while statutory county court judges are.
D) to provide for the growing need for the administration of wills and estates through
the probate function exclusively given to statutory county courts.
E) share felony criminal jurisdiction with district courts of jurisdiction, thus allowing
district judges to handle more civil cases.
The Seventeenth Amendment lessened state power by
A) allowing Congress to tax individuals.
B) abolishing the poll tax.
C) creating a national bank.
D) instituting the direct election of Senators.
E) nullifying the Tenth Amendment.
Which of the following consumes the MOST energy in the United States?
A) Turbines are placed outside communities to provide sustainable power.
B) People use oil to heat their homes and fuel their vehicles.
C) Solar panels provide homes with near unlimited power.
D) Coal-burning plants power cities and towns.
E) Hydroelectric plants produce sufficient energy to power large cities.
Where is the authority of Texas county governments established?
A) The county government code
B) The municipal government code
C) Both the Texas Constitution and in Texas statutes
D) Federal statutes
E) The United States Constitution
Citizen involvement in community groups increases social capital
A) and causes decreased civic engagement.
B) and is called civic virtue.
C) but has been hurt by a decrease in the number of community-based neighborhood
associations.
D) and does not concern more traditional standard groups.
E) and is called the “earmarking” process.