The Fourth Amendment has had a very strong impact on the American legal system and
has been a source of many Supreme Court rulings. The Fourth Amendment deals with
A.the right to bear arms.
B.the right to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for a redress of
grievances.
C.the right of the people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures.
D.the powers of the state governments in relation to the federal government.
E.the right to an attorney.
The number of interest groups is large. How many Americans are estimated as
belonging to at least one group?
A.only about 1 percent, though the number of interest groups is large
B.about 20 percent
C.about 50 percent
D.about 80 percent
E.nearly 99 percent
Political scientist John Mueller assessed the risks taken by presidents in developing and
implementing foreign policy initiatives. Which of the following represents Mueller’s
argument?
A.Presidents must exercise prerogatives in foreign policy in order to appear decisive to
the American public.
B.The advantage to a president of a success in minor foreign policy ventures is
marginal; the disadvantage to a president of a failure in such a venture is more than
marginal.
C.The risk of avoiding military action is always greater than that of initiating military
action.
D.A policy initiative will always have some level of negative repercussion.
E.The disadvantage to a president is that success in foreign policy will meet with
hostility from foreign citizens, whereas failure brings hostility of American citizens.
Which of the following would NOT be considered as one of the advantages of
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)?
A.Contributions in mutual funds and stocks can be made in consistently smaller
deposits.
B.All withdrawals from IRAs are tax free.
C.Money continues to grow tax free.
D.Investment earnings are treated as capital gains by the Internal Revenue Service, and
thus the tax rate is lower.
E.Money contributed to the IRA is not initially taxed as income.
What effect have televised presidential debates had on election outcomes?
A.Moderate results at best but likely no real impact.
B.Debates are proven to be very effective in swaying voter opinion.
C.The majority of the potential voters will change their candidate preference following
the debate.
D.Historically the winner of the debates usually wins the presidency.
E.Almost always helps the underdog candidates at the expense of the major candidate.
Which of these groups was given the right to vote through the Twenty-Third
Amendment?
A.citizens convicted of a felony
B.African Americans in all southern states
C.naturalized citizens
D.residents of the District of Columbia
E.citizens aged 18
In keeping with the U.S. Constitution and regarding Article II, on how many occasions
has the House of Representatives chosen the president following a close or disputed
election?
A.never
B.one
C.three
D.10
E.15
During the 2008 presidential campaign, Americans were the most skeptical about
Barack Obama’s
A.poise.
B.ability to hold up under pressure.
C.eloquence.
D.experience.
E.ability to relate to ordinary Americans.
Which of the following is NOT true concerning the Bill of Rights in our U.S.
Constitution?
A.The Bill of Rights was added as the first amendments to the Constitution after it was
ratified by the states.
B.Several prominent members of the Constitutional Convention, such as James
Madison, actually opposed the Bill of Rights.
C.Most states already had existing constitutions that enumerated the rights of the
individual.
D.The Bill of Rights was a prominent element of the new Constitution and it was
written into the document early in the process.
E.Several states at first refused to ratify the new Constitution because of its lack of a
Bill of Rights.
According to federal law, what is the current maximum limit that a political action
committee can contribute to an individual candidate’s campaign?
A.$250
B.$1,000
C.$5,000
D.$100,000
E.$1 million
Which of the following is NOT a program of the U.S. Department of State?
A.foreign aid to developing nations
B.oversight of homeland security
C.contributor and policy participant to the World Bank
D.diplomatic missions to other countries
E.oversight of all foreign embassies
Which political philosopher articulated the theory of separating government powers?
A.Hobbes
B.Locke
C.Montesquieu
D.Plato
E.Voltaire
How do state constitutions normally differ from the U.S. Constitution?
A.State constitutions deal only with the criminal law and rights of the accused.
B.State constitutions are generally more wordy and more specific on policy issues.
C.State constitutions are very simple documents that give a general outline for state
government.
D.The U.S. has one constitution; some states have more than one constitution.
E.State constitutions rely on the U.S. Constitution to guarantee rights to its citizens
The Twenty-Sixth Amendment, ratified in 1971,
A.gave voting rights to all African Americans.
B.eliminated artificial barriers to voter participation.
C.lowered the voting age for U.S. citizens from 21 years old to 18 years old.
D.gave women the right to vote.
E.mandated automated voting machines in all states.
In 1947, the ______ was established to advise the president on military affairs and
foreign policy.
A.National Security Council (NSC)
B.Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
C.Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
D.Strategic Defense Institute (SDI)
E.United Nations (UN)
What is the primary characteristic of representative democracy?
A.Each citizen has a right to appear before Congress and speak to an issue.
B.Only selected and properly trained citizens are allowed to vote.
C.Citizens do not have a vote, since representatives are appointed for that purpose.
D.The people do not directly rule but they have the opportunity to exercise power
indirectly by choosing those whom they wish to lead them.
E.A monarch rules for the citizens.
Which government corporation operates a railroad service of the National Railroad
Passenger Corporation, maintaining 20,000 miles of track and operating 500 stations
across the nation?
A.Norfolk and Southern Railroad
B.Conrail
C.AMTRAK
D.United Freight
E.Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
The era of reduced tension and increased communication between the United States and
the Soviet Union was known as
A.rapprochement.
B.dtente.
C.engagement.
D.procurement.
E.reconciliation.
_________ is the author of the poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty.
A.Maya Angelou
B.Edgar Allen Poe
C.Charles Dickens
D.Emma Lazarus
E.Susan B. Anthony
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis in 1932 referred to the states as
“laboratories of democracy.” Which of the following would NOT be one of the
explanations for Justice Brandeis’s description?
A.If a state does not experiment with a right, then its denial may be fraught with serious
consequences to the nation.
B.A single state may try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest
of the country.
C.States are subordinate to the federal government and should be expected to test an
issue for the federal government.
D.States may experiment with differing ideological orientations on the same issue with
one being more liberal and the other more conservative.
E.The success or failure of an initiative within a state may be justification for its
nationwide adoption or rejection.
Groups that represent a large number of individuals, such as state associations of
teachers, often allow those who do not join the association to reap the benefits of the
group’s efforts. These individuals are referred to as
A.scabs.
B.free riders.
C.picket busters.
D.leeches.
E.union busters.
The number of electoral votes from each state is determined by
A.the state legislatures of each state.
B.a vote in Congress prior to each election.
C.a number that is equivalent to the state’s allotment of House members plus two more
for each senator from the state.
D.each political party.
E.results of a conference between the two major political parties.
The most widely accepted and utilized indicator of the overall condition of the stock
market on any given day is
A.the Congressional Accounting Office.
B.the White House press releases.
C.the Wall Street Journal.
D.the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
E.the prime rate.
The central governing body of the two major American political parties is called the
A.politburo.
B.national committee.
C.presidential counsel.
D.central bureau.
E.Congress.
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment, which was ratified in 1964, prohibited what?
A.the federal government from attempting to intervene in the powers of the state
governments to regulate voting
B.the popular election of U.S. Senators
C.the use of tax revenues to pay for elections
D.the creation of any artificial barrier that prohibited exercising of voting rights
E.the possession of firearms by private citizens in the District of Columbia
Powers explicitly delegated to the Congress under Article I of the U.S. Constitution are
referred to as
A.enumerated powers.
B.reserved powers.
C.concurrent powers.
D.federal powers.
E.constituent powers.
The First Amendment’s free exercise clause bans government laws that prohibit the free
exercise of religion. An excellent example of applying this standard is the one faced by
Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1943. What was that challenge?
A.The Supreme Court ruled that Jehovah’s Witnesses could not go door-to-door to
advocate for their beliefs.
B.The Supreme Court ruled that Jehovah’s Witnesses were out of the mainstream of
religious belief and were therefore not protected by the First Amendment.
C.The Supreme Court ruled that Jehovah’s Witnesses are not observing a “legitimate”
religion.
D.In West Virginia v. Barnette the Supreme Court ruled that the public school system
could not suspend students who as Jehovah’s Witnesses refused to salute the flag in
their classrooms.
E.In Brown v. Board of Education the Supreme Court upheld a law which banned
prayer in school by students who were Jehovah’s Witnesses.
During the writing of the Constitution in 1787 some states had already abolished
slavery while other states had large slave populations. Concerning slavery, the new U.S.
Constitution
A.allowed it in southern states and upheld its abolition in northern states.
B.left the issue for the courts to decide.
C.reaffirmed its use as legitimate in the United States.
D.said nothing about either preserving or outlawing slavery.
E.called for its abolition.
What is the role of the state governments in foreign relations?
A.The states have equal standing with the federal government.
B.The federal government “consults” the states through the U.S. House of
Representatives.
C.The U.S. Constitution assigns sole authority for foreign relations to the federal
government, so the states have no official role.
D.Generally states have sovereignty and may enter into agreements with foreign
countries.
E.The federal government generally has the authority to deal with foreign governments
unless states gain approval from the Supreme Court.
One of the foundation principles of the U.S. Constitution is popular sovereignty, which
means that
A.the people are tightly controlled by the government.
B.the president is the ultimate governmental power.
C.Congress is supreme.
D.the people are ultimately in charge of their political and social destiny.
E.the Supreme Court is subordinate to no other agency or group.
All 50 states have a governor who is the head of the state’s executive branch. The
primary purpose of a governor is
A.to veto legislation as a check on the abuse of power in the legislative branch.
B.to develop, enact, and implement an annual state budget.
C.to serve as head of the state judicial system.
D.to organize state government and to properly delegate authority in order to ensure
effective administration of the state’s programs and duties.
E.to increase economic development in the state and manage resources.
Groups that exist to promote economic conditions favorable to its members, and
economic opportunities for its members, are referred to as
A.economic interest groups.
B.self-help groups.
C.self-interest groups.
D.business associations.
E.labor unions.
In contrast to the more passive approaches of other African Americans at the beginning
of the twentieth century, W.E.B. Du Bois challenged racial discrimination and injustice
in various forms of political activity. This method is known as
A.accommodation.
B.peacemaking.
C.lobbying.
D.agitation.
E.rebellion.