Andrew Jackson established the precedent that a president’s veto can be used
a. only on constitutional grounds.
b. without first having a law declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
c. even when Congress is still in session.
d. on policy grounds even when a bill may appear to be constitutional.
e. without the advice and consent of the Senate.
The percentage of Americans who say that they have a lot of confidence in Congress is
typically
a. quite large.
b. around sixty-five.
c. around fifty.
d. almost forty.
e. fairly low.
Richard Neustadt used the label in and outers for
a. Congressmen who inconsistently supported the president.
b. members of the cabinet who resigned before the end of the term.
c. presidential staff members without experience in government.
d. persons who alternated between government and private-sector jobs.
e. bureaucrats who changed party identification with some frequency.
In __________, voters pick delegates and indicate their preferences among presidential
candidates, but the delegates are not legally bound to observe these preferences.
a. Delegate selection only
b. Delegate selection with advisory presidential preference
c. Binding presidential preference
d. Nonpartisan delegate
e. Jungle election
There are thirteen __________ in the federal judiciary.
a. constitutional courts
b. district courts
c. courts of appeal
d. legislative courts
e. supreme courts
The _________ Amendment to the U.S. Constitution appeared to guarantee equal rights
for blacks.
a. First
b. Fourteenth
c. Twenty-first
d. Twenty-fifth
e. Twenty-sixth
The huge new demands for Social Security benefits and medical payments under
Medicare is largely due to
a. the population getting older.
b. increases in benefits in those programs.
c. the increasing numbers of young workers in the American economy.
d. recent changes to make the programs less generous.
e. None of the above is true.
Regarding the role of self-interest in the positions that people take on important issues,
it is safest to say that
a. the self-interest of individuals is usually a complete guide to their actions.
b. economic self-interest may be important but is usually not the only guide to
people’sactions.
c. organizational self-interest rather than economic self-interest is usually the best guide
to people’s actions.
d. political preferences can be predicted invariably by knowing an individual’s
economic or organizational position.
e. self-interest is rarely an important factor in understanding political attitudes and
behavior.
In New York v. Farber, a reporter for The New York Times was asked to produce notes
that he had taken in regard to the behavior of a __________.
a. schoolteacher
b. police officer
c. physician
d. fellow reporter
e. senator
A marginal district is one in which
a. voters frequently change party affiliation.
b. the constituency is made up largely of minority groups.
c. voters are not clear as to which candidate is the incumbent.
d. gerrymandering has produced a loose affiliation of interest groups.
e. the winner in an election gets less than 55 percent of the vote.
Most of the debate surrounding the 1970 Clean Air Act centered on the issue of
pollution from
a. automobile air-conditioning units.
b. tire factories.
c. automobile tailpipes.
d. battery factories.
e. oil refineries.
Between 1789 and the Civil War, the Supreme Court was primarily occupied with the
issues of
a. states’ rights and slavery.
b. trade relations and states’ rights.
c. national supremacy and trade relations.
d. slavery and national supremacy.
e. commerce and civil liberties.
Until the 1930s, the Supreme Court
a. restricted the authority of the government to regulate business.
b. prevented the government from levying an income tax.
c. refused, with some exceptions, to allow the delegation of broad discretionary power
to administrative agencies.
d. Options A, B, C, and D are true.
e. None of the above is true.
The importance of the Great Compromise was that it
a. created a legislature similar in structure to that under the Articles of Confederation.
b. established a single, “one-state, one-vote” formula under which all states would
benefit.
c. strengthened the power of larger states at the expense of smaller states.
d. granted equal power to the three branches of the new central government.
e. ensured support for a strong national government from small as well as large states.
All of the following statements concerning term limits are correct except
a. the movement to impose term limits began in the 1980s.
b. the House approved a constitutional amendment to limit terms.
c. A constitutional amendment to limit terms died in the Senate.
d. the Supreme Court has struck down a state law limiting the terms of members
ofCongress.
e. the Supreme Court has struck down a state law limiting the terms of members of
statelegislatures.
The Senate first invoked cloture to end a filibuster of the
a. debate over whether to enter War World I or not.
b. debate over the Treaty of Versailles.
c. debate over the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
d. debate over the Spanish-American War.
e. debate over the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Which state refused to send a delegate to the Constitutional Convention?
a. New York
b. Pennsylvania
c. Massachusetts
d. Virginia
e. Rhode Island
A local statute forbidding adult movie theaters from being located near churches,
schools, or parks would probably be
a. upheld as a limit on free expression.
b. upheld as a regulation of land use.
c. overturned as contravening free speech.
d. overturned as overly vague and broad.
e. overturned for violating the principle of content neutrality.
In 1984, the Supreme Court ruled that illegally obtained evidence might be used in
court if it can be demonstrated that
a. it would have been allowed in most states.
b. members of a jury gave it no attention.
c. it was discovered on the basis of a tip from a reliable informant.
d. it was critical to the outcome of a trial.
e. its discovery was inevitable.
During the founding period of U.S. history, political parties could best be characterized
as
a. national coalitions in which large, raucous party conventions played a major role.
b. small coalitions based more on geography and class than on common economic
interests.
c. instruments through which debate over the legitimacy of the new government could
takeplace.
d. bureaucratized, well organized, and well financed.
e. national coalitions that were well organized by impersonal bureaucracies.
The following is an example of a law that would only have to pass the reasonable
standard where the government argues for the distinction on a rational basis.
a. Laws requiring somebody to be 21 to legally purchase alcohol
b. Men being punished for statutory rape even if women are not punished
c. Laws protecting the voting rights of blacks
d. State laws setting different ages at which men and women legally become adults
e. Women being barred from jobs by height and weight requirements
Keynes would insist that there is no need for the government to
a. create public works programs.
b. cut federal expenditures.
c. increase taxes.
d. pump money into the economy.
e. balance the budget on a year-to-year basis.
During this president’s administration, the nation decided to build the interstate highway
system.
a. Franklin Roosevelt
b. Harry Truman
c. Dwight Eisenhower
d. John Kennedy
e. Lyndon Johnson
Who explained the rise of capitalism in terms of religious beliefs and the community
involvement ofindividuals?
a. Mills
b. Weber
c. Madison
d. Mydral
e. Durkheim
Which of the following statements regarding the Tammany Hall political machine
isincorrect?
a. It was located in New York City.
b. It began as a caucus of local Democratic leaders.
c. It was organized on the basis of political clubs in districts.
d. Its power was enhanced by the Hatch Act.
e. The machine rewarded supporters with federal, state, or city jobs.
The creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) led to the federal
government
a. regulating the national economy for the first time in a meaningful way.
b. supporting state’s efforts against regulation.
c. assuming complete control of the railroads.
d. opposing civil service reforms.
e. None of the above is true.
In recent years, the political beliefs of members of Congress have become
a. more polarized than those of voters.
b. close to the center of the political spectrum.
c. moderately liberal.
d. moderately conservative.
e. more unified.
In 1996, the voters of __________ passed Proposition 215, a ballot measure permitting
the “compassionate use” of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
a. California
b. Colorado
c. Washington
d. Oregon
e. Texas
This official held the positions of national security adviser and secretary of state at the
same time.
a. Richard Nixon
b. George H. W. Bush
c. Henry Kissinger
d. William Dulles
e. Nobody has held both positions at the same time.
At the Constitutional Convention, the most frequent concern regarding the presidency
focused on
a. re-election.
b. the veto power.
c. the pardon power.
d. appointment powers.
e. nominations.
Until the mid-twentieth century, the federal government
a. spent large amounts of resources addressing social problems, such as abortion, crime,
and drug abuse.
b. paid little attention to social problems.
c. was larger than it is today.
d. focused mostly on just transportation.
e. None of the above is true.
During the 1830s and 1840s, the number of religious associations
a. increased sharply.
b. declined slightly.
c. rejected American style government.
d. supported American style government.
e. advocated for the Whig party.
Antitrust laws are examples of majoritarian politics.
Before 1913 and the Sixteenth Amendment, the federal government could not collect
income taxes.
Today, only about 12 percent of American workers are covered by unions.
In most states, political parties have strict control over who get nominated to office.
Majoritarian politics hold narrowly concentrated benefits and widely distributed costs.
Identify some examples of laws that have provided constraints to bureaucratic behavior.
Polls suggested most Americans supported “Obamacare.”
We have recently learned that our genetic background explains much of our political
ideology.
The spread of the direct primary has made it more difficult for parties to control who is
nominated for elective office.
Explain the significance of log-rolling to the legislative process.
The Smith Act of 1940 respected the right of Americans to join the political party of
their choice.
In European nations, voter registration is automatic.
Identify five reasons why cost-overruns are such an issue when it comes to military
expenditures.
Great Britain has a strong tradition of judicial review.
One theory of why voter turnout started to decline in the early 1900s is that the legal
barriers to participation, such as complex registration procedures, started to increase.
Discuss the effect of the Civil War and sectionalism on the development of political
parties in the United States.
The writings of Jefferson and Madison influenced John C. Calhoun’s arguments for
nullification of a federal tariff.
When VEP is used instead of VAP, estimates of voter turnout tend to decrease.