In the aftermath of the Great Depression, well-educated politically active people began
demanding federal policies regarding
a. civil rights.
b. public welfare.
c. environmental protection.
d. consumer safety.
e. All of the above are true.
Since 1934, in every off-year election but two, the president’s party
a. has lost seats in one or both houses of Congress.
b. has changed its policy position significantly.
c. has won seats in one or both houses of Congress.
d. has decreased its support for the president’s agenda.
e. has increased its support for the president’s agenda.
Which of the following was nota device intended to prevent blacks from voting?
a. The grandfather clause
b. The poll tax
c. The literacy test
d. The Australian ballot
e. The white primary
On the issue of state sovereignty, the text states that since around 1992, the Supreme
Court has
a. restricted the ability of states to govern independently of the federal government.
b. not overturned any laws based by Congress that contain instructions for state
governments.
c. begun to restore the view that states have the right to resist some forms of federal
action.
d. allowed states to resist almost all federal action.
e. empowered the national government more than when Earl Warren was Chief Justice.
Because defense contractors must bid competitively for contracts and because the
military must have its annual budget approved by Congress, there is a tendency to
a. delay the acquisition of costly new hardware.
b. overestimate costs and acquire new hardware as quickly as possible.
c. pad the contracts with various nonessential items.
d. underestimate the probable costs.
e. All of the above are true.
Which of the following statements concerning the “right to privacy” is correct?
a. It is said to emanate from provisions in the Fourteenth Amendment.
b. It is not mentioned in the Constitution.
c. It is explicitly mentioned in the First and Fifth Amendments.
d. It is explicitly mentioned in the First, Second, and Fifth Amendments.
e. It is explicitly mentioned in the Preamble of the Constitution.
Which president ordered a blockade of southern ports?
a. Abraham Lincoln
b. Andrew Jackson
c. Franklin D. Roosevelt
d. James Polk
e. George Washington
This Framer of the Constitution wanted the president to be elected by the people.
a. James Wilson
b. Roger Sherman
c. James Madison
d. Samuel Adams
e. John Hancock
The single most important activity of interest groups, in the eyes of many lobbyists and
academic students of lobbying, is
a. delivering large numbers of protestors.
b. supplying credible information.
c. providing financial resources.
d. interacting with the media.
e. providing public relations.
Most Americans rely on _________ as their source for news.
a. the Internet
b. radio
c. television
d. Facebook
e. Twitter
__________ is the process by which personal and other background traits influence
one’s views about politics and government.
a. Political socialization
b. Political identification
c. Political memory
d. Political positioning
e. Political foundation
The two main federal bureaucracies responsible for social welfare policies and
programs are
a. the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of
VeteranAffairs.
b. the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department
ofEducation.
c. the U.S. Department of Social Security and the U.S. Department of Health Programs.
d. the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Pensions.
e. the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
One of the reasons that our local governments are independent of the national
government is
a. Article III of the U.S. Constitution.
b. the power of free elections.
c. the commitment of Americans to the ideal of local self-government.
d. the fact that the local tax structure requires local administration.
e. the Fourteenth Amendment.
Presidents have viewed the War Powers Act as
a. being unconstitutional.
b. being a legitimate use of congressional power.
c. helping America’s image abroad.
d. strengthening their power in foreign affairs.
e. None of the above is true.
Madison’s description of federalism in Federalist No. 46 suggests there should be little
concern over conflicts between the federal and state governments because
a. the federal government would clearly be the winner in such conflicts.
b. the state government would clearly be the winner in such conflicts.
c. such conflicts would occur only on minor issues of importance.
d. they are different agents with different powers.
e. the judicial branch would settle such disputes.
When Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1970 and lowered the voting age to
eighteen,
a. the president vetoed the act.
b. the Fourteenth Amendment was overturned.
c. the Supreme Court declared the adjustment unconstitutional.
d. thirty-five state governors protested the change.
e. the number of eligible voters instantly doubled.
The United States did not institute a peacetime draft until __________.
a. 1865
b. 1890
c. 1910
d. 1940
e. 1980
Writing for the Supreme Court, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes proclaimed that the
Congress could punish dangerous speech when that speech
a. represented a “clear and present danger” to the United States.
b. incited citizens to commit a lawless action.
c. was false.
d. Options A, B, C, and D are true.
e. None of the above is true.
One factor helping to break the deadlock that developed in the civil rights movement
during the early 1960s was the
a. media coverage of violence by white segregationists.
b. Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.
c. decentralization of power in the House and Senate.
d. civil unrest that shook several northern cities.
e. election of Republican presidents.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Casey was notable because
a. it was the first unanimous decision of the Court in an abortion case.
b. the Court struck down a parental consent requirement.
c. the Court struck down a twenty-four-hour waiting period for abortions.
d. Republican appointees struck down numerous restrictions on abortion in the states.
e. Republican appointees joined in an opinion that refused to overturn Roe.
Rosa Parks had a tremendous impact on the civil rights movement when she refused to
a. surrender her seat on a bus.
b. be bussed to a white school.
c. run for political office.
d. ride a train.
e. vote.
One notable difference between the passage of Medicare (1965) and the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) was
a. the lack of bipartisan support for the 2010 Act.
b. the lack of bipartisan support for the 1965 Act.
c. the lack of media coverage given to the 2010 Act.
d. the lack of media coverage given to the 1965 Act.
e. the lack of support by Democrats for the 2010 Act.
The constraints on federal action have now weakened because
a. the courts have altered their interpretation of the Constitution in ways that have not
only permitted, but sometimes even required government action.
b. public opinion has changed in ways that support an expanded role for the
federalgovernment.
c. political resources have become more widely distributed.
d. Options A and B are true.
e. All of the above are true.
•
In this decision, the Supreme Court, by a 5″4 majority, ruled that the individual mandate
component of Obamacare was constitutional because the mandate was a tax and was
one of the powers of Congress.
a. Baker v. Carr
b. U.S. v. Lopez
c. Printz v. U.S.
d. McCulloch v. Maryland
e. National Federation of Business v. Sebelius
Under the Old System, crises had a way of leaving the federal bureaucracy
a. more efficient.
b. more decentralized.
c. larger than it was before.
d. less organized.
e. popular.
The behavior of Justices Holmes, Burger, and Blackmun suggests that
a. presidents can sometimes be mistaken in their prediction about the actions of their
judicialappointees.
b. the Supreme Court follows the election returns.
c. presidents clearly control the Supreme Court through their appointments.
d. dissenters on the Supreme Court have more influence than the majority.
e. presidents are rarely concerned with court packing today.
__________ are terms set by the national government that states must meet whether or
not they accept federal grants.
a. Conditions of aid
b. Mandates
c. Strings-attached edict
d. Court decisions
e. Pontifications
During a local and national survey by the University of Cincinnati, researchers asked
individuals whether they favored passage of the Monetary Control Bill and found that
a. public opinion was deeply divided.
b. public opinion unanimously condemned the legislation.
c. many people expressed views about the legislation, although it was entirely fictitious.
d. the legislation was still pending.
e. Congress had passed the legislation only two days before the surveys were
conducted.
Which of the following statements is incorrect?
a. No state may restrict voting based on discriminatory tests, taxes, or
residencyrequirements.
b. People can register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license in half of the states.
c. Most states allow absentee ballot voting prior to election day.
d. Some states allow people to register on the same day that they vote.
e. In areas where many non-English speakers live, election authorities must supply
ballots written in their own language.
Based on research, Morris Fiorina argues that the culture war is more of a myth and is
only a reflection of the fact that
a. the media publicize the polarization that exists among political leaders and not that
most Americans occupy the middle position of many issues.
b. the media do not cover politics in a thorough fashion.
c. the public is merely not expressing its polarization.
d. the major issues have been decided.
e. the middle class is increasingly alienated from political processes.
According to the text, __________ waivers are “almost impossible to acquire.”
a. environmental protection
b. health policy
c. education
d. human services
e. transportation
The delegates at the Constitutional Convention knew it was very likely that George
Washington would be the nation’s first president.
Marx argued that governments were basically dominated by business owners.
Politics produces both cost and benefits. Your text discusses four types of politics based
on how cost and benefits are distributed. Explain the four types of politics covered in
the text.
Explain why some newspapers are said to have “national influence.”
Jefferson viewed his party as a temporary arrangement for the purpose of defeating
John Adams.
Almost every major war this country has fought has followed a formal declaration of
war by Congress.
Most blue-collar workers in America think of themselves as “working class.”
Define judicial review and note how many federal laws have been declared
unconstitutional.
What are some examples of the majoritarian component of foreign policy?
The First Amendment’s freedom of speech and the right to petition government clauses
protect the activities of interest groups.
The states play a key role in social welfare, public education, and law enforcement.
Discuss some of the procedures to fire a federal bureaucrat.
The buddy system tends to produce poor employees.
Compare the United States bureaucracy to the United Kingdom bureaucracy.
The decision of the Supreme Court in Brown was unanimous.
What are earmarks? How are they related to interest group politics.
Over the last half-century, state and local government spending has declined
significantly.
Most of the Framers thought that the Senate would probably decide the outcome of
most presidentialelections.
Define gerrymandering and malapportionment in Congressional districts.
The federal government traditionally makes out its budget without regard for the
amount of money it has to spend.