What was the greatest fear of the Anti-Federalists during the Constitutional Convention
and subsequent debate?
a. that a weak national government would undermine the survival of the United States
b. that a strong national government would infringe on the essential liberties of the
people
c. that a powerful judiciary would restrict freedom of religion
d. that powerful state governments would never assent to the new Constitution
e. that a weak judiciary would be unable to enforce the new Constitution
What institution is responsible for electing the president of the United States?
a. Electoral Choice
b. Electoral College
c. Electoral Mandate
d. Electoral Symposium
e. Electoral University
What can be inferred from the current demographic composition of the Senate?
a. It is more descriptively representative of African Americans than the House.
b. It is more descriptively representative of women than the House.
c. Senators are better educated than their House counterparts.
d. Senate members tend to be poorer than their House counterparts.
e. Senate members tend to be wealthier than their House counterparts.
What function is the National Labor Relations board carrying out when it settles
disputes between labor and management on federal labor laws?
a. creating regulations
b. adjudicating/engaging in quasi-judicial processes
c. providing expert advice
d. providing a check on congressional power
e. providing a check on judicial power
Which of the following is a provision of the Honest Leadership and Open Government
Act of 2007?
a. certification rules for lobbyists
b. lobbying disclosure requirements
c. a ban on PAC contributions
d. a rule banning lobbyists from running for office
e. a rule banning elected officials from leaving government to becoming lobbyists
The Administrative Procedures Act states that agencies must take what step before
issuing new rules and regulations?
a. They must obtain approval from the president.
b. They must obtain approval from Congress.
c. They must consult with an administrative law judge.
d. They must post information about the proposed rules on their websites.
e. They must solicit public comments.
Under the Articles of Confederation, a(n) __________ judiciary was established, but all
other courts were left to the states.
a. maritime
b. taxation
c. criminal
d. admiralty
e. military
What occurs at a congressional party conference?
a. Democrats meet to select leaders and determine objectives.
b. Democrats review bills passed at the end of a session of Congress.
c. Republicans and Democrats meet to build rapport and plan bills.
d. Republicans meet to select leaders and determine objectives.
e. Republicans review bills passed at the end of a session of Congress.
Which government entity has the power to settle disputes between the states?
a. Senate
b. House of Representatives
c. Department of State
d. Supreme Court
e. president
Which of the following helps explain the difficulty in solving the long-term debt
problem in the United States?
a. The decline in the strength of American political parties in recent years has made
compromise in this area highly unlikely.
b. The decline in social spending has reduced the level of economic growth in the
United States.
c. The Democratic Party has been captured by special interest groups that benefit from
high levels of debt.
d. The Republican Party refuses to reduce the level of taxes that restrict economic
growth in society.
e. The rise of extreme partisanship in recent years has made compromise in this area
highly unlikely.
What is the difference between simple random sampling and stratified sampling?
a. Stratified sampling combines random selection with predetermined weighting of a
population’s demographic characteristics, whereas random sampling does not.
b. Stratified sampling gives each member of a targeted population the same probability
of being polled, whereas simple random sampling does not.
c. Random simplified sampling incorporates random selection into the polling
procedure, whereas stratified sampling does not.
d. Stratified sampling excludes the element of randomness from the polling process,
whereas random simplified sampling does not.
e. Stratified sampling relies on techniques to eliminate bias, whereas simple random
sampling does not.
Prospective judgment is voting based upon __________.
a. a candidate’s personal history
b. the candidate’s partisan loyalty
c. the candidate’s ethnic background
d. the candidate’s policy promises
e. what the candidate has done in the past
Why are there currently 435 members in the House of Representatives?
a. The Constitution requires a specific ratio of representatives to constituents.
b. The Constitution stipulates this number.
c. The number has changed to reflect gerrymandering.
d. The number has grown each decade, according to census data.
e. The number is fixed at this limit by a statute.
What factor contributed to the growth of federal bureaucracy during the twentieth
century?
a. the passage of the Hatch Act in 1939
b. the elimination of the spoils system at the turn of the century
c. increased demands upon government during the Great Depression
d. the creation of new congressional powers during World War II
e. the creation of new presidential powers during World War II
How many citizens did the Constitution initially mandate that each member of the
House of Representatives should represent?
a. 30,000
b. 60,000
c. 100,000
d. 130,000
e. 200,000
Which of the following is a function of departments and agencies within the federal
bureaucracy?
a. issuing executive orders
b. issuing executive agreements
c. implementing public policies
d. reviewing court decisions
e. drafting legislation
On Table 11.2, Who Identifies as a Democrat? A Republican?, Hispanics are most
likely to identify as __________.
a. Democrats
b. Independents
c. Republicans
d. Libertarians
e. Greens
If you wanted to improve voter turnout, which of the following would you suggest?
a. holding elections more frequently
b. removing the Electoral College in favor of a direct vote
c. moving toward a system of national nominating caucuses
d. turning Election Day into a national holiday
e. using earlier registration deadlines
As discussed in “The Living Constitution” box, the Defense of Marriage Act potentially
violates which clause of the Constitution?
a. Commerce
b. Supremacy Clause
c. Due Process
d. Equal Protection
e. Full Faith and Credit
What were the Black Codes passed by many of the former Confederate states designed
to do?
a. segregate blacks and whites
b. deny legal rights, such as voting and sitting on juries, to newly freed slaves
c. keep newly freed slaves from being hired for work, so they would have to remain
slaves
d. deny newly freed slaves the right to attend church
e. separate slave families from each other, making it easier to keep blacks in servitude
What is the purpose of the Council of Economic Advisers?
a. to advise the president on economic policy
b. to assess legislative proposals for budgetary issues
c. to lobby Congress in defense of the president’s budget
d. to prepare the president’s budget
e. to review and recommend agency spending
How are independent regulatory commissions similar to independent executive
agencies?
a. Both are headed by a single administrator.
b. Both are part of the president’s Cabinet.
c. Both operate outside of executive department control.
d. Both are allowed to charge for their services.
e. Both perform activities that private investors cannot.
Nonprofit, tax-exempt groups that can expressly advocate for candidates and are not
required to disclose the names of contributors are called __________.
a. political action committees
b. 527 committees
c. 501(c) groups
d. national party committees
e. member PACs
According to Figure 9.1, How Is the American Judicial System Structured?, there are
currently how many U.S. district courts?
a. 118
b. 35
c. 13
d. 52
e. 94
At their party __________, Democrats will meet at the beginning of each new Congress
to nominate or elect party officers, review committee assignments, discuss party policy,
impose party discipline, set party themes, and coordinate media.
Women were guaranteed the right to vote by __________.
a. Korematsu v. United States
b. Reed v. Reed
c. the Nineteenth Amendment
d. the 1964 Civil Rights Act
e. the 1965 Voting Rights Act
The use of __________ in foreign matters is an example of the president acting as a
global leader.
a. pocket vetoes
b. executive privilege
c. executive agreements
d. executive orders
e. signing statements
In general, which of the following is true about the U.S. population?
a. It is mostly under the age of thirty.
b. It is getting older.
c. It is becoming less diverse.
d. It is less affected by immigration than in earlier years.
e. It is required to own property.
What was the objective of the women’s suffrage movement?
a. the right to an abortion
b. the right to own property
c. equal pay for equal worth
d. the right to vote
e. broad gender equality
In one recent election, researchers found that individual donors accounted for what
percent of contributions to presidential candidates?
a. 35
b. 50
c. 70
d. 85
e. 90
What provision of the Fourteenth Amendment serves as a cornerstone of our
understanding of civil rights?
a. the all men are created equal clause
b. the equal protection clause
c. the privileges and immunities clause
d. the Equal Rights Amendment
e. the grandfather clause
The publication of which of the following galvanized the colonists’ belief that
reconciliation with Great Britain was impossible?
a. Common Sense
b. Revolution
c. Federalist No. 10
d. American Cousin
e. Articles of Confederation
Indirect democracy is based on which of the following?
a. consensus
b. unanimity
c. representation
d. “mob rule”
e. the system of government used in ancient Greece
Which of the following is an example of the rally-round-the-flag effect?
a. George H. W. Bush was reelected after winning the first Gulf War.
b. Jimmy Carter gained respect during his handling of the Iranian hostage crisis.
c. During the Watergate investigation, Richard Nixon’s approval ratings soared.
d. George W. Bush’s popularity was boosted following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
e. Ronald Reagan’s approval rating increased sharply during the Iran-Contra scandal.
The “Intolerable Acts” was the colonists’ name for the __________ Acts of 1774.
a. Stamp
b. Tea
c. Coercive
d. Mercantile
e. Commerce
The case of __________ laid the groundwork for a central bank and a unified economy
in the United States.
A tactic known as __________ allows political parties to identify potential voters based
on personal information and past voting behavior.
The __________ is the site for the writing of the party platform every four years.
During President George W. Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address, President Bush
identified Iraq, North Korea, and Iran as an “__________.”
What is the relationship between the supremacy clause and judicial review?
Evaluate the evolution of the system of legislative oversight. How has the balance of
power shifted between Congress and the executive branch?
Explain the difference between libel and slander.
Today, nearly 40 million people in the United States can be classified as immigrants,
with a Hispanic majority. How will this affect American politics?
Of all the federal courts, only the __________ is established by the Constitution.
Discuss the importance of the necessary and proper, or elastic, clause to the functioning
of Congress. Evaluate the differences between enumerated and implied legislative
powers. Note any important judicial decisions affecting these powers. How does this
affect the federalist nature of American democracy? Has this clause been taken too far,
or not far enough?
In 1789, three executive departments existed under the Articles of Confederation:
Foreign Affairs, War, and __________.
The year __________ was significant because elections saw a record number of
women, African Americans, and other minorities elected to Congress.