Which of the following clauses requires states to return criminals to states where they
have been convicted or are to stand trial?
a. extradition
b. commerce
c. due process
d. full faith and credit
e. privileges and immunities
Which presents the greatest threat to incumbents of the president’s party?
a. a caucus election
b. a general election
c. a midterm election
d. a primary election
e. a runoff election
The Seventeenth Amendment placed in the hands of the people the power to elect
which of the following?
a. state executives
b. local officials
c. the president
d. members of Congress
e. senators
The largest organizational unit in the federal bureaucracy is a(n) __________.
a. agency
b. bureau
c. commission
d. corporation
e. department
Americans’ faith in institutions in the United States has __________.
a. remained stagnant over time
b. generally increased
c. generally decreased
d. decreased for some and increased for others
e. fluctuated, depending on the political climate
Which of the following was a consequence of the spoils, or patronage, system?
a. The federal bureaucracy was staffed with people who lacked expertise.
b. There was low turnover in the federal bureaucracy between presidential
administrations.
c. Only wealthy people could get jobs in the federal bureaucracy.
d. There was less government corruption.
e. Voter turnout in presidential elections decreased.
In Barron v.Baltimore, the Supreme Court held that the Bill of Rights limits
__________, not __________, action.
a. federal, state
b. state, federal
c. state, local
d. local, state
e. federal, local
What do Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security have in common?
a. They are all health care programs.
b. They are all entitlement programs.
c. They all provide financial assistance to senior citizens only.
d. They all provide food stamps to people in poverty.
e. They all provide small business loans to get the poor out of poverty.
__________ provides a basis for mediation and negotiation laterally among the
branches of government and vertically among national, state, and local layers.
a. A critical election
b. Bipartisanship
c. Party affiliation
d. Polarization
e. The party platform
What is the main foreign or defense policy threat posed by Iran?
a. civil unrest
b. nuclear capabilities
c. economic collapse
d. trade disagreements
e. conventional arms
What is the primary responsibility of the Department of Defense?
a. to provide for homeland security
b. to implement military policy
c. to develop foreign policy
d. to coordinate domestic security efforts
e. to advise the president about national security threats
Who presides over trials for presidential impeachment?
a. vice president
b. Speaker of the House
c. chief justice of the Supreme Court
d. president of the Senate
e. House majority leader
A(n) __________ brief is submitted by someone who is not a party to the case.
a. amicus curiae
b. appellate
c. habeas corpus
d. outsider
e. coram nobis
What are reserved powers?
a. Powers specifically delegated to the national government by the Constitution.
b. Powers specifically delegated to state governments by the Constitution.
c. Powers not specifically delegated to the national government by the Constitution.
d. Powers not specifically delegated to state governments by the Constitution.
e. Those powers not specifically delegated to the national government by the
Declaration of Independence.
Which of the following most accurately describes the recent financial crisis in the
United States?
a. a depression
b. a full employment cycle
c. a mild recession
d. a severe recession
e. an inflationary cycle
What was the first major Supreme Court decision to define the relationship between the
federal and state governments?
a. Barron v.Baltimore
b. Dred Scott v.Sandford
c. Gibbons v.Ogden
d. McCulloch v.Maryland
e. U.S. v.Lopez
Most elections follow the same structure, consisting of a(n) _________.
a. nomination campaign and secondary campaign
b. caucus and primary
c. nomination campaign and general election campaign
d. party convention and candidate debate
e. fund-raising component and name-recognition component
Which element of policy making is government recognition that a problem is worthy of
intervention?
a. agenda setting
b. agenda adoption
c. policy formation
d. policy implementation
e. policy evaluation
Which type of organization would find it easiest to overcome the free rider/collective
action problem?
a. an environmental organization working to pass climate change legislation
b. a labor union in a state where union membership is optional
c. a trade association representing a small number of firms
d. a trade association representing a large number of firms
e. a national organization fighting for women’s rights
How are exit polls conducted?
a. over the telephone
b. on the Internet
c. through the mail
d. via e-mail
e. in person
In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), the Supreme Court
determined that __________ were unconstitutional.
a. poll taxes
b. grandfather clauses
c. all forms of affirmative action
d. Jim Crow laws
e. racial quotas
Of the fifty-five delegates who attended some portion of the Constitutional Convention,
how many ultimately signed it?
a. thirty-nine
b. twenty-nine
c. fifty-four
d. forty-eight
e. forty-five
Which statement best describes the quasi-judicial decisions made by government
agencies?
a. These decisions do not have the force of law.
b. These decisions can be appealed to federal courts.
c. These decisions are final and cannot be appealed.
d. These decisions can be overturned by Congress.
e. These decisions can be overturned by the president.
Which examines the cost implications of a proposed bill?
a. secretary of the treasury
b. Office of Management and Budget
c. secretary of commerce
d. chief of staff
e. federal reserve
If you support laissez-faire economic policies, you would generally favor __________.
a. a reduction in the amount of economic regulation by the government
b. a reduction in the level of taxes assessed by state governments
c. an increase in the amount of economic regulation by the government
d. an increase in the collective bargaining rights for labor unions
e. an increase in the tariffs assessed on goods imported into the United States
Which of the following strategies does monetary policy dictate in inflationary periods?
a. Congress should balance the federal budget.
b. Congress should increase spending.
c. Congress should raise taxes on citizens.
d. The Federal Reserve should lower interest rates.
e. The Federal Reserve should raise interest rates.
Which of the following statements provides the best characterization of the members of
the White House staff?
a. The White House staff is a loose collection of bureaucrats who are loyal to executive
agencies.
b. The White House staff is composed of individuals personally and politically close to
the president chosen specifically to serve the president’s needs.
c. The White House staff is composed of policy specialists who have little personal
loyalty to the president.
d. The White House staff is the link between executive agencies in the bureaucracy and
Congress.
e. The White House staff advises members of the Cabinet on how best to serve the
needs of president.
What best explains the overwhelming advantage incumbents possess in seeking
reelection over opposition candidates?
a. additional financial support from constituent taxes
b. additional financial support from the federal government campaign fund
c. demonstrated ability to lead and public record of votes
d. name recognition, access to media, and franking privilege
e. name recognition and access to district taxes
How did Americans’ attitudes about the role of government change as a result of the
Great Depression and Roosevelt’s New Deal?
a. People became more accepting of the federal government’s role in economic policy.
b. People became more cynical about the federal government’s role in economic policy.
c. People because more cynical about the federal government’s role in social policy.
c. People became more confident in the ability of state governments to handle social
policy.
d. People because more confident in the ability of state governments to handle
economic policy.
Which of the following is within the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court?
a. federal criminal matters
b. tax disputes
c. military tribunals
d. controversies between the states
e. property disputes
How has the office of vice president changed over the years?
a. The vice president is no longer trusted as he once was.
b. The vice president, who once was very involved, is now frozen out of the
policy-making process.
c. The vice president has been more involved in the policy-making process in recent
years than in the past.
d. The vice president used to be involved in important tasks, but now spends most of his
time acting as a figurehead.
e. The vice presidency has become a prerequisite for the presidency.
During an election, an incumbent representative might point to local allocations of a
federal highway bill as a reason to be re-elected. This is an example of __________.
a. credit claiming
b. gerrymandering
c. passing the buck
d. redistricting
e. spin control
Why did President Franklin D. Roosevelt create hundreds of new government agencies?
a. to create employment opportunities in a struggling economy
b. to produce the necessary weapons and ammunition to defend the nation
c. to reform the civil service system
d. to regulate business practices and various aspects of the national economy
e. to support Congress in its oversight of the executive and judiciary branches
Which of the following leadership abilities is critical to presidential success?
a. the ability to enter into executive agreements
b. the ability to write legislation
c. the ability to persuade members of Congress and the American public
d. the ability to negotiate treaties
e. the ability to declare war
Discuss three ways the United States could improve voter turnout.
If a white house staffer leaked inside information to you, but only wanted to be referred
to as an unnamed “inside source,” your information attribution would be __________.
Political scientists note that ideologies perform four key functions. After discussing
each function, decide and explain which most affects your own ideology.
The president appoints, but cannot dismiss, officials who serve on __________.
How are nominees to the federal district courts selected?
“If you knew that Candidate X cheated on her taxes, would you vote for her?” is a
question typical of __________.
A scientific poll determines that 60 percent of respondents support relaxation of
gun-control laws. If the margin of error were 4 percent, the actual number of people in
the population selected to be questioned who support relaxation could be as high as
__________ percent.
__________ would prohibit Congress from requiring a president to be Christian in
order to be elected.
The Constitution is vague about the __________ process, even though it remains
Congress’s ultimate oversight of the U.S. president.
Is the right to privacy in the Constitution?
Describe the difference between original and appellate jurisdiction.
Public opinion research demonstrates that more women than men, more black and
Hispanic Americans than white Americans, more Democrats than Republicans, and
more religiously unaffiliated Americans than white evangelical Protestants think that
government should guarantee every citizen enough to eat and a place to sleep. Knowing
what you do about the process of forming political opinions, how do you explain these
differences in political attitudes?