Which of the following statements best explain why the representation function is often
a source of conflict for individual lawmakers?
a. The interests of constituents in a specific district may be at odds with the demands of
national policy.
b. The laws they make might be what their constituents want.
c. Trading votes might be useful in getting constituents what they need.
d. The House often helps the Senate members meet the needs of constituents.
e. The President often meddles in the affairs of individual states or House districts.
A sustained rise in the general price level of goods and services is called
a. a Keynesian economy.
b. “hidden unemployment.”
c. inflation.
d. a depression.
e. a recession.
Which of the following BEST describes public opinion?
a. When a number of people generally feel the same way about something
b. Polling data
c. How people feel about something
d. What people think
e. The aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of the adult
population
Redistricting is
a. the allocation of seats in the House to each state after each census.
b. the redrawing of district boundaries within each state.
c. a court order to hold new elections because of voting irregularities.
d. altering a legislative formula that apportions spending among the states.
e. an illegal method used by parties to gain political advantage.
An interest group is
a. any association of individuals.
b. an organized group of individuals who want to gain control of the government.
c. an organized group of individuals sharing common objectives who actively attempt
to influence policymakers.
d. any organization that requires members to pay dues.
e. an organized group of individuals who support a specific candidate for public office.
As detailed in the Constitution, the formal requirements for the office of senator include
that he or she must be
a. a citizen for at least seven years.
b. a natural-born citizen.
c. a resident of the state from which elected.
d. a resident of a different state from the president.
e. at least twenty-five years old.
Immigrants who are not yet citizens possess
a. all the same civil rights as U.S. citizens.
b. all the civil rights granted to them by their home country, plus most of the rights
granted to U.S. citizens.
c. fewer civil rights than any other identifiable group in the United States.
d. more civil rights than American Indians.
e. no civil rights.
The body of judge-made law that originated in England from decisions shaped
according to prevailing custom is known as
a. administrative regulations.
b. criminal law.
c. judicial maxims.
d. common law.
e. statutory law.
Inherent powers derive from the fact that the United States is
a. a democratic republic.
b. a confederation formed by state governments.
c. a sovereign power among nations.
d. a federal system.
e. explicitly entitled by the Constitution to annex new territory.
Since 1977, four out of five immigrants to the United States come from
a. Latin America or Europe.
b. Asia or Africa.
c. Latin America or Asia.
d. Europe or Asia.
e. Africa or Latin America.
The modern movement for gay and lesbian rights began
a. when gay veterans of World War II organized in the 1950s.
b. with the growth of the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1960s.
c. in 1969, following the Stonewall Inn incident.
d. in 1986, with a campaign against sodomy laws.
e. in 1996, with the campaign for same-sex marriage.
Explain the problem of nuclear proliferation in relation to Iran and North Korea.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Political socialization is
a. what people think about something.
b. the process by which people acquire political beliefs and attitudes.
c. when people’s beliefs and attitudes give politicians an idea of when to address those
issues.
d. when people are categorized based on what they believe.
e. when people generally agree on an issue.
A nonviolent, public refusal to obey allegedly unjust laws is called
a. pacifism.
b. civil disobedience.
c. criminal disobedience.
d. defensible criminality.
e. taking the moral high ground.
A major power that Congress has over the federal bureaucracy is the
a. authority to select high-level bureaucrats.
b. power to refuse to appropriate funds for a particular agency.
c. authority to fire bureaucrats for not executing policy passed by Congress.
d. power to find agency actions unconstitutional.
e. power to appoint agency heads.
In 1918, the Supreme Court ruled that an earlier national law banning child labor was
unconstitutional, because
a. the rights of children are no different from those of adults.
b. it attempted to regulate a local problem.
c. it gave too much discretion to states.
d. it was unenforceable.
e. it interfered with national security.
Which of the following best defines deficit spending?
a. When the government receives more than it spends.
b. When the government spends more than it receives
c. When the government controls the amount of money in the economy
d. When the government buys Treasury securities
e. When the government decreases marginal tax rates
Which of the following best describes political trust?
a. People identifying themselves as Democrats, Republicans, or independents
b. Degree to which individuals express trust in political institutions
c. Everyone having the right to vote
d. People’s thinking about somethings.
e. Huge majority of Americans demanding the nation do something about a given issue
Which of the following statements best describes the role of the United States
Constitution?
a. The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land, with the exception of
presidential mandates.
b. The United States Constitution is also considered case law.
c. The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
d. The United States Constitution is limited by statutes that are passed by legislatures.
e. The United States Constitution is less powerful than state constitutions.
What has resulted from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster?
a. The Environmental Protection Agency announced it would no longer inspect oil
facilities.
b. Senate Democrats championed legislation promoting the expansion of new drilling
sites.
c. House Republicans introduced legislation promoting a variety of new green-energy
initiatives.
d. A temporary moratorium on new offshore drilling was instituted.
e. Foreign oil imports were banned.
A procedure used by the Supreme Court in determining which cases it will hear is
called ______, after the number of justices who must vote to grant a petition for review.
a. the rule of four
b. the gang of four
c. the sign of four
d. the rule of six
e. the sign of five
Which of the following is true about signing statements?
a. They are written declarations that a president may make when signing a bill into law
regarding the law’s enforcement.
b. They can only be used to make rhetorical statements.
c. They cannot be used to praise or denounce political parties.
d. They were used frequently in the nineteenth century, but are rarely used today.
e. They were used by President Reagan to make more sweeping claims on behalf of
presidential power than any other president.
The fertility rate is best defined as the average number of children
a. born to each family during a given year.
b. born during a specified census period.
c. women in a particular group will have during a given year.
d. women in a particular group will have over a lifetime.
e. born in relation to the average number of deaths in a given year.
Enacted in 1963, the ______ requires employers to provide equal pay for substantially
equal work.
a. Gender Equality Act
b. Equal Pay Act
c. Civil Rights Act
d. Equal Pay for Women Policy
e. Equal Rights Amendment
As one aspect of overall foreign policy, ______ concerns itself with the defense of the
United States against actual or potential future enemies.
a. diplomacy
b. preemptive policy
c. anticipatory policy
d. national security policy
e. domestic policy
One of the most powerful agencies in Washington, the _______ assembles the budget
documents and monitors federal agencies throughout each year.
a. Council of Economic Advisers
b. Senate Budget Committee
c. Department of Budget and Commerce
d. House Ways and Means Committee
e. Office of Management and Budget
An international agreement with the head of a foreign state made by the president
without Senate approval is
a. a treaty.
b. an executive agreement.
c. a signing statement.
d. constitutionally required to be funded by Congress.
e. subject to expiration after one year.
Measured by percentage of GDP devoted to health care, the United States spends
a. less than it did in 1965.
b. about as much as Japan.
c. about as much as Britain.
d. almost twice as much as Britain or Japan.
e. more than all other countries combined.
During its first term, the Roberts Court
a. accepted few controversial cases for review.
b. accepted many controversial cases for review.
c. began a leftward drift.
d. struck down a federal law banning partial-birth abortion.
e. struck down the use of lethal injection as an execution method.
All of the following statements regarding federal mandates are true EXCEPT
a. requirements in federal legislation have been passed that force states to comply with
certain rules.
b. the Federal Government has mandated that states take action with respect to voter
registration.
c. federal mandates always are accompanied by federal funding.
d. an Act of Congress requires the Congressional Budget Office to identify mandates
that cost more than $50 million to implement.
e. states may not ignore federal mandates.