The full faith and credit clause found in Article IV requires that
A) Americans remain faithful to one God and tithe to their church.
B) no state may coin its own currency.
C) states generally honor the laws and rulings of other states.
D) federal courts have the right to resolve issues of state law.
E) all fifty states create a republican form of government.
Party politics were nearly suspended at the national level during the
A) Roaring Twenties.
B) Era of Good Feeling.
C) Progressive era.
D) Populist era.
E) Post-World War II era.
Congressional leaders whose major task is to keep party members in line and track
votes are called
A) party whips.
B) majority leaders.
C) minority leaders.
D) sergeants at arms.
E) president pro tempores.
In 2008, presidential candidates raised
A) more than $100 million.
B) about $100 million each.
C) upwards of $800 million.
D) over $1 billion.
E) over $2 billion.
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
A) has been declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
B) is a law designed to undercut possible state recognition of same-sex marriage.
C) is a program put forth by the Department of Defense that overrides state national
guard regulations.
D) is at direct odds with the extradition clause.
E) is likely to be added as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution.
The major purpose of the federal circuit courts of appeals is to
A) allow for the use of senatorial courtesy.
B) review the decisions of district court judges concerning the facts of a case.
C) correct errors of law and procedure.
D) hear new testimony if necessary.
E) specifically recommend cases to the U.S. Supreme Court.
All of the following were economic events that caused the Great Depression EXCEPT
A) the stock market crash of 1929.
B) a decline in the construction industry.
C) bank failures becoming increasingly common across the country.
D) the federal government overtaking the financial sector.
E) rising automobile inventories.
The first organized political party in the United States was the ____ Party.
A) Democratic-Republican
B) Whig
C) Federalist
D) National Republican
E) Anti-Federalist
You were married in McLennan County, Texas and would like a copy of your marriage
certificate. Which McLennan County official should you contact to obtain a
replacement?
A) County sheriff
B) County clerk
C) Justice of the peace
D) County tax assessor-collector
E) District clerk
President ________ was the first to use radio as a medium to connect with the
American public.
A) Theodore Roosevelt
B) Franklin D. Roosevelt
C) Calvin Coolidge
D) John F. Kennedy
E) Ronald Reagan
Almost all interest group lobbying includes
A) running advertisements.
B) endorsing candidates.
C) contacting government officials.
D) working on election campaigns.
E) talking to the media.
State courts of original jurisdiction where cases begin are called
A) first courts.
B) appellate courts.
C) trial courts.
D) select courts.
E) district courts.
Executive privilege
I. has been defined narrowly by the Supreme Court.
II. is an express power granted to the president in Article II of the Constitution.
III. refers to the entire collection of rights enjoyed by the president.
IV. allows presidents to break the law with impunity.
A) I only
B) I and II
C) I and III
D) II and III
E) II and IV
In ________, the U.S. Supreme Court held that it had the power to review the
constitutionality of acts of Congress.
A) Marbury v. Madison
B) Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee
C) McCulloch v. Maryland
D) Gibbons v. Ogden
E) Hamilton v.Jefferson
Judicial review of state actions was claimed by the U.S. Supreme Court in
A) Marbury v. Madison.
B) Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee.
C) McCulloch v. Maryland.
D) Gibbons v. Ogden.
E) Brown v.Board of Education.
Potential voters may now register by _____ in some jurisdictions.
A) iPhone
B) home telephone
C) credit card
D) email
E) going to other precincts
According to ________ theory, the chosen few make all important decisions in society.
A) oligarchic
B) aristocratic
C) pluralistic
D) elite
E) elitocratic
Critics of the presidential primary argue that
A) the quality of participation in primaries is low.
B) scheduling of primaries does not affect who wins.
C) the media do not play an important role in the process.
D) candidates do not declare for office in time to run in early primaries.
E) primaries attract only the most moderate voters and candidates.
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.
The first president to have a press secretary was
A) Franklin D. Roosevelt.
B) Woodrow Wilson.
C) John F. Kennedy.
D) Calvin Coolidge.
E) Herbert Hoover.
Even though the Spanish explored Texas in the sixteenth century, they did not establish
permanent settlements until
A) the late 1500s.
B) the late 1600s.
C) the mid 1700s.
D) the late 1700s.
E) the early 1800s.
In Texas, the governor has used executive orders primarily for which of the following
two purposes?
A) For emergency management purposes and to involve the governor’s office in policy
issues
B) To order executive actions by state agencies and to make appointments without
Senate approval
C) To override decisions by state regulatory agencies and to fire executive department
heads without Senate approval
D) To mandate the legislative enactments and to veto decisions during a legislative
interim
E) To order investigations by the Attorney General of Texas and to order the
Department of Public Safety to arrest individuals the governor considers a threat
The first truly national interest groups began to emerge in the
A) 1830s.
B) 1860s.
C) 1890s.
D) 1940s.
E) 1960s.
Which president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has had the highest popularity ratings?
A) Ronald Reagan
B) George Bush
C) Bill Clinton
D) George W. Bush
E) John F. Kennedy
Government-sponsored health insurance for the working poor is a hot-button issue for
_________, with 61 percent of the demographic group supporting reform.
A) Hispanics
B) African Americans
C) whites
D) Asian and Pacific Island Americans
E) American Indians
The U.S. presidential election takes place every four years on the
A) first Tuesday in November.
B) second Tuesday in November.
C) the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
D) the Tuesday after the second Monday in November.
E) third Tuesday in November.
The Texas Constitution of 1876 is
A) a liberal constitution.
B) a statutory constitution.
C) a pluralist constitution.
D) an elitist constitution.
E) a legislative constitution.
Which of the following was NOT the subject of a Bush administration executive order?
A) Cloning
B) Stem cell research
C) Military tribunals
D) Federal funding for abortions
E) Presidential Records Act
Which of the following policy areas has the Texas legislature most frequently addressed
over the longest period of time?
A) Public education
B) Electronic voting
C) Global warming
D) Toxic waste
E) Terrorism
Civil suits by citizens from two different states must show that their dispute is worth at
least ________ or more before they can file their claim in federal court.
A) $25,000
B) $50,000
C) $75,000
D) $100,000
E) $125,000
A unitary system of government is found in
A) Canada.
B) Mexico.
C) Russia.
D) Great Britain.
E) Japan.
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 was designed to reduce patronage and was also
known as the
A) Hatch Act.
B) Pendleton Act.
C) Garfield Reform.
D) National Reform Program.
E) Anti-Patronage Act.
George McLaurin, a ________, was the plaintiff hand-selected in a test case
challenging the constitutionality of separate but equal facilities for graduate education.
A) retired postal worker
B) retired university professor
C) plaintiff in Brown v. Board of Education
D) prospective University of Oklahoma medical student
E) retired engineer
The MOST significant difference between 501(c) groups and 527 political committees
is
A) their tax-exempt status.
B) that one involves soft money and the other is hard money.
C) their affiliation with political action committees.
D) their ability to endorse specific candidates.
E) the amount of money they raised in 2008.