A constitutional amendment can be ratified by
a. a positive vote in conventions in three-fourths of the states.
b. a positive vote in the legislatures of three-fourths of the states.
c. a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress.
d. the legislatures in two-thirds of the states.
e. Options A and B are true.
Voters who frequently move their support from one party to the other are known as
a. split-ticket voters.
b. swing voters.
c. unattached independents.
d. wedge voters.
e. None of the above.
Television and cable networks have begun to
a. self-regulate by reimplementing the principles of the fairness doctrine.
b. lose viewers back to traditional media like newspapers.
c. allow opinion-based programs like those found in talk radio.
d. eliminate opinion journalism from their programming.
e. None of the above.
If we chose candidates through a “top two” bipartisan primary election
a. candidates would have to appeal to a wider range of public opinion.
b. it would increase voter participation.
c. the major political parties might lose some of their influence.
d. it would be the end of the open primary system.
e. All of the above are true.
All of the following are true about labor unions except
a. the number of members in labor unions has been declining.
b. American labor unions continue to support candidates for Congress.
c. labor unions provide volunteers for campaigns and campaign contributions.
d. a large turnout of union members will increase the final vote totals for Republicans.
e. there has been a growth in the unionization of public employees.
The right to vote
a. has been expanded since the writing of the Constitution.
b. has not been extended to those without property.
c. has been given to aliens as long as they are registered to vote.
d. can never be taken away.
e. is taken away if one doesn”t vote in five elections.
One of the important differences between public bureaucracies and private corporations
is that government bureaucracies
a. are not organized to make a profit, whereas private corporations are.
b. have a single set of leaders, whereas private corporations do not.
c. are much larger than private corporations.
d. are not intended to serve the citizenry as private corporations are.
e. present an opportunity for career advancement, whereas private corporations do not.
Harold Lasswell defined politics as
a. the allocation of benefits in society.
b. the way conflict in society is solved.
c. who gets what, when, and how.
d. promoting equality among citizens.
e. None of the above is true.
Restraints on the actions of government against individuals are known as
a. civil rights.
b. civil liberties.
c. civil freedoms.
d. the libertarian contract.
e. None of the above.
Public opinion supports
a. the general idea of paying more for education.
b. increasing the spending per student to more than the current $12,922 per year.
c. spending more on education across political parties.
d. the idea that U.S. public schools are doing a good job in educating our children.
e. All of the above are true.
The principle that speech may be restricted if such expression might lead to some “evil”
is
a. no prior restraint.
b. the clear and present danger test.
c. the imminent lawless action test.
d. the bad tendency rule.
e. the Lemon test.
If you are a guest in a place being legally searched, you
a. have the right to refuse to being searched.
b. may be legally searched.
c. may be compelled to come to the police station.
d. Both A and C.
e. None of the above.
A person who is represented by an elected representative or other political appointee is
called a(n)
a. registered voter.
b. eligible voter.
c. constituent.
d. apportioned citizen.
e. None of the above.
In the 1960s and 1970s, women’s groups became divided over issues including
a. the Equal Rights Amendment.
b. pornography.
c. abortion rights.
d. Options A and C are true.
e. All of the above are true.
Judicial interpretations of common law principles and doctrines, constitutional law,
statutory law, and administrative law is
a. called case law.
b. called judicial review.
c. a power of federal but not state courts.
d. a power of state but not federal courts.
e. not permitted of any court in the United States.
All of the following are enumerated or expressed powers except the power to
a. impose a variety of taxes.
b. coin money.
c. declare war.
d. create a national bank.
e. establish post offices.
Policy formulation is
a. the process of making the government aware that an issue requires action.
b. the discussion of proposals between governmental officials and the public.
c. the process of deciding on a specific proposal.
d. concerned with the implementation of policy by bureaucrats, the courts, police, and
individual citizens.
e. the process of examining how a policy has worked in practice.
The primary goal of an American political party is
a. peaceably influencing the American public.
b. signing up large numbers of deeply committed members.
c. getting the party’s candidates elected to office by winning elections.
d. collecting member dues.
e. trying to find the other party doing “bad” things.
Which campaign financing reform was best known for restricting the political activities
of civilservants?
a. Corrupt Practices Act
b. Federal Election Campaign Act
c. Supreme Court decision in Buckley v. Valeo
d. Hatch Act
e. McCain-Feingold Act
The Court has based the right to privacy on
a. the First Amendment.
b. the Third and Fourth Amendments.
c. the Fifth Amendment.
d. the Ninth Amendment.
e. All of the above are true.
Amtrak, the U.S. Postal Service, and the FDIC are examples of
a. cabinet departments.
b. independent executive agencies.
c. independent regulatory agencies.
d. government corporations
e. private corporations.
Conservatives endorse all of the following except
a. a limited role for the national government in helping individuals.
b. government action to support traditional values.
c. patriotism.
d. redistribution of income.
e. the belief that the individual is responsible for his or her own well-being.
The makeup of dominant voices of interest groups toward Congress tends to support
a. an elite theory of politics.
b. a pluralist theory of politics.
c. a direct democracy.
d. Both A and B.
e. Both B and C.
Almost all of the support for creating voter ID laws has come from
a. Republicans.
b. Democrats.
c. libertarians.
d. socialists.
e. None of the above.
Goals of the al Qaeda terrorist network have apparently included
a. getting U.S. forces out of countries in the Middle East.
b. ending U.S. support for Egypt.
c. independence for the Basque region of Spain.
d. getting Turkish forces out of Cyprus.
e. forcing the United States to withdraw troops from South Korea.
A two-party system
a. is one in which there are only two legal parties.
b. is one in which only two parties have a reasonable chance of winning.
c. is one in which control of government is divided between two political parties.
d. tends to exist mostly in European democracies.
e. Both A and D.
Competitive federalism can cause
a. states to compete for business investment.
b. financial pressures as states try to respond to demands for services.
c. state revenue shortfalls for essential programs like pension funds.
d. states to cooperate for business investment.
e. Options A, B, and C are true.
A poll tax was used to
a. prevent northern immigrants from moving to the South and voting in local elections.
b. determine who was intelligent enough to vote.
c. dissuade African Americans and poor whites from voting.
d. force individuals to buy property in order to be eligible to vote.
e. raise funds for voter registration among the minority community.
According to the ___________, the Speaker of the House of Representatives assumes
the presidency when both the presidency and vice presidency are vacant.
a. Second Article of the Constitution
b. Presidential Succession Act of 1947
c. Congressional Joint Resolution on Presidential Succession
d. Twelfth Amendment
e. Twenty-Fifth Amendment
The qualifications required to be a state governor are
a. to be a natural-born citizen within state residency.
b. to be a citizen aged 30 years or older.
c. to be a citizen, aged 30 years or older, within state residency.
d. to be a natural-born citizen, aged 30 years or older, within state residency.
e. varied because they are set by the separate state constitutions.
A campaign advisor who tries to convince journalists of the truth of a particular
interpretation of events is called a
a. news consultant.
b. flip-flopper.
c. spin doctor.
d. fact checker.
e. win engineer.
The clause in the Constitution that grants Congress the power to do whatever is
necessary to execute its enumerated or expressed powers is called
a. the elastic or necessary and proper clause.
b. the supremacy clause.
c. the concurrent clause.
d. the reserved powers clause.
e. the due process clause.
In recent years
a. businesspersons have moved toward supporting the Democrats.
b. professionals with advanced degrees have moved toward supporting the Democrats.
c. businesspersons have remained largely Democratic.
d. professionals with advanced degrees have remained largely Republican.
e. it has become clear that there is no relationship between whether a person is a
businessperson or a professional and the party he or she will endorse.
Discuss two different categories of economic interest groups and contrast these groups
with public interest groups.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
The process of amending the U.S. Constitution is an intentionally difficult one. Yet
those in each branch of government have found ways in which the Constitution can be
changed informally. Describe the methods, both formal and informal, of constitutional
change.
Answer:
Students’ answers may vary.
Compare the features of two different types of primary elections and craft an argument
in support of one of these.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Explain the idea of a minority-majority district and discuss the effects of this practice
and why it may or may not be constitutional.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Discuss the principle of net neutrality and argue whether such a principle should or
should not be enforced by law.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Explain the factors that make an interest group powerful.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Compare the president’s veto power to the pocket veto and line-item veto. What are the
strengths and weaknesses of each?
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Assess the advantages and disadvantages of a nation having a substantial immigrant
population.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Discuss the ways in which the political participation and affiliation of federal
employees has changed under the spoils system, the Hatch Act, and the 1993 Federal
Employees Political Activities Act.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Compare the features of federalism with one other form of government (unitary or
confederal) and craft an argument in which you demonstrate why one of these styles of
government is superior.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Under which circumstances is the government able to interfere with freedom of speech?
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Evaluate the roles of size, leadership, and cohesiveness in interest group power and
argue which of these you believe to be the most important and why.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Discuss the issue of incarceration rates in the United States and how they relate to the
rates of crime in American society.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Detail the qualifications for someone to become president of the United States and
discuss the implications these qualifications have on the candidates we choose.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Evaluate the role of the media in setting the public agenda and argue whether you think
it is good or bad for them to have this power.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.