Which of the following statements best defines discouraged workers?
a. People who work in businesses that they created
b. People who took control of businesses from someone else
c. People who work less than forty hours a week
d. People who are ineligible to work in the United States
e. People who have dropped out of the labor force and are no longer looking for a job
Which of the following was a major foreign policy development during the Vietnam
War?
a. Another Cuban Missile Crisis of sorts involving China and the United States
b. An improvement in U.S. foreign policy
c. Despite the backing of the United States, South Vietnam fell to North Vietnam
d. The creation of the U.S. Navy SEALS
e. Border clashes that almost resulted in full-blown nuclear war between the USSR and
Iran
The number of political action committees (PACs)
a. has remained stable since the 1970s.
b. grew after 1976 but declined in the 1990s.
c. grew significantly after 1976 but has leveled off since the 1990s.
d. grew significantly between 1900 and 1950 but leveled off in the 1960s.
e. has grown exponentially since 1976 to more than 20,000 today.
Post Civil War, the doctrine of dual federalism meant
a. a significant increase in the powers of the national government.
b. a “return to normalcy” for many.
c. continued expansion of the North’s wartime powers.
d. allowing the national government to regulate all state actions affecting African
Americans.
e. allowing the state and national governments to interfere in each other’s areas of
influence.
As a result of ______, the number of African American public officials has increased
throughout the United States.
a. improved educational opportunities
b. public-awareness campaigns
c. the Tenth Amendment
d. major civil rights legislation in the 1960s
e. decreasing interest in holding political office among whites
Which type of interest group has probably been more successful in obtaining U.S.
government subsidies than any other?
a. Public safety
b. Environmental
c. Professional
d. Economic
e. Agricultural
In 2012, total campaign spending for ______ reached $2.6 billion.
a. the presidential candidates alone
b. the presidential and congressional candidates
c. all national and state candidates for office combined
d. all national, state, and local candidates for office combined
e. the candidates for governor of California
The key to success for interest groups is
a. using a narrow range of strategies.
b. access to government officials.
c. having a small number of members.
d. having members that are concentrated in one area.
e. focusing on a broad range of issues.
An important function of the House majority leader is to
a. report all legislation to the president.
b. deliver the bill to the White House.
c. provide opposition to the president pro tempore of the Senate.
d. foster cohesion among party members.
e. preside over meetings of the House of Representatives.
The Bush Doctrine supports the strategy of
a. preemptive war.
b. U.S. isolationism.
c. moral idealism.
d. withdrawal from the United Nations.
e. Islamic containment.
Which of the following was NOT true under the Articles of Confederation?
a. Congress was a unicameral assembly.
b. Congress lacked an independent source of revenue.
c. Congress could regulate foreign affairs.
d. The president of the United States was chosen by Congress.
e. Each state possessed a single vote in Congress.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
a. gave the states more control of their schools.
b. established a school voucher system.
c. increased the local school boards’ freedom in evaluating student achievement.
d. increased federal control over education.
e. was enacted by Congress under Democratic President Bill Clinton.
One element of the Mayflower Compact’s historical and political significance was that
it
a. served as a prototype for many similar compacts.
b. shunned all previous forms of government.
c. did not depend on the consent of the affected individuals.
d. established the colony of Massachusetts.
e. was a constitution.
As of 2010, about 50 percent of total health-care spending was paid for by
a. the government.
b. private insurance.
c. individuals.
d. charity.
e. the Health Care for Americans endowment.
Which is an example of an interstate compact?
a. The rules set forth in Article IV of the Constitution
b. The Bill of Rights
c. The Alien and Sedition Acts
d. The Marbury v. Madison decision
e. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
From which of the following sources do American policymakers get a great deal of
their information?
a. Academia
b. Local leaders
c. Family
d. Close associates
e. The media
Standing committees are
a. permanent bodies that are established by the rules of each chamber and that continue
from session to session.
b. committees that handle issues that the most important committees in Congress do not
consider.
c. committees that work with counterparts in the other house of Congress.
d. committees that reconcile differences in an action.
e. committees inside committees, which handle tasks that the main committee has no
time for.
The part of the First Amendment prohibiting the national government from interfering
with religious practices is called the
a. church-state separation clause.
b. diversity clause.
c. free exercise clause.
d. religious freedom clause.
e. establishment clause.
Title III of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946
a. was Congress’ first attempt to control lobbyists and lobbying activities.
b. is also known as the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
c. provided for regulation more than for disclosure.
d. failed to include a definition of “lobbyist.”
e. proved to be very effective.
Most American law is based on
a. the writings of Friedrich Engels.
b. the ideas of Thomas Paine.
c. Roman custom and tradition.
d. the English legal system.
e. the Bible.
Which of the following statements about midterm elections is true?
a. Voter turnout increases in midterm elections.
b. The President’s party will usually gain seats in Congress.
c. Voter turnout falls sharply in midterm elections.
d. The President’s party will always be unaffected by midterm elections.
e. Incumbents are more likely to lose midterm elections.
The policy in admissions or hiring that gives special consideration to traditionally
disadvantaged groups to overcome the present effects of past discrimination is known
as
a. affirmative action.
b. legislative mandate.
c. civil liberties.
d. civil rights.
e. the Lincoln dilemma.
Which of the following documents contained the phrase: “That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of
the Governed…”?
a. Constitution of the United States of America
b. Declaration of Independence
c. Magna Carta
d. United Nations Charter
e. Bill of Rights
What is a plurality system?
a. Whoever gets the most votes wins.
b. Candidates must get more than 50 percent of votes cast to win.
c. Votes are allocated to candidates on a proportional basis.
d. Only parties receiving more than 5 percent of the vote are allocated seats.
e. A party must have competed in a previous election to be placed on the ballot.
The Hatch Act of 1939 is best known for
a. facilitating the growth of political action committees.
b. placing no limit on overall campaign spending.
c. restricting the political activities of civil servants.
d. being the first law designed to regulate campaign financing.
e. its many loopholes and general ineffectiveness.
Which groups are involved in proposing and ratifying amendments to the Constitution?
a. The state legislatures, the president, and Congress
b. The Senate, the Supreme Court, and the House of Representatives
c. Congress, the president, and the people
d. The Senate, the House of Representatives, and the state legislatures
e. The House of Representatives, the president, and the Senate
The people represented by a legislator or other elected or appointed official are called
a. delegates.
b. trustees.
c. constituents.
d. representatives.
e. members.
The term confederation refers to
a. a system in which most power is with the central government.
b. a voluntary association of independent states.
c. a system in which state and local governments have equal power with the central
government.
d. a national legislature.
e. the southern states where slavery was legal.
The law is what ______ says it is at any point in time, generally speaking.
a. the Senate
b. the Supreme Court
c. the president
d. the press
e. the academic community
According to the Thirteenth Amendment,
a. neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States.
b. the states must alter their constitutions to end slavery by making the children of
slaves free, while allowing slavery for existing slaves.
c. all persons “will be treated as total equals from this date forward.”
d. slavery would continue for twenty years, at which time it would be ended.
e. the importation of slaves shall be immediately banned, but slave owners may keep
their existing slaves.