A writ of __________ is a request submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court to review a
lower court decision.
a. mandamus
b. prohibition
c. capias
d. attachment
e. certiorari
Democrats no longer use the winner-take-all primary because __________.
a. it cost too much to implement
b. it increased the influence of special interests
c. it was generally less representative
d. it made the nomination process too lengthy
e. it pulled candidates too far to the political left
The Gallop organization predicts that Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, wins
the 2016 presidential election with 61 percent of the popular vote. If Cuomo actually
wins by capturing 49 percent of the popular vote, to which factor, more than the others,
would you attribute the discrepancy, given what you know about how successful Gallup
has been in making presidential predictions?
a. the presence of a prominent female candidate
b. the presence of a prominent third-party candidate
c. the age of a major-party candidate
d. the religion of a major-party candidate
e. the absence of grassroots action
Which of the following was a problem under the Articles of Confederation?
a. The national government was too strong compared to the states.
b. The government derived its power from the citizens themselves.
c. Congress imposed excessive taxes.
d. Citizens lacked a national identity.
e. Amendments to the Articles were too easy to ratify.
The annual shortfall between federal revenues and expenditures is known as which of
the following?
a. the balance of payments
b. the budget deficit
c. the expenditure difference
d. the national debt
e. the trade deficit.
The ability of an office holder to fend off challenges from quality challengers is known
as the __________.
a. detain-off effect
b. max-out effect
c. run-out effect
d. scare-off effect
e. take-off effect
In spite of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women in the early twenty-first century still earn
less than men, which led President Barack Obama to sign which of the following?
a. the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Act
b. Title IX
c. the Susan B. Anthony Act
d. the Civil Rights Act of 2009
e. the Lilly Ledbetter Act
To which of the following does Article III give the power to create inferior federal
courts?
a. Congress
b. the president
c. the Supreme Court
d. the states
e. the people
You are the leader of an environmental organization working to address the problem of
climate change. Given the free rider problem, what would be the most effective way to
get others to join your cause?
a. Describe the harmful consequences of global warming.
b. Explain how future generations will benefit from enacting climate change legislation.
c. Offer an incentive, such as a t-shirt, to those who join the campaign.
d. Publicly criticize those who don”t join the campaign.
e. Circulate a petition on the Internet.
Why is diplomacy often preferred over use of the military to settle foreign policy
disagreements?
a. Diplomacy is more likely to be successful.
b. Diplomacy is more likely to lead to military alliances.
c. Diplomacy is more likely to lead to isolationism.
d. Diplomacy is less likely to lead to war.
e. Diplomacy is less likely to be appropriate for trade disagreements.
Through 2012, only __________ African Americans and four women have served on
the Supreme Court.
a. two
b. four
c. six
d. eight
e. ten
According to the trustee model of representation, legislators are __________.
a. obligated to follow a strict interpretation of the Constitution
b. obligated to present the views of their constituents
c. obligated to use their own opinions in decision making
d. trusted by their constituents because they are natives of their home districts
e. trusted to choose between their own opinions and the views of their constituents
Which of these resulted from President Roosevelt’s New Deal?
a. The federal government cut Social Security benefits because it lacked adequate
funds.
b. The federal government created Social Security and Aid to Families with Dependent
Children.
c. The states assumed new responsibilities for the management of national economic
matters.
d. The federal government devolved responsibility for solving the economic crisis to the
states.
e. The federal government took a laissez-faire approach when dealing with economic
matters.
When they become ten or eleven, what political opinion of Democratic presidents
would you expect of children raised in politically active Republican households?
a. that they would be indifferent to Democratic presidents
b. that they would have roughly the same feelings toward Democratic presidents as
Republican ones
c. that they would be more skeptical of Democratic presidents than Republican ones
d. that they would, because of the liberalizing effect of age, be less skeptical of
Democratic presidents than Republican ones
e. that they would, because of the increasing influence of their peer group, adopt the
attitudes of their peers toward Democratic presidents
A law that classified people according to __________ would be given strict scrutiny by
the Supreme Court to determine its constitutionality.
a. race
b. age
c. disability
d. gender
e. sexual orientation
Which part of the Constitution contains limitations on state powers?
a. Article I, Section 2
b. Article I, Section 10
c. Article IV, Section 1
d. Article IV, Section 3
e. Article VI
How do the rational basis and the intermediate standard of review differ?
a. The rational basis standard requires an important governmental objective for
classification; the intermediate standard requires the classification to be necessary.
b. The rational basis standard applies only to racial classifications; the intermediate
standard applies to gender and sexual orientation classifications.
c. The intermediate standard of review is applied to a broader array of classifications
than the rational basis standard.
d. It is easier for the government to demonstrate that there is a rational basis for a law
than to meet the requirements of the intermediate standard.
e. Those who dislike a law will have an easier time getting it overturned if the Supreme
Court applies the intermediate standard instead of the rational basis test.
The most visible instrument that parties use to formulate, convey, and promote public
policy is __________.
a. its articles
b. its constitution
c. its platform
d. its procedural document
e. its regulations
Which of the following is an example of a bureaucratic organization?
a. the Department of Defense
b. the U.S. House of Representatives
c. the U.S. Supreme Court
d. the Democratic Party
e. the Maryland state legislature
What was the foreign policy of containment designed to prevent?
a. nuclear proliferation
b. the spread of communism
c. terrorism
d. epidemics and pandemics
e. the Cold War
How do independent regulatory commissions differ from independent agencies?
a. Independent regulatory commissions are subject to presidential oversight.
b. Commissioners can be more easily removed from office than agency heads.
c. Commissioners are more difficult to remove from office than agency heads.
d. Commissions engage in rule-making, whereas agencies do not.
e. Commissions engage in enforcement, whereas agencies do not.
Bloggers, television news anchors, and radio hosts all have what in common?
a. popularity with liberal consumers
b. popularity with young consumers
c. preference for investigative journalism
d. tendency to be Republicans
e. tendency toward coverage bias
Which of the following was appointed by President George W. Bush?
a. Justice Alito
b. Justice Kagan
c. Justice Thomas
d. Justice Ginsburg
e. Justice Scalia
Which of the following generally is unconstitutional in school?
a. fighting
b. a weapon
c. free speech
d. prayer
e. punishment
Which of the following best characterizes the federal budget process?
a. complicated
b. effective
c. fair
d. fast
e. streamlined
Which of the following were most likely to oppose the proposed Constitution?
a. lawyers
b. merchants
c. bankers
d. plantation owners
e. farmers
In terms of speaking to the press on behalf of Congress, __________ command center
stage when subjects in their domain are newsworthy, occasionally achieving fame.
a. interns
b. key committee chairs
c. local senators and representatives
d. whips
e. press secretaries
Why did southern states enact poll taxes?
a. to raise revenue for the government
b. to ensure that only people who really want to vote would do so
c. to get around the Fifteenth Amendment
d. to enfranchise former slaves
e. because literacy is necessary for democracy to function
Lowering the discount rate would have which of the following effects?
a. It would decrease the amount of bonds sold to multinational corporations.
b. It would discourage banks from increasing their borrowing from the Federal Reserve.
c. It would encourage banks to borrow more and to extend more loans at lower rates.
d. It would increase the amount of federal bonds sold to foreign countries.
e. It would decrease the overall rate of taxation for investment banks.
Which is an example of an unfunded mandate?
a. Congress passes a law requiring all nuclear power plants to revise and strengthen
their safety protocols.
b. Congress passes a law requiring all states to adopt a sex offender registry system
categorizing offenders based on conviction, not future threat.
c. The Environmental Protection Agency sends money to Louisiana to help with
cleanup from the gulf oil spill.
d. The Nevada legislature passes a law requiring all public school teachers to spend
twenty hours per week preparing students for the state achievement test.
e. The Supreme Court upholds a federal law requiring all citizens to wear a seatbelt
while operating a motor vehicle.
The authority to be the first court to hear a case is which type of jurisdiction?
a. appellate
b. constitutional
c. federal
d. original
e. trial
What are the two types of jurisdiction courts can have?
a. original and appellate
b. trial and appeals
c. constitutional and statutory
d. active and restrained
e. legislative and constitutional
What is a system of government in which members of the polity meet to discuss all
policy decisions and then agree to abide by majority rule?
a. oligarchy
b. direct democracy
c. monarchy
d. tyranny
e. democracy
How do departments differ from independent agencies?
a. Department heads are appointed by the president; agency heads are not.
b. Agency heads are part of the president’s cabinet; department heads are not.
c. Department heads are part of the president’s cabinet; agency heads are not.
d. Departments cover a wider range of functions than agencies.
e. Agencies are typically larger than and include several departments.
You are in a political science class. There is an argument about how to define the target
population for a survey to determine if families with children would use school
vouchers to send their children to charter schools. From which of the following
populations should you select a sample?
a. women with children
b. married or divorced women with school-age children
c. mothers with children under age 18
d. parents
e. parents of children under age 18
The Twenty-First Amendment was the only amendment to be ratified through special
__________ conventions.
The __________ campaign is aimed at winning the primary election.
Briefly describe three major activities of political parties.
Distinguish between independent agencies and independent regulatory commissions. Be
sure to provide examples of each.
Describe the informal powers of the president.
The purpose of the __________ was to prohibit federal employees from engaging in
partisan political activities.
__________ decides who shall be recognized to speak on the House floor, and rules on
points of order (with advice from the parliamentarian), among other responsibilities.
Congress may override a presidential veto with a(n) __________ vote in each chamber.
Compare the spoils system to the federal civil service system in terms of how each has
influenced the performance of the federal bureaucracy.
Discuss the role of bureaucratic agencies in adjudication, or quasi-judicial processes.
If a person wanted to predict your vote, the most powerful piece of information would
be your __________.
A __________ is a binding and public agreement between the United States and one or
more nations, requiring mutual action toward a common goal.
The Literary Digest, a popular magazine that first began national presidential polling in
1916, was a pioneer in the use of the __________.
Describe the strict constructionist (or original intent) judicial philosophy.