During its history as an independent republic and during its early statehood, what was
the economic heart of Texas?
A) Cotton
B) Cattle
C) Oil
D) Manufacturing
E) Land speculation
U.S. defense spending was highest during _____________.
A) the War of Northern Aggression
B) World War II
C) World War I
D) the Vietnam War
E) the George W. Bush administration
Home-rule cities in Texas are sometimes confronted with state statutes enacted to
restrict their self-governing power and special authority. It is unconstitutional, however,
for the legislature to pass a law that targets one specific local governmental entity. The
legislature gets around this restriction with regard to limiting specific home-rule cities
by
A) passing laws that apply to cities in a given population bracket.
B) calling on the governor to use his plenary power to order the city to cease and desist
the activity in question.
C) enacting a amendment to the Texas Constitution (which supersedes statutory law)
limiting the activity in question.
D) petitioning the Texas delegation to Congress to enact federal legislation limiting the
activity in question..
E) requesting a writ of mandamus from the Texas Supreme Court ordering the
home-rule city in question to cease the activity the legislation deems inappropriate.
Currently, most observers believe that al Qaeda is
A) tightly centralized and run from a single headquarters.
B) primarily located in secret locations throughout the United States.
C) a series of concentric circles, with al-Qaeda Central in the innermost circle.
D) eliminated, due to U.S. military power.
E) run by CIA operatives in Saudi Arabia.
Today, a single member of the House of Representatives may represent as many as
_______ citizens.
A) 420,000
B) 620,000
C) 800,000
D) almost 1 million
E) almost 3 million
What is a potential danger of television shows such as The Colbert Report and The
Daily Show?
A) Though news shows, they provide only half-truths.
B) They are run by political pundits, so they lack objectivity.
C) Like Countdown with Keith Olbermann and The O”Reilly Factor, they are “hard
news” shows.
D) The shows are meant for entertainment and social commentary, not as a substitute
for news.
E) They ask citizens to question the actions of their government.
Which of the following is suggestive of the unlikeliness of Texas enacting strong new
environmental initiatives in the near future?
A) Lingering questions within the scientific community about the causes and effects of
global warming
B) The lack of wind energy in Texas
C) The abundance of clean water supplies
D) Arguments by Texas political leaders that federal environmental mandates are no
longer needed
E) The legislature’s traditional hostility to business interests
Which of the following was a reason that abortion laws were changed in the 1960s and
1970s?
I. Babies affected by mothers taking thalidomide
II. A measles outbreak
III. John F. Kennedy made it an issue as a pro-choice president.
IV. The women’s rights movement.
A) I only
B) IV only
C) I, II, and IV
D) I, III, and IV
E) I, II, III, and IV
Why did the Framers include life tenure for federal judges?
A) To attract candidates for the positions
B) To make it more difficult for the president and Congress to agree on good candidates
C) To make judges less likely to be moved by political pressures
D) To ensure that judges would remain ethical while in office
E) To make the judiciary more powerful than Congress or the president
The power to formulate foreign policy belongs to
A) the national government.
B) the states.
C) the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
D) the Supreme Court.
E) the Department of Foreign Policy.
The president has the power to appoint
A) his Cabinet.
B) all federal employees.
C) all legislative branch employees.
D) over 10,000 political appointees.
E) only Supreme Court justices.
The Boston Tea Party is an example of
A) litigation as lobbying.
B) a campaign contribution.
C) illegal protest activity.
D) direct lobbying.
E) the actions of a political party and not an organized group.
The instrument through which parties formulate, convey, and promote public policy is
called
A) the campaign manifesto.
B) the priority agenda.
C) the national party platform.
D) the party banner.
E) the State of the Union Address.
Newspapers
A) remain strong and powerful sources of news for the general public.
B) are largely turning to online-only publications to save money.
C) have been hurt by an array of factors, some to the point that they have shut down.
D) have higher readership than the Internet.
E) are being read increasingly by young Americans.
During the Progressive movement, the closed-party process for nominating candidates
was replaced with
A) caucuses.
B) primary elections.
C) general elections.
D) initiatives.
E) referenda.
The most controversial provisions in House Bill 72, the 1984 education reform law,
were
A) a literacy test for teachers and the “no pass, no play” rule.
B) students must pass “basic skills” and “life skills” tests before graduating.
C) limited class sizes and free pre-kindergarten classes for disadvantaged
four-year-olds.
D) a new three-track system that placed students in college prep, technical, or remedial
classes and year-round schooling.
E) tutorials for failing students and limited high school class sizes.
“Democratic deficit” refers to
A) an increase in regulations and fewer laws by elected officials.
B) the disparity in civil rights between democratic and non-democratic nations.
C) the challenge of bureaucracies around the world gaining power that cannot be
checked by citizens.
D) the economic costs of democratization in nations such as Afghanistan and Iraq.
E) domestic agencies that do not answer to the president.
The Ford Foundation
A) supported the growth of public interest groups.
B) is an example of a business or economic interest group.
C) was created to advance the interests of automobile manufacturers.
D) aims to protect American industry from foreign competition.
E) is a good government group.
If you were to go bankrupt in Texas, which of the following would your creditors have
the most difficult time forcing you to liquidate in order to satisfy your debts?
A) your property
B) your domicile
C) your real estate
D) your assets
E) your stock portfolio
Using slurs toward a transgendered individual is an illegal act under
A) the Second Amendment.
B) the direct incitement test.
C) the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Act.
D) Schenck v. U.S.
E) the fighting words test.
Which of the following best describes the scope of Attorney General Dan Morales’s
interpretation of the Hopwood ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that struck
down the affirmative action admissions system at the University of Texas Law School?
A) Race cannot be used as a preferential factor in admissions to the University of Texas
Law School.
B) Race cannot be used as a preferential factor in admissions to the entire University of
Texas.
C) Race cannot be used as a preferential factor in admissions to any law school in
Texas.
D) Race cannot be used as a preferential factor in admissions to any university in Texas.
E) Race cannot be used as a preferential factor in admissions, scholarships, and other
student programs at any university in Texas.
The No Child Left Behind Act is an example of
A) a block grant.
B) returning power to the states as specified in the Contract with America.
C) a funded mandate.
D) preemption.
E) a categorical grant.
The governor’s most important role is that of
A) identifying pressing problems and proposing solutions.
B) negotiating with the federal government.
C) using the line-item veto.
D) commander-in-chief of the National Guard.
E) chief of party.
Suppose Congress allocated funds to the Central Intelligence Agency to carry out a
new, controversial method of surveillance, and President Barack Obama refused to
spend the money. These actions would be similar to those of President
A) Lyndon B. Johnson.
B) Richard M. Nixon.
C) Gerald R. Ford.
D) Jimmy Carter.
E) Ronald Reagan.
The most important adaptation Anglo farmers and ranchers had to make in order to
survive on the frontier involved defense, which led to the creation of the
A) ranch hand.
B) hired gunslinger.
C) Grange.
D) Texas Rangers.
E) Colt pistol.
The first meeting for women’s rights was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Which of the following is true of the Texas Constitution but not true of the U.S.
Constitution?
A) Based on the principle of popular sovereignty
B) Based on the principle of limited government
C) Based on the social contract theory
D) Contains detailed policy provisions
E) Establishes a bicameral legislature
As president, ________ had his administration file an amicus curiae brief in Brown v.
Board of Education and issue an executive order desegregating the military.
A) Franklin D. Roosevelt
B) Harry S Truman
C) Dwight D. Eisenhower
D) Jimmy Carter
E) John F. Kennedy
The series of 85 political papers written by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James
Madison in support of ratification of the new constitution are called the
A) Pennsylvania Packet.
B) Federalist Papers.
C) Anti-Federalist Papers.
D) Crisis.
E) Common Sense.
The constitution requires all appellate court judges to
A) be at least 40 years old.
B) be no more than 74 years old.
C) have been a practicing attorney or a judge of a court of record for at least 15 years.
D) None of the above
E) All of the above