Describe the ways in which the government is involved in regulating the media. Why is
regulation necessary? What effects does it have on what information we receive?
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
From 1801 to 1835, the Supreme Court was headed by Chief Justice __________.
a. Henry Clay.
b. Samuel Alito.
c. John Jay.
d. John Marshall.
e. Roger Taney.
Divided government is best understood as
a. the situation when a person votes for candidates of two parties for different offices.
b. the situation when the presidency and Congress are controlled by different parties.
c. another name for federalism.
d. increasing the control of the winning party in an election.
e. the indication of a strong party identification among voters.
In 1803, the Supreme Court claimed the power of ______ for itself in Marbury v.
Madison.
a. judicial review
b. constitutional amendment
c. legislative ratification
d. executive review
e. appeal
Independent executive agencies are
a. private organizations.
b. responsible for regulating major aspects of the economy.
c. federal agencies that are not part of a cabinet department, but report directly to the
president.
d. responsible directly to Congress.
e. staffed entirely by political appointees.
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
a. The majority of Hispanic Americans vote Democratic.
b. Cuban Americans are usually Republican.
c. Most Asian American groups lean toward the Democrats.
d. A majority of Muslim Americans of Middle Eastern ancestry voted Republican in
2000.
e. African Americans have voted principally for Democrats since the 1880s.
All of the following are true of the president’s cabinet EXCEPT
a. originally, it consisted of only four officials.
b. they usually have some experience in the area of the cabinet position.
c. they are heads of executive departments.
d. it is thoroughly detailed in the Constitution as to what the cabinet should do.
e. the cabinet is an advisory group selected by the president to aid in making decisions.
Which of the following is true regarding political party membership?
a. One must pay dues to be a member of a political party.
b. An oath of allegiance is required by most political parties from its members.
c. To be a member of a political party, one must be a card-carrying member.
d. Nothing is required to be a member of a political party.
e. One must pass an examination to be a member of a political party.
In the past, terrorism was a strategy typically employed by radicals who
a. wanted to change the status of a particular nation or province.
b. were religiously motivated.
c. were uneducated.
d. did not have clear-cut aims.
e. were part of the al Qaeda network.
The federal system in the United States occurred because of
a. disputes involving freedom of religion.
b. consensus that unitary government threatens liberty.
c. unitary failure.
d. a series of compromises.
e. copying the continental European political model.
Which of the following statements best describes the number of signed opinions issued
by the Supreme Court each term in the twentieth century?
a. They have increased dramatically since the early 1950s.
b. They have hovered around 150 cases since the mid-1980s.
c. They have remained constant since the Civil War.
d. They dwindled notably since the 1980s.
e. They have fallen 50 percent since Barack Obama became president.
Elite theory suggests that
a. elites rely on the input from interest groups within society.
b. governments can control economic policy, but not social institutions.
c. a single ruler from the elite class controls all aspects of the government.
d. people who are not part of the elite class can never enter it.
e. society is ruled by a small number of people who exercise power to further their
self-interest.
All of the following is true about a confederal system EXCEPT
a. it is opposite of a unitary system.
b. it was the form of government used in the United States under the Articles of
Confederation.
c. the central government has only those powers granted to it by the states.
d. it is the form of government used in the United States today.
e. few, if any, true confederations exist.
About 13 percent of all U.S. oil imports come from
a. Venezuela and Iran.
b. Argentina.
c. Canada and Mexico.
d. Russia.
e. Brazil.
The concept of cloture refers to
a. a method used to defeat legislation in Congress.
b. a process that shuts off discussion on a bill in the Senate.
c. closed meetings held by both parties to elect their leadership or resolve other
important issues.
d. action taken by the House Rules Committee that must be approved by the Speaker.
e. the resolution that adjourns Congress.
In 1789, the government’s bureaucracy was
a. nonexistent.
b. miniscule.
c. about half the size it is today.
d. organized around five departments.
e. funded privately by wealthy politicians.
Supreme Court justices are
a. appointed by the Senate.
b. elected every ten years.
c. appointed by the president.
d. confirmed by the House of Representatives.
e. elected in the same manner as federal court judges.
All of the following regarding women’s rights is false EXCEPT
a. women first started agitating for equal rights in 1970.
b. women’s rights are listed in the Constitution.
c. women have had to struggle for equality just like African Americans and other
minorities.
d. the first political right that women fought for was for the right to make a decision
about military service.
e. women started struggling first for anti-sexual-harassment laws.
Legislation to reform the regulation of federal lobbying in 1995 resulted in all of the
following EXCEPT
a. lobbyists were forced to register.
b. lobbying efforts had to be disclosed in semiannual reports.
c. the Senate adopted a flat ban on gifts provided by lobbyists.
d. a lobbyist was defined as someone who spent at least 20 percent of his or her time
lobbying Congress, their staffs, or executive-branch officials.
e. the House adopted a flat ban on gifts provided by lobbyists.
What does each poltical party use to determine which delegates may participate in the
national convention?
a. A grassroots coalition
b. A caucus committee
c. A credentials committee
d. A secret ballot
e. A “beauty contest”
Who wrote drafts of the Declaration of Independence before the American Revolution
formally started?
a. John Locke
b. John Adams
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. George Washington
e. Benjamin Franklin
How many employees are there in the federal bureaucracy, excluding members of the
armed forces?
a. 200,000
b. 500,000
c. 1 million
d. 2.7 million
e. 14 million
The collective term for the body of employees working for the government, generally
understood to apply to all those who gain employment through a merit system, is
a. civil service employees.
b. political appointees.
c. the political rank-and-file.
d. the nonpartisan employee pool.
e. the bureaucratic troops.
In order for the President to veto a law, he
a. must propose an alternative bill to Congress.
b. cannot veto again until ten days have passed.
c. must have the approval of the leadership of both houses of Congress.
d. must return the bill to Congress with a veto message.
e. does it free of being overridden by Congress.
Shortly after September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush issued an executive order
authorizing the ______ to conduct secret surveillance without court warrants.
a. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE)
b. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
c. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
d. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
e. National Security Agency (NSA)
In Reno v. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Supreme Court ruled
that aliens have
a. the right to object to deportation only if they have been in the United States for ten
years or more.
b. the right to object to deportation only if they have children born in the United States.
c. no Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure.
d. no First Amendment rights to object to deportation.
e. all the First Amendment rights granted to U.S. citizens.
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. choosing a specific policy proposal from among the alternatives that have been
discussed.
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.
Which of the following is NOT one of the four major types of structures within the
executive branch?
a. Independent regulatory agencies
b. Cabinet departments
c. Privatized bureaucracies
d. Government corporations
e. Independent executive agencies
Labor, Agriculture, and Interior are examples of
a. cabinet departments.
b. government corporations.
c. independent regulatory agencies.
d. independent executive agencies.
e. corporations subject to regulation.
A political party is a group of political activists who
a. agree on all policy issues.
b. organize to win elections, operate the government, and determine public policy.
c. pay monthly dues to an ideological organization.
d. have been previously elected to office.
e. organize to stage protests.
Private opinion becomes public opinion when
a. that opinion, regardless of its subject matter, is publicly expressed.
b. it is publicly expressed and concerns public issues.
c. an individual is polled by a major polling organization.
d. it is not divided.
e. it is articulated to at least ten other people.
A majority of the bills that Congress acts on originate
a. in congressional committees.
b. with constituents from the district or state.
c. in the executive branch.
d. with individual members of Congress.
e. with focus groups.
In 2011 in Egypt and Tunisia, regime change finally came when
a. soldiers resorted to violence against demonstrators.
b. the populace became more educated.
c. international governments intervened.
d. the rulers lost legitimacy.
e. the rulers lost authority.
Which of the following statements is true of policy evaluation?
a. After a policy has been implemented, it is often challenged in the Supreme Court.
b. Policy evaluation is just an academic exercise and has no real-world consequences.
c. Groups inside and outside government conduct studies to determine how the program
actually works after a policy has been in place for a period of time.
d. By 2013, the health-care reforms had been thoroughly evaluated.
e. After a period of evaluation, the president implements and executes the law.
Compare the two impeachment occurrences in U.S. history with the near-impeachment
of President Nixon. Should any of the three Presidents involved have been impeached
and convicted? Why or why not?
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Describe the legislation affecting whistleblowers. How much protection does it offer?
Why should whistleblowers be protected?
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Do you believe that pluralism theory or elite theory is the more accurate description of
American politics? Why?
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Explain the process by which the United States Supreme Court decides to hear cases.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Explain how the United States Supreme Court decides cases and explains its decisions.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
How can the continued existence of a representative democracy be guaranteed?
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Analyze the two Iraq wars in terms of both causes and consequences, and assess the
impact of both on the future of the Middle East.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Compare and contrast the trustee and instructed-delegate theories of representation.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Identify and describe the different types of committees and their functions, and assess
their function in the lawmaking process.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Explain agency capture and give some examples. What are the negative consequences
of agency capture? How can it be prevented?
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Define slander and libel and describe the differences between them. Discuss how the
protections against them are applied differently to different members of society.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Did the founders intend the United States to be a Christian nation? Describe both sides
of the argument.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Is it legitimate that the United States Supreme Court possesses the power of judicial
review? Why, or why not?
Answer:Students’ answers may vary
Analyze the president’s functions as party chief and superpolitician.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Explain the role that China has come to play in the world. How should the United States
interact with China in the future?
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Explain how the civil service came to be what it is today.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Contrast government corporations with their private-sector counterparts. Should the
Federal Government privatize government corporations? Why or why not?
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.
Define issue networks, and assess whether they are a positive or negative influence on
the general welfare of the country.
Answer:Students’ answers may vary.