Commerce was the most common initial reason for settlement in North America.
What function is served by the U.S. Voting Rights Act?
A) Promoting efficient national voting procedures
B) Establishing a uniform national voting system
C) Enforcing the federal oversight responsibility of elections in the state
D) Protecting civil rights
E) Enhancing the power of the majority party in control of Congress at a given time
Historically, vice presidents were selected as presidential running mates to
A) balance the ticket.
B) provide for an excellent successor in the event of the president’s death.
C) provide the president with policy expertise.
D) be close advisers to the president.
E) serve as the president’s equal partner in running the nation.
In Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, the Supreme Court ruled that ________ was/were not
protected by the First Amendment.
A) obscenity
B) libel
C) fighting words
D) slander
E) child pornography
The Enabling Act and Militia Bill allowed Governor Davis to
A) resign with dignity.
B) call for elections to select district attorneys, district clerks, sheriffs, mayors, and
other local officials.
C) be controlled by the state police.
D) use the line-item veto power.
E) become more powerful.
All of the following are generally state issues EXCEPT
A) currency circulation.
B) divorce.
C) child custody.
D) death penalty.
E) marriage age.
The 2008 Republican Party Convention was unusual in that it
A) showcased extremist or even radical Republicans.
B) featured many speakers from the Democratic Party.
C) featured speeches from all of the Republican primary candidates.
D) attempted to brand the party as liberal.
E) did not include speeches from the incumbent Republican president and vice
president.
When might the United States be most likely to engage in protectionism?
A) During a period of economic prosperity
B) When the country is not engaged in military activity
C) During a period of economic recession
D) When the president is interested in global trade
E) When Americans want cheap foreign goods
Debate among political historians continues over the motives of the Framers. Charles
Beard argues that the men in Philadelphia were
A) all patriots who had fought in the war.
B) largely farmers who favored existing arrangements.
C) worried that slavery was having a negative impact on trade relations with other
nations.
D) concerned with establishing a direct democracy.
E) concerned that the Articles failed to protect the interests of the business class.
The most politically cohesive religious group has been ______ voters.
A) Protestant
B) Catholic
C) Muslim
D) Jewish
E) Hindu
Suppose a presidential candidate is a staunch advocate of dissolving the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). He or she is likely to change this stance if public opinion
does not support the EPA’s dissolution.
The Senate has often been referred to as the
A) Kitchen Cabinet.
B) Millionaires Club.
C) Effete Elite.
D) White Guys Club.
E) Melting Pot.
In general, Congress has experienced _______ in/of its authority over time.
A) growth
B) decline
C) redefinition
D) no change
E) a near obliteration
Of the following components of the Great Compromise, which concept is derived from
the Virginia Plan?
I. A bicameral legislature
II. Three branches of government
III. Supremacy of the national government
IV. Giving the U.S. House of Representatives the power to originate spending bills
A) III only
B) I and II
C) I, II, and IV
D) I, II, and III
E) I, II, III, and IV
Which of the following is the BEST example of American government promoting the
general welfare of its citizens?
A) The invention of Velcro
B) The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
C) Nullifying Bush administration guidelines of Title IX
D) Cutting education spending
E) Changing the terms of student loans
The U.S. Constitution MOST likely did not put the responsibility of education on the
federal government because
A) the Framers did not trust a government education system.
B) Benjamin Franklin’s plan, which strongly supported nationalized education, was met
with strong opposition from James Madison.
C) individual colonies had already developed their own education systems that met
local needs.
D) the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established a rudimentary educational plan for the
country.
E) it was implied in the Ninth Amendment.
James Madison’s chief concern at the inception of the United States was
A) the development of a too-powerful Congress.
B) giving the states too much power vis–vis the federal government.
C) the formation of political factions.
D) the need for a national judiciary.
E) the failure of citizens to join the parties of their choice.
Which of the following nations does NOT have a bicameral legislature?
A) Canada
B) United States
C) United Kingdom
D) New Zealand
E) Australia
The sponsors of the 2002 campaign finance reform bill were
A) Mitch McConnell and John Edwards.
B) John McCain and Russell Feingold.
C) John Edwards and John McCain.
D) Russell Feingold and Mitch McConnell.
E) Mitch McConnell and John McCain.
Which of the following was NOT a reason for the failure of the 1974 Texas
Constitutional Convention to comprehensively revise the 1876 Texas Constitution?
A) The right-to-work provision
B) Cockroaches and revisionists
C) A lack of exceptional political leadership
D) Public outcry and mounting protests
E) The two-thirds rule used in the convention
When a gas leak resulted in an explosion in a factory in Garner, NC, which of the
following agencies was MOST likely called in to evaluate safety procedures?
A) HUD
B) EPA
C) OSHA
D) OMB
E) FTC
Governors in ________ states have line-item veto powers.
A) all fifty
B) more than half of
C) fewer than half of
D) no
E) forty-nine
All of the following were Democratic candidates for president in 2008 EXCEPT
A) former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack.
B) former Senator John Edwards.
C) Representative Tom Tancredo.
D) New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.
E) Senator Hillary Clinton.
As illustrated in the chapter, the term gerrymander was so named because of a bizarre
geographical contortion of an electoral district in
A) Indiana.
B) Massachusetts.
C) Virginia.
D) North Carolina.
E) Washington.
Appellate courts usually
A) hear only criminal cases.
B) hear only civil cases.
C) determine the facts of a case.
D) review the legal procedures of a case.
E) hear bankruptcy cases.
Literary Digest‘s prediction of the winner in the 1936 presidential election suffered
from which common polling errors?
I. Wealthy Republicans were oversampled.
II. Polls were taken in early September, and voters changed their minds by November.
III. Only property owners were included in the sample.
IV. The polling relied heavily on self-selected respondents.
A) I and II
B) II and III
C) III and IV
D) I, II, and IV
E) II, III, and IV
According to Paul Peterson, which of the following is a flaw in the federal system?
A) Policy activity is not divided in the most efficient manner.
B) There is no remedy for unfunded mandates.
C) The national government has too much power.
D) The state governments have too much power.
E) Developmental policy is virtually ignored.
The _______ Party arose in opposition to the popularity of President Andrew Jackson.
A) Democratic
B) Democratic-Republican
C) Federalist
D) Whig
E) Free-Soil
The power to appoint agency heads
A) increases gubernatorial power.
B) has become less important in recent years.
C) increases legislative power.
D) is non-existent in many states.
E) rests solely with the legislative branch.
Which of the following states has the highest level of poverty among children?
A) New Hampshire
B) Utah
C) Mississippi
D) Texas
E) Alaska
Which of the following has helped Texas weather recent economic downturns better
than most states?
A) Reliance on an energy-based economy
B) Economic diversification
C) Ample government revenues generated through the personal income tax
D) Generous programs for health and human services
E) An economic climate that is favorable to workers and labor unions
One of the most well-known public interest groups that focuses on good government is
called
A) Collective Security.
B) National Association for Clean Government.
C) Americans for Public Decency.
D) Americans Against Public Corruption.
E) Common Cause.
The chairpersons of the national party committees are
A) generally prominent members of Congress.
B) former presidential candidates.
C) failed congressional leaders.
D) generally nominated by presidential candidates or sitting presidents.
E) on a trajectory toward becoming president.