A loose monetary policy is often enacted in order to
a. fight inflation.
b. encourage economic growth
c. reduce the supply of credit.
d. raise the costs of credit.
e. Both A and B.
Which is true of policy evaluation?
a. If the policy is not working at the time of evaluation, then the policy is always
repealed.
b. It is the fourth step in policymaking and comes directly after policy adoption.
c. When a policy has been in place for a while, evaluations are made inside and outside
the government to determine if the program is working.
d. ObamaCare has had extensive policy evaluation to date.
e. There is a time limit to the period of policy evaluation.
All of the following are true of flag burning except
a. it was outlawed in Texas and other states in the 1980s.
b. it is protected by the First Amendment’s freedom of expression (speech).
c. Congress passed legislation against flag burning that was declared unconstitutional
by the Supreme Court.
d. it is considered symbolic speech.
e. a constitutional amendment has been passed outlawing flag burning.
In the period leading up to the Civil War
a. the Whig Party split over the issue of slavery.
b. anti-slavery factions of many parties coalesced to form the Republican Party.
c. the Federalist Party experienced a resurgence of support.
d. Both A and B.
e. Both B and C.
All of the following might be expected fiscal policies under a Keynesian approach
except
a. running a budget deficit.
b. lowering taxes to increase public spending.
c. expanding government spending through new projects.
d. government borrowing to fund programs.
e. cutting both taxes and spending.
The argument that it is rational tonot join interest groups and then share in the benefits
procured by others is the basis of
a. latent interests.
b. the free rider problem.
c. rational incentives.
d. solidary incentives.
e. None of the above.
Redistricting is
a. the allocation of seats in the House to each state after each census.
b. the redrawing of district boundaries within each state to ensure equal district
populations.
c. a court order to hold new elections because of voting irregularities.
d. altering a legislative formula that apportions spending among the states.
e. normally a bipartisan exercise.
All of the following are true of the president’s cabinet except
a. they are usually members of the president’s political party.
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.
The U.S. Constitution
a. is the supreme law of the land.
b. is subordinate to state constitutions in many matters.
c. does not specify the details of state and federal powers, instead leaving that up
toCongress.
d. outlines the details of various state criminal codes.
e. outlines the details of court case law.
The primary distinction between an interest group and a political party is that only
a. interest groups seek to affect policy.
b. parties have unaffiliated supporters.
c. parties run candidates for office.
d. parties try to influence elections.
e. Both C and D.
Politics is
a. the process of resolving conflicts.
b. the struggle for power in organizations.
c. the process of deciding who gets what, when, and how.
d. involved in all levels of government.
e. All of the above are true.
A voter or a candidate who does not identify with a political party is called
a. a naysayer.
b. an independent.
c. a liberal.
d. a conservative.
e. a libertarian.
Websites and communications services are
a. liable for the actions of their users.
b. largely exempt from responsibility for the actions of their users.
c. rigidly controlled by the federal government.
d. mostly government owned.
e. controlled mostly by state governments.
The expansion of national governments power and regulations can be found rooted in
a. the implementation of the Bill of Rights.
b. Chief Justice John Marshall’s interpretation of the commerce clause.
c. the necessary and proper clause.
d. the states’ inability to exercise their police powers.
e. All of the above.
American political culture
a. can be described as a set of attitudes and ideas about the nation and government.
b. consists of symbols such as the American flag, the Liberty Bell, and the Statue of
Liberty.
c. provides support for the political system.
d. All of the above are true.
e. None of the above is true.
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
Despite the South’s desire for ______________, the Civil War actually brought about
______________.
a. increased states’ rights; a stronger national government
b. the expansion of slavery; a competitive, free labor force
c. a strong national government; regionalism in politics
d. free trade; significant export taxes
e. None of the above.
The First Continental Congress
a. declared independence from Britain.
b. was held in Boston, Massachusetts.
c. urged colonists to purchase British goods to win favor with the king.
d. encouraged the colonists to petition King George III to express their grievances.
e. produced a document that the colonists found to be coercive.
The answers given by respondents to poll questions are influenced by all of the
following except
a. the order in which questions are asked.
b. poorly designed questions that tip respondents in a particular direction.
c. a yes/no format that restricts the respondents’ choices.
d. compensation offered to the respondents.
e. the possible range of answers to the questions presented.
All of the following statements are true about gerrymandering except
a. the issue of gerrymandering has been resolved.
b. the term originates with tactics used by a governor of Massachusetts named Gerry.
c. the tactic of gerrymandering is used to create districts to the advantage of one
political party or another.
d. the tactic of gerrymandering has been used for racial discrimination.
e. the practice can cause excessive manipulation of the shape of a district.
The first partisan political division in the United States was between
a. the Democrats and the Republicans.
b. the Whigs and the Democrats.
c. the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.
d. the Whigs and the Tories.
e. the Whigs and the Republicans.
Informal advisors to the president are called
a. FOP, or Friends of the President.
b. the kitchen cabinet.
c. the Executive Counsel.
d. the cabinet.
e. the brain trust.
Which of the following is not true of the Declaration of Independence?
a. It listed the colonists’ grievances against England.
b. It established the legitimacy of the United States as a new nation.
c. It listed reasons for dissolving the tie with Great Britain.
d. It established a constitutional government.
e. It gave the people the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and to alter
the government if it became destructive of the people’s rights.
The Bill of Rights includes the following rights for criminal defendants
a. the right to speedy and public trial
b. the right to silence
c. the right to due process
d. the right to a lawyer
e. All of the above are true.
The Constitution states that the required minimum age for the presidency is
a. twenty-five years.
b. thirty years.
c. thirty-five years.
d. forty years.
e. forty-five years.
The use of military force without a Congressional Declaration of War has been
exercised by
a. President Harry Truman.
b. President Bill Clinton.
c. President George W. Bush.
d. President Barack Obama.
e. All of the above.
With regard to sources of energy in the United States
a. wind and solar power make up about half of the country’s energy.
b. nuclear power plants are becoming more popular due to their low costs.
c. coal is on the decline due to low natural gas prices.
d. the country is becoming more dependent on foreign sources of oil.
e. All of the above.
Political scientists used to calculate voter turnout as a percentage of the
______________, but usually no longer do so.
a. voting-age population
b. vote-eligible population
c. registered voter population
d. party member population
e. expected voter population
One of the problems for the State Department domestically is that
a. it has “negative constituents”citizens who oppose the government’s policies.
b. it is responsible for the CIA.
c. it answers to Congress first and only then to the president.
d. no new president will retain senior-level diplomats who are not of his or her political
party.
e. it is criticized for not spending enough on foreign aid.
Journalists are more likely to identify as
a. Democrats than as Republicans.
b. Republicans than as Democrats.
c. Republicans than as independents.
d. libertarians than as Democrats.
e. libertarians than as Republicans.
Recent allegations of polling fraud have included
a. concerns about secret in-house weights being added to results.
b. concerns that results were fabricated.
c. concerns that reader surveys are being published as scientific polls.
d. Skype users flooding poll results with duplicate entries.
e. Options B and C are true.
The two bodies that employ by far the largest number of federal civilian employees are
a. the Executive Office of the President and the judiciary.
b. the Department of Education and the National Science Foundation.
c. the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Food and Drug
Administration.
d. the Department of Energy and the Federal Reserve System.
e. the U.S. Postal Service and the Department of Defense.
A filibuster is
a. an attempt to prevent the passage of a bill through the use of unlimited debate.
b. an attempt to persuade others to vote for a particular bill in return for a favor at a
laterdate.
c. used in the House to force a standing committee to release a bill.
d. a method used by the Speaker of the House to promote the majority party’s
legislation.
e. a technique that is unique to the House.
In comparing the total amount of taxes collected as a percentage of gross domestic
product
a. Sweden’s rate is the lowest in the world.
b. one of the countries with the highest rate is the United States.
c. most countries in Europe have lower rates than the United States.
d. the rate of the United States is around 25 percent.
e. Options A and C are true.
The last step in the decision-making process of the Supreme Court is
a. announcing its decision to the public and the reasons for it.
b. assigning a justice to write an opinion.
c. deciding if the Court will hear the case.
d. hearing oral arguments in the case.
e. asking the lower court to send the records of the case for review.