Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is the Native American equivalent of Uncle Tom’s
Cabin.
The Texas Local Government Code details the creation and operation of general law
cities in Texas.
The national government has had a fairly consistent set of policies toward Native
Americans.
Texas’s approach to criminal justice could best be described as focusing on addressing
the root causes of crime, including poverty and inadequate public education.
McCulloch v. Maryland effectively reduced the power of the states.
The idea behind home-rule is that city leaders need tools to address their local
problems, which gives them greater flexibility than cities operating under the general
laws of Texas.
The Texas Constitution is older and has been amended more frequently than the U.S.
Constitution.
The National Security Council is the legislative agency responsible for advising
Congress about foreign and defense policy and events.
One of the reasons that senators win reelection at lower rates than representatives is that
they have larger, more diverse constituencies.
In Plessy v. Ferguson, a majority of the Supreme Court argued that the Constitution
should be colorblind.
The McCain campaign had hoped that it would be able to gain a lead as a result of a
large misstep by his opponent, but such a misstep never occurred.
During the 1930s, the interventionist state was replaced by the laissez-faire state.
Charter schools were created in Texas in the mid-1990s to enable students to be taught
at home by their parents.
The Supreme Court grants a writ of certiorari only if a majority of judges vote in favor.
Despite the advent of the Internet, modern campaigns are still mostly driven by radio
and television advertisements.
Political scientists believe that the content of news coverage accounts for a large portion
of changes of public opinion.
Policy adoption generally occurs before receiving the requisite authorization to
implement a solution to a problem.
Group membership is drawn primarily from people with higher levels of income and
education.
The same percentages of Americans get their political news from The Daily Show and
from more traditional news sources.
A company that prefers a culturally diverse workforce would be against an open border
policy.
Federalists accused Thomas Jefferson of being an atheist in one of the first negative ads
in American history.
Georgia was the only colony NOT in attendance at the First Continental Congress.
The Constitution specifically enumerates the powers of the state governments.
Government corporations are businesses created by the president to perform functions
that could be provided by private industry.
In comparison to other countries, the United States has short presidential terms.
A common argument against the creation of third parties is that they take away votes
from the major national parties, but do not gain enough momentum to actually win a
race, thus ‘spoiling” the results of elections.
President Barack Obama’s foreign policy embodies elements of isolationism.
Although many of the colonists came to America to escape religious persecution,
religion has always played an important role in American politics.
The higher the GS level, the more likely the position is to be filled by educational
credentials and work experience.
Members of the Grange typically favored limited government power.
Special districts can only be created with the approval of voters in the affected counties
and municipalities.
By 2009, the Texas Constitution had been amended
A) 467 times.
B) 254 times.
C) 128 times.
D) 27 times.
E) 17 times.
In the early days of Texas statehood, counties were carved up according to what
principle?
A) No more than a day’s ride across the county
B) No more than a day’s ride to the state capitol
C) No more than a day’s ride to get to the county seat, vote, and return home
D) No more than a two-day ride to the county seat
E) No more than a two-day ride across the county
When does the governor of appoint judges in Texas?
A) All Texas judges are appointed by the governor.
B) The governor appoints all justices to the Texas Supreme Court and all judges to the
Court of Criminal Appeals.
C) When there is a vacancy on a state court
D) The governor may appoint trial court judges when requested by the county in which
the court is located.
E) The governor lacks the power to appoint Texas judges under any circumstance.
How do some analysts explain media inattention to racial and ethnic minorities, the
poor, and those who are critical of government and business?
I. The typical journalist is white, male, and affluent.
II. The government puts pressure on the media to cover only the “mainstream.”
III. The media are consciously racist and/or classist.
IV. There is a pervasive bias toward getting a good story in journalism.
A) I and III
B) I and II
C) I and IV
D) II and IV
E) I, II, and IV
The cartoon in your text comments on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed being tried in a New
York court. Who is Khalid Sheikh-Muhammad?
A) The man most commonly known as “the underwear bomber”
B) A politician suspected of corruption in a 2008 mayoral race
C) A person suspected of playing a role in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
D) A lieutenant working under Saddam Hussein
E) A clergyman suspected of renouncing Christianity
Before ratification of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court decided
that
A) states could not have a voting age requirement different than twenty-one.
B) states were permitted voters as young as eighteen in state and local elections, but
voters in national elections had to be twenty-one.
C) poll taxes were unconstitutional unless applied to voters between the ages of
eighteen and twenty-one.
D) states had the final say on voting requirements in both local and national elections.
E) Oregon’s voting laws were unconstitutional.
The only woman in the 2008 Democratic nomination contest was
A) Hillary Clinton.
B) Carol Moseley Braun.
C) Elizabeth Dole.
D) Denise Kucinich.
E) Barbara Boxer.
Why would the Pony Express, the precursor to the U.S. Postal Service, want to employ
orphans?
A) It kept poverty low.
B) If they were to die on the job, there would be no family to notify or compensate.
C) They could pay them egregiously low wages.
D) It was a way to stimulate the economy in a bottom-up fashion.
E) It was believed that orphans were more devoted workers.
Which of the following taxes is NOT used by state or local governments in Texas?
A) Sales taxes
B) Personal income taxes
C) Ad valorem taxes
D) Property taxes
E) Business taxes
“The little woman who started the big war”
A) refers to Frederick Douglass’s characterization of Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
B) refers to Jefferson Davis’s description of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
C) refers to Abraham Lincoln’s characterization of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of
Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
D) describes Susan B. Anthony, the author of the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments.
E) refers to Lincoln’s wife, who was an advocate of war.
Political scientist Janice May, emeritus professor of government at the University of
Texas at Austin, states that “Texas has probably the most disintegrated and fragmented
administrative organization in the country.” Dr. May is alluding to problems related to
A) the nature of the Texas plural executive as structured by the Texas Constitution of
1876.
B) difficulties in the administration of higher education in Texas including the
University of Texas system.
C) the organization and administration of the Texas legislature following redistricting
problems in the early years of the twenty-first century.
D) structural problems in the operation and administration of Texas counties and
municipalities under the current statutory regimen relating to home rule status.
E) the difficulties created by the lack of consistent organization in the courts across the
state in the administration of justice in Texas.
Health care policy in the United States began first at the ________ to deal with sick and
disabled seamen.
A) local level
B) state level
C) national level
D) same time at all levels of government
E) individual level
In terms of holding agencies accountable, the judiciary can
I. rule on whether bureaucracies have acted within the parameters of the law.
II. rule on the constitutionality of challenged rules and regulations.
III. initiate policies to alter the bureaucracy’s activities.
IV. force the bureaucracy to respect rights of individuals through hearings.
A) I only
B) I and II
C) I, II, and III
D) I, II, and IV
E) II, III, and IV
Critics of electronic voting argue that
A) it is easier to count optical scan ballots.
B) electronic voting machines will increase straight party ticket voting.
C) punch card ballots are less subject to voter error.
D) poll workers often do not know how to use electronic voting machines.
E) Internet voting is more secure.
A set of problems to which policy makers believe they should be attentive is called
A) the playbill.
B) programs.
C) entitlements.
D) policy formulation.
E) an agenda.
The United States Supreme Court, in a 2003 ruling on a case involving the University
of Michigan, effectively overturned Hopwood v. Texas by holding that
A) universities can use affirmative action in admissions decisions but cannot use racial
quotas.
B) university admissions must be “color blind.”
C) universities can use affirmative action in admissions as long as it applies only to
gender discrimination.
D) universities may use affirmative action criteria in admissions to their law schools but
not for undergraduate programs.
E) universities may not use affirmation action.
In Ruiz v. Estelle, the U.S. district court judge’s order resulted in
A) the reinstitution of the death penalty in Texas.
B) a massive overhaul of prison facilities and procedures in Texas.
C) mandatory DNA tests of potentially exculpatory evidence for all convicted
murderers.
D) increased prison overcrowding.
E) the elimination of preemptive challenges to exclude jurors on the basis of race,
ethnicity, or
gender.
If the Texas Senate passes a bill requiring all motorcycle drivers and passengers in
Texas to wear a helmet, and the Texas House passes a similar bill requiring all
motorcycle drivers and passengers 18 years-of-age and younger to wear a helmet, what
happens to the proposed motorcycle helmet legislation?
A) The two bills are sent separately to the governor for approval or veto.
B) Both bills are returned to their respective substantive committees of origin for
revision and resubmission to the floor of both chambers.
C) The two bills are sent to a conference committee to prepare a common version of the
bill, which will be subsequently reported back to both chambers.
D) Because the two bills differ, the legislation is dead, and both chambers must begin
the process again.
E) The two bills are sent to an interim committee for analysis and revision, and a
compromise bill is submitted to both chambers during the next legislative session.
Party realignment and secular realignment differ in terms of
A) volatility.
B) impact.
C) stimuli.
D) their effect on political parties.
E) their ability to affect policy outputs.
Congressional party unity
A) has declined since the 1970s.
B) has increased dramatically since the 1970s.
C) is much higher among Democrats than Republicans.
D) has never been below 80 percent.
E) has actually dipped below 50 percent several times.
In the White House Press Room, _____ sit(s) closer to the front than other members of
the media.
A) major newspapers
B) radio reporters
C) CNN
D) bloggers
E) C-SPAN
According to the text, which of the following best exemplifies progressive federalism?
A) Economic stimulus package
B) Health care reform
C) Allowing California to impose stricter environmental standards than those
established by the federal government
D) Creation of the U.S. Department of Education
E) Social Security
The Environmental Protection Agency was created by President
A) John F. Kennedy.
B) Lyndon B. Johnson
C) Richard M. Nixon.
D) Gerald R. Ford.
E) Jimmy Carter.
Political scientist David Truman’s theory explaining why interest groups form is called
A) pluralism.
B) federalism.
C) partisanship theory.
D) chaos theory.
E) disturbance theory.
All of the following are done by Texas state party conventions, EXCEPT
A) adopting the party platform.
B) selecting presidential electors.
C) selecting candidates for county government offices.
D) selecting a state party chair.
E) certifying the results of the primary.
The Texas Constitution requires that justices of the Texas Supreme Court be
A) at least 25 years of age and a practicing attorney or judge for a court of record for at
least 3 years.
B) at least 35 years of age and a practicing attorney or judge for a court of record for at
least 10 years.
C) at least 40 years of age and a practicing attorney or judge for at least 5 years.
D) at least 45 years of age and a practicing attorney or judge for a court of record for at
least 20 years.
E) at least 50 years of age and a practicing attorney for 25 years.
In what decade were the most amendments added to the Texas Constitution of 1876?
A) 1870s
B) 1930s
C) 1960s
D) 1980s
E) 2000s
By the time the Twenty-Fifth Amendment was added to the Constitution, the office of
the vice president had been vacant on ________ occasions.
A) five
B) seven
C) nine
D) eleven
E) twelve
The expansion of health insurance to most Americans
A) was widely supported in the Senate.
B) was widely supported in the House.
C) showed the weakness of the Speaker of the House.
D) was a key reason Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid decided not to seek re-election.
E) showed how important cooperation is between Congress and the president.
A new trial, necessary for an appeal from a court that is not a court of record, is called
a(n)
A) appellate trial.
B) trial upon remand.
C) trial de novo.
D) civil trial.
E) adversarial trial.
Which of the following is NOT one of the ways in which the governor wields power in
the legislature?
A) Exerts leverage for or against an agenda
B) Emergency declaration for bills
C) Adding bills to a call for a special session
D) Signing bills into law or vetoing bills
E) Acting as president of the Senate
________ are examples of religious practices ruled to violate the establishment clause
by the U.S. Supreme Court.
I. Student-led prayers at high school football games
II. Nondenominational prayers at the beginning of the school day.
III. Nondenominational prayers at public school graduations.
IV. Providing books or computers for students in religious schools.
A) I only
B) I and II
C) II and III
D) I, II ,and III
E) I, II, III, and IV
Nearly 80 primary election debates were held in 2008, the first being in South Carolina.