The admissions office at a public university could likely establish a permissible
affirmative action policy that awards minority students by bumping up their SAT score
by 100 points.
Prior to ratification of the U.S. Constitution, state constitutions provided little
protection for personal liberties.
Dual federalism is an interpretation of federalism in which the states and the national
government separate jurisdictions and responsibilities.
The Burger Court vehemently enforced the rights identified in Miranda v.Arizona.
The Stamp Act was a major catalyst for the American Revolution.
The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. championed the use of nonviolent resistance/civil
disobedience to advance civil rights.
Generally, smaller states wanted to strengthen the Articles of Confederation, rather than
replace them.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 has expanded educational and sports
opportunities for women students.
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF) requires that mothers
provide information about a child’s father to receive benefits.
All of the powers of the federal government are expressly enumerated in the
Constitution.
If you were to run for president on the Republican ticket and followed the general trend,
you would likely accentuate your most conservative ideas in the primary and then
appear more moderate during the general election.
In which federal courts are trials conducted?
a. circuit
b. district
c. common
d. original
e. public
On average, each member of the House represents __________ voters.
a. 7,000
b. 107,000
c. 700,000
d. 1,700,000
e. 7,000,000
The Framers agreed that the new nation had to be founded on notions of which of the
following?
a. religious tolerance
b. religious faith
c. racial tolerance
d. racial freedom
e. religious freedom
How can redistricting threaten incumbent members of Congress?
a. It can alter district-based funds from special interest groups.
b. It can force members of Congress to relocate their families.
c. It can shift incumbents into a caucus district.
d. It can pit incumbents against one another.
e. It increases the probability of a strong minority challenger.
Which branch of the U.S. government interacts very little with the media?
a. executive
b. judicial
c. legislative
d. the Pentagon
e. the bureaucracy
According to Marbury v.Madison, which clause implies the power of judicial review?
a. necessary and proper
b. judicial
c. precedential
d. originalism
e. supremacy
Although Congress authorized the expenditure of funds for many social problems,
President Nixon refused to spend money appropriated for them. Frustrated by Nixon,
Congress solidified its role in the budgetary process by __________.
a. opening an inquiry into presidential malfeasance
b. passing the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
c. passing the War Powers Resolution in 1973
d. using its power of oversight to censure the president
e. using it power of oversight to impeach the president
Which of the following is responsible for determining whether enough evidence exists
to support a conviction against a criminal defendant?
a. trial court
b. defense attorney
c. prosecutor
d. legislature
e. jury
Who was the author of the Declaration of Independence?
a. James Madison
b. Benjamin Franklin
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. Paul Revere
e. John Adams
Which of the following countries have posed challenges to the United States in recent
years because of their economic growth and global influence?
a. India and France
b. Russia and Germany
c. Germany and Brazil
d. China and India
e. Brazil and Spain
Which of the following is true about Social Security?
a. It is a form of accident insurance.
b. It is considered a means-tested program.
c. It is only available to the very wealthy.
d. It is entirely supported by property taxes.
e. It is a retirement benefit program for citizens.
Which presidential oversight includes the State of the Union address?
a. The president can issue executive orders and party agenda.
b. The president is commander in chief of the armed forces.
c. The president is in charge of federal departments and agencies.
d. The president is the negotiator in chief with foreign nations.
e. The president must inform and convene Congress.
Recent polls concerning party identification might lead a political scientist trying to
understand voter behavior to believe that voter registration __________.
a. indicates no change over the last two decades
b. indicates a significant Republican shift
c. indicates a significant Democratic shift
d. indicates more independents than Democrats or Republicans
e. has little if any significant predictive value
One of the various ways in which parties contribute to democratic governance is by
__________.
a. dividing the electorate
b. narrowing voter choice
c. running candidates
d. reducing accountability mechanisms
e. reducing inter-party competition
According to Justice Blackmun, a woman had which type of right to an abortion in her
first trimester?
a. an absolute right
b. no right
c. a qualified right
d. a partial right
e. an arguable right
Jackie attends a protest against animal testing. Which of the following secures her right
to attend this protest?
a. Second Treatise of Civil Government
b. The Federalist Papers
c. Bill of Rights
d. Declaration of Independence
e. Articles of Confederation
“Pork” legislation may aid the district of a member of Congress by __________.
a. diverting unallocated funds to the service sector
b. increasing jobs and revenue with federally funded projects
c. increasing revenue through private market investment
d. taxing corporations less so they provide health insurance for employees
e. taxing waste producers more to pay for environmental cleanup
Substantive due process created a standard whereby the states had a legal burden to
prove that their laws were which of the following?
a. a valid exercise of power
b. fairly applied to all citizens
c. consistent with the First Amendment
d. consistent with federal regulations
e. similar to one another
Which presidential ticket was the first to use the Internet in a national campaign?
a. Obama and Biden
b. McCain and Palin
c. Gore and Lieberman
d. Dole and Kemp
e. Clinton and Gore
Who has the ultimate authority and control over U.S. foreign and military policy?
a. Congress
b. the president
c. the State Department
d. the National Security Council
e. the Joint Chiefs of Staff
What role was Thomas Jefferson performing as president when he made the Louisiana
Purchase?
a. chief executive
b. chief of staff
c. chief diplomat
d. chief legislator
e. commander in chief
The power to __________ and __________ includes the right to place conditions on the
receipt of federal money.
a. buy; sell
b. charge; transact
c. create; produce
d. regulate; limit
e. tax; spend
According to Table 13.2, the largest number of Americans benefit from which
means-tested program?
a. Social Security
b. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
c. Supplemental Security Income
d. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
e. Unemployment insurance
What is the main purpose of monetary policy?
a. to affect how much money is available to businesses and banks
b. to control the amount of public debt sold to foreign states
c. to control the interest rates on money lent to foreign states
d. to equalize income disparity among citizens of the United States
e. to expand the government’s revenue base so as to reduce the deficit
When the law requires an agency to conduct a formal hearing before issuing rules, what
effect does this have on the agency’s rule-making procedure?
a. Criticism of rules is increased because the public is more informed.
b. Public input typically speeds up the process.
c. The courts tend to give greater deference to agency decisions.
d. The president becomes more directly involved in the procedure.
e. The role of Congress is no longer as prominent.
Which U.S. Supreme Court case found that a woman’s right to have an abortion is
protected by the implied constitutional right to privacy?
a. Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v.Casey
b. Lawrence v.Texas
c. Miranda v.Arizona
d. New York Times Co. v.Sullivan
e. Roe v.Wade
To what extent were the civil rights of African Americans protected after the Civil War?
a. Their civil rights increased in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War and have
continued to increase steadily ever since.
b. There were no attempts to protect the civil rights of African Americans until
Reconstruction ended.
c. The civil rights of southern African Americans were considerably greater than their
northern counterparts.
d. It was two decades after the Civil War before African Americans had civil rights that
were comparable to those of whites.
e. Attempts to protect the civil rights of African Americans after the Civil War were
largely unsuccessful for decades.
Article I of the Constitution prohibits which of the following, which make an act
punishable as a crime even if the act was legal when it was committed?
a. writs of habeas corpus
b. bills of attainder
c. ex post facto laws
d. procedural guarantees
e. prior restraints
What is the most common form of firearm regulation?
a. gun bans
b. licensing requirements
c. concealed carry restrictions
d. right to carry
e. handgun waiting periods
Which of the following did Dred Scott v.Sanford address in terms of states’ rights?
a. education
b. health care
c. slavery
d. voting
e. transportation
“A source at the White House said”” is an example of an attribution based on
information obtained __________.
a. on the record.
b. off the record.
c. on background.
d. on deep background.
e. in secret.
Describe the caucus system. What are the advantages of this system? What are the
disadvantages?
Explain what inspired the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
A lawyer’s spoken presentation to the court of the legal reasons that his or her client
should win is called the __________.
What are the causes of low voter turnout? Which groups have been disenfranchised in
the past, and which groups tend to vote less today? Choose a specific group. What
policies or programs could best help that group vote more frequently? Justify your
choices.
According to the theory of __________, political power is distributed across a wide
range of diverse and competing interest groups.
Many American ideals, including hard work and personal responsibility, are rooted in
our nation’s __________ heritage.
How has the role of the vice presidency changed over time?
Because they continue from one Congress to the next, __________ committees are
permanent fixtures to which bills are referred for consideration.
In 2008, Congress passed ___________ to help stabilize the investment banking sector.
Compare and contrast the legislatures established by the Constitution and the Articles of
Confederation.
Compare the White House staff and the Cabinet.