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Q:
The Fourteenth Amendment suggests that the protections in the Bill of Rights could be interpreted as applying to the states.
Q:
As described by Table 2.1, How Do the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution Compare to One Another?, the Articles of Confederation did not include an executive.
Q:
Senior citizens are likely to be concerned about potential cuts to the medical program known as ___________.
Q:
Which type of organization would find it easiest to overcome the free rider/collective action problem?
a. an environmental organization working to pass climate change legislation
b. a labor union in a state where union membership is optional
c. a trade association representing a small number of firms
d. a trade association representing a large number of firms
e. a national organization fighting for women's rights
Q:
When a case is granted review in an appellate court, the parties submit written __________ presenting their arguments.
a. ledgers
b. motions
c. briefs
d. opinions
e. plans
Q:
The Framers made Congress a bicameral body because they were concerned that too strong a legislative branch would lead to tyranny.
Q:
The U.S. Supreme Court did not attempt to explain the right to privacy until the 1960s.
Q:
Article I describes the powers of the president.
Q:
Social Security is a(n) __________ program because it provides benefits to all qualifying individuals.
Q:
To which of the following might political action committees (PACs) invest their contributions in order to maximize their political influence?
a. members of the minority party in Congress
b. campaigns of challengers
c. campaigns of incumbents
d. presidential candidates only
e. candidates for state and local offices only
Q:
In which court do cases generally begin?
a. trial
b. appellate
c. original
d. constitutional
e. state
Q:
Appropriations committees help determine the programs that will be funded, while authorizations committees determine the amount of monies to be distributed.
Q:
While enemy combatants have a reduced right to habeas corpus, they have the same right to a jury trial as other accused criminals.
Q:
The Three-Fifths Compromise specified that only three-fifths of slaves could vote.
Q:
Unlike Social Security, a ___________ program collects and invests contributions from workers and then returns them with interest to beneficiaries.
Q:
Why was Madison particularly concerned about factions in Federalist No. 10?
a. He believed that factions pursuing their self-interest would work against the broader public interest.
b. He worried that factions were too focused on the public good and that they neglected to take care of their own needs.
c. He worried that the Constitution did not provide enough opportunities for factions to be involved in politics.
d. He worried that factions might prevent the Constitution from being ratified.
e. He worried that the faction he belonged to would lose power if the Constitution were ratified.
Q:
In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court first claim the right of judicial review?
a. Chishom v.Georgia
b. Brown v.Board of Education
c. United States v.Nixon
d. Dred Scott v.Sandford
e. Marbury v.Madison
Q:
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
Q:
Which of the following emanates from a "penumbra" and not an explicitly stated constitutional right?
a. the right of a person to have access to contraceptives
b. the free speech rights of children at school
c. the prohibition on school prayer in public schools
d. the right of religious schools to be free from state taxes
e. the right of children to have a lawyer at juvenile court proceedings
Q:
Generally, smaller states wanted to strengthen the Articles of Confederation, rather than replace them.
Q:
A proponent of monetary policy would argue that the most effective way to stimulate economic growth is by ___________ the money supply in the economy.
Q:
Which of the following, if true, would indicate that grassroots/outside lobbying is an ineffective political tactic?
a. Policy makers primarily work to satisfy the demands of their wealthiest campaign contributors. As a result, they rarely respond to broader public opinion.
b. In congressional elections, incumbent candidates win at a much higher rate than challengers.
c. The number of interest groups with lobbyists in Washington, D.C., has increased over the past several decades.
d. The mass media tend to cover only the most dramatic and unusual news stories.
e. Most members of Congress have rejected campaign contributions from (political action committees) PACs.
Q:
How many justices currently serve on the Supreme Court?
a. five
b. six
c. twelve
d. nine
e. eight
Q:
What best represents the trend of party polarization over the last three decades?
a. Both Republicans and Democrats have become more conservative.
b. Both Republicans and Democrats have become more liberal.
c. Both Republicans and Democrats have become more moderate.
d. Party polarization has decreased as bipartisanship has increased.
e. Party polarization has increased as bipartisanship has decreased.
Q:
The Military Commission Act of 2006 allows the government to jail detainees without an opportunity to file which of the following?
a. an appeal
b. a writ of habeas corpus
c. a bill of attainder
d. a motion for summary judgment
e. a jury demand
Q:
The New Jersey Plan proposed a one-house legislature with one vote for each state.
Q:
The federal government uses fiscal policy when it raises ___________.
Q:
The key exception to the rule that state parties are free to act within the limits set by their state legislatures, without interference from the national party, is in the selection of __________.
a. congressional candidates
b. electoral college delegates
c. national convention delegates
d. governors
e. state party chairpersons
Q:
The __________ Act of 1789 established the basic three-tiered structure of the federal court system.
a. Federal Courts
b. Appellate
c. Confirmation
d. Interpretation
e. Judiciary
Q:
Which response best reflects the dilemma of pork in legislation?
a. Programmatic requests are always wasteful expenditures but are useful to politicians.
b. Programmatic requests are beneficial to taxpayers but detrimental to reelection.
c. Programmatic requests are typically beneficial to districts but allow the federal government to collect an undue share of tax revenue.
d. Programmatic requests favor federal employees at the expense of state employees.
e. Programmatic requests favor one district at the expense of all American taxpayers.
Q:
During World War I, the Supreme Court upheld the Espionage Act by ruling that Congress has a right to restrict speech that __________.
a. is critical of the government
b. is a prior restraint
c. creates a clear and present danger
d. qualifies as hate speech
e. is symbolic but obscene
Q:
Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government had broad power to levy taxes.
Q:
The money supply __________ when the Federal Reserve Board increases interest rates.
Q:
When can a party change its platform?
a. after a federal census
b. at the start of each fiscal year
c. during the national party convention
d. every two years
e. virtually anytime
Q:
Which Article of the Constitution created the federal judiciary?
a. Article III
b. Article II
c. Article VI
d. Article I
e. Article IX
Q:
What can be inferred from the current demographic composition of the Senate?
a. It is more descriptively representative of African Americans than the House.
b. It is more descriptively representative of women than the House.
c. Senators are better educated than their House counterparts.
d. Senate members tend to be poorer than their House counterparts.
e. Senate members tend to be wealthier than their House counterparts.
Q:
The Alien and Sedition Acts are an example of what kind of law?
a. violation of free speech
b. prior restraint
c. content-based
d. civil
e. criminal
Q:
The Constitution was ratified in 1776.
Q:
Public ___________ refers to an intentional course of action or inaction followed by government in dealing with some problem or matter of concern.
Q:
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
Q:
Consider the "Take a Closer Look" box. Why is interagency cooperation needed to address the problem of homelessness? What specific challenges is the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness likely to face?
Q:
How are committee chairs selected in the House?
a. a subject knowledge test
b. interviews to determine party loyalty
c. joint decision of the majority and minority leaders
d. seniority within the committee
e. seniority within the party
Q:
Which of the following rights has the Supreme Court found to be one of the penumbra of unstated liberties linked to explicitly stated rights?
a. right to marry
b. right to travel
c. right to vote
d. right to privacy
e. right to have a family
Q:
The Committees of __________ were used by colonists to keep each other abreast of developments with the British.
a. Collegiality
b. Collaboration
c. Congress
d. the Continent
e. Correspondence
Q:
A ___________ program distributes benefits on the basis of demonstrated need.
Q:
Although national committee activities attract most of the media attention, the roots of the party lie in __________.
a. the House of Representatives
b. the Oval Office
c. the Senate
d. the states and localities
e. Washington, D.C.
Q:
Should federal bureaucrats be granted discretion in the implementation of public policies?
Q:
Executive deference to senators in the appointment of judges to federal courts is __________.
a. appointee preeminence
b. committee referral
c. congressional review
d. reconciliation
e. senatorial courtesy
Q:
Which of the following best explains the rationale for the selective incorporation of freedom of assembly?
a. It is included in the Bill of Rights.
b. The framers intended for the state and federal governments to respect this right.
c. It is a fundamental freedom essential to order, liberty, and justice.
d. The text of the First Amendment specifically references the states.
e. It is one of the implicit rights reserved to the people by the Ninth Amendment.
Q:
Which of the following is a method of ratification for a constitutional amendment?
a. by three-fourths of the state legislatures
b. by three-fourths of the state governors
c. by three-fourths of voting-age citizens
d. by half of the state legislatures
e. by half of the state governors
Q:
Monetary policy regulates the nation's supply of money and influences __________ to promote economic policy.
Q:
What serves as the glue that holds together the disparate elements of the U.S. governmental and political apparatus?
a. bipartisanship
b. Congress
c. the political machine
d. the political parties
e. the winner-take-all-system
Q:
Compare the spoils system to the federal civil service system in terms of how each has influenced the performance of the federal bureaucracy.
Q:
One example of the Framers' intent to insulate the Senate from the tyranny of the majority was to __________.
a. give members lifetime appointments
b. give the Senate authority to overturn a presidential veto without House ratification
c. give the Senate authority to overturn a Supreme Court decision
d. have members appointed by incumbent senators
e. have members appointed by their respective state legislatures
Q:
Although the speech in question was suppressed, the Court in Gitlow v.New York held that not all forms of __________ can be limited.
a. hate speech
b. symbolic speech
c. political speech
d. fighting words
e. obscenity
Q:
What was the greatest fear of the Anti-Federalists during the Constitutional Convention and subsequent debate?
a. that a weak national government would undermine the survival of the United States
b. that a strong national government would infringe on the essential liberties of the people
c. that a powerful judiciary would restrict freedom of religion
d. that powerful state governments would never assent to the new Constitution
e. that a weak judiciary would be unable to enforce the new Constitution
Q:
The federal government relies on a ___________ tax to fund the Social Security program.
Q:
Which entity has the responsibility of establishing a cohesive vision for partisan identifiers nationwide?
a. the delegates
b. the national caucus
c. the national chairperson
d. the national committee
e. the national party organization
Q:
If a Cabinet department is not implementing a policy supported by the president, what tools can the President use to influence the department?
Q:
What occurs at a congressional party conference?
a. Democrats meet to select leaders and determine objectives.
b. Democrats review bills passed at the end of a session of Congress.
c. Republicans and Democrats meet to build rapport and plan bills.
d. Republicans meet to select leaders and determine objectives.
e. Republicans review bills passed at the end of a session of Congress.
Q:
What do proponents of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility call its prisoners?
a. war criminals
b. enemy combatants
c. prisoners of war
d. foreign aggressors
e. enemy troops
Q:
Which of the following remains a compelling source for determining the intent of the Framers?
a. Minutes of the Constitutional Convention
b. The Federalist Papers
c. Common Sense
d. Treatise on Government
e. Declaration of Independence
Q:
When members of Congress talk about the ___________, they are talking about the difference between annual government expenditures and revenues.
Q:
You are a policy analyst in the Department of Energy. You were just offered a job with a renewable energy company. How long must you wait before you can lobby the Department of Energy on behalf of your new employer?
a. 6 months
b. 1 year
c. 2 years
d. 4 years
e. 5 years
Q:
Discuss the evolution of the federal bureaucracy from the spoils system through the creation of the civil service system.
Q:
Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between Congress and the Judiciary?
a. Congress has the ability to review the constitutionality of Supreme Court decisions.
b. Congress must be increasingly mindful of the Supreme Court's reaction when it enacts new laws for the nation.
c. Congress sets the jurisdiction of federal and state courts.
d. In recent years, the Supreme Court has struck down congressional legislation at a rate of five laws per term.
e. The Supreme Court has typically had an antagonistic relationship with Congress.
Q:
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
Q:
Which of the following were most likely to oppose the proposed Constitution?
a. lawyers
b. merchants
c. bankers
d. plantation owners
e. farmers
Q:
__________ is an entitlement program for the elderly and disabled.
Q:
You are the leader of a consumer rights group that has been unable to get a meeting with your elected representative in Congress. How could you get the attention of your legislator on the issues your group cares about?
a. Organize a demonstration in the representative's district and invite the media.
b. File an amicus curiae brief.
c. Draft a bill and introduce it in Congress.
d. Form a political action committee.
e. Contact the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
Q:
Why did the size of the federal bureaucracy increase substantially over the course of the twentieth century?
Q:
A lobbyist for the NRA would be most effective when targeting a legislator ___________.
a. whose voting behavior supports gun control
b. whose voting behavior opposes gun control
c. with a large and mostly unoccupied support staff
d. who wants cash for personal trips to gun shows
e. who has likely never been to a gun show
Q:
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
Q:
Aside from the First Amendment, what portion of the U.S. Constitution deals with the relationship between the state and religion?
a. Article III
b. Article VII
c. Article VI
d. Article XIII
e. Article IX
Q:
In 2008, Congress passed ___________ to help stabilize the investment banking sector.
Q:
You are the leader of an environmental organization working to address the problem of climate change. Given the free rider problem, what would be the most effective way to get others to join your cause?
a. Describe the harmful consequences of global warming.
b. Explain how future generations will benefit from enacting climate change legislation.
c. Offer an incentive, such as a t-shirt, to those who join the campaign.
d. Publicly criticize those who don"t join the campaign.
e. Circulate a petition on the Internet.
Q:
Define and give an example of a government corporation. Why are some services provided by government corporations, whereas others are left to the private sector?
Q:
Which example best demonstrates a legislator acting as a trustee of his or her constituency?
a. A legislator considers public opinion, refining it with information and careful thought.
b. A legislator does whatever is best for his or her reelection.
c. A legislator follows the public opinion of his or her constituency.
d. A legislator heeds public opinion in every case, except in matters of personal conscience.
e. A legislator may follow his or her conscience unless public opinion is clear.
Q:
Convicted criminals whose sentences increase during their prison term due to a change in the law have been illegally subjected to what kind of law?
a. cruel and unusual
b. habeas corpus
c. ex post facto
d. bill of attainder
e. writ of certiorari
Q:
Which government entity has the power to settle disputes between the states?
a. Senate
b. House of Representatives
c. Department of State
d. Supreme Court
e. president