American Constitutional Government
Final Test Solutions
Course Introduction
American Constitutional Government examines the foundational principles, structures, and functions of the U.S. government as established by the Constitution. Students will explore the historical context and philosophical foundations of American constitutionalism, analyze the separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, and discuss the system of checks and balances. The course also addresses the evolution of federalism, the Bill of Rights, and significant Supreme Court decisions shaping civil liberties and rights. Emphasis is placed on understanding how the Constitution guides policymaking, governance, and the protection of individual freedoms in contemporary America.
Recommended Textbook
American Government and Politics Today The Essentials 17th Edition by Barbara A. Bardes
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15 Chapters
1059 Verified Questions
1059 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Democratic Republic
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Sample Questions
Q1) The initiative is
A) a way to remove a public official from office before the end of his or her elected term.
B) the same thing as a referendum.
C) provided for in the Bill of Rights.
D) a constitutional mechanism that takes place after a recall.
E) a procedure whereby voters can propose a law or constitutional amendment within a state.
Answer: E
Q2) The political theory that states that in a democracy, the government ought to do what the majority of the people want is called
A) elite theory.
B) majoritarianism.
C) pluralism.
D) direct democracy.
E) limited government.
Answer: B
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Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Sample Questions
Q1) The power of the Supreme Court to declare actions of the other branches of government to be unconstitutional is known as
A) judicial review.
B) judicial activism.
C) legislative ratification.
D) the supremacy doctrine.
E) the Madisonian model.
Answer: A
Q2) The factions among delegates at the Constitutional Convention
A) wanted a strong central government.
B) were concerned about claims to western lands.
C) had republican leanings.
D) had nationalist leanings.
E) All of the above are true.
Answer: E
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism
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Sample Questions
Q1) The federal government supplies
A) an increasing share of state and local government revenues.
B) a decreasing share of the state and local government revenue.
C) revenue to state governments in the form of block and categorical grants.
D) revenue to state governments in the form of federal mandates.
E) Options A and C are true.
Answer: E
Q2) After early rulings by the Supreme Court increased the power of the national government, states sought a shift back to states' rights due to
A) increasing divisions between the North and the South over the slavery issue.
B) conflict over Congressional passage of a tariff on trade in 1828.
C) concern over expanding power by the federal government in the regulation of commerce.
D) conflict over the role of the national government and that of the states.
E) All of the above are true.
Answer: E
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5
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
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Sample Questions
Q1) All of the following are true about religious displays on public property \(\bold{except}\)
A) court cases over these issues have been ruled upon under the establishment clause.
B) religious displays have been allowed in certain situations.
C) displays of a crèche at Christmastime may be allowed if non-secular displays are also being shown.
D) nativity scenes have been allowed to be displayed by themselves.
E) displays such as lights, Santa Claus, and reindeer have been allowed.
Q2) In Osborne v. Ohio, the Supreme Court ruled that states can outlaw the possession of child pornography in the home
A) because owning the material perpetuates commercial demand for it and for the exploitation of the children involved.
B) to protect children who may be living in the home.
C) because it universally violates community standards.
D) because it encourages deviant behavior.
E) when it employs graphics, as opposed to mere text.
Q3) Explain what symbolic speech is and give examples of Supreme Court decisions on this type of speech.
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6
Chapter 5: Civil Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) Hispanics
A) may be of any race according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
B) have fewer rights than other minority groups because they are not citizens.
C) are a diverse population, originating from primarily Spanish-speaking countries.
D) are the second largest minority group in the United States behind African Americans.
E) Options A and C are true.
Q2) The Equal Pay Act of 1963
A) requires employers to provide equal pay for substantially equal work.
B) requires employers to re-grade the pay scales for the comparable but different jobs held by women and men to make them more equitable.
C) requires that employers promote more women into managerial positions.
D) allows for men to be paid more than women with the same job responsibilities if they have families.
E) All of the above are true.
Q3) Describe the issue of disparity in incarceration rates for African Americans as compared to whites. Is the justice system fair or discriminatory in its application of the law?
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Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization
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Sample Questions
Q1) Discuss four things that influence one's public opinion.
Q2) Public confidence in
A) the military has increased likely due to the military's role in the war on terrorism.
B) religion has decreased due to sex scandals.
C) in Congress has increased due to the passage of healthcare reform.
D) Options A and B are true.
E) All of the above are true.
Q3) Researchers report that they can now predict election winners by
A) seeing if they have a Google+ account or not.
B) measuring the candidate's Twitter momentum.
C) measuring the number of attendees at their rallies.
D) measuring their number of Facebook friends.
E) None of the above is true.
Q4) American women are more likely to support
A) capital punishment.
B) restrictions on access to abortions.
C) social welfare programs.
D) military interventions abroad.
E) legislation restricting the rights of homosexuals.
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Chapter 7: Interest Groups
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Sample Questions
Q1) People who become members of interest groups for solidary incentives are joining
A) for a sense of belonging to the group.
B) to improve their economic opportunities.
C) for ethical beliefs or ideological reasons.
D) to obtain political, economic, or social change.
E) as free riders.
Q2) All of the following are true of interest groups \(\bold{except}\)
A) the structure of American government gives interest groups a number of areas in which to attempt to influence government policies.
B) interest groups attempt to influence government at all levels-local, state, and national.
C) interest groups only seek to influence government through campaign contributions.
D) the First Amendment encourages Americans to form and participate in interest groups.
E) membership in an interest group makes individual opinion appear more powerful.
Q3) Explain the indirect techniques used by interest groups.
Q4) Describe legislative efforts to regulate the activities of lobbyists.
Q5) Explain the direct techniques used by interest groups.
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Page 9
Chapter 8: Political Parties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which if the following is true?
A) Political parties organize voter registration drives.
B) Political parties recruit volunteers to work at the polls on election day.
C) Political parties raise money for campaign materials.
D) Political parties work to raise awareness for their candidates and increase voter turnout.
E) All of the above are true.
Q2) Analyze the role of cultural politics in recent elections.
Q3) Today about how many voters call themselves independents?
A) 20 percent
B) 40 percent
C) 10 percent
D) 50 percent
E) 75 percent
Q4) Realignment
A) is of necessity tied to specific elections.
B) takes place when a substantial group of voters switches party allegiance.
C) takes place when one dominant party replaces another one.
D) took place on schedule in 2004.
E) has been predicted as inevitable in the foreseeable future.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Campaigns, Elections, and the Media
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Sample Questions
Q1) How has the right to vote been expanded since the Constitution was written?
Q2) Which of the following are true of superdelegates?
A) A superdelegate is a party leader or elected official who is given the right to vote at the national convention.
B) Their votes are ceremonial and do not count in the delegate total.
C) They are members of the media who cover the national convention.
D) They are elected at the state level.
E) They participate as delegates to the state convention.
Q3) The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002
A) bans soft money contributions to national parties.
B) bans campaign ads by special interest groups.
C) bans independent expenditures.
D) bans the practice of lobbying.
E) eliminated the Federal Election Commission.
Q4) Reported voter turnout _________ as education __________.
A) increases, decreases
B) randomly swings, increases
C) stabilizes, increases
D) decreases, decreases
E) stabilizes, decreases
Page 11
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Chapter 10: The Congress
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Sample Questions
Q1) All of the following are true of the people who work for Congress \(\bold{except}\)
A) they include office clerks and assistants as well as professionals who deal with the media, who draft legislation and work with constituency requests.
B) they are larger in number for House members than for Senators.
C) the number has increased dramatically since 1960.
D) the professional staffs provide information for members of the House and Senate.
E) some of these people maintain local offices in the member's home state or district.
Q2) The federal government operates on a fiscal year that runs from
A) January to December.
B) April to March.
C) October to September.
D) July to June.
E) September to August.
Q3) Explain the causes of the increase in the federal deficit during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Q4) Explain the roles played by the members of the House and Senate leadership.
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Page 12
Chapter 11: The President
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Sample Questions
Q1) Analyze the circumstances in which impeachment has been used throughout our history.
Q2) Executive orders
A) issued by the President have the force of law.
B) are used to enforce legislative statutes.
C) represent the president's legislative power.
D) have been used to establish rules for executive administrative agencies.
E) All of the above are true.
Q3) A veto is
A) usually employed to punish members of the president's party who disagree with him.
B) more likely when the president's party controls Congress.
C) a clear-cut indication of the president's dissatisfaction with legislation.
D) likely to be overridden about half the time.
E) required to be used at least once during each president's term.
Q4) Thoroughly describe four roles of the president. In your opinion, which two are the most important and why do you think this?
Q5) Discuss the role of the president as chief executive focusing on the appointment power.
Q6) Analyze the president's functions as party chief and superpolitician.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: The Bureaucracy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Enabling legislation
A) provides appropriations to federal agencies.
B) is proposed by departments wishing to increase their budgets.
C) is enacted by the president.
D) provides authorization for new federal agencies.
E) All of the above are true.
Q2) The Freedom of Information Act
A) requires government agencies to notify the media if they are exceeding their budget for the fiscal year.
B) requires federal agencies to disclose information on file about an individual to that individual upon his/her request.
C) provides for a statute of limitations on the Government in the Sunshine Act.
D) requires executive agencies to release information to congressional oversight committees.
E) was repealed after 9/11.
Q3) Explain the concepts of iron triangles and issue networks. What could be done to change the iron triangles?
Q4) Describe the pros and cons of India's biometric ID system.
Q5) Describe the manner(s) in which Congress attempts to control the bureaucracy.
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Chapter 13: The Courts
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the appeals court,
A) witnesses and testimony are presented to the jury.
B) grand juries decide if there is enough evidence to have a trial.
C) attorneys from both sides try to work out an agreement.
D) judges review lower court case records to determine if there is evidence of an error.
E) All of the above are true.
Q2) Each state
A) has at least one federal district court.
B) has exactly one federal district court.
C) has three federal district courts.
D) has several federal district courts and one federal appeals court.
E) makes up part of the jurisdiction of a federal district court.
Q3) The United States 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 to Congress.
D) outlines the details of various state criminal codes.
E) outlines the details of court case law.
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Page 15
Chapter 14: Domestic and Economic Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The number of incarcerated persons in the United States
A) includes an equal number of African-American males and females.
B) has increased requiring more prisons to be built.
C) has declined in recent years.
D) is greater in federal prisons than state prisons.
E) is growing mostly due to arrests to prevent terrorism.
Q2) Examine the federal budget deficit, why it occurred and what measures should be taken to bring it down.
Q3) Policy formulation is
A) the process of making the government aware that an issue requires action.
B) the discussion of proposals between governmental officials and the public.
C) the process of deciding on a specific proposal.
D) concerned with the implementation of policy by bureaucrats, the courts, police, and individual citizens.
E) the process of examining how a policy has worked in practice.
Q4) Should the rich pay more in taxes? Describe the arguments on both sides of the issue.
Q5) Explain the difference between "loose" and "tight" monetary policy and when they would be appropriate policy options.
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Chapter 15: Foreign Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) During the Cold War, there was (were)
A) continuous conversation between United States and Soviet military advisors.
B) no direct military conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union.
C) an occasional exchange of artillery fire across the East German/West German border.
D) direct fighting between United States and Soviet ground troops during the Korean War.
E) occasional dogfights between United States and Soviet fighter planes over Europe.
Q2) United States foreign policy toward Europe during most of 1800s was
A) isolationism.
B) interventionist.
C) internationalist.
D) one of détente.
E) multilateral.
Q3) Describe the various uprisings in the Arab Spring countries and the outcomes of each revolt to date.
Q4) Describe U.S. efforts to handle international issues with diplomacy rather than armed force. In your examples, were these efforts largely successful or failures?
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