American Democracy Practice Questions
Course Introduction
This course offers an in-depth exploration of the fundamental principles, institutions, and practices that define American democracy. Students will examine the historical foundations of democratic governance in the United States, the structure and functions of federal and state governments, and the evolving interpretation of the Constitution. The course also covers the role of political parties, interest groups, elections, and civil society in shaping public policy and democratic participation. Emphasis is placed on contemporary issues, challenges to democratic norms, and the significance of civic engagement in maintaining a healthy democratic system.
Recommended Textbook
American Government Brief 14th Edition by Stephen Ansolabehere
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14 Chapters
1549 Verified Questions
1549 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/1785
Page 2
Chapter 1: Five Principles of Politics
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63 Verified Questions
63 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35510
Sample Questions
Q1) Why can it be difficult for actors who share a common interest to agree to cooperate?
Answer: Generally,actors might disagree about how to divide the gains from cooperation and how to allocate any costs required for cooperation.Disagreements about the division of gains may lead to bargaining failures.When cooperation to provide a public good is costly,actors may be tempted to free ride.Finally,communities sharing common-access goods may suffer from a tragedy of the commons.
Q2) The conflicts and struggles over the leadership,structure,and policies of government are called politics.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Autocracy can best be defined as rule by A)all.
B)one.
C)few.
D)many.
E)self-executing laws.
Answer: B
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Page 3
Chapter 2: The Founding and the Constitution
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103 Verified Questions
103 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In 2012,the five smallest states held roughly 0.5 percent of the seats in the U.S.House of Representatives and 10 percent of the seats in the U.S.Senate.These differing levels of representation of the five small states were the result of which decision during the Constitutional Convention?
A)the New Jersey Plan
B)the Virginia Plan
C)the Three-Fifths Compromise
D)the Great Compromise
E)the Separation of Powers
Answer: D
Q2) In the absence of an amendment,any power not specifically enumerated in the Constitution is conceived to be reserved to the national government.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) The Constitutional Convention passed the New Jersey Plan with little compromise.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism and the Separation of Powers
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121 Verified Questions
121 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the late nineteenth century,why was the Supreme Court willing to allow federal regulation of railroads and waterway transportation but less willing to allow regulation of factory and workplace safety?
A)American society was so agriculture-oriented in the 1880s and 1890s that factory and workplace safety was not important enough to allow the federal government to act.
B)The workplace is inherently local because the goods produced there have not yet passed into commerce and crossed state lines.
C)The Supreme Court ruled in McCulloch v.Maryland that the federal government had no power to regulate workplace safety,a precedent that was strictly followed until the New Deal.
D)During this period,the Supreme Court was staffed by Democratic appointees who sought to block federal workplace regulations.
E)During this period,most Supreme Court justices promised to support congressional regulation of transportation in their Senate confirmation hearings. Answer: B
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Chapter 4: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
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151 Verified Questions
151 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In Brown v.Board of Education,the Supreme Court overturned Plessy v.Ferguson because
A)the federal government had no authority to enforce either political or social equality.
B)a majority of the people had banded together to support overturning Plessy.
C)Linda Brown was a child,and no tests of the "separate but equal" doctrine had involved a minor.
D)separate educational facilities did not deprive children of adequate educational opportunities.
E)separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.
Q2) Contrast the role of the courts in nationalizing the commerce clause with the role of the courts in nationalizing the Bill of Rights.
Q3) To prove sexual harassment,one must demonstrate that quid pro quo extortion took place.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Quota systems are necessarily involved in affirmative action policies.
A)True
B)False
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6
Chapter 5: Congress: the First Branch
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114 Verified Questions
114 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In your opinion,should congressional representatives act more as delegates or as trustees? Explain why.
Q2) The U.S.Congress is able to serve simultaneously as a representative assembly and a powerful agency of government.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What is the minimum age required to serve as a member of the House of Representatives?
A)21
B)25
C)30
D)35
E)40
Q4) Describe how the committee system is structured in Congress and explain how committees exercise power to influence legislation.
Q5) Members of the House serve longer terms than members of the Senate.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What is gerrymandering,and what are its implications for the democratic process?
Page 7
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Chapter 6: The Presidency
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123 Verified Questions
123 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Over the past three-quarters of a century,American presidents have voluntarily delegated a great deal of authority to Congress.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The president's military powers extend into the domestic sphere.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A president may veto legislation even though it may entail a political cost.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The indirect method of electing the president has significantly dampened the power of most modern presidents.
A)True
B)False
Q5) How can a presidential veto be overridden?
A)by a two-thirds majority vote in either the House or the Senate
B)by a simple majority vote in both the House and Senate
C)by a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate
D)by majority votes in three-fourths of state legislatures
E)It cannot be overridden.
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Chapter 7: The Executive Branch
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114 Verified Questions
114 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35516
Sample Questions
Q1) Privatization is a euphemism for "termination."
A)True
B)False
Q2) What are the actual offices,tasks,and principles of organization that are employed to coordinate the work of personnel called?
A)polity
B)regime
C)delegacy
D)bureaucracy
E)republican government
Q3) Bureaucracies can make rules that have the full force of law,just like laws passed by Congress.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The bureau level of the executive agency is higher in the federal hierarchy than a cabinet department.
A)True
B)False
Q5) How do public agencies maintain their base of power within government?
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Chapter 8: The Federal Courts
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118 Verified Questions
118 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Individual senators who share the president's party identification can effectively exercise veto power over appointments to the federal bench in their own states through an informal but seldom violated practice called
A)judicial abatement.
B)legislative blackball.
C)advice and consent.
D)senatorial privilege.
E)senatorial courtesy.
Q2) A lawsuit in which a large number of people with common interests join together under a representative party to bring or defend a lawsuit is called a __________ lawsuit.
A)group
B)joint
C)class-action
D)multimotion
E)tort
Q3) The nation is currently,by statute,divided into three judicial circuits.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Explain the various stages in the decision-making process of the Supreme Court.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Public Opinion and the Media
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107 Verified Questions
107 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) More than any other single news source,Americans get their news from A)radio.
B)television.
C)the Internet.
D)newspapers.
E)magazines.
Q2) In the United States today,people often describe themselves politically by using the labels
A)moral or pragmatic.
B)socialist or libertarian.
C)liberal or conservative.
D)partisan or independent.
E)progressive or populist.
Q3) Which of the following is the most common form of communication between citizens and legislators?
A)telegram
B)telephone
C)office visit
D)e-mail
E)Snapchat
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Chapter 10: Elections
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92 Verified Questions
92 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35519
Sample Questions
Q1) Personal registration poses a significant burden for potential voters and decreases turnout.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Australia and Germany require all citizens to vote.
A)True
B)False
Q3) An electoral system in which the candidate who gets the most votes wins the election is called a majority rule system.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Discuss the politics surrounding congressional redistricting.
Q5) Which term do political scientists use to describe vote choices that focus on future behaviors?
A)expectancy theory
B)anticipatory decision making
C)advanced selection
D)retrospective voting
E)prospective voting
Q6) Do elections promote accountability from political leaders? Why or why not?
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Chapter 11: Political Parties
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105 Verified Questions
105 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35520
Sample Questions
Q1) Political parties are effective at mobilizing voters.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following explains why parties form?
A)to adhere to the mandate of Article IV of the Constitution
B)to confuse voters and thereby win their support
C)to resolve collective action problems
D)to weaken the link between elections and governing
E)to seek the collective good of the country
Q3) Political parties generally shy away from trying to get candidates to run for office,preferring instead to support whoever is actually elected.
A)True
B)False
Q4) During elections,interest groups usually sponsor candidates directly.
A)True
B)False
Q5) How do political parties help to shape and organize policy making at the national level?
Q6) What specific functions do political parties perform?
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Groups and Interests
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101 Verified Questions
101 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35521
Sample Questions
Q1) An attempt by a group to influence the policy process through persuasion of government officials is known as
A)access.
B)lobbying.
C)corridoring.
D)media management.
E)going public.
Q2) Most initiative campaigns today are sponsored by interest groups seeking to circumvent legislative opposition to their goals.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In recent years,interest groups have become much more numerous,more active,and more influential in American politics.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What roles do interest groups play in the political process? In what ways do they hinder or promote the democratic process?
Q5) Why do interest groups form,and what are the challenges to collective action?
Q6) How do interest groups attempt to influence elections?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Introduction to Public Policy
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131 Verified Questions
131 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35522
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is an example of a means-tested program?
A)Medicaid
B)Medicare
C)farm subsidies
D)Social Security
E)home mortgage interest deductions
Q2) What challenges does the current Social Security system face? How should these problems be addressed?
Q3) Universal compulsory education is an example of government efforts to
A)enforce contracts.
B)create a labor force.
C)set market standards.
D)provide public goods.
E)ameliorate externalities.
Q4) After the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was enacted,the number of families receiving assistance dropped by over half nationwide.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What goals should social and economic policies promote and why?
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Chapter 14: Foreign Policy
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106 Verified Questions
106 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35523
Sample Questions
Q1) An example of an economic interest group that has successfully influenced foreign policy is
A)the Reform Party.
B)the tobacco industry.
C)university advocacy groups.
D)dairy farmers.
E)the National Consumer's Organization.
Q2) The United States generally avoids making foreign policy on the basis of economic considerations.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Preemption is another name for preventative war.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What does a policy of deterrence require?
A)making a commitment to isolationism
B)concealing the nation's willingness to fight
C)having large military forces
D)getting support for the appeasement strategy
E)attacking an opposing country before it grows strong
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