American Government and Politics
Final Exam
Course Introduction
This course provides an in-depth exploration of the American political system, including the foundational principles of the U.S. Constitution, the structure and functions of federal and state governments, and the roles of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Students will examine the processes of policymaking, electoral systems, political parties, interest groups, and the impact of public opinion on governance. Through analysis of current events and landmark Supreme Court decisions, the course encourages critical thinking about civil liberties, civil rights, and the evolving nature of American democracy.
Recommended Textbook MindTapR in Action American Government 1st Edition by Cengage
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15 Chapters
750 Verified Questions
750 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Constitution
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Virginia Resolves established colonial objection to the
A) British East India Company.
B) British mandate to house British soldiers in colonists' homes.
C) idea of "taxation without representation."
D) French and Indian Wars.
Answer: C
Q2) In what year was the Constitutional Convention?
A) 1783
B) 1785
C) 1787
D) 1789
Answer: C
Q3) Judicial review is understood to mean the Supreme Court
A) interpreting the Constitution as it relates to legislation and governmental actions.
B) voting on a proposed amendment before it is given to state legislatures.
C) independently reviewing decisions made by previous Courts.
D) participating in the appellate process.
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: Federalism
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Sample Questions
Q1) Dual federalism is sometimes referred to as ________ federalism.
A) cupcake
B) apple pie
C) layer cake
D) melting pot
Answer: C
Q2) When did the United States operate under a confederal system?
A) Under the rule of King George
B) Under the Articles of Confederation
C) Under the Constitution
D) Since the Revolutionary War
Answer: B
Q3) Reserved powers are powers
A) to be exercised by the states and not the federal government.
B) that are specifically listed in the Constitution as granted to the federal government.
C) that are rarely used and then only by congressional approval.
D) to be shared by the federal and state governments.
Answer: A
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Chapter 3: Civil Liberties
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Lemon Test includes which of the following?
A) The government's action must have a nonsecular legislative purpose.
B) The government's action must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion.
C) The government's action must be approved by the courts prior to being implemented.
D) The recipient of the government action must not be affiliated with a religious institution.
Answer: B
Q2) What fueled early Americans' desire to protect individual liberties?
A) The argument concerning the rights of states over the rights of the federal government
B) The outcome of the American Revolution
C) Their experiences under the repressive English monarchy
D) The passage of the Bill of Rights
Answer: C
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Chapter 4: Civil Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following events is <b><u>not</b></u> an example of unconventional participation?
A) Class action lawsuits
B) The march from Selma to Montgomery
C) The Montgomery Boycott
D) Protests against the Vietnam War
Q2) When was the Equal Pay Act signed?
A) 1948
B) 1952
C) 1963
D) 2009
Q3) Conventional and unconventional are two types of
A) equality.
B) political participation.
C) freedoms.
D) laws.
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Page 6
Chapter 5: Congress
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Q1) For a bill to become a proposed law, it must be approved by
A) a majority of the members of the house where the bill originated and signed by the president.
B) a majority of members of both the House and Senate and signed by the president.
C) all the congressional committees of the house where it originated and signed by the president.
D) all of the members of the house where the bill originated and signed by the president.
Q2) Congress forms what branch of the federal government?
A) Legislative
B) Judicial
C) Executive
D) Legal
Q3) Which of the following is <b><u>not</b></u> a specific responsibility of the House of Representatives?
A) It starts all revenue-related bills.
B) It draws up articles of impeachment for a federal official.
C) It approves international treaties.
D) It begins the federal budget process.
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7
Chapter 6: Presidency and Foreign Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The War Powers Resolution was in response, in part, to the A) Bay of Pigs.
B) Gulf of Tonkin Incident.
C) Vietnam War.
D) Warsaw Pact.
Q2) What is the National Security Council?
A) It is a committee for domestic security issues.
B) It is a committee that is charged with helping the president implement military strategies.
C) It is a committee for foreign policy and military issues.
D) It is a committee for policies related to the right to privacy and national security.
Q3) When Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus without the approval of Congress, he used
A) emergency powers.
B) implied powers.
C) express powers.
D) illegal powers.
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Chapter 7: Bureaucracy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Originally, the cabinet included _____ advisors.
A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five
Q2) Who is <b><u>not</b></u> an employee of the federal bureaucracy?
A) A senator
B) An active member of the military
C) A political appointee
D) A civil servant
Q3) The Government Accountability Office has the responsibility for
A) performing accounting audits and serving as an overall watchdog on behalf of Congress.
B) the federal budget.
C) the substantive areas of law related to certain agencies.
D) "scoring" proposed legislation to determine its impact on the overall federal budget.
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Page 9
Chapter 8: Judiciary
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following has jurisdiction over lawsuits against the federal government?
A) The Court of International Trade
B) Any federal court
C) The Supreme Court
D) The U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Q2) Who initiates the court's assistance in a civil case by filing a formal legal complaint?
A) The prosecuting attorney
B) The defendant
C) The government
D) The plaintiff
Q3) Under the nation's system of federalism, each state has
A) the same constitution and judicial system as the federal government.
B) the same constitution and judicial system as the other states.
C) created its own judicial system and individual state constitution.
D) created its own district courts.
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Chapter 9: Public Opinion
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Q1) Which of the following was <b><u>not</b></u> initially a reason for public opinion research?
A) To find out the public's voting intentions
B) To figure out the public's view on issues
C) For journalistic promotion
D) For entertainment
Q2) What do political campaigns use to determine how to approach various demographic groups or to uncover information that may <b><u>not</b></u> be well suited to a traditional phone opinion poll?
A) Focus groups
B) Archival content analysis
C) Exit polling
D) Survey research
Q3) What is a constant, systematic form of error?
A) Bias
B) Manipulation
C) Random sampling
D) Complex issues
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11
Chapter 10: Interest Groups
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Sample Questions
Q1) Grassroots lobbying occurs when interest groups
A) sidestep their membership and take the issue to the general public.
B) hire a lobbyist.
C) produce awareness campaigns.
D) encourage their members to write, call, or visit public officials.
Q2) Interest groups are protected by the First Amendment, but are
A) not held to any special regulations or rules.
B) subject to liability rules for individual members.
C) subject to rules for lobbyists, tax regulations, and limits to campaign financing.
D) afforded unlimited access for partisan activities.
Q3) Strategic donations are best defined as monies given to
A) other interest groups to provide access to their resources.
B) provide access to a representative who may not have a clear policy relationship, but who may be necessary to future policy efforts.
C) candidates supported by the group because of their current policy positions.
D) provide social access to the president and executive branch.
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Chapter 11: Media
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Sample Questions
Q1) What was the first American newspaper that had significant bias?
A) The Pennsylvania Gazette
B) The Washington Post
C) The New York Times
D) USA Today
Q2) Which of the following is the best example of the media's function as a forum?
A) A television advertisement by a candidate
B) The social media commentary on presidential debates
C) A press release issued by a senator
D) The coverage of the president's speech on local television
Q3) Why did Congress create the Equal Time Rule?
A) To provide the public with balanced programming during elections split between regular broadcasting and campaign ads
B) To provide the public with balanced information and news coverage of all candidates during elections
C) To provide the public with thorough election reporting
D) To provide the public with a forum for multiple viewpoints
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Page 13
Chapter 12: Political Parties
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Q1) The term platform refers to
A) candidates selected by political parties.
B) votes anticipated by political party leaders.
C) goals that political parties pledge to fulfill if elected.
D) locations where political parties' delegates attend meetings.
Q2) What caused the rift between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson during the Washington presidency?
A) Jefferson believed the federal government was moving beyond the powers granted to it by the Constitution.
B) Adams had a longstanding belief that the Federalist philosophy was seriously flawed. C) Jefferson held the belief that a robust national government would be suspect within the context of representation.
D) Adams had believed from its inception that the new Constitution created insurmountable problems for the country.
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Chapter 13: Participation
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Q1) Which of these was<b><u> not</u></b> a goal of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA)?
A) To provide standardization of the mail registration process
B) To regulate the process by which state and local entities maintained their voting lists
C) To make opportunities to register available at certain state and local government offices
D) To advocate for passage of additional legislation to ensure that voting rights of women would continue
Q2) Which is an example of a low-initiative act?
A) Running for office
B) Organizing volunteers
C) Voting at the polls
D) Serving as a precinct leader
Q3) What precipitated Congress's efforts to lower the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen?
A) Civil rights protests regarding voter registration in the South
B) Student protests regarding Vietnam and the mandatory draft
C) The failure to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment
D) The Bay of Pigs incident and the escalation of the Cold War
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Page 15
Chapter 14: Campaigns and Elections
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Sample Questions
Q1) The term vanishing marginals refers to the
A) difficulty of finding committed voters in congressional races.
B) serious nature of extended congressional campaigning.
C) impact of lobbyists on the congressional election cycle.
D) increasing security of incumbent congressional seats.
Q2) Which statement about the effect of voter age on today's political orientation is generally <b><u>true</u></b>?
A) Younger voters tend toward the more conservative end of the spectrum.
B) Older voters are more supportive of the Democratic Party.
C) Younger voters express more tolerance regarding social issues.
D) Older voters support a more activist government.
Q3) Prior to the 2016 presidential campaign start, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, and John Kasich had all met with Sheldon Adelson because Adelson was a key
A) potential donor.
B) lobbyist.
C) political advisor.
D) Democratic senator.
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Chapter 15: Domestic Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) In 1996, the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program was replaced by the Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) program, which shifted much of the responsibility for program administration to the
A) federal government.
B) courts.
C) former employers.
D) states.
Q2) In the policymaking arena, experts from academia, think tanks, and the media are most likely to be
A) part of issue networks.
B) policy implementers.
C) part of iron triangles.
D) service recipients
Q3) Which is an example of a distributive policy?
A) Licensing for dentists
B) Grants for medical research
C) Automobile inspection requirements
D) Cash transfers to disadvantaged people
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