American Government and Politics
Final Exam
Course Introduction
This course provides an in-depth examination of the institutions, processes, and actors that shape the American political system. Students will explore the foundational principles of the U.S. Constitution, federalism, civil liberties, and civil rights, alongside an analysis of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The course also covers the roles of political parties, interest groups, public opinion, elections, and the media in the policy-making process. Through contemporary case studies and discussion of current events, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of how American government operates and impacts the lives of citizens.
Recommended Textbook
Public Policy Politics Analysis and Alternatives by Michael E. Kraft
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
13 Chapters
848 Verified Questions
848 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/956 Page 2
Chapter 1: Public Policy and Politics
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
65 Verified Questions
65 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18802
Sample Questions
Q1) During and after the Great Recession, various governmental entities proposed policies to create jobs, increase the minimum wage, and regulate financial markets.This flurry of policy making was likely a result of which context, affecting the policy-making process?
A) economic context
B) cultural context
C) defense context
D) governing context
Answer: A
Q2) A(n) ______ occurs when the public has incomplete information in order to make a decision or the decision is too complex and difficult for the average citizen to know how best to proceed.
A) monopoly
B) information failure
C) economic context
D) joint consumption
Answer: B
Q3) A course of government action taken in an attempt to address a public problem is known as a ______.
Answer: public policy
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 3
Chapter 2: Government Institutions and Policy Actors
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
69 Verified Questions
69 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18803
Sample Questions
Q1) The founders of the United States established a government structure with numerous checks and balances due to which of the following motives?
A) A desire to prevent too much power being assumed by slave-holding Southern states.
B) To ensure that the new government could not tyrannize the population.
C) The desire to build a strong, deliberative process that would lead to slow implementation of policy and incremental change.
D) A desire to maintain the greatest amount of power in the legislative branch, or Congress, since that branch remains closest to the will of the people.
Answer: B
Q2) ______ provide large transfers of federal dollars to the states, to give the states more discretion in how to utilize the funding.
Answer: Block grants
Q3) ______ refers to the capability to develop and implement strong government policies.
Answer: Policy capacity
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
4
Chapter 3: Understanding Public Policy Making
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
65 Verified Questions
65 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18804
Sample Questions
Q1) Market mechanisms as tools or instruments of policy are defined as ______.
A) those that rely upon the laws of supply and demand to influence the behavior of individuals or corporations
B) regulating how transactions are conducted in the market
C) using forms of persuasion and education
D) government management of individuals or corporations
Answer: A
Q2) A ______, such as a crisis, usually improves an issue's chance of getting on the agenda.
Answer: focusing event
Q3) Regulating is defined as ______.
A) the government levying taxes on certain goods
B) use of the budget process to encourage or discourage behavior
C) the government providing information, so citizens can make their own choices
D) the government requiring certain activities be done, and if not, assessing penalties
Answer: D
Q4) The stream refers to ______ climate or public mood.
Answer: political
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 5
Chapter 4: Policy Analysis
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
66 Verified Questions
66 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18805
Sample Questions
Q1) The term ______ covers many different activities.
Q2) A growing sector of private organizations that conduct policy research often used by government policy makers is called ______.
A) political action committees
B) state policy institutes
C) political parties
D) think tanks
Q3) A ______ approach to policy analysis focuses on understanding the underlying conditions that are causing a public problem, while the ______ approach focuses more on how to alleviate shorter term symptoms of the problem.
A) democratic; rational
B) consensual; contentious
C) root cause; proximate cause
D) underlying; rational
Q4) The first step in policy analysis is to define and analyze the ______.
Q5) In the policy analysis process, after policy alternatives are developed, policy analysts then should develop the ______ upon which policies are assessed.
Q6) Explain the difference between consensual and contentious policy analysis.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 6
Chapter 5: Public Problems and Policy Alternatives
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
65 Verified Questions
65 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18806
Sample Questions
Q1) The first step in policy making is to ______.
Q2) A city that encourages citizens to serve on a community sustainability advisory panel so that they will develop greater awareness and engagement is using a ______ policy tool.
A) hortatory
B) regulatory
C) learning
D) capacity
Q3) Economists want to replace the gross domestic product with the ______.
Q4) Operational measures are also referred to as ______.
Q5) ______ involves finding solutions to a problem by spontaneously sharing ideas without initial regard to practicality or feasibility.
A) Brainstorming
B) No-action analysis
C) Analogy and metaphor
D) Literature review
Q6) The ______ is used to measure the sum total of goods and services produced in the economy.
Q7) Critics have derided ______ as a fuzzy if not meaningless term.
Q8) What does the term policy design mean?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 7
Chapter 6: Assessing Policy Alternatives
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
65 Verified Questions
65 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18807
Sample Questions
Q1) ______ is a determination of the acceptability of the risks or a decision about what level of safety is desired.
Q2) Evaluative criteria are ______.
A) the policy alternatives available to policy actors.
B) those that measure the policy actors involved in a policy issue.
C) the important aspects of the policy proposal on which you will make comparisons.
D) arbitrary standards that are the same for all policy issues.
Q3) Being stuck in traffic imposes ______ on drivers because they could be doing something more productive with their time.
A) a policy gridlock
B) an opportunity cost
C) a risk assessment
D) an inducement
Q4) ______ describes what governments or other organizations do to deal with risks, such as adopting public policies to regulate them.
Q5) The U.S.federal ______ tax is the lowest among the world's industrialized nations.
Q6) Explain what is involved in risk assessment and when this approach is used.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 8
Chapter 7: Economic and Budgetary Policy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
64 Verified Questions
64 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18808
Sample Questions
Q1) The United States is said to run an annual ______, which refers to an excess of spending over revenues in a given year.
Q2) Which of the following is an example of a regressive tax?
A) income tax
B) medicare tax
C) sales tax
D) payroll tax
Q3) Describe the positions that opposing sides take with regard to the U.S.balance of trade.Why do some argue that a negative balance of trade is undesirable, while others argue that a negative balance of trade is not a problem?
Q4) The main problem with running a large debt is that ______.
A) the interest we will have to pay on the debt continues to grow, squeezing out other needs
B) a growing portion of debt is owned by foreigners (including other countries)
C) we will have less money available to fund growing programs like Medicare and Social Security.
D) all of these
Q5) The Federal Reserve Board is also referred to as the ______.
Q6) A positive ______ occurs when the United States exports more than it imports.
Page 9
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 8: Health Care Policy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
63 Verified Questions
63 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18809
Sample Questions
Q1) What did many state Republican governors and legislators do concerning the creation of state health-care exchanges?
A) They embraced the idea, lauding the ability of individual states to tailor the exchanges to their own needs.
B) They refused to set up state exchanges as a way of showing discontent with the federal law.
C) Although they were reluctant, they eventually set up the exchanges once the Supreme Court ordered them to.
D) They defied the federal law by not setting up exchanges, and many court cases are now pending.
Q2) The percentage of nonelderly Americans without health-care insurance dropped to ______.
A) 19.8 million
B) 23.1 million
C) 26.3 million
D) 28.5 million
Q3) Total spending on health care has been ______ in the past decade.
Q4) The ______ helps to ensure that children living in poverty have medical coverage.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 10
Chapter 9: Welfare and Social Security Policy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
64 Verified Questions
64 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18810
Sample Questions
Q1) One of the challenges to reforming the social security program is the influence of strong advocacy groups such as ______, an active group representing the interests of
A) AARP (American Association for Retired People); older adults
B) ARA (American Retiree Advocates); older adults
C) the Tea Party; conservatives
D) Citizens United; young adults
Q2) When it comes to reforming Social Security financing, most objections raised by interest groups on both sides have to do with the evaluative criterion of ______.
A) effectiveness
B) technical feasibility
C) equity
D) buoyancy
Q3) Has welfare reform been a success? Discuss the program's goals and what it intended to accomplish.Can the success or failure of the program be attributed to the welfare reform law? What other issues should be examined?
Q4) ______ refers to increases made to the amount of Social Security benefits paid to an eligible individual based on inflation and increasing costs of basic goods.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 11
Chapter 10: Education Policy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
66 Verified Questions
66 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18811
Sample Questions
Q1) Have Affirmative Action programs in higher education been effective? Provide one argument for and one argument against Affirmative Action programs in higher education.
Q2) School choice and school vouchers are examples of
A) market-based policy alternatives to improve education quality. B) unfunded mandates.
C) 21st Century Skills educational quality movement.
D) policy alternatives based on the principle of merit pay.
Q3) Which statement reflects the Obama administration's stance with regard to No Child Left Behind?
A) States should be given more flexibility and can receive NCLB waivers; offer incentives rather than punishments.
B) NCLB should be eliminated and a new program should be put in place.
C) NCLB should be eliminated and no other programs implemented because education is a state rather than a federal issue.
D) NCLB should be changed to increase punishments for schools and states that do not meet education standards.
Q4) President Obama's administration promoted the ______ standards.
Q5) Why is public education important in a democracy?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 12
Chapter 11: Environmental and Energy Policy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
65 Verified Questions
65 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18812
Sample Questions
Q1) What is collaborative decision making as a policy strategy?
A) An approach where in which government works closely with industry to develop and implement policy.
B) An approach where in which government works independently of the needs or desires of industry.
C) An approach where in which the federal government works with state and local governments to develop policy.
D) An approach where in which the federal government works with other national governments to find policy solutions to global environmental issues.
Q2) Discuss the evolution of U.S.environmental policy over the past 50 years.How has U.S.environmental policy changed over the years (use the following time periods: pre-1960s, mid-1960s to 1970s, 1980s to early 2000s, and currently)? Why have these changes occurred?
Q3) Explain the common purpose and elements of the seven key environmental statutes developed in the early 1970s.
Q4) ______ is defined as economic growth that is compatible with natural environmental systems and social goals.
Q5) Discuss the features of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 13
Chapter 12: Foreign Policy and Homeland Security
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
65 Verified Questions
65 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18813
Sample Questions
Q1) Policies to prevent terrorist attacks, such as airline security, must take into account examination of the balance between ______.
A) effectiveness of risk reduction and cost
B) equity and cost
C) equity and risk reduction
D) political acceptability and cost
Q2) The policy tool used in foreign policy to reconstruct or otherwise improve conditions in another country in order to promote stability reducing threats to U.S.interests.
A) economic sanctions
B) diplomacy
C) foreign aid
D) trade agreements
Q3) Which organization is most likely to raise issues and concerns regarding the potential violations of civil liberties and rights of various antiterrorism policies and surveillance?
A) National Rifle Association
B) Heritage Foundation
C) American Civil Liberties Union
D) The Republican Party
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 14
Chapter 13: Politics, Analysis, and Policy Choice
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
66 Verified Questions
66 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18814
Sample Questions
Q1) Policy analysis is used most heavily during which stages of the policy-making process?
A) problem analysis and policy alternative development
B) problem analysis and capacity development
C) capacity development and legitimation
D) evaluation and regulation development
Q2) What is the typical result of compromise on policy alternatives?
A) policies that are only partially effective and have continued debate
B) greater public involvement
C) political parties working with greater harmony
D) reduced equity of policy decisions
Q3) ______ in the House voted more than 60 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Q4) In the last 3 months of the 2016 presidential campaign, ______ stories posted on Facebook led to more reader engagement.
Q5) ______ arises when policy actors have differing views about the substance of public policies or whether government intervention is justifiable at all.
Q6) In recent times, due to economic and fiscal concerns, the evaluative criterion of ______ is most often emphasized because it considers effectiveness as well as cost.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 15