American Government Final Exam
Course Introduction
American Government is an introductory course that explores the fundamental principles, structures, and processes of the United States government. Students will examine the Constitution, federalism, and the three branches of government legislative, executive, and judicial while considering their functions and the system of checks and balances. The course also delves into political parties, elections, civil rights and liberties, policymaking, and the role of citizens in a democracy. Through analysis of historical and contemporary issues, students will develop a deeper understanding of how American government influences and is influenced by society.
Recommended Textbook
A Novel Approach to Politics 5th Edition by
Douglas A. Van Belle
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13 Chapters
518 Verified Questions
518 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introducing the Ancient Debate: The Ideal Versus the Real
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Sample Questions
Q1) One thing that differentiates political science from other "sciences" is that political scientists ______.
A)are more likely to agree on methodology
B)focus only on what people believe rather than on facts
C)need more money to do their research than others do
D)cannot isolate individuals,organizations,and groups in the laboratory or isolate and manipulate the things that might influence individuals,organizations,and groups
Answer: D
Q2) Earl Babbie argued that science is a ______.
A)set of rules and processes we agree to use to generate experiential reality
B)set of rules and processes we agree to use to generate agreement reality
C)set of rules and processes we agree to use to generate political reality
D)Babbie has nothing to say on the matter of science.
Answer: B
Q3) Explain how the decision to not participate can be thought of as a political decision.
Answer: According to the author,choosing not to participate leaves it to others to make decisions,and just as surrender is a military option,inaction is a political option.
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Chapter 2: Why Government Security, Anarchy, and Some Basic Group Dynamics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Compare and contrast the different types of security (state,regime,national,individual).
Answer: The four different types of security have one thing in common--they are meant to protect something/someone.The difference lies in which entity is protected by a certain type of security.For example,national security is the protection of the interests or survival of tribal,ethnic,or other groups that exist within and across state borders.State security,on the other hand,protects the borders and governmental structures from outside threats.Regime security is the ability to protect one's hold on power,while individual security is the protection of one's self.
Q2) Using the example of Bob the farmer,examine why and how we theoretically progress from anarchy to government.
Answer: Student's examples will vary.However,they should touch upon organizing as a group to achieve a collective benefit.
Q3) What is collective action?
Answer: According to the author,collective action is a coordinated group activity designed to achieve a common goal that individuals acting on their own could not otherwise attain.
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Page 4
Chapter
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding the concept of preference falsification?
A)Governments use preference falsification to keep people separate and to keep groups from forming.
B)Governments encourage preference falsification by encouraging people to mimic the leaders' preferences.
C)Preference falsification is limited to totalitarian dictatorships such as the one in Nineteen Eighty-Four.
D)Preference falsification is when you hide the way you truly feel while you publicly express what those in power want you to communicate.
Answer: C
Q2) What is one main problem of using force to maintain control?
A)The use of force is not effective in the short term,only in the long term.
B)It is more expensive in the short term to use force.
C)Using force does not address the underlying causes of discontent.
D)There are no problems with using force to maintain control.
Answer: C
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Chapter 4: Governments Role in the Economy: The Offer
You Cant Refuse
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Sample Questions
Q1) A person exhibits enlightened self-interest when ______.
A)a person sacrifices their own self-interest for the need to preserve a common resource
B)a person recognizes the inherent conflict of self-interest
C)a person recognizes the importance of their self-interest above the interest of others
D)a person recognizes the collective action problem generated by self-interest
Q2) What is the driving force of capitalism?
A)capital
B)free market environment
C)competition
D)labor
Q3) The Federal Reserve rate is the interest rate the Federal Reserve charges on loans to the government.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The story of the tragedy of commons can be told in many ways.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Structures and Institutions
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Q1) Foundations do not have to share characteristics.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The least commonly used form is the unitary system.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Institutions are critical and relatively permanent parts of a government.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Organizational structures through which political power is exercised are ______.
A)political institutions
B)political structures
C)political associations
D)political organizations
Q5) Which of the following is a political structure?
A)the British House of Commons
B)the U.S.Senate
C)a judicial system
D)the presidency
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Chapter 6: El Grande Loco Casa Blanca: The Executive in Bad Spanish
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Q1) What do authoritarian monarchies and authoritarian oligarchies have in common?
A)Both exercise a broad degree of power but are constrained by constitutions.
B)Both have symbolic power.
C)Nothing;both terms refer to rule by a single demagogue.
D)Both are mostly unconstrained in their exercise of power.
Q2) We can see the fundamental difference between a presidential system and a parliamentary system by examining ______.
A)whether representation is proportional or direct
B)whether the executive is elected or hereditary
C)to whom the executive is directly responsible
D)whether an electoral college exists
Q3) A parliamentary system ______.
A)creates a great deal of independence for the executive in relation to the legislature
B)limits the executive's influence over legislation to a mechanism like a veto
C)has greater institutional mechanisms to reinforce party loyalty
D)elects the executive separately from the parliament
Q4) The head of government is the national symbol.
A)True
B)False
Page 8
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Chapter 7: The Confederacy of Dunces: The Legislative
Function Not in Bad Spanish
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Sample Questions
Q1) At one point,U.S.presidents accumulated so much power that Arthur Schlesinger Jr.warned of which of the following?
A)an imperial presidency
B)a dynamic presidency
C)a dual presidency
D)an amorphous presidency
Q2) Question Hour in the British Parliament is an example of which legislative function?
A)legitimating
B)checking
C)education
D)legislating
Q3) Explain how the proliferation of political parties in a proportional representation system can lead to difficulties in creating a new public policy.
Q4) Describe what your text means by the "Bob solution" and how it relates to the concept of gridlock.
Q5) What purposes do bicameral legislatures serve,and why might some argue that they are redundant?
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Chapter 8: Brazilian Bureaucracy: Do I Even Need to Bother
With the Jokes
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Sample Questions
Q1) The FBI regulates how much rat hair can end up in your hot dog.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following theories of bureaucracy holds that agencies do actually respond to the wishes of elected officials?
A)cockroach theory
B)capture theory
C)implementation theory
D)agency theory
Q3) Discuss the cockroach theory of bureaucracy and the role the media plays in this theory.
Q4) The iron triangle concept was introduced in the 1990s.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The most obvious way to integrate bureaucracies into a democratic system is to create what is called a system of overhead democracy.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Discuss the principal-agent model.
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Chapter 9:
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Q1) Unlike common law,civil law relies predominately on ______.
A)written law
B)religious doctrine
C)judicial review
D)case law
Q2) The evolution of the Clean Water Act is an example of ______.
A)bureaucratic law
B)the law on the books
C)the law in action
D)public policy
Q3) Which of the following is not one of the three main schools of jurisprudence that have vied for dominance in the United States?
A)sociological-realist
B)natural
C)positivist
D)originalist
Q4) Identify the various types of jurisprudence that have competed for authority in the United States and briefly note their main features.
Q5) Describe the many ways in which the courts monitor government.
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Chapter 10:
in Modern Politics
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Q1) Winston Churchill once said,"Democracy is the worst form of government,except for all those other forms." Explain some of the criticisms that have been made of democracy (Plato and Aristotle had some good ones),and then explain why,in spite of these issues,democracy remains a very powerful idea and ideal.
Q2) An election where the two candidates with the highest pluralities face a secondary election is a ______.
A)proportional election
B)run-off election
C)plurality election
D)congressional election
Q3) Which of the following is a process that provides a mechanism for the people to circumvent the legislature?
A)nomination
B)confirmation
C)initiative
D)reformation
Q4) Democracy quite literally means "rule by the elites."
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 11: Media,Politics,and Government: Talking Heads
Are Better Than None
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Q1) Which of the following is a part of your experiential reality rather than your agreement reality?
A)the war in Afghanistan
B)Sarah Palin's 2012 presidential campaign
C)your interaction with your highly gifted political science instructor
D)the Jewish Holocaust during World War II
Q2) Reporters write news items using the dramatic structure of stories,whether or not the news actually fits that structure.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A small proportion of the political information in your head comes to you through the news.
A)True
B)False
Q4) How can a journalist's efforts to provide both sides of a story work to distort reality?
Q5) Not all conflicts are made up of two reasonably equal sides.
A)True
B)False
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Q6) Define and explain the difference between experiential and agreement reality.
Chapter 12: International Politics: Apocalypse Now and Then
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Q1) A hegemon is ______.
A)a dominant power
B)an anarchic environment
C)the balancing agent in the balance of power
D)an imperial regime
Q2) When a nation allies with an aggressor to carve out its own slice of the spoils,it is engaging in ______.
A)bullying
B)balancing
C)broadening
D)bandwagoning
Q3) Balance of power is the way in which the distribution of power across the international system influences the pattern of alliances that tend to form in an anarchic environment.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Marxism is not an alternative to realism.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain Kant's concept of democratic peace.
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Chapter 14: Political Culture: Sex and Agriculture, Getting
Rucked Explains It All
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Q1) Culture does not have a significant influence on politics.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is not one of the cultural effects that result from New Zealand's isolation?
A)New Zealand has strict immigration laws.
B)Kiwis frown on other New Zealanders who travel overseas.
C)Most cars in New Zealand are older than the cars in other places around the world.
D)There is no sense in New Zealand that anyone feels that it is necessary to engage directly most of the major issues that arise in world politics.
Q3) The text presents extensive discussion of New Zealand in comparison with the United States in regard to political culture.Can all these differences be attributed to political culture? Explain how other factors might have effects.
Q4) Political socialization is the process by which the group teaches the shared context to the members of society.
A)True
B)False
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