American Government Study Guide Questions
Course Introduction
American Government explores the fundamental principles, institutions, and processes of the United States government. The course examines the Constitution, federalism, and the roles of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Students will study political parties, elections, civil rights, and public policy while analyzing how historical and contemporary issues shape the American political system. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking, civic engagement, and understanding how government impacts citizens' daily lives.
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Understanding American Government 14th Edition by Susan Welch
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Chapter 1: The American People
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Sample Questions
Q1) Core values, including liberty, equality and popular sovereignty, are found in which document?
A) the Mayflower Compact
B) the Gettysburg Address
C) the Constitution
D) the Federalist Papers
Answer: C
Q2) How did the Founders view majority rule?
A) all people are equal, majority should rule
B) the national Congress is immune to majority rule
C) it should be limited
D) minority rights are present, but inconsequential
Answer: C
Q3) Africans, men and women, forcibly removed to America __________.
A) did share the same language and culture
B) did share the same religion culture
C) did share the same religion
D) did not share common traditions
Answer: D
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Page 3
Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Q1) The origination of the congressional committee system __________.
A) occurred when Woodrow Wilson was president
B) is an example of change through judicial interpretation
C) took place through political practice
D) required the president's approval
Answer: C
Q2) Which of the houses in Congress resulted in the appeasement of the large states?
A) Supreme Court
B) House of Representatives
C) Senate
D) Blair House
Answer: B
Q3) The only other country to have five (5) veto points like the United States is __________.
A) China
B) Australia
C) Switzerland
D) no other country
Answer: D
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism
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Q1) The type of federalism that maintains that sovereignty is divided among the national and state governments so that each is essentially equal is __________.
A) dual federalism
B) judicial-centered federalism
C) legislative-centered federalism
D) state-centered federalism
Answer: A
Q2) The Union victory in the Civil War established that states __________.
A) cannot nullify the Constitution
B) cannot nullify federal law
C) cannot nullify the Constitution or federal law
D) can nullify federal law
Answer: C
Q3) Shortly after entering office, President Lyndon Johnson declared __________.
A) war on Korea
B) immediate state sovereignty
C) a war on poverty
D) severe tax cuts
Answer: C
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Public Opinion
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Sample Questions
Q1) How do the schools influence socialization?
Q2) Two years after the election of Barack Obama, 60 percent of blacks fall under what ideology concerning their social and economic positions and the government.
A) Modern conservatism
B) Radicalism
C) Socialism
D) Modern liberalism
Q3) When it comes to public opinion and family, what usually occurs?
A) Children carry parents' opinions through adulthood.
B) Children reject parents' opinions as adolescents.
C) Young adults follow parents' political party affiliations.
D) New experiences and views decrease agreement.
Q4) Peers tend to be influential in the socialization process __________.
A) across the board
B) on issues of special relevance to youth
C) only in rare cases
D) if there is no parental influence
Q5) Describe how and why the Literary Digest failed in their predictions in the 1936 presidential election.
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Chapter 5: News Media
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Q1) Explain how local news has become a casualty of media concentration.
Q2) When politicians shade the truth, portraying themselves and their programs in the most favorable light possible, regardless of the facts, it's called __________.
A) spamming
B) sparring
C) spinning
D) stumping
Q3) Government officials might purposefully leak information during an interview in order to __________.
A) gauge a reaction to a potential policy
B) maximize damage to an ally
C) help an adversary
D) suppress public debate on an issue
Q4) Which horse-racing term is not commonly used by the media in reporting a candidate's position in a run for office?
A) "money rider"
B) "front-runner"
C) "dark horse"
D) "also-ran"
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Chapter 6: Interest Groups
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Q1) Madison believed that trying to eliminate factions (or interest groups) would be worse than living with their abuses. Do you agree? Why or why not? Assess the advantages and disadvantages of the existence of strong, active interest groups.
Q2) ___________ are now the most numerous type of interest group and, in the aggregate, the most powerful.
A) Labor groups
B) Business organizations
C) Environmental groups
D) Social issues groups
Q3) The __________ was formed to block ranchers from grazing cattle in Yosemite National Park.
A) Fish and Wildlife Service
B) Sierra Club
C) Park Rangers Club
D) Yosemite National Park Club
Q4) What is lobbying?
Q5) What is a grassroots movement? How is it mobilized? What are some of the factors that have changed the rules of the game?
Q6) Explain why citizens have stopped joining interest groups.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Political Parties
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Q1) What are the three components that make up the membership of a political party?
Q2) As head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rahm Emmanuel is credited with producing a Democratic majority in the House in __________.
A) 2006
B) 2008
C) 2010
D) 2012
Q3) From the following choices, which is the most important determinant of party identification?
A) yearly income
B) parents' party ID
C) level of education
D) geographic location
Q4) At the time, Washington's unanimous election in 1788 suggested that __________.
A) proportional representation had real benefits
B) the nation would be governed by consensus
C) responsible party government was a realistic goal
D) voters will reward successful generals with the presidency
Q5) What was the New Deal Coalition?
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Chapter 8: Elections
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Q1) Third-party presidential candidates __________.
A) get the same media coverage as major-party candidates do
B) can affect elections in two-party systems
C) are not taken seriously
D) are placed automatically on the ballot
Q2) In 2004 and 2008, voter turnout in presidential elections was around __________.
A) 90 percent
B) 75 percent
C) 60 percent
D) 30 percent
Q3) A breakdown of voters by education, income and occupation shows that those least likely to vote include __________.
A) those with above-average incomes
B) white males
C) those with a college education
D) those with less than a high school education
Q4) Explain the history of presidential nominations from party conventions to presidential primaries and caucuses.
Q5) Why do candidates focus few resources on "safe" states?
Q6) How does the Electoral College help smaller states?
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Congress
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Q1) The real leader of the Senate in terms of power is the ___________.
A) vice president
B) president pro tempore
C) majority leader
D) speaker
Q2) A supermajority in the U.S. Senate requires __________ votes.
A) 51
B) 55
C) 60
D) 100
Q3) A congressperson getting money added to the budget for highway construction in the his or her home district is practicing __________.
A) pork barrel funding
B) gerrymandering
C) franking
D) log rolling
Q4) How did the Seventeenth Amendment alter the Constitution?
Q5) Give two examples of informal congressional norms.
Q6) How does Congress implement its oversight duties?
Q7) What is meant by "standing for" representation?
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Chapter 10: The Presidency
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Sample Questions
Q1) It is required that presidential signing statements be published in the ______________.
A) Congressional Quarterly
B) National Journal
C) Federal Register
D) New York Times
Q2) What is the Presidential Succession Act?
Q3) The Twenty-second Amendment __________.
A) rescheduled presidential inaugurations to shorten the lame-duck period of incumbents
B) authorized political parties to name presidential candidates at their nominating conventions
C) determined which government officials succeed presidents who leave office before their terms are finished
D) limited how long individuals can serve as president
Q4) Presidential powers are addressed primarily in __________ of the Constitution.
A) the Full Faith and Credit Clause
B) Article II
C) Article I
D) Article IV
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Chapter 11: The Bureaucracy
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Q1) "Executive Departments" are mentioned in the __________.
A) Bill of Rights
B) Alien and Sedition Act of 1798
C) Constitution
D) first congressional mandate
Q2) Describe three laws that keep the federal bureaucracy visible and open.
Q3) The public bureaucracy's principal responsibility is to ____________.
A) regulate
B) implement the law
C) collect and analyze data
D) declassify documents
Q4) Since the ____________ was passed, all federal agencies must disclose their rule-making procedures and publish all regulations at least thirty days in advance of their effective date to allow time for public comment.
A) Patriot Act
B) Administrative Procedure Act
C) Freedom of Information Act
D) Code of Federal Regulations
Q5) What are whistleblowers?
Q6) How do the goals of private and public bureaucracies differ?
Page 13
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Chapter 12: The Judiciary
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Sample Questions
Q1) Discuss the problems inherent in interpreting statutes and the Constitution. How do the courts try to resolve these problems?
Q2) The appointment of Rehnquist as chief justice __________.
A) reflected Reagan's conservative ideology
B) preserved the Warren Court's gains for minorities
C) reflected Clinton's liberal ideology
D) prevented the Court from swinging to the right
Q3) In what ways did the Supreme Court answer the legal questions in the 2012 healthcare law decision? Were there any dissenting opinions? For what reasons?
Q4) Why is it important for presidents to appoint women to the Supreme Court?
Q5) Describe the issues of concern to the Warren Court.
Q6) On the Supreme Court, the judges in the minority write a(n) __________.
A) amendment
B) concurring opinion
C) dissenting opinion
D) pending statute
Q7) Identify the major checks on judicial power. Are they effective or ineffective in limiting judicial action?
Q8) Briefly describe the process of accessing the federal court system.
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Chapter 13: Civil Liberties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why are expressive and intimate associations permitted to exclude others?
Q2) Which of the following is a limit on demonstrations?
A) Demonstrations cannot be held in public.
B) Demonstrations that offend people are illegal.
C) Demonstrations cannot take place on private property without the owner's permission.
D) Demonstrations by groups of people larger than 100 are prohibited.
Q3) The Supreme Court has been reluctant to provide religious practice exceptions with respect to __________.
A) paying taxes
B) participating in Social Security
C) abstaining from war
D) work scheduling
Q4) The right to privacy is found in the __________.
A) Constitution
B) Justice Douglas doctrine
C) Bill of Rights
D) Supreme Court's interpretations of amendments
Q5) What is the presumption of innocence?
Q6) What is seditious speech?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Civil Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) What did the Thirteenth Amendment do?
A) prohibited slavery
B) mandated equal due process
C) gave all male citizens the right to vote
D) gave all citizens the right to vote
Q2) Briefly describe the Civil War Amendments.
Q3) In 1909, in response to racial violence, a group of blacks and whites formed the
A) Rainbow Coalition
B) Student Against Non-violence Association
C) National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
D) Black and White Alliance
Q4) In the Brown case, the Supreme Court ordered schools to desegregate
A) "immediately"
B) "soon"
C) "when possible"
D) "with all deliberate speed"
Q5) What was life like for African Americans under neoslavery?
Q6) Describe Arizona's controversial 2010 immigration law?
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Chapter 15: Extension 1: Focus On: Economic Policy
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Q1) What is the difference between discretionary and mandatory spending?
Q2) A period of prolonged high unemployment with a period of decline in the gross national product (GNP) is called __________.
A) a recession
B) a depression
C) inflation
D) stagflation
Q3) What is Keynesian economics?
Q4) The idea that the government can stimulate the economy by increasing spending in a time of high unemployment and cutting spending in times of low employment is associated with which economist?
A) Karl Marx
B) John Maynard Keynes
C) Adam Smith
D) Warren Buffett
Q5) How was the U.S. economy and the federal government budget used as an issue in the 2012 presidential election?
Q6) What are the differences between a budget deficit and a debt?
Q7) What is the "misery index"?
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Chapter 16: Extension 2: Focus on: Environmental Policy
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Q1) Moving to renewable resources and reducing greenhouse gases while creating jobs is called the __________.
A) "green economy"
B) "Better World Plan"
C) "Eyes of Nye"
D) "Democratic platform"
Q2) Explain the differences between the bubble concept and cap-and-trade. What is an advantage and a disadvantage of each to industry?
Q3) Regulation opponents are more concerned about protecting __________.
A) private property rights
B) mineral resources
C) waterways
D) parklands
Q4) What does the EPA do?
Q5) A great deal of environmental activism occurs among __________.
A) college-age people
B) retirees
C) high school-age people
D) mothers
Q6) What was the Bush administration's attitude towards global warming?
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Extension 3: Focus On: Foreign Policy
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Q1) U.S. war efforts may have failed in Vietnam because __________.
A) the United States did not have clear goals
B) U.S. strategists misinterpreted data on the war
C) the war was central to America's national interest
D) the United States was betrayed by Europeans who refused to provide military support
Q2) Economic, military and diplomatic information is gathered by __________ U.S. intelligence agencies.
A) 6
B) 10
C) 16
D) 23
Q3) Why have economic instruments of foreign policy become so important? How effective are trade and foreign aid in addressing foreign policy goals?
Q4) Briefly compare Nixon's and Clinton's views on foreign policy.
Q5) What were the main lessons of the Vietnam War for the United States?
Q6) Compare and contrast the foreign policy of George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Q7) How did the international system change after the fall of the Soviet Union?
Q8) How does Congress impact foreign policy?
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Chapter 18: Extension 4: Focus On: Health Policy
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Q1) Which part of Medicare involves recipients purchasing further coverage for uncovered aspects?
A) hospitalization
B) doctor visits
C) preventive care
D) prescription drugs
Q2) Health care is provided to 22 million veterans through which agency?
A) Department of Defense
B) the War Department
C) Department of Veterans Affairs
D) Department of Health and Human Services
Q3) Most of the fraud ($47 billion dollars in 2009) in the Medicare program has been attributed to __________.
A) unrealistic expectations
B) refusal to treat Medicare patients
C) overbilling by doctors
D) higher taxation
Q4) Which presidents in the past tackled health care coverage and how?
Q5) What is the major role of the PHS?
Q6) What are the costs and benefits of Medicare and Medicaid?
Page 20
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