American National Government
Chapter Exam Questions
Course Introduction
American National Government offers a comprehensive introduction to the structure, functions, and processes of the U.S. federal government. The course examines the Constitution, the federal system, and the roles and powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Students will explore the development of political institutions, civil rights and liberties, public policymaking, the electoral process, and the influence of public opinion and interest groups. Emphasis is placed on understanding the historical and contemporary issues shaping American democracy and the ongoing evolution of government in the United States.
Recommended Textbook Government by the People 2011 National Edition 24th Edition by David B. Magleby
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Constitutional Democracy
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Q1) The Antifederalists opposed the ratification of the Constitution because of all of the following EXCEPT
A)it favored the creation of a strong central government.
B)it might be used to impose barriers against commerce.
C)it advocated the frequent rotation of public office.
D)it did not contain a bill of rights.
E)they thought state and local governments would be more responsive to local needs and concerns.
Answer: C
Q2) The modern Constitution is the one that was implemented in 1781, and has been the only basis for American government since that time.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) State churches existed in a majority of the thirteen colonies in the 1700s.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: Constitutional Foundations
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which country has the world's oldest written constitution?
A)France
B)Germany
C)England
D)The United States
E)Mexico
Answer: D
Q2) Twenty-seven amendments to the Constitution have been ratified.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The framers knew that future experiences would call for changes in the text of the Constitution and that eventually it would need to be formally amended.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) The United States has the longest written constitution in the world.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Page 4
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Chapter 3: American Federalism
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Sample Questions
Q1) Federalism allows unity without uniformity because
A)when one political party loses control of the national government, it is still likely to hold office in a number of states and can continue to challenge the party in power at the national level.
B)national politicians and parties do not have to iron out every difference on every issue that divides us; these issues are debated in state legislatures, county courthouses, and city halls.
C)if states adopt programs that fail, the negative effects are limited; if programs succeed, they can be adopted by other states and by the national government.
D)while encouraging experiments in public policy, federalism also provides a training ground for state and local politicians to gain experience before moving to the national stage.
E)by providing numerous arenas for decision making, federalism engages many people in the process of government and helps keep government closer to the people. Answer: B
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5
Chapter 4: Political Culture and Ideology
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Q1) Political scientist Robert A.Dahl described the implications of the high degree of inequality in the distribution of wealth brought about by the new economic order which replaced the previously agrarian society.It was swept onto the U.S.scene by
A) capitalism.
B)robber barons.
C)political ideology.
D)liberalism.
E) conservatism.
Q2) Since 1993
A)Republicans have made large gains in the South.
B)Democrats have made large gains in the South.
C)Republicans have made large gains in the Northeast.
D)Republicans have made large gains in the Midwest.
E)Democrats have made large gains in the Midwest.
Q3) The idea that all people have the right to dignity and worth is called natural rights.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: The US political Landscape
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Q1) An interest group's size is probably less important than its number of active members.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The framers of the Constitution did NOT sanction a national church because
A)they could not agree upon a denomination so they left it to the states.
B)they wished for the people to be allowed to vote for a national church.
C)they believed that religious liberty flourishes when there is no official faith.
D)they were not of faith themselves.
E)they were deists.
Q3) In the 1830s Alexis de Tocqueville concluded that the United States had had no great wars because of its
A)great technological advances.
B)relative lack of social and political tensions.
C)long periods of stability.
D)lack of powerful neighbors on its borders.
E)reluctance to become involved in foreign wars.
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Chapter 7: Political Parties
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Q1) The winners of the White House have how many patronage jobs to distribute?
A)1000
B)2000
C)3000
D)4000
E)5000
Q2) This method of nomination operated for several decades after the United States was established.
A)Party convention
B)Caucus
C)Honeymoon
D)Direct primary
E)Crossover vote
Q3) When one party is in charge of the presidency and the other is in charge of one or both houses of Congress, the United States is said to have
A)executive order.
B)split power.
C)divided government.
D)gridlock.
E)realignment.
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Chapter 8: Public Opinion, Participation, and Voting
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Q1) The extent to which people feel issues are relevant to them is called A)informed.
B)latent.
C)intensity.
D)salience.
E)important.
Q2) Political attitudes may stem from religious, racial, gender, ethnic, or economic beliefs and values, but all are formed
A)individually.
B)without thought or reflection.
C)based on media influences.
D)in groups.
E)in college.
Q3) Intensity refers to how strongly people hold beliefs, or the degree to which those beliefs are held.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Prospective issue voting is voting based on what a candidate pledges to do. A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: Campaigns and Elections
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Q1) An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other is known as a(n)
A)automatic office.
B)safe seat.
C)party lock.
D)uncontested election.
E)incumbent assurance.
Q2) Which of the following statements is NOT true about elections and voting in the United States?
A)The United States has elections more often and for more offices than any other democracy.
B)Voters in most states are permitted to vote on measures placed on ballots through petitions.
C)Election outcomes never have any policy consequences.
D)Changes in state constitutions must be approved by the voters in all states except Delaware.
E)There are about half a million elected state and local officials.
Q3) The caucus method of selecting a delegate depends largely on party organization.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: The Media and US politics
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Q1) In recent elections, the media have experimented with a more issue-centered focus.This has been called
A)issue advocacy.
B)civic journalism.
C)investigatory journalism.
D)objective journalism.
E)agenda setting.
Q2) The role media played in the Watergate scandal is an example of ____________ journalism.
A)objective
B)new
C)investigatory
D)convergence
E)gonzo
Q3) Politicians and candidates are divided on whether or not success in Internet fundraising will change how politics are financed.
A)True
B)False
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11
Chapter 11: Congress
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Q1) The Senate and House recently passed bills appropriating different amounts of funding for infrastructure projects.To reconcile the differences, the chambers decide to appoint members from each chamber to meet and come up with some compromise.This is an example of
A)protracted negotiation.
B)a standing committee.
C)majority dominance.
D)a conference committee.
E)the seniority rule.
Q2) Under the Constitution, ____________________ is responsible for setting rules for ethical conduct by House and Senate members.
A)the president
B)the Justice Department
C)the Judiciary
D)Congress
E)the bureaucracy
Q3) The framers expected the judiciary to be the most important branch of government.
A)True
B)False
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Page 12
Chapter 12: The Presidency
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Q1) The first decision made by the framers at the Constitutional Convention regarding the presidency was
A)the method for electing the president.
B)the line of presidential succession following the vice president.
C)the date of presidential inaugurations.
D)the number of terms presidents could serve.
E)to have a single executive.
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a precedent established by President Washington?
A)Appointing department secretaries
B)Assembing the first White House Staff
C)Passing a constitutional amendment to restrict the president to two terms
D)Negotiating treaties
E)None of the above
Q3) The United States is one of the few world powers that is neither a parliamentary democracy nor a wholly executive-dominated government.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Congress and the President have a contentious relationship.
A)True
B)False
Page 13
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Chapter 13: The Federal Bureaucracy
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Q1) Government corporations are distinct from other agencies and bureaus in the federal bureaucracy because they
A)report directly to the OMB rather than Congress.
B)are allowed to make money through the sale of services.
C)all have a small number of employees.
D)are operated as a co-op.
E)have to follow merit system rules more closely.
Q2) Which of the following statements provides an example of centralization?
A)Necessary work skills are so specifically delineated that employees can be trained in enough detail to succeed.
B)The leader is in charge of every last person in the organization.
C)Rules are implemented through formal processes.
D)Clients are assured that they will be treated fairly by whomever they talk to.
E)Training is mandatory when new technology is adopted.
Q3) The spoils system is based on rewarding party loyalists and friends.
A)True B)False
Q4) All proposed new rules or regulations must be published in the Federal Register.
A)True B)False
Page 14
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Chapter 14: The Judiciary
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Q1) The third step to a Supreme Court judgment is
A)reviewing appeals.
B)granting the appeal.
C)briefing the case.
D)holding oral argument.
E)meeting in conference.
Q2) An explanation of a decision of the Supreme Court or any other appellate court is called a dissenting opinion.
A)True
B)False
Q3) An adversary system of justice is one in which
A)the police bring charges.
B)judges are political appointees.
C)the court is a neutral referee.
D)justice is based on majority vote.
E)None of the above
Q4) A formal writ used to bring a case before the Supreme Court is called a writ of certiorari.
A)True
B)False
Page 15
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Chapter 15: Civil Liberties
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Q1) The due process clause is found in the Seventh Amendment.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The Fifth Amendment presents a complex area of the law that includes many possible exceptions to the warrant requirement.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The clear and present danger test is a means of interpreting the First Amendment.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In response to the authority of the Church of England, the framers wrote the establishment clause.What did this clause guarantee with regard to religion?
A)Separation of church and state
B)Government sponsorship of religion
C)Financial support by government of religion
D)Governmental involvement in religious matters
E)All of the above
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Chapter 16: Civil Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) What landmark ruling prohibited racially segregated public schools and subsequently struck down most of the devices that state and local authorities had used to keep African Americans from voting?
A)Boumediene v.Bush
B)Gitlow v.New York
C)Brown v.Board of Education of Topeka
D)Romer v.Evans
E)Griswold v.Connecticut
Q2) Wyoming was the first state to
A)give women the right to vote.
B)desegregate schools.
C)pass a civil disobedience mandate.
D)provide health facilities for Native Americans.
E)ban white primaries.
Q3) Strict scrutiny is a standard developed by the courts to test the constitutionality of a law; when applied, a law is constitutional as long as it meets a reasonable government interest.
A)True
B)False
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Page 17
Chapter 17: Public Policy
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Q1) Direct payments to individuals, hospitals, corporations, and other nations are examples of what type of policy tool?
A)Regulation
B)Social policy
C)Federal spending
D)Providing protection against risk
E)Using taxes to regulate the economy and encourage certain behaviors
Q2) Which of the following is a source of what political scientists call third-party government?
A)Charitable organizations
B)Local governments
C)Colleges and universities
D)All of the above
E)None of the above
Q3) ____________________ is the second stage in the issue-attention cycle.
A)Running the program itself
B)Alarmed discovery and euphoric enthusiasm on an issue
C)Choosing a tool for solving the problem
D)The realization that change will incur significant cost
E)The post-problem stage
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Chapter 18: Making Economic Policy
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Q1) The _____________ Amendment, ratified in 1913, allowed the federal government to levy individual income taxes.
A)Third
B)Sixth
C)Sixteenth
D)Twenty-Ninth
E)Twenty-Third
Q2) Deregulation began in the United States in the
A)1990s.
B)1950s.
C)1930s.
D)1970s.
E)1940s.
Q3) No industry has undergone more extensive deregulation than the ____________________ industry.
A)transportation
B)energy
C)drug
D)computer
E)waste removal
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Chapter 19: Making Social Policy
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Q1) The program that provides insurance for all reasonable hospital, medical, and prescription drug insurance to individuals who are also entitled to Social Security is known as what?
A)Medicaid
B)Medicare
C)Social Security
D)FDIC insurance
E)Supplemental security income
Q2) Social Security is funded by
A)income tax.
B)payroll taxes on employers and employees.
C)general taxes.
D)annual budget agreements in Congress.
E)block grants.
Q3) President Johnson is responsible for the welfare reform initiative.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Aid programs that are restricted to students only are called grant aid.
A)True
B)False
Page 20
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Chapter 20: Making Foreign Defense Policy
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Q1) Realism is the belief that nations can work together to solve common problems.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Theory of deterrence involves the creation of excessive amounts chemical weapons to deter other nations from invading.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Military power is an example of
A)soft power.
B)hard power.
C)defensive power.
D)offensive power.
E)Both C and D are correct.
Q4) The United States has a free trade policy with China.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Germany is a permanent member of the U.N.Security Council.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 21: State and Local Politics
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Q1) Since Robert and Helen Lynd's groundbreaking study of Muncie, Indiana in the 1920s, similar, more recent studies of other cities have reached the same conclusions.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Local communities generally welcome new immigrants because the role of immigrants in American history is so revered.
A)True
B)False
Q3) State and local governments employ more total people than does the national government.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What does the text identify as "one of the greatest threats to the economic health of the country"?
A)Inadequate federal reaction to natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina
B)The seemingly unbreakable cycle of poverty in inner cities
C)Consistently decreasing federal and state funds for public education
D)Consistently decreasing federal and state funds for public health care
E)A lack of community involvement at the local level
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Chapter 22: State Constitutions
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Q1) In which of the following ways do the majority of states call a constitutional convention?
A)The legislature is authorized to do so.
B)The states require the legislature to question whether or not voters want a convention at set intervals.
C)The voters must petition the legislature to call the convention.
D)The major parties of the state must petition the legislature to call the convention.
E)The states vary too much in their processes for a majority to follow the same procedures.
Q2) Alabama has the longest constitution of any American state.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In the nineteenth century, _____________ state constitutional conventions were held.
A)63
B)1
C)144
D)823
E)650
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Chapter 23: Parties and Elections in the States
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Q1) The U.S.Constitution provides general guidelines to the states for the regulation of elections in
A)Article I.
B)Article II.
C)Article III.
D)Article IV.
E)Article V.
Q2) A vote for some of one party's candidates and some of another party's candidates is called chaotic voting.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Primary elections
A)allow voters to remove an elected official from office.
B)determine the candidates that will run under party labels.
C)are put on the ballot through petition.
D)choose actual officeholders.
E)are governed exclusively by national law.
Q4) Office block ballots tend to encourage split ticket voting.
A)True
B)False
Page 24
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Chapter 24: State Legislatures
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Q1) Which of the following states allows neither referendum nor initiative?
A)Arizona
B)Kentucky
C)Oklahoma
D)Montana
E)Wisconsin
Q2) A bicameral legislature has two houses.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Unlike the U.S.Congress, most state legislatures do NOT use a committee system.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The "direct democracy" movement began
A)in the South during the Civil War.
B)with populist reformers in Utah in 1900.
C)in California when proposed by Governor Ronald Reagan.
D)with the inclusion by the framers of the U.S.Constitution of a constitutional provision allowing for referendums on constitutional amendments.
E)in Massachusetts in the 1990s.
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Chapter 25: State Governors
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Q1) As of 2010, how many female governors had there been in American history?
A)59
B)91
C)3
D)32
E)173
Q2) In states in which the lieutenant governor is elected on the same ticket as the governor, the job of the lieutenant governor depends on the discretion of the governor.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is not a normal role for a state's governor?
A)Speaker of the house
B)Chief policy maker
C)Chief recruiter of advisers and administrators
D)Foreign ambassador (for the state's interests)
E)Liaison between local and national governments
Q4) Most governors are females under the age of 30.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 26: Judges and Justice in the States
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Q1) How many states have retention elections for state judges?
A)19
B)15
C)13
D)8
E)5
Q2) In which states are judges elected by the legislature?
A)North Carolina and Alabama
B)South Carolina and Virginia
C)New Mexico and Oklahoma
D)North Dakota and South Dakota
E)Utah and Colorado
Q3) With respect to advisory opinions, state judges are giving the court's view about a constitutional or legal issue.
A)True
B)False
Q4) At-large judicial elections tend to increase the voting power of minorities.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 27: Local Governments and Metropolitics
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Q1) Our basic pattern of local government is imported from A)France.
B)Germany.
C)England.
D)Canada.
E)Rome.
Q2) Local governments are mentioned in the U.S.Constitution.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Special districts are often created to
A)solve problems that overlap government boundaries.
B)solve the problems of local city government.
C)integrate school districts.
D)spread the tax burden over a wider area.
E)All of the above
Q4) With the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, limits were put in place to keep state governments out of the education system.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 28: Making State and Local Policy
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Q1) In 2005, Congress passed a five-year authorization of the federal highway, public transportation, and safety programs that totaled _____________ billion.
A)$244
B)$500
C)$100
D)$65
E)$350
Q2) States pay what percentage of federal environmental programs?
A)50%
B)70%
C)80%
D)40%
E)60%
Q3) Since the end of World War II there has been a major expansion in the number and size of public four-year colleges.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 29: Staffing and Financing State and Local Governments
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Q1) Merit systems called for a decentralizing and deregulation so that managers can hire the people they need.
A)True
B)False
Q2) By far the greatest number of state and local government employees are hired through
A)election.
B)political appointment.
C)some kind of merit system.
D)collegiate placement services.
E)the spoils system.
Q3) Taxes that are graduated so that the rate goes up with the size of income are called
A)progressive income taxes.
B)regressive income taxes.
C)flat rate taxes.
D)socialist taxation.
E)graduated taxation.
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