American Political System
Mock Exam
Course Introduction
This course provides a comprehensive overview of the American political system, examining its foundational principles, structure, and functioning. Topics include the Constitution, federalism, the roles of Congress, the Presidency, and the Supreme Court, as well as the influence of political parties, interest groups, and the media. The course also explores the electoral process, civil liberties, and current issues shaping American governance. By analyzing historical and contemporary developments, students gain a nuanced understanding of how the U.S. political system operates and impacts society.
Recommended Textbook
We the People 11th Essentials Edition by Benjamin Ginsberg
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14 Chapters
1101 Verified Questions
1101 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction: the Citizen and Government
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73 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Overall, Americans' trust in their government has ________ since the 1960s.
A) remained stable
B) increased sharply
C) declined sharply
D) completely dissolved
Answer: C
Q2) The demand that there be no taxation without representation is a good example of what political reform of the eighteenth century?
A) the decline of popular influence on government
B) more popular influence on government
C) the decline in citizenship
D) the spread of autocracy
Answer: B
Q3) The federal government
A) is not allowed to directly employ any Americans.
B) employs a very small number of Americans.
C) is the nation's fifth-largest employer.
D) is the nation's largest employer.
Answer: D
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Page 3
Chapter 2: The Founding and the Constitution
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Q1) Which of the following statements about national defense under the Articles of Confederation is FALSE?
A) Congress was given the power to declare war.
B) Congress was given the power to make treaties and form alliances with other countries.
C) The nation's armed forces were composed entirely of the state militias.
D) The president served as commander in chief of the nation's armed forces.
Answer: D
Q2) Montesquieu called ________ the principle of giving each branch of government its own constituency.
A) tyranny
B) democracy
C) a mixed regime
D) a republic
Answer: C
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Chapter 3: Federalism
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Sample Questions
Q1) During most of the nineteenth century, Congress primarily used its powers to ________ interstate commerce.
A) regulate and reduce
B) facilitate and enhance
C) hamper
D) prohibit
Answer: B
Q2) As of 2016, which of following statements about immigration law is most accurate?
A) The Supreme Court has ruled that state police are allowed to check the immigration status of anyone stopped or arrested.
B) No state government has ever adopted a law to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
C) The Supreme Court has never ruled on the constitutionality of state-level immigration laws.
D) The Supreme Court has ruled that state police are not allowed to check the immigration status of anyone stopped or arrested.
Answer: A
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements about the death penalty is most accurate?
A) Almost every Western nation still executes criminals.
B) America, Canada, France, and Norway are the only Western nations that still execute criminals.
C) America is the only Western nation that still executes criminals.
D) America and Canada are the only Western nations that still execute criminals.
Q2) West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943) was significant because it
A) endorsed the free exercise of religion even when it was offensive to the beliefs of the majority.
B) allowed the use of tax-supported vouchers for religious schools.
C) established a constitutional right to privacy.
D) banned prayers in public schools.
Q3) The term eminent domain describes the
A) power of the government to seize private property for public use.
B) right of individuals not to have their private property seized by the government.
C) power of the Supreme Court to declare the meaning and scope of all civil liberties.
D) power of state governments to ignore a law enacted by the federal government.
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Page 6
Chapter 5: Public Opinion
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Sample Questions
Q1) If a person supports a candidate because he or she is the front-runner in a poll, it is an example of the
A) bellwether effect.
B) illusion of saliency.
C) bandwagon effect.
D) "bounce" effect.
Q2) In 1936, pollsters at the Literary Digest were guilty of ________ when they mistakenly predicted a presidential victory for Alf Landon over Franklin Roosevelt by polling people whose names came from the telephone book and automobile registration records.
A) probability sampling
B) random dialing
C) selection bias
D) push polling
Q3) The difference between a political value and a political attitude is that values are
A) conservative, while attitudes are liberal.
B) liberal, while attitudes are conservative.
C) held for a short term, while attitudes are held for a long term.
D) basic principles, while attitudes are specific preferences.
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Page 7
Chapter 6: The Media
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51 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is "niche journalism"?
A) news reporting targeted for a demographic of readers based on content or ideological presentation
B) journalism that is uncritical of government officials and the status quo
C) journalism that is highly critical of government officials and the status quo
D) any political reporting that can only be found online
Q2) The ________ provides candidates for the same political office equal opportunities to communicate their messages.
A) equal time rule
B) Fairness Doctrine
C) Diversity in Media Doctrine
D) agenda-setting provision
Q3) The Communications Decency Act was struck down by the Supreme Court because it violated the
A) First Amendment's right to freedom of speech.
B) FCC's equal time rule.
C) FCC's right of rebuttal.
D) Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause.
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Chapter 7: Political Parties, Participation, and Elections
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101 Verified Questions
101 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The winner of the electoral college vote has not won the popular vote ________ time(s) in American history.
A) one
B) four
C) ten
D) thirty-four
Q2) "Dark money" comes from A) 527s.
B) 501(c)(4)s.
C) PACs.
D) Super PACs.
Q3) Partisan loyalty is likely to be highest in the election of A) the president.
B) a state legislator.
C) a U.S. senator.
D) a governor.
Q4) Write an essay that explains why people vote. In your answer, be sure to cite specific evidence to show how the factors you mention are related to voter turnout.
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Chapter 8: Interest Groups
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75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Anonymous is a(n)
A) interest group closely associated with the New Politics movement.
B) Super PAC that gives primarily to Republican candidates.
C) loosely associated network of activists and hackers that specializes in online protests.
D) "dark money" 501(c)(4) organization.
Q2) Members of interest groups in the United States are typically people
A) with higher levels of income and education.
B) from the lower socioeconomic levels.
C) who work in manual labor and unskilled occupations.
D) who identify as Democrats.
Q3) The liberal-leaning MoveOn.org and the conservative-leaning Americans for Prosperity are examples of
A) iron triangles.
B) issue networks.
C) netroots political associations.
D) legacy organizations.
Q4) Describe some of the different strategies that interest groups use to gain influence on public policy. In your answer, be sure to give specific examples of each of the strategies you discuss.
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Chapter 9: Congress
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Sample Questions
Q1) Who has the most real power in the Senate?
A) the president of the Senate
B) the majority and minority leaders
C) the Senate president pro tempore
D) the chair of the Rules Committee
Q2) Describe how Congress exercises its checks and balances over the executive branch. Which chamber of Congress has more authority over the executive branch? Provide examples. How might partisanship help to diminish the exercise of congressional power over the presidency? Explain.
Q3) One reason why redistricting is controversial is that
A) those charged with drawing districts use sophisticated computer technologies to come up with the most favorable district boundaries.
B) incumbents never lose when districts are redrawn.
C) it is unclear whether districts have to be drawn in such a way that each district includes roughly the same number of people.
D) interest groups and PACs exert a great deal of influence over the specific shape of each district.
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Chapter 10: The Presidency
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Sample Questions
Q1) If a state government makes a formal request that the president deploy federal troops, the president
A) is constitutionally required to send exactly as many federal troops as the state government has requested.
B) is constitutionally required to send some federal troops but can choose exactly how many will be sent.
C) can only refuse to send federal troops if a majority of Congress votes to reject the state government's request.
D) is not constitutionally obligated to deploy national troops.
Q2) The Executive Office of the President was created during the administration of
A) Abraham Lincoln
B) Theodore Roosevelt
C) Franklin Roosevelt
D) Harry Truman
Q3) When are the president's partisan ties most important?
A) in winning support from public opinion
B) in raising campaign funds
C) in dealing with Congress on legislative matters
D) in making executive appointments
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Bureaucracy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The creation of the U.S. Northern Command was important because it
A) ultimately led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
B) unified, for the first time in American history, the Air Force, the Navy Department, and the War Department.
C) breached the long-standing line between domestic law enforcement and foreign military operations for the first time.
D) was the first time the Department of Defense had taken such an action without congressional approval.
Q2) ________ occurs when the federal government passes authority to administer a program to state or local governments.
A) Deregulation
B) Devolution
C) Privatization
D) Implementation
Q3) Although they are often unpopular with the public and there are many complaints that government is too large, bureaucracies perform important functions for government. Describe the main functions of bureaucracy and provide some examples of each. How has the size of the federal government changed over the last 50 years?
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Chapter 12: The Federal Courts
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Sample Questions
Q1) In a typical tort case,
A) the defendant is not allowed to appeal the verdict if he or she loses.
B) the plaintiff is not allowed to appeal the verdict if he or she loses.
C) the government immediately appeals the verdict if it loses.
D) one individual charges that he or she has been injured by another's negligence or malfeasance.
Q2) If a man is arrested because his home was searched by police without a legal warrant, he could argue in court that he had been denied
A) a writ of habeas corpus.
B) his Miranda rights.
C) judicial review.
D) the due process of law.
Q3) Civil cases involving the citizens of more than one state and in which more than $75,000 is at stake
A) must always be heard in federal district court.
B) must always be heard in a state court.
C) must always be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court.
D) may be heard in either the federal or the state courts, usually depending on the preference of the plaintiff.
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Domestic Policy
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84 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following played an important role in caring for the poor during the nineteenth century?
A) the military
B) the federal government
C) churches and religious organizations
D) the United Nations
Q2) Which of the following is a program of forced savings?
A) Medicaid
B) Medicare
C) Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
D) food stamps
Q3) As of 2016, a provision in the Affordable Care Act
A) eliminated Medicare taxes for households earning more than $250,000 a year.
B) lowered Medicare taxes for households earning more than $250,000 a year by 0.9 percent.
C) lowered Medicare taxes for households earning more than $250,000 a year by 5.4 percent.
D) increased Medicare taxes for households earning more than $250,000 a year by 0.9 percent.
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Page 15
Chapter 14: Foreign Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Amnesty International is a(n)
A) research group formed in 2000 to expose the dangers of global climate change.
B) 2011 agreement signed by the United States and 12 other countries that governs the treatment of refugees.
C) multinational corporation that lobbies for lower taxes and neoliberal economic reforms.
D) interest group that works to protect human rights.
Q2) A policy of deterrence may fail against terrorist groups because
A) history has shown that only democratic nation-states respond well to deterrence.
B) deterrence has been made illegal under international law.
C) terrorist groups are nonstate actors who may believe that their lack of a fixed geographic location prevents their targets from retaliating militarily.
D) terrorist groups do not yet have access to nuclear weapons.
Q3) Foreign aid is an economic ________; sanctions are an economic ________.
A) liability; asset
B) asset; liability
C) carrot; stick
D) policy; regulation
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