American Politics
Chapter Exam Questions
Course Introduction
American Politics offers an in-depth exploration of the institutions, processes, and key actors that shape the political system of the United States. The course covers foundational concepts such as the Constitution, federalism, and the separation of powers, while examining the roles of Congress, the Presidency, and the Supreme Court. Students analyze the impact of political parties, elections, interest groups, and the media, gaining insights into policy-making and public opinion. Through critical discussions and analysis, the course encourages understanding of contemporary political debates and the challenges facing American democracy today.
Recommended Textbook
Understanding American Government 14th Edition by Susan Welch
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The American People
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Q1) The idea that every person should have the chance to realize her or his potential, economically, intellectually, and socially is called the equality of __________.
A) opportunity
B) standard
C) rights
D) result
Answer: A
Q2) The classic and most costly regional conflict was during what event?
A) the American Civil War
B) the War of Annexation
C) the American Revolution
D) World War II
Answer: A
Q3) The birther movement claims President Obama was born where?
A) Hawaii
B) a U.S. military base in Panama
C) Kenya
D) Delaware
Answer: C
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Page 3
Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Q1) Tea Party members cite a doctrine that allows states to nullify any federal law they think violates the Constitution; this doctrine is called _________..
A) nullification
B) the Preamble of the Constitution
C) the Tenth Amendment
D) the Ten Commandments
Answer: C
Q2) From what source does the judicial branch receive the power to interpret the Constitution?
A) constitution
B) Bill of Rights
C) congress
D) judicial branch
Answer: D
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism
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Q1) The expansion of state and local powers by recent presidents is commonly called
A) nation-centered federalism
B) instrumental federalism
C) cooperative federalism
D) devolution
Answer: D
Q2) A ground-breaking Supreme Court case that deals with constitutional federalism is
A) Miranda v. Arizona
B) Lemon v. Kurzman
C) McCulloch v. Maryland
D) Plessy v. Ferguson
Answer: C
Q3) How many states challenged the 2010 health insurance reform law?
A) 1
B) 9
C) 23
D) 37
Answer: D
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Chapter 4: Public Opinion
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Q1) What type of poll is used to manipulate public opinion?
A) Random sampling
B) Push poll
C) Exit poll
D) Scientific poll
Q2) What is political socialization?
Q3) To get an accurate measure of public opinion, pollsters must do what?
A) talk to selective individuals
B) talk to more educated people
C) look at what the public is concerned about
D) focus on what their sponsors want to know
Q4) Which president took the use of polling to a new high?
A) Bill Clinton
B) Harry Truman
C) Dwight Eisenhower
D) John Kennedy
Q5) What does it mean to be a liberal or conservative? Is ideology more important than practical politics?
Q6) Describe how the family impacts political socialization.
Q7) What are two examples of presidents using public opinion?
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Chapter 5: News Media
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Q1) Shifting dominance among the media show a(n) __________.
A) increase in the audience of nightly news programs among the major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC)
B) increase in conservative listeners tuning into National Public Radio (NPR)
C) decrease in liberals using the Internet
D) continued decrease in newspaper readership
Q2) How is the relationship between the media and politicians symbiotic?
Q3) Fragmentation of the media refers to the __________.
A) diminished influence of the national media
B) biases of talk radio
C) duplication of cable programming throughout the nation
D) satellite coverage of news events
Q4) Most people who watch news on television say that newscasts devote too much time to ________.
A) entertainment
B) "infotainment"
C) politics
D) pollsters
Q5) Compare broadcast media and fringe (or fragmented) media.
Q6) What are the tools politicians use to shape their own media coverage?
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Interest Groups
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Q1) What is meant by direct and indirect lobbying? Identify the various forms of each and assess their effectiveness in achieving group objectives.
Q2) The revolving door tradition in Washington can lead to __________.
A) lax regulations
B) lower taxes
C) unitary government
D) powerless presidents
Q3) Litigation is a tactic used by interest groups to lobby ________.
A) the president
B) the Congress
C) the courts
D) state governments
Q4) Specialized interest groups that raise and donate money to election campaigns are known as __________.
A) political parties
B) voluntary contribution groups
C) candidate steering committees
D) political action committees
Q5) What are the main ideas drawn out in Putnam's Bowling Alone?
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Chapter 7: Political Parties
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Q1) Federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances are reflected in how __________.
A) party leaders hold officeholders
B) party elements operate independent of each other
C) political parties really function as interest groups
D) party organization is unified and hierarchical
Q2) Alexander Hamilton, a member of the Federalist Party, launched a political campaign that __________.
A) opposed the separation of church and state
B) portrayed Jefferson as an amoral man
C) formed the Federalist Party
D) rejected Christian dogma and criticized clergy
Q3) The strength of a local party organization depends on __________.
A) who is elected president
B) the national party committee
C) their relationship with interest groups
D) volunteers and activities
Q4) What are the three components that make up the membership of a political party?
Q5) Discuss the factors that led to the fall of political machines in the United States.
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Chapter 8: Elections
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Q1) Due to property holdings and other restrictions, in the first presidential election
A) people without property were allowed to vote
B) about 6 percent of all Americans could vote
C) about 10 percent of all Americans could vote
D) About 8 percent of all Americans could vote
Q2) What factors does a presidential candidate consider when choosing his/her vice presidential running mate?
Q3) Who could vote under the original draft of the U.S. Constitution?
Q4) Trace the expansion of suffrage over the past 200 years. Are there any current threats to voting rights?
Q5) Which of the following is a likely reason that voter turnout is low?
A) social rootedness
B) political parties mobilizing voters
C) strong labor unions
D) state barriers to voting
Q6) Define suffrage.
Q7) Explain some theories as to why voting turnout is low in the United States.
Page 10
Q8) Why do candidates focus few resources on "safe" states?
Q9) How do third (or minor) parties affect elections in a two-party system?
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Chapter 9: Congress
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Q1) What are the jobs of the Speaker of the House? the Senate's president pro tempore? the Senate's majority and minority leaders? Which positions tend to be more powerful? Why?
Q2) Give two examples of informal congressional norms.
Q3) What is the function of the conference committee?
Q4) Two nearly identical bills-both with bipartisan support-are introduced in the House and the Senate. Describe their paths to becoming laws.
Q5) Is Congress representative? Why or why not?
Q6) __________ occurs when a district's boundaries are devised to maximize the political advantage of a party or racial group.
A) Redistricting
B) Reapportionment
C) Gerrymandering
D) Ticket-splitting
Q7) What is the significance of task forces and ad hoc committees?
Q8) Why has the public supported Congress less than the other two branches?
Q9) How does Congress implement its oversight duties?
Q10) What are whips?
Q11) What are the advantages of incumbency for members of Congress? Page 12
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Chapter 10: The Presidency
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Q1) Although the president has the power to negotiate treaties, they must be approved by the __________.
A) Congress
B) Senate
C) people
D) military
Q2) Under which president did the presidency seem to be imploding, as the personal presidency reached a new level?
A) Richard Nixon
B) Abraham Lincoln
C) Franklin Roosevelt
D) Bill Clinton
Q3) By designating the president as commander-in-chief, the United States
A) makes the presidency militaristic
B) gives control over the military to a civilian authority
C) gives the military control over civilian-led government
D) gives the president an honorary military position
Q4) Briefly describe an example of an "imperial presidency."
Q5) What is the Presidential Succession Act?
Page 14
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Chapter 11: The Bureaucracy
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Q1) The Civil Service Commission _____________.
A) was created by Andrew Jackson to help him fill government jobs with members of his party
B) implements the Ethics in Government Act
C) regulates and presides over the federal government's employment system
D) administers the federal government's merit system without giving anyone, except for the most skilled, an advantage
Q2) George Washington's first cabinet ____________.
A) had only three departments and employed only a few hundred people
B) had more employees than did his successors
C) was relatively large compared to the size of the new republic
D) worked exclusively at Mount Vernon
Q3) Bureaucracies tend to ____________.
A) die off once their mandates have been fulfilled
B) downsize after a national crisis
C) grow as they are assigned more responsibilities
D) stay the same size
Q4) Americans want their bureaucrats to be both competent and responsive. To what degree are these goals compatible?
Q5) How do interest groups influence bureaucratic policy making?
Page 15
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Chapter 12: The Judiciary
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Q1) Restrained judges __________.
A) are concerned with rejecting laws and actions
B) enforce "government by judiciary"
C) are concerned with showing appropriate deference
D) are careless about laws from the statute books
Q2) List and describe the three types of written court opinions.
Q3) The tradition of senatorial courtesy allows for ____________.
A) senators to privately lobby Supreme Court justices
B) senators from either party to recommend candidates for judgeships in their state
C) senators in the president's party to recommend or veto candidates for judgeships in their state
D) senators to question nominees during the hearing process
Q4) In McCulloch v. Maryland, the Supreme Court ____________.
A) applied the establishment clause
B) interpreted the necessary and proper clause
C) applied the three-fifths compromise
D) violated the supremacy clause
Q5) Identify the major checks on judicial power. Are they effective or ineffective in limiting judicial action?
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Chapter 13: Civil Liberties
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Q1) When can the police conduct a warrantless search?
A) with personal consent
B) if contraband is assumed
C) if a crime has been committed
D) without personal consent in one's home
Q2) In 1967, the Warren Court overturned the precedent on wiretapping, concluding that __________.
A) wiretapping requires judicial authorization
B) wiretapping violates the Sixth Amendment
C) wiretapping is not a search and seizure issue
D) wiretapping is a form of libel
Q3) The Fifth Amendment protects against ____________.
A) involuntary confessions
B) police brutality
C) offensive speech during arrest
D) voluntary arrests
Q4) Explain the concept of "natural rights."
Q5) Why are expressive and intimate associations permitted to exclude others?
Q6) Who is Joseph McCarthy?
Q7) When have prior restraint court decisions conflicted?
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Chapter 14: Civil Rights
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Q1) President John F. Kennedy considered civil rights a distraction because he was more concerned about the __________.
A) Vietnam War
B) Cold War
C) Korean conflict
D) communist taking of China
Q2) Who are the Ku Klux Klan? How did they impact southern society?
Q3) Although indigenous Americans prefer to be known by their tribal names, the collective term they prefer is __________.
A) Indigenous Peoples
B) Native Americans
C) Indians
D) Americans
Q4) In 1971, what did the Burger Court apply the Fourteenth Amendment's equal-protection clause to?
A) racial minorities.
B) women.
C) children.
D) illegal aliens.
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Chapter 15: Extension 1: Focus On: Economic Policy
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Q1) Taxes in the United States claim just over 30 percent of the GDP. Most western industrialized nations have tax revenues that are a(n) __________ share of GDP.
A) higher
B) smaller
C) even
D) great deal lower
Q2) How does a mixed economy work?
Q3) In the 1920s, Germany issued a new currency because the trillions of old German marks it had printed became worthless due to __________.
A) a recession
B) hyperinflation
C) a depression
D) Nazism
Q4) How was the U.S. economy and the federal government budget used as an issue in the 2012 presidential election?
Q5) Explain why changing the tax code is so difficult.
Q6) What are the differences between a budget deficit and a debt?
Q7) What is supply-side economics?
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Chapter 16: Extension 2: Focus on: Environmental Policy
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Q1) The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion resulted in the public __________.
A) feeling indifferent
B) accepting global warming
C) dissenting against offshore drilling
D) wanting improved safety and protection standards
Q2) Rachel Carson wrote __________, the book that probably spurred the modern environmental movement.
A) Earth in Balance
B) Silent Spring
C) Carson's Springs
D) The Birds
Q3) Explain some public perceptions of global warming. How are these feelings generational?
Q4) Nonpoint sources-discharges that do not come from a specific pipe-accounted for as much as __________ percent of all water pollution.
A) 10
B) 30
C) 50
D) 60
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Chapter 17: Extension 3: Focus On: Foreign Policy
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Q1) Who is in control of the nation's diplomatic and military establishments?
A) the Speaker of the House
B) the President of the Senate
C) the President of the United States
D) the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Q2) Of the many U.S. foreign policy goals, which is the most important?
A) economic security
B) security of neighbors and friends
C) physical security
D) extending our sphere of influence
Q3) The U.S. Congress has declared war only __________ times.
A) three
B) five
C) seven
D) ten
Q4) How does Congress impact foreign policy?
Q5) How is the United States still facing challenges in the global era? How have our relations with China and the Middle East strengthened or weakened?
Q6) What is the "Arab Spring" and how is it related to U.S. foreign policy?
Q7) What is the policy of containment?
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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) Explain some advantages and disadvantages of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.
Q3) Which of the following is best example of "medical tourism"?
A) prescription drugs purchased abroad
B) building hospitals in foreign countries
C) adapting a current health care policy to a foreign one
D) the ability to use foreign health care plans in the United States
Q4) Under the Affordable Care Act, who is exempt from the coverage penalty?
A) those with enough income
B) large employers
C) small businesses
D) high-income individuals
Q5) What are the costs and benefits of Medicare and Medicaid?
Q6) Describe a government agency that deals with public health.
Q7) What is the major role of the PHS?
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