American Politics
Final Test Solutions
Course Introduction
American Politics is an exploration of the foundational structures, processes, and actors that shape the political landscape of the United States. This course delves into the Constitution, federalism, civil liberties, and the roles of Congress, the Presidency, and the courts. Students examine the complexities of political parties, elections, public opinion, interest groups, and policy-making mechanisms. Through analysis of historical developments and contemporary issues, the course provides a critical understanding of how American democracy functions and the challenges it faces in an evolving society.
Recommended Textbook
American Government Institutions and Policies 14th Edition by James Q. Wilson
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Study of American Government
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Q1) Identify the government institutions whose influence on agenda setting has become especially important. Explain.
Answer: -The courts can make decisions that force the hand of the other branches of government.
-The bureaucracy has acquired significance because it is now a source of political innovation. It has become a source of policy proposals as well as implementers of those that become law.
-In the 1960s the Senate became an incubator for developing new policies and building national constituencies.
Q2) Karl Marx is associated with the view that elites reflect a(n)
A) dominant social class.
B) group of business, military, labor-union, and elected officials.
C) array of appointed bureaucrats.
D) large number of organized interests.
E) flexible alliance of religious and cultural leaders.
Answer: A
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3
Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Q1) The Articles of Confederation created a
A) strong central government.
B) strong military.
C) unitary system.
D) league of friendship.
E) federal system.
Answer: D
Q2) The "state of nature" refers to
A) society without government.
B) government without society.
C) formation of government along the lines of natural law.
D) the clash between government and society.
E) the very highest form of government.
Answer: A
Q3) The colonists saw "higher law" as something that was discoverable in nature.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Federalism
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Sample Questions
Q1) In about half of the states, voters can use this procedure to place legislative measures directly on the ballot by getting enough signatures.
A) Initiative
B) Referendum
C) Recall
D) Logrolling
E) Rollback
Answer: A
Q2) Applying the principles of Thomas Jefferson to current political issues would probably dispose one to
A) favor the decentralization of government power.
B) oppose the decentralization of government power.
C) favor seven-year terms for presidents.
D) oppose seven-year terms for presidents.
E) favor a more powerful bureaucracy.
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: American Political Culture
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Sample Questions
Q1) Compared with the average European, the average American is more likely to A) believe in God.
B) pray on a daily basis.
C) acknowledge clear standards of right and wrong.
D) All of the above are True.
E) None of the above is True.
Q2) The text suggests that Americans have a "preoccupation" with A) law.
B) rights.
C) order.
D) conflict.
E) commerce.
Q3) Social policy in the United States is dominated by a common belief among Americans in the A) ethic of self-reliance.
B) value of group harmony.
C) need to protect all citizens.
D) value of preferential hiring.
E) sense of community.
Q4) Compare and contrast political culture in America and in Japan.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Civil Liberties
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Q1) If you, as a private individual, are grievously harmed by the statements of someone who can also prove that the statements are True, you
A) can sue that person for libel.
B) can collect damages if you demonstrate malice.
C) cannot collect damages from that person.
D) can collect for slander, but not for libel.
E) can collect for libel, but not for slander.
Q2) Originally, the Bill of Rights applied only to the federal government.
A)True
B)False
Q3) When Clarence Brandenburg vacated the street at a Ku Klux Klan cross-burning rally as ordered but threatened to reoccupy it later, the Supreme Court overturned his conviction by arguing that government can only restrict speech when it
A) presents a clear and present danger.
B) incites an "imminent" lawless action.
C) is against the ruling political party.
D) is against the president.
E) is against law enforcement officers.
Q4) Discuss five key provisions of the USA Patriot Act.
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Chapter 6: Civil Rights
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Q1) George H.W. Bush signed affirmative action related legislation in 1991 that had the effect of
A) removing incentives for employers to hire minorities.
B) giving special preference to quota systems that lay off workers.
C) shifting the burden of proof in discrimination claims to employers.
D) granting special status to state quota programs that are required by law.
E) discouraging the use of voluntary preference systems.
Q2) Based on the Supreme Court's decision in Roe, a woman has an unfettered right to an abortion
A) in the first trimester.
B) in the first and second trimesters.
C) in the second trimester.
D) in the second and third trimesters.
E) in the third trimester.
Q3) Indicate the factors that are considered in gender discrimination cases specifically, as a result of a 1971 case regarding the administration of estates.
Q4) The NAACP was formed by a group consisting of both whites and blacks.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 7: Public Opinion
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Questions
Q1) What factors influence a person's political opinions (political socialization)?
Q2) Discuss how social class affects public opinions in America.
Q3) When people care more about an issue than other people do, they are said to have
A) opinion curiosity.
B) opinion policy congruence.
C) opinion stability.
D) opinion saliency.
E) opinion agreement.
Q4) James Madison felt that direct popular participation in the decisions of government was
A) a recipe for disaster.
B) an eventual goal of the new republic.
C) to be achieved by amending the Constitution.
D) the problem with the British form of government.
E) the desire of his political enemies.
Q5) Discuss what early and later studies of public opinion and voting revealed about the American public. Have the studies on specific issues identified a pattern?
Q6) Explain why activists are much more likely to exhibit clear ideological consistency than the average member of the public.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Political Participation
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Sample Questions
Q1) When Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1970 and lowered the voting age to eighteen,
A) the president vetoed the act.
B) the Fourteenth Amendment was overturned.
C) the Supreme Court declared the adjustment unconstitutional.
D) thirty-five state governors protested the change.
E) the number of eligible voters instantly doubled.
Q2) Two of the participation groups that Verba and Nie describe, campaigners and communalists, differ primarily in their
A) taste for conflict.
B) political ideology.
C) socioeconomic status.
D) general level of participation.
E) intensity of religious sentiment.
Q3) Several states permitted women to vote prior to the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Identify some of the ways that African-Americans were discouraged from participating in elections.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Political Parties
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Q1) Of the following statements, which one best describes voters relationship with political parties.
A) Voters are more attached to political parties today than they were a hundred years ago.
B) Voters favor strong political parties more than they do individual candidates.
C) Voters are less attached to political parties today than they were a hundred years ago.
D) Voters are extremely knowledgeable about the platforms of the major parties.
E) Voters have increased their loyalty to their political party in recent years.
Q2) The classical machine-type party was developed and perfected
A) in the nineteenth century, before the large-scale Irish and Italian immigrations.
B) in the nineteenth century, after the large-scale Irish and Italian immigrations.
C) at the time of the New Deal, when thousands of civil servants were jobless.
D) after World War II, when thousands of soldiers returned from Europe and the Pacific.
E) during the implementation of Great Society programs in the Deep South.
Q3) What are the four types of minor parties identified by the authors?
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Chapter 10: Elections and Campaigns
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Q1) States were generally aggressive about malapportionment until courts restricted their ability to address the problem.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The text suggests that the term campaigning has become a synonym for
A) calculating.
B) mobilizing.
C) communicating.
D) reflecting.
E) fundraising.
Q3) In a(n) __________ primary, you can vote for candidates of either party.
A) blanket
B) open
C) closed
D) runoff
E) static
Q4) In Israel and the Netherlands, the names of candidates for the legislature do not even appear on the ballot.
A)True
B)False
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Interest Groups
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Q1) Discuss the difference between the two kinds of interest groups-institutional and membership interests.
Q2) The Audubon Society can be considered an interest group.
A)True
B)False
Q3) When the purpose of the organization will benefit nonmembers, it is customary to call the group a(n)
A) public-interest lobby.
B) ideological interest group.
C) political party.
D) public-interest law firm.
E) pressure group.
Q4) A social movement need not have liberal goals.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Unions composed of government workers are becoming the most important part of the union movement.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What are earmarks? How are they related to interest group politics.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: The Media
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Q1) The government cannot employ prior restraint (or censorship) on the press in any circumstance.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The average news sound bite for a presidential contender drooped from 42 seconds in 1968 to 7.3 seconds in 2000.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Since the 1980s, broadcasting licenses are automatically renewed unless
A) the station has been found guilty of broadcasting obscenity.
B) some community group formally objects.
C) the station has been found to criticize the government unfairly.
D) the station's ownership has changed.
E) the station's ownership has not changed for a considerable period of time.
Q4) News coverage by the Associated Press had to be nonpartisan because
A) its funding came from the federal government.
B) its reporters' standards were highly professional.
C) government regulations required it.
D) it served papers of various political hues.
E) its managers held the parties in contempt.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Congress
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the Senate, a filibuster can be ended by invoking
A) a rider.
B) a quorum.
C) a markup.
D) cloture.
E) a meeting of the whole.
Q2) In a parliamentary system, when members of the government's party vote against the parliament, the leadership must
A) form an alliance with the opposition.
B) appeal to the people to influence their representatives.
C) dissolve the parliament and form a new government.
D) resign and name someone from the opposing party to lead the government.
E) resign and join the opposing party.
Q3) Since the 1980s, the conservative coalition has become less important because
A) reapportionment has given moderates an advantage in policymaking.
B) rules changes have weakened party discipline.
C) congressional leadership changes hands more frequently.
D) many southern Democrats in Congress have been replaced by southern Republicans.
E) northern Republicans are more influential.
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Page 15
Chapter 14: The Presidency
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Sample Questions
Q1) In order to win the presidency today, a candidate must win _________ electoral votes.
A) 538
B) 438
C) 300
D) 270
E) 100
Q2) Describe the electoral college and explain what it does and how it does it.
Q3) Alexander Hamilton stood at the Constitutional Convention and gave a five-hour speech calling for
A) a plural executive.
B) an elected president.
C) an official declaration that George Washington would be the first president.
D) his own appointment as chief executive.
E) an elective monarchy.
Q4) A president's popularity has no effect on how much of his program is passed by Congress.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Discuss some of the differences between the president and prime ministers.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: The Bureaucracy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The definition of bureaucracy includes all of the following notions except A) a large organization.
B) authority divided among several managers.
C) complexity of structure.
D) appointed officials.
E) an issue network.
Q2) What are some of the effects of constraints on bureaucratic agencies?
Q3) Among the pathologies commonly attributed to bureaucracies are all of the following except
A) conflict.
B) synergism.
C) duplication.
D) imperialism.
E) waste.
Q4) A laissez-faire economy
A) is restrictive but fair.
B) is supported by the general public.
C) is freely competitive.
D) is based on rapid industrialization.
E) mixes industry and agriculture.
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Chapter 16: The Judiciary
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Q1) Under the Foreign Intelligence Service Act of 1978, the National Security Agency submits requests to conduct electronic surveillance to
A) the intelligence committees of Congress.
B) the Supreme Court.
C) the U.S. Foreign Surveillance Court.
D) the U.S. Justice Department.
E) the D.C. Court of Appeals.
Q2) The Supreme Court will grant cert and hear a case if __________ justices agree to do so.
A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five
E) six
Q3) Senatorial courtesy is an especially important consideration in nominations to
A) legislative courts.
B) courts of appeals.
C) district courts.
D) constitutional courts.
E) intermediate appellate courts.
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Chapter 17: Domestic Policy
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Q1) The Constitution calls for the government to "promote the general Welfare" and "provide for the general Welfare" in what two sections of the document?
A) Article I, Section 8 and Article II, Section 1
B) The Preamble and Article I, Section 8
C) Article I, Section 2 and Article III, Section 1
D) The Preamble and Article IV, Section 1
E) Article V and Article VI
F) None of the above is True.
Q2) Of the following, which is not a means tested program?
A) Medicare
B) Supplemental Security Income
C) Food Stamps
D) Medicaid
E) Earned Income Tax Credit
Q3) Medicaid was created during Franklin Roosevelt's administration.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Antitrust laws are examples of majoritarian politics.
A)True
B)False
Page 19
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Chapter 18: Economic Policy
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Q1) As a group, low-income people tend to vote
A) Republican.
B) for Democrats and Republicans at about equal levels.
C) for independent candidates.
D) Democratic.
E) for third party candidates.
Q2) Discuss how economics affects the way people vote.
Q3) Sociotropic voting would involve decision making based on personal experiences rather than on perceptions of the economic health of the nation as a whole.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In theory, the Fed is
A) the only national entity responsible for economic policy.
B) central planning body for the economy.
C) independent of both the president and Congress.
D) the main fiscal policy body in the federal government.
E) None of the above is True.
Q5) Younger voters often worry more about inflation than unemployment.
A)True
B)False
Page 20
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Chapter 19: Foreign and Military Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The view that defense policy protects everyone, and that everyone pays for it, would typify defense policymaking as ___________ politics.
A) client
B) entrepreneurial
C) interest group
D) majoritarian
E) neo-institutional
Q2) How many times have U.S. presidents sent troops abroad without the authorization of Congress?
A) None
B) Ten
C) Approximately fifty
D) More than one hundred
E) More than three hundred
Q3) Which of the following statements about the National Security Council is True?
A) It reports directly to the secretary of state.
B) Its membership is appointed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
C) Its influence is limited by constant squabbling among agencies.
D) Its membership is appointed by Congress.
E) It grew in influence during the Kennedy administration.
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Chapter 20: American Democracy, Then and Now
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Q1) Members of the House of Representatives began to enjoy relatively secure seats during the 1930s.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Power was more decentralized under the Old System of American politics.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is not a characteristic of what the authors call the Old System?
A) A small agenda
B) Low voter participation rates
C) Dominance of states' rights
D) Focus on domestic affairs
E) A small and somewhat personal presidency
Q4) The federal government actively sought to address the issue of drug abuse before the mid-twentieth century.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Identify the areas that the Founders probably felt were to be limits of federal government.
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