American Politics
Practice Questions
Course Introduction
American Politics provides an in-depth exploration of the structures, processes, and key actors that shape the political system of the United States. The course examines the foundations of the U.S. Constitution, federalism, the roles of Congress, the Presidency, and the Supreme Court, as well as the functions of political parties, interest groups, and the electoral process. Students analyze critical issues such as civil rights, civil liberties, policy-making, and the interplay between national and state governments. Through case studies, current events, and theoretical perspectives, the course encourages critical thinking about power, representation, and the challenges facing American democracy.
Recommended Textbook
American Government and Politics Today The Essentials 17th Edition by Barbara A. Bardes
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Democratic Republic
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Sample Questions
Q1) The initiative is
A) a way to remove a public official from office before the end of his or her elected term.
B) the same thing as a referendum.
C) provided for in the Bill of Rights.
D) a constitutional mechanism that takes place after a recall.
E) a procedure whereby voters can propose a law or constitutional amendment within a state.
Answer: E
Q2) Conservatives endorse all of the following \(\bold{except}\)
A) a limited role for the national government in helping individuals.
B) government action to support traditional values.
C) patriotism.
D) redistribution of income.
E) the belief that the individual is responsible for his or her own well-being.
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Bill of Rights provided for
A) the protection of individual liberties from state governments.
B) the protection of individual liberties from the national government.
C) equal protection under the law.
D) protection against state infringements on the freedoms of conscience, the press, and jury trial.
E) Options B and D are true.
Answer: B
Q2) Which of the following was a weakness of the Articles of Confederation?
A) Congress lacked the power to collect taxes directly from the people.
B) Any amendments to the Articles required unanimous consent of the Congress and confirmation by every state legislature.
C) Congress lacked the power to demand funds for the militia.
D) Each state had one vote regardless of size.
E) All the above are true.
Answer: E
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4
Chapter 3: Federalism
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Sample Questions
Q1) Strings attached to federal grants
A) are called federal mandates.
B) are designed to force states to comply with federal policies.
C) are designed to force states to save money.
D) are called federal rules.
E) Options A and B are true.
Answer: E
Q2) States may not
A) license marriages.
B) pass laws regulating contracts.
C) make laws on divorce.
D) make treaties with foreign nations.
E) impose taxes on income.
Answer: D
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
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Sample Questions
Q1) The police may enter your home without a warrant
A) if pursuing a suspected felon into your house.
B) if your landlord lets them in.
C) if you refuse to show identification.
D) if they have a general suspicion of illegal activity.
E) only if you are home.
Q2) Civil liberties
A) are not particularly important in the United States.
B) limit government actions against individuals.
C) allow the government the freedom or liberty to do what is necessary to run the country.
D) are a threat to libertarians.
E) None of the above is true.
Q3) Symbolic speech is
A) a law that is worded in a vague manner.
B) an area of expression that is not protected by the First Amendment.
C) the nonverbal expression of beliefs.
D) usually an expression of obscenity.
E) not applicable to flag burning.
Q4) What are the Miranda rights? What exceptions have been allowed to these rights?
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Chapter 5: Civil Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) Hispanics
A) may be of any race according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
B) have fewer rights than other minority groups because they are not citizens.
C) are a diverse population, originating from primarily Spanish-speaking countries.
D) are the second largest minority group in the United States behind African Americans.
E) Options A and C are true.
Q2) Explain the Americans with Disabilities Act and what impact it has had.
Q3) A major consequence of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was
A) the elimination of discriminatory voter registration tests.
B) the establishment of federal voter registrars.
C) the establishment of federally administered voter registration procedures.
D) limitations on the abilities of counties in the South to change voter registration procedures without federal approval.
E) All of the above are true.
Q4) Describe the barriers to voting faced by African Americans after the Civil War.
Q5) Explain the consequences of a policy that required the deportation of all unauthorized immigrants.
Q6) Contrast the approaches of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.
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Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization
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Sample Questions
Q1) The 2012 contraception insurance policy controversy can be described as a debate over
A) whether employers should cover contraception in insurance plans for employees.
B) whether religious organizations such as churches that oppose birth control should pay for such coverage.
C) whether institutions like schools and hospitals must offer coverage for contraception.
D) Options A and C are true.
E) All of the above are true.
Q2) Describe the significance and possible origins of the gender gap.
Q3) Studies suggest that parents' political influence over their children is due to
A) the strong need of children for parental approval.
B) the ability of parents to communicate frequently with their children.
C) the ability of parents to communicate feelings and preferences to their children.
D) family links to other factors that affect opinion, such as race, social class, education, and religious beliefs.
E) All of the above are true.
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Chapter 7: Interest Groups
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Q1) The Consumer Movement
A) began in the 1960s during the anti-war and civil rights movements.
B) began in the early part of the twentieth century due to unsafe and unsanitary workplace conditions.
C) was founded by Ralph Nader who pioneered increased safety testing of commercial airliners.
D) is funded by business and industrial interests.
E) was inspired by the book, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson.
Q2) Lobbyists
A) are persons hired to attempt to influence members of Congress.
B) date back to colonial times.
C) are deeply unpopular with the general public.
D) represent special interests.
E) All of the above are true.
Q3) Explain the factors that make an interest group powerful.
Q4) What are the differences between a social movement and an interest group? How are they related?
Q5) Explain the indirect techniques used by interest groups.
Q6) What would be the unintended consequences if lobbying was abolished?
Q7) Explain the direct techniques used by interest groups.
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Chapter 8: Political Parties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why do we only have two major parties? Explain the circumstances that have perpetuated the two-party system.
Q2) Which of the following is true?
A) The Great Depression shattered the working-class belief in Democratic economic competence.
B) The Great Depression solidified the Republican Party as the dominant and most trusted party in American government and politics.
C) Roosevelt's relief programs were generally not available to African Americans, resulting in African Americans' antagonism toward the Democratic Party that lasted for decades.
D) The Great Depression shattered the working-class belief in Republican economic competence.
E) Republicans held the presidency from the early 1930s until the late 1960s.
Q3) Today about how many voters call themselves independents?
A) 20 percent
B) 40 percent
C) 10 percent
D) 50 percent
E) 75 percent
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Page 10
Chapter 9: Campaigns, Elections, and the Media
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Q1) When the top two candidates in a primary compete in a second primary for the majority of votes, it is called
A) a closed primary.
B) an open primary.
C) a run-off primary.
D) a blanket primary.
E) a caucus.
Q2) Facts show that
A) there is a connection between money and elections.
B) the new lower limits on campaign donations are having a positive effect on election outcomes.
C) spending in the 2011-2012 election cycle was lower than in previous election cycles.
D) All of the above are true.
E) Options A and C are true.
Q3) What are the theories of media bias? Is there evidence to support the claims of media bias?
Q4) Explain how the electoral college works, the situations in which it has produced controversial results, and the criticisms leveled against it.
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Chapter 10: The Congress
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Sample Questions
Q1) The people that a legislator represents and spends considerable time and effort serving are called
A) delegates.
B) trustees.
C) constituents.
D) representatives.
E) members.
Q2) Compare and contrast the trustee and instructed-delegate theories of representation.
Q3) After being reported by a committee but before being sent to the House floor, bills are given to the _________, which defines the conditions under which the bills are to be considered by the House.
A) select committee
B) joint committee
C) Rules Committee
D) determination committee
E) definitional committee
Q4) Explain the roles played by the members of the House and Senate leadership.
Q5) Explain the difference between reapportionment and redistricting.
Q6) Describe the enumerated or expressed power of Congress.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: The President
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Sample Questions
Q1) A veto is
A) usually employed to punish members of the president's party who disagree with him.
B) more likely when the president's party controls Congress.
C) a clear-cut indication of the president's dissatisfaction with legislation.
D) likely to be overridden about half the time.
E) required to be used at least once during each president's term.
Q2) According to the Twenty-fifth Amendment, if a president's ability to discharge his normal functions is in question and he is unable to communicate,
A) the Supreme Court is empowered to select a physician to certify whether or not the president is able to perform the functions of his office.
B) the Speaker of the House becomes acting president until the matter is resolved.
C) a majority of the cabinet, including the vice president, can declare the president incapable.
D) the president must be permanently removed from office.
E) the vice president has the exclusive power to determine the president's capability.
Q3) Analyze the president's functions as party chief and superpolitician.
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Chapter 12: The Bureaucracy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe three of the four following organizations of the executive branch: cabinet departments, independent executive agencies, independent regulatory agencies, or government corporations.
Q2) Independent executive agencies are
A) the most recent cabinet departments.
B) responsible for regulating major aspects of the economy.
C) federal agencies that are not part of cabinet departments, but report directly to the president.
D) responsible directly to Congress.
E) staffed entirely by political appointees.
Q3) The government bureaucracy is
A) managed by the President in his/her role as chief administrator.
B) funded by acts of Congress.
C) authorized by voter referendums.
D) Options A and B are true.
E) Options A, B, and C are true.
Q4) Explain both sides of the issue of the privatization of government. Provide examples of ways privatization might make government more efficient and some of the unintended consequences of privatization.
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Chapter 13: The Courts
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Sample Questions
Q1) Standing to sue is
A) determined by whether or not a court has jurisdiction over the matter.
B) determined by whether or not the Supreme Court will hear a case.
C) determined by whether or not a person or group has suffered harm as a result of the action that led to the dispute in question.
D) the decorum that is expected in dealing with the Supreme Court during trial.
E) also known as stare decisis.
Q2) The Supreme Court cases, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and McDonald v. Chicago, were victories for the
A) political left.
B) political right.
C) gun control advocates.
D) government reform advocates.
E) Options A and C are true.
Q3) Should federal judges serve for lifetime or be term-limited? Thoroughly explain your answer.
Q4) Explain the process by which the United States Supreme Court decides to hear cases.
Q5) Describe the sources of American law.
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Chapter 14: Domestic and Economic Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) High prices of commodities like oil
A) provide an incentive to produce more of it.
B) provide an incentive for producers to slow production to boost prices higher.
C) provide an incentive to protect the environment.
D) provide an incentive to develop new technology to extract the oil.
E) Both options A and D are true.
Q2) Which of the following is not a regressive tax?
A) Social security tax
B) Medicare tax
C) State sales tax
D) Federal income tax
E) Local real estate tax
Q3) Regarding immigration reform
A) most Republicans are opposed to immigration reform.
B) some pro-business conservatives do favor reform.
C) most Democrats oppose reform.
D) Options A and B are true.
E) Options A, B, and C are true.
Q4) Explain the stages of the policymaking process.
Q5) Explain the impact of Keynesian economics on fiscal policy in the United States.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Foreign Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The first Gulf War
A) restored to Iraq a province that had been separated by the British after World War II.
B) was supported by large-scale demonstrations in Kuwait City.
C) was undertaken after Hussein reached a diplomatic agreement with Saudi Arabia.
D) began with Saddam Hussein's annexation of Kuwait in 1990.
E) remained in effect until George W. Bush initiated the Second Gulf War in 2003.
Q2) What problems might there be if the draft was used again in the United States?
Q3) Terrorism
A) is a systematic attempt to inspire fear to gain political ends.
B) typically includes indiscriminate use of violence against noncombatants.
C) is a term that was coined to refer to radicals who were in control of the government at the height of the French Revolution (1789-1799).
D) Both options A and B are true.
E) Options A, B, and C are true.
Q4) Describe U.S. efforts to handle international issues with diplomacy rather than armed force. In your examples, were these efforts largely successful or failures?
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