American Politics
Solved Exam Questions
Course Introduction
This course provides an in-depth examination of the institutions, processes, and actors that shape the political landscape of the United States. Students will explore the foundations of the American political system, including the Constitution, federalism, and civil liberties, as well as the roles of Congress, the Presidency, the judiciary, and bureaucracies. The course also covers political behavior, including public opinion, political parties, elections, and interest groups, offering insight into how policies are made and the dynamics of power and representation in American democracy. Throughout, students will develop analytical skills to critically assess contemporary issues and debates within American politics.
Recommended Textbook
American Government Power and Purpose Brief 13th Edition by Theodore J. Lowi
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14 Chapters
1596 Verified Questions
1596 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Introduction: Making Sense of Government and Politics
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63 Verified Questions
63 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) For which of the following reasons is government NOT necessary?
A)to provide public goods
B)to provide national defense
C)to maintain order
D)to provide private goods
E)to protect property
Answer: D
Q2) What historical developments helped create modern democratic government?
Answer: Answer will vary.
Q3) The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin was an example of a totalitarian regime.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Why does the "dark side" of principal-agent relationships exist?
A)Agents are often not rational.
B)Institutions sometimes force principal-agent relationships "underground."
C)Principals often force agents to do things against their will.
D)The interests of the agent and the principal may not be well aligned.
E)The principals usually do not know what they are doing.
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: The Founding and the Constitution
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101 Verified Questions
101 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the absence of an amendment,any power not specifically enumerated in the Constitution is conceived to be reserved to the national government.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) The result of the 1777 Continental Congress was a constitution concerned primarily with:
A)preventing domestic insurrection
B)limiting the powers of the central government
C)generating new tax revenues to help pay for armed resistance
D)regulating trade among the colonies as well as imports and exports
E)centralizing currency and monetary policy
Answer: B
Q3) The issue of counting slaves for purposes of representation was settled by the:
A)Great Compromise
B)Virginia Plan
C)Three-Fifths Compromise
D)Seventh Amendment
E)Franklin Proviso
Answer: C
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Chapter 3: Federalism and the Separation of Powers
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120 Verified Questions
120 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Imagine you are a resident of California and have a California driver's license.If you decide to take a road trip to Arizona,which clause of the Constitution requires Arizona to recognize your California driver's license?
A)commerce clause
B)supremacy clause
C)full faith and credit clause
D)privileges and immunities clause
E)necessary and proper clause
Answer: C
Q2) Identify the facts and issues of the McCulloch v.Maryland case.Explain the court's decision and its ramifications for American federalism.
Answer: Answer will vary.
Q3) The separation of powers sought to limit the power of the government by:
A)reserving some powers for the people
B)dividing national government against itself
C)forcing states to compete against themselves
D)prohibiting Congress and the states from passing ex post facto laws
E)encouraging conflict between the national government and the states
Answer: B
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
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164 Verified Questions
164 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In 1957,to which U.S.state and town did President Eisenhower deploy U.S.troops to impose martial law and enforce a federal court order to integrate Central High School?
A)Topeka,Kansas
B)Selma,Alabama
C)Atlanta,Georgia
D)Little Rock,Arkansas
E)Charlotte,North Carolina
Q2) Within five years of ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment,the U.S.Supreme Court was making decisions as though it had never been adopted.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The case of Miranda v.Arizona established the right of citizens to:
A)counsel in a civil trial
B)counsel in a criminal trial
C)privacy in their personal associations
D)be informed of their constitutional rights
E)privacy
Q4) Explain due process and the constitutional rights protected under due process.
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Chapter 5: Congress: The First Branch
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116 Verified Questions
116 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Members of Congress form informal caucuses to advance the interests of the groups around policy interests or social characteristics.
A)True
B)False
Q2) If a senator uses the filibuster,there is no way to stop him or her.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Explain how bicameralism influences the policy-making process.
Q4) Who do members of Congress owe their primary responsibility to?
A)president
B)constituency
C)political party
D)congressional leadership
E)campaign donors
Q5) Parties are only a minor feature of the organization of Congress.
A)True
B)False
Q6) How does Congress organize itself to carry on the public's business?
Q7) What is gerrymandering,and what are its implications for the democratic process?
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Q8) Explain how the ambition of legislators influences congressional policy making.
Chapter 6: The Presidency
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125 Verified Questions
125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why do most presidents leave office less popular than they were at the beginning of their term?
Q2) Congress does not even have the option of overriding and must reintroduce the bill in the next session when the president exercises a(n)________ veto.
A)pocket
B)line-item
C)executive
D)legislative
E)hard-line
Q3) Which of the following is NOT one of the constitutionally specified purposes of the vice presidency?
A)succeed the president in case of death
B)succeed the president in case of resignation
C)preside over the Senate
D)cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate
E)be present when the president makes significant decisions
Q4) The power to declare war is one of the president's expressed powers.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 7: The Executive Branch
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116 Verified Questions
116 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The observation that "you must first enable the government to control the governed;and in the next place oblige it to control itself" was made by:
A)John Adams
B)James Madison
C)Benjamin Franklin
D)Alexander Hamilton
E)George Washington
Q2) The bureau level of the executive agency is higher in the federal hierarchy than a cabinet department.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What are the primary characteristics of bureaucracy? Is bureaucracy an efficient form of organization?
Q4) Bureaucracies can make rules that have the full force of law,just like laws passed by Congress.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Who controls the bureaucracy?
Q6) How do public agencies maintain their base of power within government?
Page 9
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Chapter 8: The Federal Courts
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120 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is true regarding Article I courts and Article III courts?
A)Article I court judges serve life terms,whereas Article III court judges serve terms of 10 to 15 years.
B)Neither Article I nor Article III court judges can have their salaries reduced during their terms.
C)Article I courts are less independent than Article III courts.
D)Article I court judges are not required to have law degrees,whereas Article III court judges are.
E)Article I courts can hear international cases,whereas Article III courts may not.
Q2) Which of the following courts exercises appellate jurisdiction over cases heard by the district courts within its region?
A)each circuit court
B)the Supreme Court
C)state supreme courts
D)the U.S.Court of Federal Claims
E)the International Criminal Courts
Q3) Explain the various stages in the decision-making process of the Supreme Court.
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Chapter 9: Public Opinion and the Media
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Sample Questions
Q1) The contemporary political ideology that is generally supportive of maintaining social and cultural traditions,limiting the role of government in economic life,and ensuring a strong military defense is most accurately classified as:
A)liberal
B)socialist
C)libertarian
D)conservative
E)theocratic
Q2) Is voting an accurate reflection of public opinion? Why or why not?
Q3) Like liberalism,conservatism is a relatively monolithic and unchanging ideology.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In international affairs,conservatism has come to mean support for:
A)arms control
B)aid to poor nations
C)maximizing international cooperation
D)maintaining American military power
E)Canada
Q5) Discuss the difference between ideological politics and identity politics.
Q6) What are the major differences between conservatives and liberals?
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Elections
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96 Verified Questions
96 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The presidential candidate who wins a plurality of the popular vote in the country wins the presidency.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a consequence of switching to the Australian ballot from the partisan ballot?
A)The new ballot form allowed voters to vote for one party's candidate for one office but a different party's candidate for another office.
B)The new ballot form made it difficult to tell which party the voter supported.
C)The Australian ballot helped to facilitate the rise of the personal vote.
D)The Australian ballot led to split-ticket voting .
E)The new ballot form led to high turnover among elected officials.
Q3) Almost all states in the United States allow felons and ex-felons to vote in presidential elections.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Do elections promote accountability from political leaders? Why or why not?
Q5) Describe the steps involved in conducting a presidential campaign.
Q6) Explain how the rules governing the electoral process help determine outcomes.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Political Parties
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110 Verified Questions
110 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is NOT a part of today's Republican Party coalition?
A)firearms owners
B)business interests
C)social conservatives
D)evangelical Christians
E)African Americans
Q2) A political party is an organization seeking:
A)grants and other funds from the government
B)influence over government by electing its members to office
C)to influence the government through lobbying
D)the greater good of the nation
E)to promote its ideology throughout the world
Q3) Political parties effectively lower the information costs of voter participation because they provide:
A)a media blitz for each candidate
B)a forum for candidates to debate issues
C)brand-name recognition
D)a clearinghouse for disseminating position papers and policy analyses
E)a "ground game" of yard signs,bumper stickers,and door hangers
Q4) What specific functions do political parties perform?
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Chapter 12: Groups and Interests
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108 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Interest groups invest far more resources in lobbying than in electoral politics.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The formation of many groups in the 1930s came about because of:
A)the dramatic expansion of the national government
B)a sharp uptick in the number of political entrepreneurs
C)the leftist movement that gained hold during the Great Depression
D)federal deregulation of interest-group formation
E)the development of radio and broadcast media
Q3) A strategy that launches a media campaign to build popular support is called:
A)going public
B)new politics
C)network advocacy
D)direct group representation
E)lobbying
Q4) In the American democratic system,pluralism assumes that interests are fully and equally represented in the political process.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Introduction to Public Policy
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135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) For more than half of all American workers,Social Security is their only pension plan.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Contributory programs are financed by taxation,which justifiably can be called:
A)extortion
B)blackmail
C)forced savings
D)taxation without representation
E)inflation-protected investing
Q3) In his 2000 presidential campaign,Al Gore was ridiculed for his proposal to reform Social Security by keeping the trust fund in interest-bearing government securities but in what he called a(n):
A)iron safe
B)cookie jar
C)locked box
D)freezer bag
E)treasure chest
Q4) What challenges is the current Social Security system facing? How should these problems be addressed?
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Chapter 14: Foreign Policy
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109 Verified Questions
109 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The oft-discussed notion from the Cold War that the United States should attack the Soviet Union before the Soviet Union attacks the United States is an example of the policy of:
A)preventative war
B)appeasement
C)isolationism
D)strike warfare
E)mutually assured destruction
Q2) The United States generally avoids making foreign policy on the basis of economic considerations.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The representation of a government to other foreign governments is called diplomacy.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed to counter the perceived threat of the Soviet Union.
A)True
B)False
Page 16
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