Course Introduction
American Politics
Textbook Exam Questions
American Politics explores the foundational principles, institutions, and processes that define the political system of the United States. This course examines the Constitution, the roles and functions of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, federalism, political parties, interest groups, elections, and the policy-making process. Students will analyze major political debates, the structure and impact of public opinion, civil rights and liberties, and contemporary issues facing American democracy. Through case studies and discussions, learners will gain a comprehensive understanding of how American government operates and shapes society.
Recommended Textbook
The Enduring Democracy 3rd Edition by
David A. Yalof
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The More Things Changethe More They Stay the Same
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is NOT true of the framers of the U. S. Constitution?
A) They drafted a blueprint for how the government should go about dealing with problems and conflicts into the future.
B) They only were concerned with problems immediately facing the new nation.
C) They guaranteed the losers of political battles rights and liberties.
D) They included mechanisms to resolve conflicts in a procedural manner.
E) They established rules for settling conflicts based on fairness and proper procedure.
Answer: B
Q2) The United States has been described as a system of governments. This arrangement is referred to as federalism and is important in understanding American democracy. What is the total number of governments (federal, state, local, etc.) currently operating throughout the nation?
A) Approximately 50
B) Approximately 1,000
C) Approximately 3,000
D) Approximately 25,000
E) Approximately 90,000
Answer: E
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Chapter 2: The Founding and the Constitution
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Q1) Following France's defeat in the French and Indian War, the Treaty of Paris in 1763 settled the dispute by
A) ceding all lands west of the Appalachian Mountains to Spain.
B) forcing France to accept and pay all debts to the new territories that were gained by England.
C) declaring a total truce and leaving all territories in the hands of those who held them prior to the war.
D) awarding to England all of the territories between the Arctic Circle and the Gulf of Mexico.
E) equally distributing territories between the nations of France and England.
Answer: D
Q2) Under the Articles of Confederation, the office of a chief executive as president of the United States
A) had limited powers.
B) did not exist.
C) was very much unrestrained in its given powers.
D) was also the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
E) was held by a committee of three appointed individuals.
Answer: B
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism
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Q1) The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in the nation. In regard to states, why is this important?
A) It allows for the federal courts to take over the state courts when the states fail to act properly.
B) It gives the Supreme Court the authority to settle disputes between states, such as ownership of or jurisdiction over disputed property.
C) It allows Congress to pass laws that will control states that have gotten out of control.
D) It gives the nation a place to determine the winner of an election.
E) It takes power away from a potentially abusive Congress.
Answer: B
Q2) What is meant by the term "New Federalism"? Discuss this era in comparison with earlier eras, especially regarding the roles of federal and state governments.
Answer: Answers may vary.
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5
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
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Q1) Which of the following is NOT an example of an opinion in which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of religious groups using the First Amendment's free exercise clause?
A) It ruled that the state of Wisconsin cannot require Amish children to attend school beyond the eighth grade.
B) It required the state of South Carolina to pay unemployment benefits to a Seventh Day Adventist who refused to work on Saturdays.
C) It refused to recognize a claim by a Mormon in 1878 of his right to practice polygamy.
D) It ruled that the state of North Carolina could require students to participate in public school prayer.
E) It refused to recognize the right of two Oregon Native Americans to ingest the drug peyote as part of a religious ritual after the two had been fired from their jobs as drug rehabilitators.
Q2) The First Amendment contains both the establishment clause and the free exercise clause. Discuss how the Supreme Court has interpreted these clauses and how these decisions have affected the "wall of separation" between church and state.
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6
Chapter 5: Civil Rights, Equality and Social Movements
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Q1) The Civil War Amendments were a series of three race-related Constitutional Amendments. These amendments included
A) Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Amendments.
B) Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.
C) Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Amendments.
D) Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Amendments.
E) Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Amendments.
Q2) The arrest of __________ in December 1955 sparked a racial boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama bus system.
A) Martin Luther King Jr.
B) Malcolm X
C) Rosa Parks
D) Louis Farrakhan
E) Thurgood Marshall
Q3) The United States Supreme Court rejected a series of attempts by states to segregate graduate education institutions by outright prohibition of black students and the creation of separate schools or sections in the classroom for blacks. Explain how each such attempt was rejected.
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Chapter 6: Congress
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Q1) The term "gerrymandering" was coined because Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts created a new congressional district that on the map appeared to his opponents as resembling a A) snake.
B) ink blot.
C) new state.
D) salamander.
E) crescent moon.
Q2) The ultimate authority for enacting new laws lies with A) Congress.
B) the president.
C) the Supreme Court.
D) state governments.
E) state courts.
Q3) The power that requires the consent by two-thirds vote of the Senate is
A) confirmation of appointees.
B) ratification of treaties.
C) impeachment.
D) oversight.
E) casework.
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Chapter 7: The Presidency
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Q1) What are the express powers and responsibilities of the President? How do they differ from implied powers?
Q2) Since the early 1900s presidential authority has been greatest in the area of A) crime and punishment.
B) health care.
C) domestic policy.
D) the environment.
E) national security.
Q3) The presidency of Woodrow Wilson is crowned by successful intervention of the United States into World War I in 1917. Though Wilson saw several successes, his greatest downfall was
A) his failure to gain Senate approval to join the League of Nations, which he was instrumental in creating.
B) the loss of the Philippines to Japan.
C) the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan.
D) his failure to enact comprehensive civil rights legislation.
E) his inability to desegregate the military.
Q4) Describe the implied powers and responsibilities of the President.
Q5) Discuss the evolution of executive powers since World War II.
Q6) What are the differences between an executive order and a law?
Page 9
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Chapter 8: The Federal Bureaucracy
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Q1) Regulations are
A) a set of rules that guide employees of an agency in carrying out a program or service.
B) a widely accessible federal government publication.
C) freedom in deciding how to implement a law.
D) Congress choosing not to deal with politically difficult issues.
E) the process of carrying out a law.
Q2) A step included in authoring regulations is
A) asking the Attorney General for an advisory opinion regarding a proposed regulation.
B) asking the courts for a preliminary ruling regarding a proposed regulation.
C) having an open period where the agency accepts comments on a proposed regulation.
D) Options A, B, and C are true.
E) None of the above is true.
Q3) What is the role of the cabinet-level departments and why are they important to the president? How are the heads of these Cabinet-level departments chosen?
Q4) Fully explain the processes for developing regulations and bureaucratic adjudication.
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Chapter 9: The Judiciary
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Q1) The type of law concerned with the definition, regulation, and enforcement rights in a divorce is
A) public law.
B) administrative law.
C) positive law.
D) dispositive law.
E) private law.
Q2) In order to appeal a case beyond the state supreme court directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, a losing party
A) must gain approval of its respective state senators.
B) must have approval of the federal court.
C) need not have filed the case in the state courts.
D) must have exhausted all remedies available at the state level.
E) must show that the U.S. Supreme Court has addressed similar cases in the past.
Q3) Discuss the criteria for nominating Supreme Court justices and the process by which the nominees are confirmed. How has the process changed in recent years?
Q4) Describe the limitations to which the courts must adhere.
Q5) Compare and contrast appellate and original jurisdiction.
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Chapter 10: Public Opinion
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Q1) Fully explain the four basic values and beliefs that are widely accepted in American political culture: liberty, equality, individualism, and the rule of law.
Q2) Studies have shown that heavy users of the news media, compared to lighter users, are
A) far more critical of democracy.
B) more inclined to support overthrow of the government.
C) more politically informed.
D) less likely to hold long-term jobs.
E) more apt to run for political office.
Q3) The wording of polling questions can mean everything. Which of the following is a key recommendation in constructing good poll questions?
A) Avoid double negatives.
B) The questions should be leading so the interviewee can easily come to an answer.
C) Honesty must always be expected.
D) Double-barreled questions are a good way to get as many answers from one question as possible.
E) Questions can be as simple or as complicated as necessary.
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Interest Groups
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Q1) Robert Dahl's "access points"
A) are a means for interest groups to provide input to influence government.
B) are a means for interest groups to compete for influence.
C) include Congress, executive branch offices, courts, elections, and the news media.
D) can be found in A Preface to Democratic Theory.
E) All of the above are true.
Q2) Between 1960 and 2000, the number of official associations (interest groups) increased by about
A) 20 percent.
B) 60 percent.
C) 150 percent.
D) 300 percent.
E) 400 percent.
Q3) How do interest groups differ from political parties? How are they similar? Give some examples.
Q4) What are some of the reasons that certain interest groups are more powerful than others? Name several of the most powerful interest groups in existence today. What factors may have led to their rise in American politics?
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13
Chapter 12: The Media and American Politics
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Q1) How did railroad expansion impact the news in the mid-1800s?
A) Railroads owned the newspaper so the increased profits of the railroads allowed expansion of the new outlets.
B) Railroads opened up remote areas, but the areas were controlled by non-American forces and the impact on news dissemination was negative.
C) Railroads had no impact on the media.
D) Expansion of railroads into frontiers and remote areas allowed for mass distribution of newspaper and mail.
E) Railroads were controlled by the dominant political party, which also controlled how and if the news was distributed to remote areas.
Q2) The case that was evoked by the George Carlin's comedic skit "Seven Dirty Words" was the
A) FCC v. United States.
B) FCC v. George Carlin.
C) FCC v. Pacifica Foundation.
D) FCC v. Seven Dirty Words.
E) United States v. Pacifica Foundation.
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Political Parties and Voting
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Q1) Thomas Jefferson helped to create the Democratic-Republican Party in the 1790s. He criticized then-President George Washington's administration as
A) being weak on illegal immigration.
B) being weak with our enemy.
C) assuming greater powers than those granted to the federal government by the Constitution.
D) being opposed to the military.
E) being a tax-and-spend liberal.
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a factor in motivating people to vote?
A) An individual's interest in politics
B) Mandatory requirement of registered citizens
C) A sense of civic duty
D) The perception that an individual's vote can have an impact on an election
E) Social group pressure
Q3) Which of the following is NOT a generally used method of voting?
A) Hand-counted paper ballots
B) Mechanical lever machines
C) Internet voting
D) Computer punch cards
E) Optical scan cards
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Chapter 14: Campaigns and Elections
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Q1) What is meant by the term "battleground state"?
A) The state cannot be considered safely Democrat or Republican so either party has a chance of winning that state in the presidential election.
B) Party politics are so strong in the state that nearly all efforts to move forward are met with huge battles.
C) The majority of the voters in the state are ideologically moderate.
D) A state that splits its distribution of votes in the electoral college.
E) Election results in such states are normally decided within the courts weeks after the election.
Q2) A less common, but still utilized approach for selecting the party's candidate is for voters to show up at the polling place and request either a Republican or Democrat ballot, regardless of how they are registered with the Board of Elections. This approach is called a(n)
A) open primary.
B) closed primary.
C) the caucus.
D) open referendum.
E) cross-party poll.
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Page 16
Chapter 15: American Domestic Policy
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Q1) Describe the differences between a progressive tax, a regressive tax, and a flat tax. Give examples of the individuals or groups that benefit most from each of these taxing formats.
Q2) ___________ began the era where people thought the government could and should be used as a positive influence on society.
A) The Civil War
B) World War I
C) The Great Depression
D) World War II
E) The Civil Rights movement
Q3) What is the total sum of the outstanding debt obligations of the United States government, such as treasury notes and treasury bills?
A) Budget deficit
B) Balance of trade
C) National debt
D) Gross domestic product
E) Monetary system
Q4) Fully explain the process through which the Federal Reserve Board generates and applies monetary policy.
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Chapter 16: American Foreign Policy
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Q1) Which of the following is NOT a reason to reduce foreign aid?
A) The dissolution of the Soviet Union has weakened some of the strategic rationale for foreign aid.
B) Much of the money provided by America goes to elites in the recipient nations rather than those who need help.
C) Foreign transfers only tend to increase government consumption, which has no positive effect on growth.
D) Options A, B, and C are true.
E) None of the above is true.
Q2) The power to receive ambassadors, negotiate foreign treaties, and serve as commander in chief during the course of a war is the exclusive authority of A) the president of the United States.
B) Congress.
C) individual state governments that are affected by events.
D) the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
E) the Secretary of Defense.
Q3) Describe the policy and philosophy behind the Monroe Doctrine, and explain how it fundamentally opposed the concept of isolationism.
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Page 18