American Public Policy
Textbook Exam Questions
Course Introduction
This course provides an introduction to the major concepts, processes, and institutions that shape public policy in the United States. Students will explore how policies are formulated, implemented, and evaluated, considering the roles of government agencies, interest groups, the media, and the public. Key policy areas such as health care, education, the environment, and economic regulation will be examined, with emphasis on historical context and contemporary challenges. Through analysis of case studies and current events, students will develop a critical understanding of how policies address (or fail to address) public issues and the complex trade-offs inherent in policy-making.
Recommended Textbook
American Government Power and Purpose Brief 13th Edition by Theodore J. Lowi
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
14 Chapters
1596 Verified Questions
1596 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/1783 Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction: Making Sense of Government and Politics
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
63 Verified Questions
63 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35479
Sample Questions
Q1) The conflicts and struggles over the leadership,structure,and policies of government are called politics.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) When a small group of landowners,military officers,or wealthy merchants controls most of the governing decisions,the government is said to be a(n):
A)theocracy
B)oligarchy
C)autocracy
D)meritocracy
E)democracy
Answer: B
Q3) When a small group of individuals controls most of the governing decisions,a government is said to be an oligarchy.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 3
Chapter 2: The Founding and the Constitution
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
101 Verified Questions
101 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35480
Sample Questions
Q1) The terms of appointments for senators are staggered so that the terms of one-third of the senators expire every:
A)year
B)two years
C)four years
D)six years
E)eight years
Answer: B
Q2) In 1773,the British government granted a monopoly on the export of tea from Britain to the politically powerful East India Company who sought to bypass the colonial merchants and sell the tea directly to the colonies.The merchants called on their radical adversaries for support,and the most dramatic result was the:
A)Boston Tea Party
B)attack on Fort Sill
C)Philadelphia slaughter
D)ceremonial burning of the "Union Jack" flag in the Philadelphia town square
E)inciting of pirate attacks on East India Company ships
Answer: A
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism and the Separation of Powers
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
120 Verified Questions
120 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35481
Sample Questions
Q1) What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of federalism? Answer: Answer will vary.
Q2) The framers of the Constitution reinforced the principle of federalism in the Bill of Rights.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The power to levy taxes is an example of a(n)________ power.
A)police
B)socialist
C)exclusive
D)concurrent
E)reserved
Answer: D
Q4) After 1937,the Supreme Court threw out the old distinction between interstate and intrastate commerce.
A)True
B)False Answer: True
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 5
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
164 Verified Questions
164 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35482
Sample Questions
Q1) The interpretation of the establishment clause has been dominated by the idea of:
A)a simple ban on state-sponsored religions
B)the "nonpreferentialist" or "accommodationist" view that the government can provide assistance to religions but must not "take sides"
C)Jefferson's wall of separation principle
D)increasingly close ties between religion and the federal government
E)religions being allowed to influence the government,but not allowing government to influence religion
Q2) Quota systems are necessarily involved in affirmative action policies.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A law is held to be constitutional under the Lemon test if it meets any one of the three criteria in the test.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Explain the various ways in which civil rights for gay men and lesbians have been expanded by Congress and the courts in the last thirty years.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 5: Congress: The First Branch
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
116 Verified Questions
116 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35483
Sample Questions
Q1) Incumbency plays a very important role in the kind of representation citizens get in Washington.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What is the area of policy over which a committee is assigned responsibility?
A)area of expertise
B)central function
C)domain
D)home turf
E)jurisdiction
Q3) Members of the House serve longer terms than members of the Senate.
A)True
B)False
Q4) If a senator uses the filibuster,there is no way to stop him or her.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Do members of Congress represent the wishes of their constituencies? Why or why not?
Q6) What influence do political parties exercise in the lawmaking activities of Congress?
Page 7
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 6: The Presidency
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
125 Verified Questions
125 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35484
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is NOT a reason that the president's party is not a fully reliable presidential tool?
A)The president's party may be in the minority in Congress and thus be unable to accomplish much.
B)The more unified the president's party,the more unified the opposition party is likely to be,making for a tough fight in Congress.
C)Presidents must often appeal to the opposition party to offset defectors within the ranks of their own party.
D)Members of Congress typically prefer bipartisan legislation that enhances the public's opinion of Congress as an institution.
E)Even if the president's party holds a majority in the Senate,the filibuster makes it possible for the minority party to block the president's agenda.
Q2) The president may deploy troops in a state or city without a specific request from the state legislature or governor if the president considers it necessary to protect federally guaranteed civil rights.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 7: The Executive Branch
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
116 Verified Questions
116 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35485
Sample Questions
Q1) Describe how the executive branch of the American system of government is organized.
Q2) In the process of administrative adjudication,executive agencies act essentially like a(n):
A)legislature
B)court
C)police agency
D)interest group
E)therapist
Q3) The 1921 Budget and Accounting Act transferred agenda-setting power over the budget from the president to Congress.
A)True
B)False
Q4) By definition,bureaucrats work exclusively in government.
A)True
B)False
Q5) All government agencies are part of cabinet departments.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Is bureaucracy necessary? Why or why not?
Page 9
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 8: The Federal Courts
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
120 Verified Questions
120 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35486
Sample Questions
Q1) A state supreme court ruled against an individual claiming that she was denied her Fifth Amendment right to due process.It is possible that the state court's decision can be appealed in which of the following venues?
A)U.S.Supreme Court
B)State Courts of Appeals
C)U.S.District Courts
D)U.S.International Trade Court
E)U.S.Court of Federal Claims
Q2) The Supreme Court's reaction to President Franklin Roosevelt's plan to "pack" the Court by increasing the number of justices has been nicknamed in history as:
A)"the whole nine yards"
B)"the cat with nine lives"
C)"the switch in time that saved nine"
D)"Court stuffing"
E)"Court bashing"
Q3) How do cases reach the Supreme Court? How does the Supreme Court control the flow of cases and its own caseload?
Q4) List and explain the five limitations on judicial power.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 10
Chapter 9: Public Opinion and the Media
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
113 Verified Questions
113 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35487
Sample Questions
Q1) Which demographic groups were more likely to support initiating the Iraq War in 2003 and,as of 2008,maintaining a military presence in Iraq indefinitely?
A)women and Republicans
B)men and Democrats
C)men and Republicans
D)women and Democrats
E)Republicans only;there has been no significant difference based on gender
Q2) An example of a liberal approach to increasing airline safety after 9/11 was to:
A)call for better training of existing employees
B)contract with private organizations to inspect passenger luggage
C)create a new workforce of federal employees to screen passenger luggage
D)have the FBI conduct in-depth background checks on all citizens purchasing airline tickets
E)urge passengers to assault potential terrorists
Q3) Describe how governments have attempted to shape public opinion in support of the established order.
Q4) Describe the major methods for measuring public opinion.What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method? How valid are criticisms of opinion polling?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 11
Chapter 10: Elections
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
96 Verified Questions
96 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35488
Sample Questions
Q1) The electoral format that presents the names of all candidates for any given office on the same ballot,allowing voters to select any candidate of their choice for each office,is called the ________ ballot
A)American
B)populist
C)Australian
D)ticket-splitting
E)partisan
Q2) In the 2012 presidential election,the Democratic Party carried the following groups EXCEPT:
A)African-American voters
B)Latino Voters
C)female voters
D)Asian Americans
E)white voters
Q3) How does government regulate the electoral process?
Q4) One purpose of requiring registration was to reduce corruption.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe the steps involved in conducting a presidential campaign.
Page 12
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 11: Political Parties
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
110 Verified Questions
110 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35489
Sample Questions
Q1) Compare and contrast the various nominating processes.What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
Q2) Presidents are more likely to get their legislative proposals through Congress if:
A)they make speeches to joint sessions of Congress
B)they are supported by the president's party and party leaders in Congress
C)they donate personal funds to the campaigns of congressional incumbents
D)they offer executive branch jobs to members of Congress
E)the FBI collects dossiers of embarrassing material about each member of Congress
Q3) Party brand names make voting a more complex task.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The actual selection of the Speaker of the House is made by the:
A)president
B)vice president
C)Electoral College
D)major party caucus
E)House Rules Committee
Q5) What specific functions do political parties perform?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 13
Chapter 12: Groups and Interests
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
108 Verified Questions
108 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35490
Sample Questions
Q1) Membership in interest groups is randomly distributed in the population.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What part of the 1996 regulations affecting the actions of lobbyists is still in effect today?
A)relaxes control over the practice of honoraria
B)limits the size of individual gifts to no more than $50
C)bans travel of congressional representatives on corporate jets
D)allows businesses to deduct lobbying costs as a business expense
E)prohibits businesses from deducting lobbying costs as a business expense
Q3) Organized protests as a strategy for winning support for a group's policy positions:
A)are generally not protected as free speech because of inherent dangers in protests
B)create a sense of community and raise the consciousness of people outside the protest
C)have no record of success in the United States,though they have been used successfully elsewhere
D)are effective for unions but are not effective for other groups
E)tend to work for Democrats but not for Republicans
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 14
Chapter 13: Introduction to Public Policy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35491
Sample Questions
Q1) An individual who owns his or her car and insures it usually pays all of the costs associated with running it.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The Medicare spending bill passed by Bush and a majority-Republican Congress in 2003:
A)diminished the long-term cost of Medicare
B)decreased the range of services offered under Medicare
C)dramatically decreased the premiums for Medicare coverage
D)added a prescription drug benefit to the package of health benefits for the elderly
E)increased the reimbursements to doctors treating Medicare patients
Q3) Explain why welfare caseloads have dropped dramatically since the mid-1990s.What are the positive and negative consequences of the policy change that reduced welfare rolls?
Q4) Has welfare reform been politically and fiscally successful? Do you believe that welfare will need to be significantly reformed in the foreseeable future?
Q5) What goals should social and economic policies promote and why?
Q6) List and define the prerequisites for a market economy.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 15
Chapter 14: Foreign Policy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
109 Verified Questions
109 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/35492
Sample Questions
Q1) What is the most visible instrument of foreign policy?
A)military force
B)arbitration
C)collective security treaties
D)sanctions
E)disaster assistance
Q2) Which international institution was set up to make long-term loans to capital-hungry countries?
A)World Bank
B)World Finance Institute
C)International Monetary Fund
D)International Development Organization
E)Bretton Woods Institute
Q3) The Central Intelligence Agency,the Department of State,the Department of Defense,and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have historically worked very well together to coordinate American foreign policy in the direction of a single,unified strategy.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Is there a substitute for war?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 16