Civic Engagement and Political Participation
Review Questions
Course Introduction
This course explores the theories, practices, and impact of civic engagement and political participation in contemporary society. Students will examine the ways individuals and groups become involved in civic life through voting, activism, community organizing, and other forms of public involvement. The course analyzes the historical development of civic engagement, the barriers to political participation, and the roles of civil society organizations, social movements, and digital media in shaping public opinion and influencing policy. Through case studies, discussions, and experiential learning, students will gain a deeper understanding of democratic processes and develop practical skills to participate effectively and responsibly in civic and political life.
Recommended Textbook
Struggle for Democracy 11th Edition by Benjamin I. Page
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Chapter 1: Democracy and American Politics
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Q1) What did Jim Crow laws represent?
A) the official system of integration in the South
B) the voter registration system in the South that frequently disenfranchised blacks
C) the official system of segregation in the South
D) the official social contract used in the South
E) the institution of slavery
Answer: C
Q2) The most obvious sign of popular sovereignty is the existence of a close correspondence between what __________ does and what the people want it to do.
Answer: government
Q3) Most people around the world prefer to be governed by benevolent military regimes.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) The form of political decision making in which policies are decided on the basis of what a majority of the people want is known as __________.
Answer: majority rule
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Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Q1) James Madison was the author of many of the essays known as the __________.
Answer: Federalist Papers
Q2) The 2012 Supreme Court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) illustrated the political nature of __________, the power to declare the actions of other branches of government unconstitutional.
Answer: judicial review
Q3) The main weakness of the Articles of Confederation was the lack of a strong national government.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Which of the following best describes the Constitutional Convention?
A) The Convention lasted only one week.
B) The Convention was free of significant disagreement.
C) The Convention was inclusive of all types of citizens.
D) The Convention was secretive.
E) The Convention was transparent.
Answer: D
Q5) Article II of the Constitution addresses the powers of the __________ branch.
Answer: executive
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Chapter 3: Federalism: States and Nation
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Q1) What is a mandate?
A) An order from the federal government requiring the states to take a certain action.
B) An order from a state government requiring a federal action.
C) An order from the federal government prohibiting the states to take a certain action.
D) An order from a state government prohibiting a federal action.
E) An order requiring joint state and federal action.
Answer: A
Q2) Proponents of states' rights believe that the Constitution strictly limited the national government and established broad autonomy for the states.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The __________ specifies that any power not specifically delegated to the national government is reserved to the states or the people.
Answer: Tenth Amendment
Q4) __________ gives Congress the authority to exercise its enumerated powers.
Answer: Article I, Section 8
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5
Chapter 4: The Structural Foundations of American
Government and Politics
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Q1) Which of the following is most closely associated with hyper-competition?
A) globalization
B) protectionism
C) the development and manufacture of the Boeing 747
D) the post-Civil War economy
E) the post-World War II economy
Q2) When are politicians most likely to listen to the concerns of immigrants?
A) after immigrants become citizens who are eligible to vote
B) as soon as immigrants arrive in the United States
C) during an economic downtown
D) when doing so will jeopardize their standing with natives
E) when nativist sentiment is strongest
Q3) Why might a company engage in outsourcing?
A) to demonstrate their commitment to environmental stewardship
B) to lower costs
C) to make its American workforce more satisfied
D) to please labor unions
E) to win the praise of American politicians
Q4) The fact that you can buy a Starbucks coffee at a shopping mall in Saudi Arabia is a sign of the new world economic order, also known as __________.
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Chapter 5: Public Opinion
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Sample Questions
Q1) In comparison with much of the rest of the world, how are Americans distinctive?
A) Americans do not define themselves as independents.
B) Americans do not think of themselves as members of a social class.
C) Americans, in Democratic households, do not support conservative social policies.
D) Americans, in unaffiliated households, do not support conservative economic policies.
E) Americans in union households support Republican policies and candidates over Democratic policies and candidates.
Q2) Explain the distinction between a political attitude and a public opinion by providing an example of a political attitude and a public opinion referencing the Affordable Care Act.
Q3) Why do African Americans tend to be more liberal than whites on economic issues?
A) because African Americans are more likely than whites to be Republicans
B) because African Americans are more likely than whites to be economically disadvantaged
C) because African Americans are more likely than whites to prefer the status quo
D) because African Americans are more likely than whites to vote
E) because African Americans are less likely than white to vote
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Page 7
Chapter 6: The News Media
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Q1) Where are most reporters located? In a world of Internet communication, discuss the importance of the reporter's location?
Q2) How must U.S. citizens get information and politics and policies?
A) conversations with co-workers
B) political party mailing lists
C) higher education initiatives
D) the different news media
E) from special interests
Q3) News coverage of international events tends to be __________.
A) more in-depth than domestic coverage
B) taken from foreign newscasts
C) critical of U.S. foreign policy goals
D) delayed and superficial
E) episodic
Q4) Under the informal rules of objective journalism, most reporters provide explicit analysis and interpretation of the stories that they cover.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Framing provides a context for ___________ stories.
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Chapter 7: Interest Groups and Business Organizations
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Q1) Which of the following is an activity that lobbyists regularly engage in?
A) answering e-mails from elected officials' constituents
B) speaking on behalf of elected officials at press conferences
C) providing elected officials with information about an interest group's position on a bill or issue
D) providing legal counsel to interest groups in court cases
E) introducing bills in Congress
Q2) Critics of pluralism have noted that __________.
A) government decisions reflect the balance of competing interests in society
B) resources and political power are unequally distributed within society
C) individuals with shared grievances always form interest groups to press their demands upon government
D) government is too responsive to the demands of interest groups
E) the formation of one group typically stimulates the formation of an opposing group
Q3) __________ refers to communicating with government officials to persuade them to support a particular policy decision.
Q4) What inequalities exist in the interest group system in American politics? What are their effects?
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Page 9
Chapter 8: Social Movements
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Sample Questions
Q1) Abolitionists generally supported the Fugitive Slave Act.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What issue is at the forefront of the contemporary religious conservative movement?
A) civil rights movement
B) labor movement
C) antiglobalization movement
D) pro-life movement
E) undocumented immigrants movement
Q3) What was the purpose of the Equal Rights Amendment? Why was it/might it have been unsuccessful? If it had been ratified, how would the outcome be different than the rights of women today?
Q4) What was the reasoning behind the Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education? In your own words/thoughts, explain why you think the Court came to this ruling.
Q5) Legislation that has significant negative impact(s) on a social group or some consequential event may be the necessary __________ to set a social movement in motion.
Q6) How people engage in politics-and how often-is in part a function of __________.
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Chapter 9: Political Parties
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Q1) Which of the following is one of the contributing factors to the increase in partisanship at all levels of government since the 1980s?
A) the increase of moderates within the political parties
B) tension over the debt ceiling bill introduced into Congress
C) the increase in the number of competitive districts in House races
D) the explosion of advocacy groups that demand unity on issues
E) the gridlock created by extreme views and unwillingness to compromise
Q2) What major concern about minor parties was highlighted by the 2000 presidential election between Gore and Bush?
A) ineffective planning and organization
B) lack of media attention
C) poor access to ballots
D) poor choices of candidates
E) possibility of altering of elections
Q3) Minor parties have played a more important role in the United States than in virtually any other democratic nation, and have become even more important.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Why have minor parties been so unsuccessful in U.S. politics?
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Chapter 10: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
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Q1) "I'm voting for the Republicans in the 2012 election because the Democratic Party has been a complete failure under Barack Obama. " This statement illustrates retrospective voting.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The theory of electoral reward and punishment predicts that what will happen in elections?
A) Political parties will take similar positions.
B) Political parties will take clear, unambiguous positions.
C) Citizens will vote based on how well the incumbent party satisfied them.
D) Citizens will vote mostly according to party identification.
E) Political parties will act responsibly.
Q3) The United States has more elections than any other democracy. A)True
B)False
Q4) Partisan appeals are more effective than door-to-door canvasing for votes.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe four ways in which American elections are different from those in most other democracies.
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Chapter 11: Congress
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Q1) The true leader of the Senate is the __________, elected by the majority party.
A) majority leader
B) president pro tempore
C) Senate Chair
D) Speaker
E) vice president
Q2) __________ is a House action bringing formal charges against a member of the executive branch or the federal judiciary that may or may not lead to removal from office by the Senate.
Q3) In the Senate, a member introduces a bill to the body after being recognized by the presiding officer. In the House, a member introduces a bill by putting it into the
Q4) Cloture is the only way to end a(n) __________.
Q5) What is the purpose of a discharge petition?
A) to force a vote on a House bill within an opposing committee
B) to force a vote on a Senate bill within an opposing committee
C) to force a vote on a Senate or House bill within an opposing committee
D) to force the end of a filibuster in the House
E) to force the end of a filibuster in the Senate
Q6) After the Speaker, the next most powerful person in the House is the __________.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: The Presidency
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Q1) Which institutional resource is closest to the president?
A) Executive Office of the President
B) White House staff
C) the Cabinet
D) the vice president
E) Joint Chiefs of Staff
Q2) The ability to persuade has always been central to a successful president.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Vetoes are rarely overridden.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Presidents tend to work better with Congress on foreign policy issues than on domestic issues.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Which president began the modern presidency where the trend of presidential decision making assumed greater importance than congressional? Explain how.
Q6) What is an executive order and what is a reason that a president would use it?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: The Executive Branch
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Q1) Why did the Reagan administration introduce cost-benefit analysis into the rule-making process?
A) to expand administrative discretion
B) to decrease the number of legal disputes over rules
C) to accelerate the rule-making process
D) to slow the rule-making process
E) to improve the effectiveness of public policies
Q2) Discuss the potential advantages and disadvantages of privatization.
Q3) How are bureaus related to cabinet departments?
A) Bureau is another term for cabinet department.
B) Bureaus are subunits of cabinet departments.
C) Cabinet departments are subunits of bureaus.
D) Bureaus are independent of cabinet departments, but both are housed within the executive branch.
E) Bureaus are independent of cabinet departments, with bureaus housed in the judicial branch and cabinet departments in the executive branch.
Q4) The most recently-created Cabinet department is the __________.
Q5) Inspectors general monitor bureaucratic agencies on behalf of __________.
Q6) What factors might contribute to inefficiencies within the federal bureaucracy?
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Chapter 14: The Courts
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Q1) Which type of case represents over 75 percent of all cases heard in the 94 federal district courts?
A) civil
B) original
C) trial
D) appellate
E) criminal
Q2) Which Article of the Constitution created the federal judiciary?
A) Article III
B) Article II
C) Article VI
D) Article I
E) Article IX
Q3) Some legal theorists believe in the idea of "superprecedents." Provide an argument against labeling individual cases as "superprecedents."
Q4) How does public opinion influence the Supreme Court?
Q5) What do presidents look for in selecting a Supreme Court justice?
Q6) Sometimes federal circuit courts play an important role in changing constitutional interpretation. Why is this so?
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Chapter 15: Civil Liberties: the Struggle for Freedom
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Q1) What do proponents of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility call its prisoners?
A) war criminals
B) enemy combatants
C) prisoners of war
D) foreign aggressors
E) enemy troops
Q2) In Barron v. Baltimore, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the __________ clause directly applied against unwarranted state action with respect to property rights.
A) necessary and proper
B) contract
C) private property
D) full faith and credit
E) supremacy
Q3) The Supreme Court has interpreted the Second Amendment to protect an individual's right to own __________.
Q4) Explain how the original Constitution protected economic liberty.
Q5) Why does the plight of the Guantanamo detainees raise concerns about civil liberties?
Q6) __________ include profanity, obscenity, and threats.
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Chapter 16: Civil Rights: the Struggle for Political Equality
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Q1) Although laws and courts have prohibited age discrimination in hiring, benefit, and promotion practices, problems for older workers persist for which of the following reasons?
A) Older people can't hide their age when they apply for a job.
B) Workers become less productive as they get older and have less energy, so it is harder for them to get promotions.
C) Younger workers do not like working with older people because they are so far behind on technology.
D) Older workers have to use their medical benefits more often, so companies charge them higher premiums for insurance.
E) The jobs of older workers can be in jeopardy when companies are downsizing.
Q2) What were some of the factors in the 1960s that led national leaders to determine that Jim Crow laws in the South needed to come to an end?
Q3) Experiences of racial profiling by the police have been reported by a fairly large percentage of African American men, but very rarely by Latino or Asian men.
A)True
B)False
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Page 18
Chapter 17: Domestic Policies
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Q1) What distinguishes a means-tested program from a social insurance program?
A) A means-tested program extends benefits based upon age categories, while a social insurance program provides benefits based upon immediate need.
B) A means-tested program only extends to benefits for the elderly, while a social insurance program extends benefits to everybody.
C) A social insurance program extends benefits only to the working poor, while a means-tested program extends benefits to everyone, regardless of social class.
D) A social insurance program provides benefits based upon demonstrated need, while a means-tested program provides benefits based upon lifetime contributions.
E) A social insurance program provides benefits based upon lifetime contributions, while a means tested program provides benefits based upon demonstrated need.
Q2) Congress has the primary responsibility for setting interest rates in the United States. A)True B)False
Q3) How has welfare been restricted in the past two decades?
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19
Chapter 18: Foreign Policy and National Defense
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Q1) What are the president's foreign policy powers? What are Congress's foreign policy powers? Who has more foreign policy powers and why? Is the existing balance of power between Congress and the president appropriate, or would the United States be better off if one branch's powers were to increase and the other branch's powers decrease? Provide a justification for your answer.
Q2) Some nations hold that solid policing and intelligence operations offer better protection from __________ than do military actions, which are unlikely to prevent, for example, attacks in cyber space.
Q3) Although preventing nuclear proliferation has been a high-priority task since the Cold War, in the early twenty-first century, President George W. Bush signed a nuclear cooperation treating with __________ that seemed to give that country the go-ahead to speed up its weapons program.
A) China
B) India
C) Russia
D) Japan
E) Germany
Q4) How is terrorism fundamentally different from traditional military action?
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