Civics: American Government
Mock Exam
Course Introduction
This course explores the foundational principles, structures, and functions of the American government. Students will examine the Constitution, the roles of the three branches of government, the federal system, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Through analysis of historical documents, current events, and landmark Supreme Court cases, the course fosters an understanding of civic participation, political processes, and the influence of government on society. By the end of the course, students will be equipped to critically assess government actions and effectively engage in civic life.
Recommended Textbook
American Government 13th Edition by Walter E. Volkomer
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14 Chapters
841 Verified Questions
841 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Politics, Democracy, and the American People
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58 Verified Questions
58 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Locke believed that government's primary role was to
A)help individuals fulfill their potential.
B)develop the moral character of its citizens.
C)protect the life, liberty, and property of those it governs.
D)preserve the social morality.
E)create an all-powerful central government
Answer: C
Q2) According to the text, who was an early advocate of public education, defending the cost of such a system on the basis that it would instill the value of democracy?
A)John Locke
B)James Madison
C)Baron Montesquieu
D)Thomas Jefferson
E)David Hume
Answer: D
Q3) Presently, African-Americans are the largest minority group.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 3
Chapter 2: From Colonialism to Constitutionalism
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66 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which one of the following best explains why the Articles of Confederation purposely created a weak national government?
A)the Articles were based on a theory of state sovereignty.
B)the Articles were intended to not offend Parliament and King George III.
C)the Articles separated power into three distinct branches: executive, legislative, judicial.
D)the Articles were actually intended to create a very powerful central government.
E)the Articles intended for a strong executive branch but weak judicial and legislative branches.
Answer: A
Q2) The delegates to the Constitutional Convention hailed from and represented the nation's middle classes.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 3: The Federal System
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61 Verified Questions
61 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Many of the Supreme Court's recent decisions in the area of federalism have been decided by 9-0 votes.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) In a unitary government, the central government has ultimate legal authority over its citizens' provincial governments.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The framers of the Constitution created a form of government that delegated specific powers to the national government and
A)permitted the states to operate independently of the national government.
B)reserved the remaining powers for the states.
C)reserved most of the remaining powers for the courts.
D)reserved the powers of taxing and regulating interstate commerce for the states.
E)reserved remaining powers for a strong executive branch of government.
Answer: B
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Chapter 4: Public Opinion and the Mass Media
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which method is used to choose a representative sample?
A)chance
B)computer simulation
C)double-blind study
D)random sampling
E)political opinion.
Q2) The term salience refers to a political opinion held by a small portion of society.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is NOT a powerful influence on one's political socialization?
A)media
B)peer group
C)voting
D)history and political events
E)family.
Q4) Focus groups are an example of scientific polling.
A)True
B)False
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Page 6
Chapter 5: Political Parties and Interest Groups
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60 Verified Questions
60 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which one of the following is true of a national party's national convention?
A)It has a broad range of powers.
B)It has a voice in the selection of candidates for congressional, state, and local offices.
C)It can force candidates to support its platform.
D)It meets every year to nominate candidates.
E)It nominates presidential and vice presidential candidates.
Q2) The term amicus curiae means "friend of the court."
A)True
B)False
Q3) In the early twentieth century, state party organizations were led by U.S.senators. This was changed by the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment.
A)True
B)False
Q4) George Washington and James Madison strongly supported political parties and their role in politics.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Nominations and Elections
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61 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) There was no coattail effect in the 2008 election.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A party's vice presidential nominee is customarily chosen by the
A)presidential nominee.
B)party's national chairperson.
C)President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
D)Speaker of the House.
E)national caucuses.
Q3) One analyst of American voting behavior has commented that more than 50 percent of American children grow up in households where neither parent votes.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Party platforms are:
A)very specific, detailed statements about current political issues
B)statements about only one or two prominent issues
C)statements about detailed political campaign fundraising and advertising strategy
D)rarely addressed at the national conventions
E)often vague, general statements about current political issues
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Chapter 7: Congress
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which statement is true with respect to the "necessary and proper" clause?
A)It has given presidents broader power to conduct war.
B)It has decreased the amount of time members of Congress devote to casework.
C)it has added significantly to the authority of Congress to act in both domestic and foreign affairs.
D)it has had little effect on legislative powers of Congress.
E)it created the Congressional Budget Office and limited the president's power in the area of federal spending.
Q2) The presiding officer of the House of Representatives is called the
A)majority whip.
B)President Pro Tempore.
C)House majority leader.
D)Speaker of the House.
E)President of the House.
Q3) Policy representation is concerned mainly with passing legislation that benefits a representative's district.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 8: The Chief Executive
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Sample Questions
Q1) The War Powers Resolution has been an effective restraint on presidential power.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The Constitution states that a presidential candidate must have lived in this country at least 14 years and must be at least fifty years old.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In 1951, President Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur as his commanding general because of MacArthur's public criticism of the president's military policy in Korea. President Truman's authority over MacArthur guarantees
A)defense-in-depth.
B)a strong role for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
C)civilian control of the military.
D)politics will not enter into military decisions.
E)the power of the secretary of defense.
Q4) Recess appointments are rare.
A)True
B)False
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Page 10
Chapter 9: The Federal Bureaucracy
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61 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Freedom of Information Act of 1966 illustrates the use of congressional power to A)protect an individual's freedom of expression from censorship.
B)exercise controls over federal agencies.
C)make foreign policy information about America available in communist countries.
D)exercise controls over state government bureaucracies.
E)deregulate sectors of the private economy.
Q2) Under what circumstances is deregulation most likely to occur? What factors have stopped deregulation, and what trend is likely in the future? Explain.
Q3) The president's cabinet is made up of the heads of fifteen executive departments and other top officials.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The president's cabinet is divided into an inner and an outer cabinet. A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: The Judiciary
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Sample Questions
Q1) A judge who believes in a textual interpretation of the Constitution is one who believes in its adaptability to modern circumstances.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Article III, Section 2, of the Constitution sets forth two types of jurisdiction: jurisdiction based on subject matter of a case and jurisdiction based on
A)how the case originates.
B)the nature of the parties in the case.
C)the types of penalties that can be imposed.
D)which constitutional clause is involved in the dispute.
E)whether the case is civil or criminal in nature.
Q3) A written opinion of a judge who voted with the minority is called a(n)
A)opposing opinion.
B)majority opinion.
C)dissenting opinion.
D)concurring opinion.
E)advisory opinion.
Q4) Explain the role of standing within the context of the adversary system.
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Chapter 11: Civil Liberties
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67 Verified Questions
67 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In Nix v.Williams, the Supreme Court ruled that illegally obtained evidence could be used in a criminal trial if the government could demonstrate that
A)the government did not act out of malice.
B)the defendant was aware that the government was investigating him or her.
C)the evidence would have inevitably been found by the police in the normal course of their investigation.
D)the search is conducted by state rather than federal officials.
E)the evidence was verified by an independent testing laboratory.
Q2) Articulated in the 1971 decision of the U.S.Supreme Court in the Lemon v.Kurtzman case, the Lemon test determines whether a law violates the
A)due process clause.
B)establishment clause.
C)equal protection clause.
D)free exercise clause.
E)interstate commerce clause.
Q3) Explain the debate over the rights of habeas corpus with respect to detainees in the war on terrorism.How do the rights of terror suspects differ from the rights of criminal defendants in the United States?
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Chapter 12: Civil Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which one of the following is true of the Supreme Court's decision in Planned Parenthood v.Casey (1992)?
A)It overturned Roe v.Wade.
B)It required second-term abortions to be performed in licensed clinics only.
C)It struck down a constitutional amendment intended to permit the states to restrict abortion.
D)It struck down a Missouri law that imposed a number of restrictions on abortions.
E)It established a standard of reviewing whether abortion restriction placed an "undue burden" on women seeking to have an abortion.
Q2) Title IX makes it legal for any educational institution receiving federal financial assistance to make selections on the basis of race or gender.
A)True
B)False
Q3) People suffering from AIDS are covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Public Policy: What Government Does
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60 Verified Questions
60 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Social Security benefits for retired persons are an example of A)regulatory policy.
B)distributive policy.
C)redistributive policy.
D)substantive policy.
E)foreign policy.
Q2) Public policy is a product of competition among groups.This is an example of:
A)corporatism.
B)rational choice.
C)elite theory.
D)subgovernments.
E)group theory.
Q3) The government may use symbolic policies to divert public attention from more important issues or to satisfy the public's demands without actually providing any substantive benefits.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The 1996 welfare reform law limits lifetime benefits to five years.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Foreign Policy
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57 Verified Questions
57 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Compare and contrast U.S.foreign policy during the Cold War and during the rise of international terrorism.
Q2) The president's powers in foreign affairs have steadily been __________ by Congress, the Supreme Court, influential elites, and the American public.
A)constrained
B)expanded
C)reduced
D)enlarged
E)ignored
Q3) Which terrorist group is responsible for attacks on U.S.embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in the 1990s?
A)IRA
B)FARQ
C)Al Qaeda
D)PLO
E)Hezbollah
Q4) Discuss the two competing theories of international relations and explain how each has influenced U.S.foreign policy.
Q5) Describe the governmental sources of American foreign policy.
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