Civics and American Government Textbook Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Civics and American Government explores the foundational principles, structures, and functions of the United States government, emphasizing the roles of citizens in the democratic process. The course covers the Constitution, the branches of government, federalism, civil rights and liberties, political parties, elections, and the policymaking process. Students develop critical thinking and analytical skills while examining contemporary issues and understanding their responsibilities as informed and active participants in society. Through discussions, case studies, and civic engagement projects, learners gain a comprehensive understanding of how government operates at the local, state, and national levels.
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MindTapR in Action American Government 1st Edition by Cengage
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Chapter 1: The Constitution
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Q1) Which three amendments were known as the Civil War Amendments?
A) Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth
B) Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth
C) Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth
D) Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth
Answer: D
Q2) In Federalist No. 10, James Madison speaks to the Constitution's ability to weaken the "mischiefs of faction." What issue was he addressing?
A) Less possibility of one faction gaining a majority
B) The threat from small states in gaining a majority
C) The idea that the executive could gain control similar to that of a monarchy
D) The concept that elected officials can be impeached
Answer: A
Q3) What forms the foundation for all contemporary discussions about American politics?
A) The Declaration of Independence
B) The Articles of Confederation
C) The Federalist Papers
D) The Constitution
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: Federalism
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Q1) The Supreme Court has had
A) an insignificant role in interpreting the U.S. Constitution.
B) a modest role in interpreting the U.S. Constitution.
C) no role in interpreting the U.S Constitution.
D) a significant role in interpreting the U.S. Constitution.
Answer: D
Q2) Which Supreme Court case determined that couples married in same-sex unions would be considered married for the purposes of federal benefits?
A) Gibbons v. Ogden
B) United States v. Lopez
C) United States v. Windsor
D) Tinker v. Des Moines School District
Answer: C
Q3) What distinguishes a unitary system of government?
A) In a unitary system, power rests with the local and regional governments.
B) In a unitary system, power rests entirely with the national government.
C) In a unitary system, power rests entirely with the people.
D) In a unitary system, power is divided in the same manner as in a federal system.
Answer: B
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Civil Liberties
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Q1) The original understanding of the Bill of Rights was that it applied solely to
A) the legislative branch.
B) state governments.
C) the poor.
D) the federal government.
Answer: D
Q2) What has led to the Bill of Rights' current prominence?
A) The due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment
B) The Supreme Court's decisions to strike down certain state laws
C) Advances in technology challenging the Ninth Amendment
D) Both the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Supreme Court's decisions to strike down certain state laws
Answer: D
Q3) How many amendments were ratified and adopted as the Bill of Rights?
A) Eight
B) Ten
C) Twelve
D) Fourteen
Answer: B
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Civil Rights
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Q1) After the findings of the President's Commission on Civil Rights were released, President Truman proposed all of the following to Congress <b><u>except</u></b>
A) the desegregation of interstate travel.
B) a federal law to protect against lynching.
C) desegregation of schools.
D) the elimination of the poll tax.
Q2) Which Supreme Court case resulted in the decision that sex-based classifications were subject to stricter scrutiny under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?
A) Craig v. Boren
B) Frontiero v. Richardson
C) Ledbetter v. Goodyear
D) Lawrence v. Texas
Q3) Equality of outcome refers to the equality of A) results.
B) having the same opportunities to succeed.
C) access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
D) attaining security.
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6
Chapter 5: Congress
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Q1) Which of the following is <b><u>not</b></u> a significant duty that members of Congress and their staff do for their constituents?
A) Visiting constituents on a weekly basis
B) Assisting constituents with contacting federal agencies
C) Communicating with constituents
D) Providing services to constituents
Q2) For a bill to become a proposed law, it must be approved by
A) a majority of the members of the house where the bill originated and signed by the president.
B) a majority of members of both the House and Senate and signed by the president.
C) all the congressional committees of the house where it originated and signed by the president.
D) all of the members of the house where the bill originated and signed by the president.
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Chapter 6: Presidency and Foreign Policy
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Q1) The role of the Executive Office of the President is to advise and support the president in
A) his or her execution of the duties outlined in the Constitution.
B) managing new legislation.
C) his or her management of executive agencies.
D) his or her management of the White House.
Q2) The purpose of the Office of Management and Budget is to help the president
A) implement his or her policy priorities across the executive branch.
B) implement his or her staffing procedures and manage accounts receivable.
C) implement his or her policies managing the budgets of the judicial and legislative branches.
D) approve budget changes for military action.
Q3) Franklin Delano Roosevelt's original plan for the United States during World War II was to
A) get involved on the side of Axis Powers as soon as possible.
B) keep the country out of the war unless Russia fell.
C) keep the country out of the war.
D) join the war as soon as possible.
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Chapter 7: Bureaucracy
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Q1) What are the two philosophies of government growth?
A) It is driven by citizen demand, and it is a result of a national crisis.
B) It is driven by a strong economy, and it is a result of government itself.
C) It is driven by citizen demand, and it is a result of government itself.
D) It is driven by a strong economy, and it is a result of a national crisis.
Q2) Which cabinet department was established most recently by Congress?
A) The Department of Veteran's Affairs
B) The Department of Homeland Security
C) The Department of Defense
D) The Department of Labor
Q3) Originally, the cabinet included _____ advisors.
A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five
Q4) Generally, a bureaucratic agency is <b><u>not </b></u>responsible for
A) passing legislation.
B) developmenting administrative law.
C) ensuring policy implementation.
D) issuing regulations.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Judiciary
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Q1) Most of the cases that make it to the Supreme Court do so under the Court's A) original jurisdiction.
B) appellate jurisdiction.
C) request.
D) state jurisdiction.
Q2) What article of the Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the federal government?
A) Article I
B) Article II
C) Article III
D) Article IV
Q3) If a justice supports the position that there is a significant role for the federal government in American civil life, this is indicative of
A) a liberal ideology.
B) judicial activism.
C) a conservative ideology.
D) judicial restraint.
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Page 10
Chapter 9: Public Opinion
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Q1) George Gallup introduced the use of
A) probability sampling.
B) quota sampling.
C) biased sampling.
D) polling research.
Q2) Weighting is statistical adjustments
A) that are not acceptable to improve the survey results.
B) made to survey data to accommodate those who did not understand the survey.
C) made to survey data after collection to improve the accuracy of survey estimates.
D) that reflect the margin of error related to the sample size.
Q3) What is the most commonly used method for understanding public opinion?
A) Viewing the evening news
B) Conducting public opinion polls
C) Reading newspaper editorials
D) Analyzing social media
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11
Chapter 10: Interest Groups
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Q1) Which act greatly expanded reporting requirements for interest groups in Washington, D.C.?
A) The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
B) The Revenue Act of 1954
C) The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995
D) The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
Q2) The Federalist Papers posit that the best use of factions in a representative democracy is to
A) turn them toward issues in the private sector.
B) eliminate them before they cause conflict.
C) turn them toward more productive purposes.
D) move them away from issues at the state level.
Q3) Which amendment allows for the formation of interest groups?
A) The Fourth Amendment
B) The Third Amendment
C) The Second Amendment
D) The First Amendment
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Media
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Q1) In regard to the news media, game orientation means
A) coverage of political issues in terms of who is winning and losing.
B) coverage of political campaigns and polls in terms of which candidate is ahead.
C) the use of sports media technology to report election results.
D) the use of over-simplified entertainment coverage, instead of issue coverage.
Q2) What is the significance of the WikiLeaks and NSA incidents involving the release of classified materials?
A) These incidents reveal that the government lacks control over how and whether information it creates gets leaked to the media.
B) These incidents reveal that the government needs to reenact the Fairness Doctrine.
C) These incidents reveal that the government understands its role in protecting First Amendment rights.
D) These incidents reveal that the government must strengthen the FCC in order to protect its interests.
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13
Chapter 12: Political Parties
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Q1) The split in the Democratic-Republicans after the election of 1828 resulted in the emergence of which two political parties?
A) The Democratic Party and the National Republicans
B) The Whigs and the Anti-Masonic Party
C) The Republican-Democrats and the National Republicans
D) The Federalists and the Progressives
Q2) The term superdelegates is defined as "delegates to a convention who
A) have been selected by an overwhelming majority."
B) are not bound to vote for any particular candidate."
C) have been screened through a rigorous process."
D) are not required to follow conventional rules of courtesy."
Q3) Super PACs are <b><u>not </u></b>permitted to
A) raise unlimited sums from corporations.
B) contribute directly to parties or candidates.
C) acquire funds from nonprofits.
D) collect contributions from unions.
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Chapter 13: Participation
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Q1) What term is defined as "mainly ceremonial acts expressing allegiance to government and country"?
A) Egalitarian behavior
B) Supportive behavior
C) Unconventional behavior
D) Persuasive behavior
Q2) What change was made to state constitutions regarding voting rights in the United States just after the War of 1812?
A) The requirement of being male was eliminated.
B) The requirement of owning property was eliminated.
C) The requirement of being white was eliminated.
D) The requirement of registering to vote was eliminated.
Q3) What precipitated Congress's efforts to lower the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen?
A) Civil rights protests regarding voter registration in the South
B) Student protests regarding Vietnam and the mandatory draft
C) The failure to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment
D) The Bay of Pigs incident and the escalation of the Cold War
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15
Chapter 14: Campaigns and Elections
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Q1) Which statement about voter initiatives is <b><u>not</u></b> accurate?
A) The effect of initiatives is stronger for congressional elections.
B) Initiatives have a positive effect on voter turnout in both high and low elections.
C) It is clear that initiatives originated long before the beginning of the Progressive era.
D) There may be an overall decline in trust in government as voters are exposed to more popular initiatives.
Q2) Which figure comes closest to identifying the amount spent during the 2012 Obama and Romney presidential campaigns?
A) $25 million
B) $500 million
C) $1 billion
D) $2 billion
Q3) Which of these states contains more than one House district?
A) Alaska
B) Delaware
C) Georgia
D) Montana
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Page 16
Chapter 15: Domestic Policy
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Q1) Medicare was enacted under the leadership of
A) John F. Kennedy.
B) Ronald Reagan.
C) Lyndon Johnson.
D) Gerald Ford.
Q2) President George W. Bush proposed which of the following in order to shore up U.S. social welfare programs?
A) To privatize Social Security
B) To lengthen the eligibility period for TANF funds
C) To increase progressive taxation
D) To eliminate unemployment insurance payouts
Q3) The budget resolution is a central part of the budget process in Congress mainly because it
A) defines the parameters for earlier budgetary actions.
B) shows the debate that occurs between members of the House and Senate.
C) gives the government an opportunity to examine spending.
D) represents an agreement between the House and Senate on established budget priorities.
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