Civics
Textbook Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Civics explores the rights and responsibilities of citizens within a society, with a focus on the structures, functions, and processes of government at the local, national, and international levels. The course provides an understanding of democratic principles, legal frameworks, and the role of civic engagement in shaping public policy and fostering a just society. Students examine topics such as citizenship, civil liberties, the electoral process, and community involvement, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to actively participate in civic life and contribute positively to their communities.
Recommended Textbook
American Democracy Now 4th Edition by Brigid Callahan Harrison
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Chapter 1: People, Politics, and Participation
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Q1) Which regions of the United States are seeing increased elderly populations, as younger people leave these regions and seek opportunities elsewhere?
A) West and Northeast
B) South and Southwest
C) Midwest and Plains
D) Southwest and Northeast
E) Southeast and Northeast
Answer: C
Q2) Libertarianism advocates which of the following principles?
A) government provided safety net
B) socialist economy
C) "hands-on" government approach
D) rights of property owners
E) All these answers are correct.
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Sample Questions
Q1) How many amendments have actually been ratified by the states since 1789?
A) 23
B) 27
C) 29
D) 33
E) 35
Answer: B
Q2) How many foundational government bodies are described by the U.S. Constitution?
A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four
E) six
Answer: C
Q3) Explain and discuss the important features of the system of dual sovereignty.
Answer: The framers of the Constitution created an innovative system of government with dual sovereignty-a system of government in which governing authority is divided between two levels of government, a central government and regional governments, with each level having ultimate authority over different policy matters.
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Chapter 3: Federalism
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Sample Questions
Q1) The provision of categorical and block grant money by the federal government to state and local governments has resulted in a relationship between the two of
A) cooperative federalism.
B) dual federalism.
C) centralized federalism.
D) horizontal federalism.
E) fiscal federalism.
Answer: E
Q2) What term is used by political scientists to describe the collaborative effort of two or more levels of government?
A) federalism
B) confederalism
C) intergovernmental relations
D) governmental collaboration
E) inter-public partnership
Answer: C
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Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which type of law gives a gun owner the MOST freedom to legally shoot another person?
A) Stand Your Ground
B) Duty to Retreat
C) Castle Doctrine
D) Stand Your Ground and Duty to Retreat both confer the same amount of freedom.
E) Stand Your Ground and Castle Doctrine both confer the same amount of freedom.
Q2) Which city's gun control laws were overturned in a 2008 Supreme Court decision that hinged on an interpretation of the Second Amendment?
A) New York, NY
B) Newark, NJ
C) Philadelphia, PA
D) Atlanta, GA
E) Washington, DC
Q3) The Fifth Amendment establishes
A) freedom of speech.
B) freedom of assembly.
C) protection against search and seizure.
D) protection against compelled self-incrimination.
E) the right to counsel.
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Chapter 5: Civil Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which tests do the courts apply to determine when unequal treatment is legal?
A) imminent lawless action test and incitement test
B) strict scrutiny test and ordinary scrutiny test
C) strict scrutiny test, heightened scrutiny test, and ordinary scrutiny test
D) imminent lawless action test and strict scrutiny test
E) incitement test and heightened scrutiny test
Q2) Women were provided equal protection under the law by
A) the Equal Pay Act.
B) Title VII.
C) Title IX.
D) the Equal Rights Amendment.
E) Title VII, Title IX, and the Equal Pay Act.
Q3) Of the following, which has the LOWEST average wage?
A) white, non-Hispanic women
B) African American men
C) African American women
D) Hispanic men
E) Hispanic women
Q4) Identify the three tests used by the federal government to determine the legality of suspect classifications.
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Chapter 6: Political Socialization and Public Opinion
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Sample Questions
Q1) A poll of which type would be most likely to ask the following question? "If you found out that Representative Jones participated in several unsavory financial transactions, would it affect your vote?"
A) straw poll
B) Gallup poll
C) tracking poll
D) push poll
E) exit poll
Q2) Which regions tend to favor the Democrats?
A) the Northeast and the Midwest
B) the West Coast and the South
C) the South and the West Coast
D) most major cities and the West
E) the Northeast, the West Coast, and most major cities
Q3) Explain the role of the public opinion poll in American politics.
Q4) Identify the two main influences of political socialization that we experience from early childhood.
Q5) Identify the role geographic region plays in forming public opinion.
Q6) Discuss the ways in which the media act as an agent of political socialization.
Q7) Define quota sampling and explain its uses.
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Chapter 7: Interest Groups
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Sample Questions
Q1) One recent study indicated that college students are ________ to join a politically motivated interest group than their peers who do not attend college.
A) more than twice as likely
B) more likely
C) neither more nor less likely
D) less likely
E) less than half as likely
Q2) Which of the following agricultural commodities had the HIGHEST federal subsidies in 2012?
A) tobacco
B) cotton
C) corn
D) cattle
E) dairy
Q3) Identify at least two public interest groups and explain their functions and issues.
Q4) Define and explain the effects of the formation of iron triangles.
Q5) Define social capital and explain its relationship to the benefits generated by participation in interest groups.
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Chapter 8: Political Parties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Identify the three faces of political parties in the United States.
Q2) The common term used by most analysts for a voter who does not belong to any organized political party is
A) populist.
B) loyal opposition.
C) party in the electorate.
D) unaffiliated voter.
E) independent.
Q3) Which party backed the presidential campaign of Theodore Roosevelt in 1912?
A) Know-Nothings
B) Populist Democrats
C) Antislavery Republicans
D) Progressives
E) Populist Republicans
Q4) The formal party apparatus is known as the party
A) identifiers.
B) affiliates.
C) organization.
D) committee.
E) caucus.
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Chapter 9: Elections, Campaigns, and Voting
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Sample Questions
Q1) In general elections for Congress, how many votes must a candidate receive in order to win?
A) 50 percent of the vote
B) a majority of the vote
C) the most votes
D) 50 percent of the vote, plus one
E) a preponderance of the votes
Q2) What age limit for presidential office is codified by Article I of the Constitution?
A) at least 25 years old
B) at least 28 years old
C) at least 30 years old
D) at least 35 years old
E) at least 38 years old
Q3) Who can vote in a closed primary election?
A) anyone, even unregistered voters
B) any registered voter of any party, and independents
C) any registered voter of any party except independents
D) only registered voters of members of that party
E) None of these answers is correct.
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Page 11
Chapter 10: The Media
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Sample Questions
Q1) American radio listeners first heard news in real time in which decade?
A) 1920s
B) 1930s
C) 1940s
D) 1950s
E) 1960s
Q2) Which of the following has had the GREATEST influence on enabling people to communicate their views?
A) the Internet
B) cell phone technology
C) newspaper
D) television
E) radio
Q3) Which pre-Revolutionary British legislation directly attacked colonial American newspapers?
A) Navigation Acts
B) Declaratory Act
C) Tea Act
D) Stamp Act
E) Townshend Act
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Chapter 11: Politics and Technology
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Sample Questions
Q1) The White House's "We The People" website and the group Change.org are mostly strongly associated with this activity, the
A) cyber cascade.
B) e-petition.
C) macro-protest.
D) promoted tweet.
E) hacktivism.
Q2) Americans are MOST likely to get their news from their A) television sets.
B) laptop or computer.
C) radio.
D) newspaper.
E) cell phone.
Q3) The concerns raised by Edward Snowden's leaks about government surveillance are MOST related to the tension between A) anarchy and authoritarianism.
B) security and privacy.
C) freedom of speech and the right to a fair trial.
D) capitalism and communism.
E) freedom of the press and freedom of association.
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Chapter 12: Congress
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Sample Questions
Q1) The MOST precise way to describe attempts by state legislatures to address racial imbalance in the House of Representatives is
A) by reapportionment.
B) by redistricting.
C) through the creation of majority-minority districts.
D) through the creation of minority-majority districts.
E) through gerrymandering.
Q2) According to the Constitution, who is the president of the Senate?
A) vice president
B) president pro tempore
C) Senate majority leader
D) Senate majority whip
E) Senate minority leader
Q3) Outline the five sequential features of the congressional legislative process, or how a bill becomes law.
Q4) What is the attentive public, and what is its impact on congressional politics?
Q5) Explain the role and functions of congressional subcommittees.
Q6) Identify the types of tools employed by Congress to fulfill its oversight functions.
Q7) Define gerrymandering and discuss its use in congressional redistricting.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: The Presidency
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Sample Questions
Q1) Many vice presidents have served a largely ________ role.
A) political
B) ideological
C) ceremonial
D) informal
E) bureaucratic
Q2) Which first lady was appointed by her husband to head a task force on health care reform?
A) Hillary Rodham Clinton
B) Michelle Obama
C) Laura Bush
D) Eleanor Roosevelt
E) Barbara Bush
Q3) All these positions are within the White House Office EXCEPT
A) chief of staff.
B) presidential secretary.
C) press secretary.
D) Office of Management and Budget director.
E) White House counsel.
Q4) Discuss the role played by approval ratings in shaping presidential agency.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: The Bureaucracy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Federal employees can be fired for poor work quality, or
A) belligerence.
B) recalcitrance.
C) misfeasance.
D) malfeasance.
E) nonfeasance.
Q2) Which of the following open up government functions and documents to the public, ensuring transparency and public access to decision making?
A) authorization laws
B) executive orders
C) appropriations laws
D) sunshine laws
E) sunset clauses
Q3) Which department currently has the largest budget?
A) Defense
B) Interior
C) Health and Human Services
D) Treasury
E) Labor
Q4) Explain the rationale behind the government's contracting-out process.
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Chapter 15: The Judiciary
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Sample Questions
Q1) The attempt to ensure that governing bodies are representative of major demographic groups in proportions similar to their representation in the population at large is known as
A) descriptive representation.
B) substantive representation.
C) proportional representation.
D) symbolic representation.
E) delegate representation.
Q2) Define and discuss the principle of stare decisis.
Q3) Identify the differences between concurring opinions and dissenting opinions.
Q4) Which of the following justices has most often served as a swing vote on the Supreme Court?
A) Elena Kagan
B) John Roberts
C) Clarence Thomas
D) Anthony Kennedy
E) Samuel Alito
Q5) Define judicial activism, and provide an example of a Supreme Court decision that resulted from this stance.
Q6) Compare and contrast civil and criminal law.
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Economic Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) All of the following are tools used by the Fed for setting monetary policy EXCEPT
A) lowering the reserve requirement.
B) authorizing a government spending sequester.
C) lowering the discount rate.
D) selling Treasury Securities to decrease the money supply.
E) increasing the reserve requirement and discount rate.
Q2) Within the budgetary process, what is a continuing resolution, and by when must it be approved?
Q3) Which of the following is income adjusted for inflation so that it can be compared across years?
A) per capita income
B) average income
C) real income
D) household income
E) median household income
Q4) What is the CPI and what is it used for by the national government?
Q5) Outline the key features of Keynesian economic theory.
Q6) Compare and contrast the two forms of discretionary spending programs.
Q7) Explain the main features and arguments of supply-side economics.
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Domestic Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) All of the following are considered cash transfers EXCEPT
A) unemployment checks.
B) social security checks.
C) Pell grants to college students.
D) Medicaid services.
E) tax breaks.
Q2) ________ are government benefits with an automatic cost of living increase based on inflation.
A) Indexed benefits
B) Progressive benefits
C) Fixed benefits
D) Means-tested benefits
E) Annuitized benefits
Q3) All of the following are considered renewable energy sources EXCEPT
A) solar.
B) natural gas.
C) geothermal.
D) hydropower.
E) biomass.
Q4) Identify examples of direct subsidies created by the U.S. government.
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Chapter 18: Foreign Policy and National Security
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is the foremost foreign policy actor in the United States?
A) the president
B) the State Department
C) Congress
D) the Department of Defense
E) the Secretary of Defense
Q2) In early 2014, Russia
A) annexed the Crimean Peninsula.
B) invaded Poland.
C) forced regime change in Ukraine.
D) reabsorbed the Baltic countries.
E) reconstituted the Warsaw Pact.
Q3) Which of the following is NOT classified as a weapon of mass destruction?
A) nuclear weapons
B) biological weapons
C) chemical weapons
D) conventional bombs
E) All of these are classified as weapons of mass destruction.
Q4) Explain the doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD).
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Chapter 19: State and Local Government
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following tends to be the most criticized tax because it increases on an almost annual basis?
A) income tax
B) sales tax
C) property tax
D) business tax
E) excise tax
Q2) What is direct democracy and how is it used in state and local governments?
Q3) Explain the key features of municipal governments and townships.
Q4) Identify and discuss key features of an individualistic political culture.
Q5) In 2014, how many of the 50 state governors were women?
A) 1
B) 5
C) 14
D) 19
E) 27
Q6) Outline and compare the three basic structures of general-purpose local governments.
Q7) Define and identify important features of a legislative referendum.
Q8) Identify and discuss key features of a traditionalistic political culture.
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