Constitutional Foundations of the United States Final Exam Questions
Course Introduction
This course examines the historical, philosophical, and legal foundations of the United States Constitution. Students will explore the development of American constitutionalism from its colonial antecedents through the drafting and ratification of the Constitution, including the influences of Enlightenment thought, British legal traditions, and early American political experience. The course also analyzes the structure of government established by the Constitution, the principles of federalism and the separation of powers, and the ongoing evolution of constitutional interpretation through landmark Supreme Court decisions. Critical attention is given to key debates over individual rights, popular sovereignty, and the balance of power between state and federal governments.
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American Government and Politics Today The Essentials 17th Edition by Barbara A. Bardes
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Democratic Republic
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Q1) According to the Sixth Amendment, the accused
A) have a right to a speedy trial.
B) can be compelled to be a witness against himself.
C) have a right to a private trial.
D) have no right to due process.
E) Options B and C are true.
Answer: A
Q2) Liberals endorse all of the following \(\bold{except}\) A) civil rights.
B) improving the welfare of individuals.
C) a limited role for the government in helping individuals.
D) government regulation of the economy.
E) tolerance for political and social change.
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Q1) The Jamestown colony was established as
A) a trading post.
B) a military fort.
C) a settlement in Maryland.
D) the first French settlement in the New World.
E) a settlement for religious Separatists.
Answer: A
Q2) Under the electoral college system
A) a presidential candidate can be elected without receiving a majority of the popular vote.
B) a presidential candidate cannot win without receiving the majority of the popular vote.
C) a presidential candidate can win with a majority of the popular vote but a minority of the electoral college vote.
D) more than 20 presidents have failed to win over 50 percent of the popular vote.
E) All of the above are true.
Answer: A
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism
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Q1) In their dealings with each other, each state is required to do all of the following \(\bold{except}\)
A) give full faith and credit to other states' official acts.
B) extend to citizens of other states the privileges and immunities of its own citizens.
C) return persons fleeing from justice back to the state that requests them.
D) Options A and C are true.
E) refrain from making agreements that do not include all fifty states.
Answer: E
Q2) As a result of the Civil War crisis, the Supreme Court
A) was drastically reduced in influence.
B) voted exclusively against the Civil War.
C) gained additional power, along with the state governments.
D) ruled that the initial plan of Congress to reconstruct the South was unconstitutional.
E) None of the above is true.
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
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Q1) All of the following are true of flag burning \(\bold{except}\)
A) flag burning was outlawed in Texas and other states in the 1980s.
B) it is protected by the First Amendment's freedom of expression (speech).
C) Congress passed legislation against flag burning that was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
D) it is considered symbolic speech.
E) a constitutional amendment has been passed outlawing flag burning.
Q2) If the police search a suspect's home,
A) the police must first have obtained a warrant.
B) the police may submit illegally obtained evidence at trial if they can prove they would have obtained the evidence legally anyway.
C) the police must have demonstrated probable cause to a judge.
D) Options A and C are true.
E) All of the above are true.
Q3) Explain under what conditions the Supreme Court will consider a restriction on commercial speech.
Q4) Describe the religious freedom protections afforded in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
Q5) Explain the positions of those for and those against the Patriot Act.
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Chapter 5: Civil Rights
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Q1) The term civil rights refers to
A) the rights of all Americans provided for in the Fourteenth Amendment.
B) civil liberties like freedom of religion, speech or assembly.
C) what the government must do to ensure freedom from discrimination.
D) limitations on what the government may not do to interfere with individual liberties.
E) Options A and C are true.
Q2) In an attempt to achieve integration,
A) students were sent to the school that was near to where they lived.
B) busing students across neighborhoods was ordered by the courts.
C) methods were determined by local committees of parents.
D) busing was peacefully accomplished in many big cities.
E) All the above are true.
Q3) Explain the Americans with Disabilities Act and what impact it has had.
Q4) Explain the difference between de jure and de facto segregation. Provide examples of each in practice,
Q5) Explain the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education and the impact it had on education and the new problems it created.
Q6) Contrast the approaches of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.
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Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization
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Q1) Currently, which of the following regions are more supportive of the Democrats than the Republicans?
A) The South and the Rocky Mountain states
B) The South and the Great Plains
C) The Great Plains, and the Rocky Mountain states
D) The Northeast and the West Coast
E) The South, Great Plains, and the Rocky Mountain states
Q2) The results of an opinion poll
A) are usually reported in terms of a specific number.
B) should be reported as a range of numbers to be more accurate.
C) usually are accompanied by a specific margin of error.
D) may be reported daily as a tracking poll.
E) All of the above are true.
Q3) The values that shape American political culture include all of the following \(\bold{except}\)
A) freedom.
B) liberty.
C) equality.
D) property.
E) government control of the economy.
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Chapter 7: Interest Groups
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Q1) Single-issue interest groups
A) include the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
B) include the Common Cause, which lobbies for government reform.
C) are narrowly focused, usually on just one issue.
D) have members who tend to care intensely about their issues.
E) Options C and D are true.
Q2) The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007
A) requires lobbyists to report their activities annually.
B) requires Congress to post lobbying information on the Internet.
C) significantly changed the culture in Washington.
D) requires that all pork spending proposals be reported to the President.
E) limits spending by lobbyists to $100,000 per quarter.
Q3) All of the following are true of the AARP \(\bold{except}\)
A) most people who join AARP are doing so based on material incentives.
B) the AARP is the largest interest group in the United States.
C) the AARP provides discounts and insurance plans for members.
D) the AARP can claim it represents millions of senior citizens.
E) most people join the AARP because of its free rider policy.
Q4) Explain the direct techniques used by interest groups.
Q5) Explain the indirect techniques used by interest groups.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Political Parties
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Sample Questions
Q1) A major reason for the two-party system is the electoral system, which is based on
A) the winner-take-all, or plurality, system.
B) proportional representation.
C) one-party dominance of elections.
D) majoritarianism.
E) multi-member constituencies.
Q2) If we chose candidates through a "top two" bipartisan primary election
A) candidates would have to appeal to a wider range of public opinion.
B) it would increase voter participation.
C) the major political parties might lose some of their influence.
D) it would be the end of the open primary system.
E) All of the above are true.
Q3) Analyze the role of cultural politics in recent elections.
Q4) A voter or a candidate who does not identify with a political party is called
A) a naysayer.
B) an independent.
C) a liberal.
D) a conservative.
E) a libertarian.
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Chapter 9: Campaigns, Elections, and the Media
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Q1) The right to vote
A) has been expanded since the writing of the Constitution.
B) has not been extended to those without property.
C) has been given to aliens as long as they are registered to vote.
D) can never be taken away.
E) is taken away if one doesn't vote in five elections.
Q2) Studies of bias in the media have reached
A) different conclusions: some found a liberal bias, while others found a conservative bias.
B) a clear conclusion: there is a liberal bias in the media.
C) a clear conclusion: there is a conservative bias in the media.
D) a clear conclusion: there is no bias in the media.
E) different conclusions: there is an ideological bias but there is no racial bias.
Q3) Describe the steps you can take to become a critical news consumer.
Q4) Explain how the electoral college works, the situations in which it has produced controversial results, and the criticisms leveled against it.
Q5) Which people are least likely to vote? How does this affect government policies?
Q6) How has the right to vote been expanded since the Constitution was written?
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Chapter 10: The Congress
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Q1) The real leadership power in the Senate rests in the hands of the A) president of the Senate.
B) president pro tempore of the Senate.
C) senator designate selected by the president.
D) Senate majority leader.
E) speaker of the Senate.
Q2) The Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 requires
A) each member of Congress to inform constituents of their votes on appropriations measures.
B) the president to spend the funds that Congress has appropriated.
C) a balanced budget by the 2030 fiscal year.
D) the president to present an executive budget.
E) budgets to receive the approval of the American people before they go into effect.
Q3) The most powerful person in the House of Representatives is the A) president of the House.
B) majority leader.
C) president pro tempore.
D) Speaker of the House.
E) chief whip.
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Page 12
Chapter 11: The President
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Q1) According to the Twenty-fifth Amendment, if a president's ability to discharge his normal functions is in question and he is unable to communicate,
A) the Supreme Court is empowered to select a physician to certify whether or not the president is able to perform the functions of his office.
B) the Speaker of the House becomes acting president until the matter is resolved.
C) a majority of the cabinet, including the vice president, can declare the president incapable.
D) the president must be permanently removed from office.
E) the vice president has the exclusive power to determine the president's capability.
Q2) Who was the youngest person to be elected president of the United States?
A) Jimmy Carter
B) John F. Kennedy
C) Harry Truman
D) William Clinton
E) Barack Obama
Q3) Contrast the importance of the cabinet and the Executive Office of the President.
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Chapter 12: The Bureaucracy
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Q1) Describe the difference between whistleblowers and leaks. Provide examples of each.
Q2) The only cabinet department not headed by a secretary is A) Defense.
B) State.
C) Justice.
D) Treasury.
E) Interior.
Q3) Iron triangles are made up of
A) economic interests, citizen activists, and government interest groups.
B) lobbyists, interest groups, and court cases used to promote government action to help the interest of these groups.
C) interest groups, legislators, and members of the bureaucracy working to promote and protect their mutual interests.
D) political parties, interest groups, and voters who want their candidates to win.
E) citizens who have contacted members of Congress, presidential advisors, and members of the federal bureaucracy.
Q4) Describe the ways in which bureaucracy both controls and benefits your life.
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Chapter 13: The Courts
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Q1) Appointments to the federal courts of appeal
A) are far less numerous than federal district court appointments.
B) are usually selected because of their important position in state government.
C) are less important than federal district court appointments.
D) are often "stepping-stones" to the Supreme Court.
E) Options A and D are true.
Q2) Federal Judges are
A) appointed.
B) elected for four-year terms.
C) may be removed by the President for poor performance.
D) are appointed to the Supreme Court but elected to district courts.
E) Options C and D are true.
Q3) Explain the process by which the United States Supreme Court decides to hear cases.
Q4) When William Rehnquist was appointed chief justice in 1986,
A) Supreme Court decisions had always been in line with conservative ideology.
B) justices became even more fixed in their ideological orientations.
C) the commerce clause was struck down by liberal justices.
D) the Supreme Court began a shift toward greater conservatism.
E) the Supreme Court lost its swing votes.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Domestic and Economic Policy
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Q1) Because of the __________, the United States does indeed have a(n)
A) income tax, progressive tax system
B) income tax, regressive tax system
C) property tax, progressive tax system
D) Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), regressive tax system
E) sales tax, progressive tax system
Q2) High prices of commodities like oil
A) provide an incentive to produce more of it.
B) provide an incentive for producers to slow production to boost prices higher.
C) provide an incentive to protect the environment.
D) provide an incentive to develop new technology to extract the oil.
E) Both options A and D are true.
Q3) Explain the problem of long-term unemployment and the affect on government spending.
Q4) Ways in which issues come to be identified as problems include
A) a crisis occurring.
B) letters from the constituents to members of Congress.
C) information provided by interest groups.
D) reading the local newspaper.
E) All the above are true.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Foreign Policy
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Q1) After World War I, the United States returned to a state of "normalcy" in foreign policy, which meant
A) a continued commitment to international peacekeeping.
B) reassuring the public that the United States would act in the role of world policeman.
C) a sharp increase in military spending in order to honor commitments made to the allied powers.
D) a reduction in military forces and defense spending and a return to isolationism.
E) the annexation of additional territory in the western hemisphere.
Q2) Describe U.S. efforts to handle international issues with diplomacy rather than armed force. In your examples, were these efforts largely successful or failures?
Q3) A major determinant of U.S. foreign policy in the formative years was
A) that this country was destined to become a very powerful nation.
B) that the United States has been very weak militarily.
C) the influence of religion.
D) the strength of the new navy.
E) our interest in the Pacific.
Q4) What problems might there be if the draft was used again in the United States?
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