Course Introduction
Constitutional Law
Textbook Exam Questions
Constitutional Law examines the foundational legal principles and frameworks that govern a nation, focusing primarily on the structure, functions, and powers of government as articulated in a country's constitution. The course covers the interpretation and application of constitutional provisions by courts, particularly the protection of individual rights, the separation of powers, federalism, and mechanisms for checks and balances among branches of government. Students explore landmark cases, key doctrines, and contemporary debates, enabling a critical understanding of how constitutional norms shape legal and political systems. This course equips learners with analytical skills to assess constitutional issues and appreciate their impact on society and governance.
Recommended Textbook
Struggle for Democracy 11th Edition by Benjamin I. Page
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Democracy and American Politics
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Q1) Rule by the people that is exercised in open assemblies is synonymous with which of the following?
A) the Framer's view of democracy
B) modern democracy
C) indirect democracy
D) the ancient Greeks' view of democracy
E) representative democracy
Answer: D
Q2) Political linkages are particularly suited to which of the following?
A) communicating the most fundamental and enduring factors that influence politics
B) transmitting the desires of people to representatives in government
C) overseeing the policymaking activities of Congress and the presidency
D) acting on behalf of the government
E) influencing the distribution of income and wealth in society
Answer: B
Q3) 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
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3
Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Q1) What is the principle that each branch of the federal government has the means to thwart or influence actions by other branches of government?
A) balances and powers
B) checks and balances
C) checks and freedoms
D) freedom and power
E) weights and measures
Answer: B
Q2) Which Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence?
A) Second
B) Third
C) Fourth
D) Fifth
E) Tenth
Answer: A
Q3) The __________ Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence. Answer: Second
Q4) The __________ Amendment ended involuntary servitude in the United States. Answer: Thirteenth
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Chapter 3: Federalism: States and Nation
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Q1) World War II involved a total __________ mobilization to fight Germany and Japan. Not surprisingly, directing that mobilization, as well as collecting taxes to support it, planning for production of war materials, and bringing on board the employees to accomplish all of this, was centered in Washington, D.C., not in the states.
A) businesses
B) economic and military
C) economic
D) military
E) workforce
Answer: B
Q2) Under the system created by the Framers, the national and state governments share power and derive their authority from which written document __________?
A) the Bill of Rights
B) the Constitution
C) the Articles of Confederation
D) the various state constitutions
E) the Declaration of Independence
Answer: B
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Chapter 4: The Structural Foundations of American
Government and Politics
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Q1) Political candidates would be advised to speak of their distrust of government, a strategy sometimes called "running for Congress by running against it."
A)True
B)False
Q2) President Ronald Reagan set a precedent in 1986 by granting amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. What would be the economic and political effects of a new amnesty? Would you support such a move? Defend your position.
Q3) What kinds of challenges does globalization pose for labor unions?
Q4) President Obama failed to introduce an immigration bill during his first term, but he did sign the __________, which granted temporary residency for immigrants brought here as children.
Q5) __________ is the transformation of an economy from one dominated by agriculture to one dominated by manufacturing.
Q6) A labor union member is likely to dislike globalization because it often leads to cuts in health care benefits.
A)True
B)False
Q7) What are Americans' concerns about outsourcing? Are they justified?
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Chapter 5: Public Opinion
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Q1) What distinguishes economic conservatives from economic liberals?
Q2) The presidential job approval rating is taken as a crucial indicator of a president's popularity. What causes a president's job approval rating to fluctuate?
Q3) Identify three core beliefs that contribute to American political culture.
Q4) In a real __________, there must be a close match between public opinion and government policies and actions, at least in the long run.
Q5) Which of the following statements about the political attitudes of Asian Americans is False?
A) On social issues, Asian Americans are somewhat more conservative than other Americans.
B) A majority of Asian Americans supports the death penalty.
C) A majority of Asians opposes same-sex marriage.
D) Asian Americans have been trending more Republican in recent elections.
E) On the role of government, Asian Americans are more conservative than other Americans.
Q6) The right of gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military became official policy in __________.
Q7) Why is it problematic to use the Internet to conduct public opinion polls?
Page 7
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Chapter 6: The News Media
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Q1) Which statement best characterizes the role of the Internet as a source of news?
A) The Internet is the primary news source for most Americans today.
B) During the 2009-2010 election cycle, about 75% of Americans reported that they depended on the Internet as their main source for news about the campaigns.
C) The Internet rivals television news as the major source of political information for most Americans.
D) American reliance on Internet news sources has increased exponentially.
E) Internet news tends to be less partisan than news from traditional outlets.
Q2) What is framing?
A) deciding which stories are newsworthy
B) influencing people through news story interpretation
C) stripping a story of its context to avoid the appearance of bias
D) hiding a disreputable source in a credible news story
E) deviating from journalistic standards
Q3) The mainstream media has a tendency toward nationalism, approval of the American economic system, negativity and scandal, and infotainment. Analyze and explain one of these themes. How do they affect the news? Be sure to give examples.
Q4) Explain what makes a story "newsworthy."
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Interest Groups and Business Organizations
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Q1) The idea of pluralism assumes that government policy reflects the balance of competing interest groups. What are the strengths and weaknesses of pluralism?
Q2) How does access inequality undermine the workings of the interest group system in America?
Q3) What is the main goal of an iron triangle?
A) abolishing free riders
B) creating more opportunities for collective action
C) developing networks of iron triangles
D) protecting their self-interest
E) providing selective benefits to potential groups
Q4) In Federalist No. 10, James Madison described how a government could be designed to control the effects of __________.
A) monarchies
B) factions
C) representative government
D) political parties
E) trade associations
Q5) Discuss the role of interest groups in elections.
Q6) __________ are organizations that seek to influence public policy.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Social Movements
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Q1) As illustrated by the graph in the "By the Numbers" feature, Farrakhan's estimate differed from the National Park Service estimate by approximately a factor of
A) four
B) two
C) ten
D) zero
E) eleven
Q2) How did social movement lead to the establishment of the Social Security program as we know it today? Would you agree/disagree that the government should provide at least the current levels of income support for the elderly? Why?
Q3) Ronald Reagan's appointments were likely to garner support for him from proponents of which of the following?
A) Planned Parenthood
B) the National Right to Life Committee
C) equal rights legislation
D) same sex marriage legislation
E) women's rights legislation
Q4) Define political efficacy and explain why it is important to social movements.
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Chapter 9: Political Parties
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Q1) The year 1968 in the United States brought the beginning of a new political era and __________.
A) dealignment
B) evenly matched parties
C) "good feelings"
D) realignment
E) the Reagan Democrats
Q2) Partisanship has been increasing since the 1980s, and seems likely to rise even more in the near future.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What institutional feature helps prevent the rise of minor parties?
A) a constitutional restriction
B) the electoral college
C) multi-member districts
D) proportional representation
E) open-primary systems
Q4) What are the demographics of the two major parties? How have their geographic centers of strength shifted in the last half century?
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Chapter 10: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
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Q1) New Hampshire holds its primary in the month of __________.
Q2) In the United States, the presidential election is held __________.
A) on the second Tuesday in November B) every two years
C) on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November D) in the first week of November
E) between November 1 and November 5
Q3) Voter __________ is measured by the number of people who vote in an election, divided by the number of people who were eligible to vote.
A) enthusiasm
B) malaise
C) turnout
D) access
E) registration
Q4) Why would a candidate accept public financing, and why would he or she decline it?
Q5) Should voting be mandatory? Why or why not?
Q6) Though historically low, voter turnout for __________ has been increasing in recent years, in part, because immigration has become a national issue.
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Chapter 11: Congress
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Q1) 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
Q2) Since the 1970s, partisanship has steadily __________ in Congress, due in part to__________.
A) decreased; changing regional bases in the Republican and Democratic parties
B) decreased; Democrats becoming more liberal and Republicans becoming more conservative
C) increased; changing regional bases in the Republican and Democratic parties
D) increased; decreasing partisan conflict on the national level
E) remained constant; Democrats becoming more liberal and Republicans becoming more conservative
Q3) How is Congress affected by the federal design of the Constitution? What kinds of conflict are inevitable in such a system? Name some specific conflicts of this sort that have required resolution in the Supreme Court. Go on to consider how federalism infuses "localism" into congressional affairs.
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Page 13
Chapter 12: The Presidency
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Q1) What did the Framers envision as the role of the president? How has the role changed since the Constitution was written? How have these change affected the president's relationship with the American people? Have they made the president more effective?
Q2) The Constitution lays out the plan for presidential power in great detail.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Describe the role of the president as commander in chief. Include what limitations the president has in this role.
Q4) Which presidential power is balanced by required approval of the Senate?
A) extending diplomatic recognition to foreign governments
B) terminating relations with other nations
C) negotiating treaties with other nations
D) negotiating executive agreements with foreign heads of state
E) exercising veto power
Q5) What is the president's power to convene Congress? Why would this be more significant in the early years of the presidency?
Q6) Distinguish between the president's role as chief executive and the president's role as chief legislator.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: The Executive Branch
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Q1) One function of __________ is to provide public services that the private sector is unwilling or unable to do.
Q2) Discuss the limitations on presidential control of the federal bureaucracy.
Q3) What are the advantages and disadvantages of cutting the size of bureaucracy as a way to decrease waste and inefficiency in government?
Q4) Which of the following best explains how the Department of Defense privatizes its own operations?
A) It partners with special interest groups to create political change.
B) It conceals all internal paperwork from public view.
C) It procures weapons from private sector companies.
D) It allows anonymous donations.
E) It collects an undisclosed tax from various defense agencies.
Q5) Which of the following is an example of a bureaucratic organization?
A) the Department of Defense
B) the U.S. House of Representatives
C) the U.S. Supreme Court
D) the Democratic Party
E) the Maryland state legislature
Q6) Critique or defend the constitutional doctrine known as the unitary executive.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: The Courts
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Q1) Critics of original intent would agree with which of the following statements?
A) The intentions of the Framers, seen clearly, provide all the personal freedoms necessary in a democracy.
B) The expansion of rights that has occurred since the mid-1960s is illegitimate.
C) Strict constructionism is a way to stay close to the Constitution's true meaning.
D) The Court must be guided by the exact words in the Constitution.
E) The intentions of the Framers are impossible to determine.
Q2) __________ juries decide whether there is sufficient evidence to bring an indictment against accused persons.
Q3) Describe the strict construction (or original intent) judicial philosophy.
Q4) What is the name given to the power of the courts to interpret, and overturn, the actions of the executive and legislative branches?
A) original jurisdiction
B) strict construction
C) judicial review
D) precedent
E) stare decisis
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Chapter 15: Civil Liberties: the Struggle for Freedom
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Q1) Government regulation of political speech is subject to ordinary scrutiny.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following generally is unconstitutional in school?
A) fighting
B) a weapon
C) free speech
D) prayer
E) punishment
Q3) How has the Supreme Court applied the exclusionary rule?
Q4) The Supreme Court has interpreted the Second Amendment to protect an individual's right to own __________.
Q5) The Fourteenth Amendment suggests that the protections in the Bill of Rights could be interpreted as applying to the states.
A)True
B)False
Q6) __________ include profanity, obscenity, and threats.
Q7) During the nineteenth century, the Bill of Rights did not apply to the states.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 16: Civil Rights: the Struggle for Political Equality
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Q1) What did Chief Justice Roger Taney claim in the Supreme Court case of Dred Scott v. Sandford in 1857?
A) The Founders made clear in the Constitution that all people are equal and have inalienable rights, and therefore government and whites must honor those rights
B) Under the Declaration of Independence, all men are created equal, but the Founders made it clear that phrase does not include women, who belong in the home
C) The Founders believed that blacks had no rights that whites or government were bound to honor or respect
D) The Constitution does not mention equality, but nevertheless, in the spirit of democracy it should be honored, and therefore both black and white men have rights
E) The Founders believed blacks should be slaves and women should stay home, so no white men or government is bound to grant them any particular rights
Q2) Reconstruction was the era of racial healing that followed the civil rights movement. A)True B)False
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18
Chapter 17: Domestic Policies
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Q1) How does the Affordable Care Act change health care in the United States?
A) It establishes a "single-payer" system in which the government contracts with private firms to provide medical services, equipment, and drugs on behalf of the general public.
B) It fills in the Medicare prescription drug "donut hole" so that many of the elderly need no longer be faced with a choice of buying needed drugs or paying other expenses.
C) It forces states to expand the number of people who are covered by Medicaid, including poor adults without children.
D) It includes a "public option"-government insurance plans-to compete with private insurance companies within the state insurance pools.
E) It requires small businesses to offer health insurance coverage to their employees.
Q2) Why do adjustments to interest rates by the Federal Reserve Board matter?
Q3) One reason for the increase in health care costs is the aging population in America.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Medicare is designed to help the __________ population.
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Chapter 18: Foreign Policy and National Defense
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Q1) The Joint Chiefs of Staff serves as an advisor to the president on military policy.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The primary responsibility of the National Security Council is to advise Congress about national and defense policy.
A)True
B)False
Q3) After World War II, under American leadership, the most important trading nations adopted the __________, an agreement designed to lower, then eliminate, tariffs on most traded goods and to end nontariff trade restrictions as well.
Q4) According to the "By the Numbers" feature box, the Commitment to Development Index measures the extent to which a country helps __________.
Q5) Barack Obama's approach to U.S. foreign policy is best described as unilateralist.
A)True
B)False
Q6) How is terrorism fundamentally different from traditional military action?
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