Contemporary American Political Issues
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Course Introduction
This course examines key political issues shaping the United States today, focusing on debates and developments from the late 20th century to the present. Students will explore topics such as polarization in American politics, the impact of social media on public opinion, immigration policy, racial and social justice movements, economic inequality, climate policy, healthcare reform, and the evolving role of the United States in world affairs. Through analysis of current events, policy proposals, and legislative processes, the course encourages critical thinking and informed discussion about the challenges and prospects facing American democracy.
Recommended Textbook
The American Political System 2nd full Edition with policy chapters 2014 Election Update by Ken
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction
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Q1) A collective dilemma represents conflict between ____________________.
A) two or more groups attempting to achieve different political goals
B) two or more individuals with different preferences about what course a group should pursue
C) individual self-interest and group goals
D) individual economic interests and individual moral values
E) information or arguments that suggest different optimal choices for a group
Answer: C
Q2) Walter offers two dollars to Daisy in exchange for Daisy voting for Walter in the school board election,and Daisy agrees.Daisy is then offered three dollars in exchange for voting for Vernon,and agrees,due to the better offer.Walter then offers four dollars,and Daisy agrees to vote for him again.What is this cycle an example of?
A) free riding
B) agenda setting
C) institutions
D) unstable coalitions
E) coalition government
Answer: D
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Page 3
Chapter 2: the Constitution
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Q1) Sonal is eating dinner with her family when the police enter and begin to search her home.The police do not have a warrant and will not tell Sonal what they are looking for.In this instance,Sonal is primarily protected by ____________________.
A) the Bill of Rights, which protects a right to free assembly
B) the Bill of Rights, which protects private property unless the government can obtain a warrant
C) the Bill of Rights, which requires that government officials disclose their intentions prior to a search
D) Miranda Rights, which the Supreme Court has derived from the Bill of Rights
E) the Supreme Court, which can determine whether or not this search was legal
Answer: B
Q2) Which of the following are NOT included in the Bill of Rights?
A) right to vote
B) right to free speech
C) freedom of assembly
D) right to bear arms
E) right to counsel for criminal defendants
Answer: A
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Chapter 3: Federalism
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Q1) Which funding type is the federal government most likely to use in order to extend its power over state governments?
A) national security funding
B) block grants
C) revenue sharing programs
D) categorical grants
E) unfunded mandates
Answer: D
Q2) Which of the following best describes an example of how the federal government could strengthen federalism?
A) institute a nation-wide speed limit
B) institute plans which allow Medicare policies to vary
C) make block grants contingent on a specified drinking age
D) nationalize state army reserve systems
E) implement Supreme Court decisions uniformly
Answer: B
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Chapter 4: Civil Rights and Liberties
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Q1) A law that banned Inuits from buying property in Alaska would be reviewed under which of the following standards of judicial review?
A) rational basis test
B) undue burden test
C) Monroe Doctrine
D) intermediate scrutiny
E) strict scrutiny
Q2) What are the trade-offs involved in the systems of rights and liberties established by the U.S.Constitution? How do citizens benefit from these limitations on government power? How do constitutional protections potentially harm or impose costs on citizens or on the community? In your opinion,has the U.S.system of rights and liberties struck an appropriate balance between individual rights and community needs? Why or why not?
Q3) Identify and explain the three major standards of review that the Supreme Court uses to judge the constitutionality of state and federal laws that create classifications among citizens.What types of laws trigger review under each standard? Which standard imposes the most difficult burdens on the government defending a law? Why?
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Chapter 5: Congress
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Q1) Why might a representative propose a bill knowing it will fail?
A) Party leaders write the bill for the member.
B) Guaranteed referral to a committee on which the member serves.
C) Popularity with the representative's constituents.
D) The Supreme Court is unlikely to strike down the bill.
E) The president favors the legislation.
Q2) Why do only 33 or 34 Senators face re-election in each cycle?
A) Many senators retire rather than face reelection.
B) Six-year terms mean only 1/3 of the chamber is re-elected at a time.
C) Each state only has one senator and retirements lower the number of re-elections.
D) Senators want to become president and thus pursue that goal.
E) All senators face re-election in each cycle.
Q3) Why is having a fellow partisan as the chamber leader important?
A) The leader writes all legislation.
B) The leader is the chair of committees.
C) The leader is the agenda setter.
D) The leader pressures the president to sign bills.
E) The leader makes all members vote in partisan fashion.
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Page 7
Chapter 6: the Presidency
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Q1) Which is an enumerated power of the president rather than an implied power?
A) power to wage war
B) power to veto legislation
C) power over domestic security
D) power to make executive agreements
E) executive privilege
Q2) The president needs the approval of the ____________________ for appointments,and the ____________________ for declaring war.
A) House/Senate
B) Senate/Senate
C) House and Senate/House
D) House and Senate/Senate
E) Senate/House and Senate
Q3) What best explains why the president is better able to solve collective-action problems than Congress?
A) commander in chief of the military
B) leader of the senate
C) single actor
D) formal head of the party
E) control of Supreme Court
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Chapter 7: the Bureaucracy
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Q1) Which is a system of congressional oversight of federal agencies that consists of active monitoring of agencies by Congress through routine inspections?
A) administrative law
B) police-patrol oversight
C) fire-alarm oversight
D) ambulance oversight
E) extraordinary rendition
Q2) What is the principal-agent problem,and how is it relevant for understanding interactions between Congress and federal bureaucracies? Which institution or set of institutions usually acts as the principal,and which acts as the agent? What mechanisms and strategies are available to the principal to control the agent and minimize shirking?
Q3) Do "street-level" bureaucrats make policy decisions?
A) No, because they are not very important.
B) No, because policy decisions are made by Congress or the president.
C) No, because policy decisions are made by higher-level bureaucrats.
D) Yes, because their individual judgment calls create policy standards and routines.
E) Yes, but only in certain policy areas.
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Chapter 8: the Judiciary
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Q1) The standard of proof in a criminal case at any level,except for military tribunals,is
A) judges or juries merely decide which party's side is better supported by the evidence
B) a judge or jury must find a defendant innocent unless the evidence shows that she or he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt
C) judges or juries must find a defendant guilty unless the evidence shows that she or he is clearly innocent of the crime
D) a judge or jury merely decides whether the defendant seems to be guilty of the crime
E) judges or juries must find a defendant innocent unless there is some incriminating evidence
Q2) How many justices currently sit on the Supreme Court?
A) 5
B) 7
C) 9
D) 11
E) 13
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Chapter 9: Public Opinion
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Q1) Response rates to phone surveys-the number of people who actually give interviews,as compared to the number selected and solicited through a random process-have been ____________________.
A) declining for the past few years and now stand at about 70 percent
B) declining for many years and now stand at about 30 percent
C) increasing for the past few years and now stand at about 30 percent
D) increasing for the past few years and now stand at about 50 percent
E) increasing for many years and now stand at about 70 percent
Q2) People can engage in what Anthony Downs called ____________________ about politics by free riding off people who happen to like politics or need to know about politics for their jobs.
A) "ideological ignorance"
B) "political ignorance"
C) "rational ignorance"
D) "functional ignorance"
E) "American ignorance"
Q3) What are priming and framing? How are the two concepts alike? How are they different? Give an example of priming and an example of framing in hypothetical survey questions.How would these cognitive processes influence respondents' answers in your examples?
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Chapter 10: Political Participation
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Q1) The Help America Vote Act of 2002 caused states to ____________________.
A) increase the number of voting precincts by almost 40 percent
B) increase the use of paper ballots to preserve permanent records of each vote cast
C) relocate polling places to venues that could support new voting machines in nearly 40 percent of all precincts
D) increase the amount of time available for citizens to register to vote
E) decrease the number of polling places by almost 40 percent
Q2) Writing letters to a member of Congress,attending a political rally,and donating money to a political campaign are examples of ____________________.
A) partisanship
B) polling
C) political participation
D) political science
E) social networking
Q3) How do interest groups and other organizations work to mobilize voters? How do these mobilization efforts relate to the paradox of voting? In other words,how do these activities help potential voters overcome forces that may prevent them from voting?
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12
Chapter 11: Interest Groups and Social Movements
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Q1) Which are activities by lobbyists and interest group leaders that involve direct contact with policy makers?
A) outside lobbying
B) inside lobbying
C) pandering
D) argumentation
E) profiling
Q2) Which term refers to the political pressure faced by an interest group to provide campaign contributions to an elected official to ensure that he or she continues to support the group's positions in the policy-making process?
A) special donations
B) selective incentives
C) hold-up
D) insider dilemma
E) Prisoner's Dilemma
Q3) Compare and contrast American-style pluralism with European-style corporatism.How does each system deal with the problem of obtaining inputs from the public into the policy-making process? What are the benefits of each approach to governance? What are the costs to each system?
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Page 13
Chapter 12: Political Parties
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Q1) Which of the following is a psychological attachment or loyalty to a political party?
A) party identification
B) party planning
C) party mood
D) partisan mindset
E) partisan allegiance
Q2) Political machines relied on ____________________ to win the loyalty of voters.
A) mechanics
B) wards
C) patronage
D) power
E) reimbursement
Q3) A party ____________________ focuses on winning elections while a party ____________________ focuses on specific policy goals.
A) amateur/professional
B) professional/ interest
C) interest/amateur
D) professional/amateur
E) candidate/writer
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Elections and Campaigns
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Q1) The use of campaign ads like Lyndon Johnson's "Daisy" and Ronald Reagan's "Morning in America" can best be described as ____________________.
A) free media
B) paid media
C) private media
D) online media
E) public media
Q2) What was the primary effect of Citizens United v.FEC (2010)?
A) Corporations and unions were limited further in their ability to donate to political campaigns.
B) Corporations and unions may spend unlimited amounts of money on campaigns as long as the spending is independent of direct candidate donation.
C) Individuals, but not corporations or unions, can donate as much money as they would like directly to candidates.
D) All campaign finance laws have been completely overturned, and anyone can donate as much money as they would like directly to campaigns.
E) All campaigns must now be run with public funds.
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Page 15
Chapter 14: Mass Media and the Press
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Q1) A news organization that regularly includes criticisms of a president's policies in news coverage of the economy exhibits ____________________.
A) gatekeeping bias
B) elite bias
C) ideological bias
D) coverage bias
E) statement bias
Q2) In which country is the press principally state-owned but operated independently of the government?
A) Iran
B) China
C) United Kingdom
D) United States
E) Italy
Q3) What are the primary functions of the press in a democracy? How does the press fulfill these duties in the United States? How well does the modern American media serve these public functions? Is the modern media environment an improvement over previous periods in the historical development of mass media in the United States?
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Chapter 15: Economic Policy
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Q1) Describe the federal budgetary process.When and by whom is the annual budget first proposed? How and by whom is this initial proposal changed? How and by whom is a final budget crafted and enacted?
Q2) Subnational (state and local)governments account for approximately 40 percent of all government spending in the United States.This is a/an ____________________ proportion than in most other advanced industrialized democracies.
A) much lower
B) lower
C) equal
D) higher
E) much higher
Q3) Which refers to the annual difference between revenues collected by the national government and its outlays?
A) national shortfall
B) budget gap
C) budget surplus
D) national deficit
E) national debt
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17
Chapter 16: Social Policy
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Q1) Which country generally has the smallest welfare state?
A) United States
B) Germany
C) France
D) Canada
E) Australia
Q2) When did the last major spike in violent crime in the United States occur?
A) late 1950s
B) mid-1960s
C) late 1970s and early 1980s
D) late 1980s and early 1990s
E) mid-2000s
Q3) Which of the following is NOT part of the federal government's effort to provide health care?
A) evaluating the safety of cosmetics
B) building hospitals in rural areas
C) funding medical research
D) providing health education in schools
E) coordinating the purchase of private health insurance
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Page 18
Chapter 17: Foreign Policy
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Q1) How does the United States convince other countries to make choices that are compatible with U.S.interests? What are the principal tools of U.S.foreign policy? Which tools are used during the normal course of international relations? Which tools are available during times of crisis?
Q2) The French invasion of Mexico in 1862 is contrary to the ____________________.
A) Jay Treaty
B) Monroe Doctrine
C) Polk Principle
D) Bush Doctrine
E) Powell Doctrine
Q3) The United States Senate's decision to reject American membership in the League of Nations in 1919 is most consistent with which philosophy of international affairs?
A) conservatism
B) idealism
C) confrontationalism
D) isolationism
E) realism
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