Contemporary American Political System
Question Bank
Course Introduction
This course provides a comprehensive examination of the American political system as it functions today, exploring the interplay between governmental institutions, political actors, public opinion, and policy outcomes. Students analyze the structure and processes of the federal government, the roles of Congress, the presidency, and the judiciary, as well as the influence of political parties, interest groups, media, and elections. The course also discusses challenges facing American democracy, including polarization, campaign finance, and representation, while considering the impact of social movements and demographic changes on policy and governance in the 21st century.
Recommended Textbook
Struggle for Democracy 11th Edition by Benjamin I. Page
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18 Chapters
1865 Verified Questions
1865 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Democracy and American Politics
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Sample Questions
Q1) After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, some Muslim Americans became targets of popular hostility. This is an example of majority tyranny.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Under which circumstance is political equality violated?
A) if citizens are free to argue and debate
B) if citizens are free to form and express their political opinions
C) if some people can speak out but others cannot
D) if the voice of the people is welcomed
E) if people are encouraged to participate in politics
Answer: C
Q3) The form of political decision making in which policies are decided on the basis of what a majority of the people want is known as __________.
Answer: majority rule
Q4) Taken together, political equality and equal treatment are sometimes called
Answer: civil rights
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Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why was slavery allowed by the Constitution?
Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Explain that the delegates debated the subject and that many disagreed with slavery.
2. Discuss the economic significance of slavery to early post-colonial America.
3. Analyze early American beliefs about equality and inequality.
Q2) The Constitution permits Congress to establish lower national courts.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Describe the Virginia Plan.
Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Explain that the plan called for a powerful central government with three branches-the legislative, executive, and judicial.
2. Identify that the plan called for a two-house legislature with one house elected directly by the people and the other chosen from among persons nominated by the state legislatures.
3. Discuss the plan's suggestion that the legislature have the power to select the executive and the judiciary.
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4
Chapter 3: Federalism: States and Nation
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Sample Questions
Q1) The __________ Amendment says that says that those powers not given to the federal government and not prohibited to the states by the Constitution are reserved for the states and the people.
A) First
B) Eighth
C) Tenth
D) Eleventh
E) Fourteenth
Answer: C
Q2) Which of the following constitutional clauses was used by the Supreme Court to apply civil liberties as protection for citizens at the state level?
A) due process
B) commerce
C) full faith and credit
D) equal protection
E) privileges and immunities
Answer: A
Q3) __________ gives Congress the authority to exercise its enumerated powers.
Answer: Article I, Section 8
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Page 5
Chapter 4: The Structural Foundations of American
Government and Politics
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105 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Americans are slightly more likely to believe that immigrants strengthen the U.S. through their work and talent rather than think of them as a burden to society because they take jobs and receive public benefits.
A)True
B)False
Q2) 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
Q3) The "Can Government Do Anything Well?" box discusses government versus private sector funding of scientific research and development. What are the major arguments on each side? Which side are you on? Why?
Q4) Militarization, human rights violations, the trade imbalance, currency manipulation, and incursions on intellectual property rights are all issues in the relationship between the United States and __________.
Q5) American political culture is particularly conducive to redistributive policies.
A)True
B)False
6
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Chapter 5: Public Opinion
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements best supports the assertion that collective public opinion is rational?
A) Many critics of government benefit programs like Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance receive benefits from these very same programs.
B) Middle-class and lower-income Americans tend to support government policies that make their economic positions worse.
C) Many Americans who protested the decision of the Supreme Court, in 2012, to uphold the Affordable Care Act did not know very much about what was in the law.
D) When the country is prosperous and ordinary Americans are doing well and feeling confident about the future, presidential approval ratings tend to be high.
E) People have only vague, media-provided pictures in their heads of what goes on in the world.
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) __________ ensures that each member of a population has an equal chance of being selected.
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Page 7
Chapter 6: The News Media
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Sample Questions
Q1) Does the media aid or hinder democracy? Give a brief synopsis of the Framers' opinion, the opinion of your book's authors, and then state your own opinion. Do you agree with the book's authors? Why or why not?
Q2) Why does most television news coverage feature predictable events, like news conferences?
A) Predictable events are favored by American media consumers.
B) Predictable events usually have large corporate sponsors.
C) Predictable events allow nuanced reporting over time.
D) Predictable events are easier for the media to cover.
E) Predictable events provide the best opportunity for civic engagement.
Q3) What best characterizes the "watchdog" role of the U.S. media?
A) The media educate the public on controversial issues.
B) The media educate the public on how to use government services.
C) The media make election results available to the public.
D) The media report government officials who block presidential policy.
E) The media warn the public of illegal or unethical government actions.
Q4) What is framing? What are the positive and negative implications of framing? Use an example from the chapter to support your answer.
Q5) Explain what makes a story "newsworthy."
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Chapter 7: Interest Groups and Business Organizations
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Sample Questions
Q1) How is lobbying Congress similar to lobbying the courts?
A) Both involve lobbying related to pending legislation.
B) Both involve use of PAC contributions to gain access to decision makers (i.e., legislators and judges).
C) Both are examples of "the inside game."
D) Both typically involve grassroots lobbying.
E) Both depend on building personal relationships with decision makers (i.e., legislators and judges).
Q2) 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
Q3) Pluralism has been challenged on the basis of the fact that political resources and power are unequally distributed within society.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Why is the outside strategy of "organizing the district" particularly effective?
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Chapter 8: Social Movements
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the Occupy Wall Street movement and the tactic it uses to demonstrate its beliefs.
Q2) Nonviolent civil disobedience was one of the main tactics of the civil rights movement.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In the "Using the Framework" feature, at the __________ stage an issue will become salient on partisan agendas.
Q4) What major crisis, combined with growing social movements, created the basis for laws protecting the rights of working people?
A) World War I
B) World War II
C) Occupy Wall Street
D) the Great Depression
E) AIDS epidemic
Q5) Explain what it means to have a supportive environment for the rise of a social movement. Give two examples of when supportive environments gave rise to social movements.
Q6) Define political efficacy and explain why it is important to social movements.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Political Parties
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Sample Questions
Q1) One definitive period of __________, where power is transferred from one party to another, started with the rise of the New Deal coalition.
Q2) Give an overview of the key phases of political party development in the United States. How did the Framers envision electoral participation in government? How has this been realized? Be certain to demonstrate where realignments have occurred and the reasons why. Evaluate in detail what dealignment entails, and describe why it has occurred.
Q3) Which of the following would be most likely to tolerate a government shutdown to achieve their goals?
A) Tea Party Republicans
B) Democratic centrists
C) Republican social conservatives
D) Republican economic conservatives
E) Democratic liberals
Q4) What is party ideology? What trends are we seeing in political parties on the ideological level? How are specific ideologies affecting party politics in the United States? Are third parties destined to have more impact on the political system in the future?
Q5) Describe how the New Deal coalition realigned American politics.
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Chapter 10: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is often advanced as a reason to keep the Electoral College system in place?
A) The Constitution prevents states from determining the distribution of their Electoral College votes.
B) It would be impossible to determine a winner if no candidate received a majority of the popular vote.
C) Small states have more influence than they would in a direct popular election.
D) Americans would not like it if a candidate won on the basis of the popular vote alone.
E) It would be more difficult to determine who had won a plurality of votes.
Q2) One way to increase voter turnout is to make voting __________.
A) fair
B) instant
C) remote
D) fun
E) mandatory
Q3) Compare the way the executive branch of government is elected in the United States to the way it is elected in England.
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Chapter 11: Congress
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Sample Questions
Q1) Representatives and senators who are concerned about retaining their seats in Congress would be most likely to spend significant time on which of the following activities in the months leading to up to an election?
A) considering the issues that interest them, with the idea that their constituents trust them to know what is most important to their districts
B) making time for committee work, by putting aside correspondence from their constituents
C) meeting with well known lobbyists in Washington, rather than visiting with people in their home districts, so their constituents can see that they work hard
D) paying attention to public opinion polls
E) responding to public concerns in their districts, rather than trying to shape public opinion there
Q2) Which statement about incumbency is most accurate?
A) Incumbents have a huge advantage in reelection.
B) Incumbents have a small advantage in reelection.
C) Incumbents have no advantage in reelection.
D) Incumbents only leave office when pressured by party leadership.
E) Incumbents only leave office when they choose.
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Page 13
Chapter 12: The Presidency
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Sample Questions
Q1) In which way do modern presidents differ from the original intentions of the Framers of the Constitution?
A) Modern presidents are considerably less democratic than the Framers originally intended.
B) Modern presidents have greater power as leaders of their political parties than the Framers originally intended.
C) Modern presidents are much more influential in the legislative process than the Framers originally intended.
D) Modern presidents are much less partisan than the Framers originally intended.
E) Modern presidents are more subservient to the will of Congress than the Framers originally intended.
Q2) The Intelligence Advisory Board provides information and assessments to the president's director of national intelligence and to the president directly.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The Framers were concerned that giving the president too much power would lead to a __________.
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Chapter 13: The Executive Branch
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which executive agency is responsible for creating tests and advertising and filling civil service vacancies?
A) the Merit Systems Protection Board
B) the Office of Personnel Management
C) the Executive Staffing Agency
D) the Civil Service Bureau
E) the Civil Service Executive Academy
Q2) It's 2005, and you want to learn more about costs related to certain bureaucratic activities. You perform a search on Google and are directed to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website, but you the information you need is not provided. How did this change in 2006? Provide examples of similar solutions and how they relate to transparency.
Q3) In recent years, privatization and outsourcing has __________.
A) increased at the federal level
B) decreased at the federal level
C) decreased at the state level
D) received greater public support
E) received less public support
Q4) The most recently-created Cabinet department is the __________.
Q5) What factors might contribute to inefficiencies within the federal bureaucracy?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: The Courts
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Sample Questions
Q1) The United States is divided into 12 geographic __________ courts that hear appeals from federal district courts.
A) common
B) judicial
C) circuit
D) public
E) legislative
Q2) Which of the following is within the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court?
A) federal criminal matters
B) tax disputes
C) military tribunals
D) controversies between the states
E) property disputes
Q3) The Supreme Court sometimes changes the definition of standing to make access for a __________ easier or more difficult.
A) defendant
B) prosecutor
C) district attorney
D) plaintiff
E) appellee
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Chapter 15: Civil Liberties: the Struggle for Freedom
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Sample Questions
Q1) In what context did the Supreme Court first apply the Fourteenth Amendment?
A) to abolish slavery
B) to eliminate racial discrimination
C) to eliminate sex discrimination
D) to strike down labor regulations
E) to protect voting rights
Q2) Burning the American flag is not constitutionally protected symbolic speech.
A)True
B)False
Q3) How did Miranda v. Arizona change the way law enforcement treated criminal defendants?
Q4) According to Table 15.1, Civil Liberties in the U.S. Constitution, the double jeopardy clause protects an individual who is acquitted of a crime from which of the following?
A) media coverage
B) being tried again
C) going free
D) asserting innocence
E) seeking the assistance of an attorney
Q5) How has the war on terror restricted civil liberties in the United States?
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Chapter 16: Civil Rights: the Struggle for Political Equality
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Sample Questions
Q1) What was the primary focus at the 1848 convention at Seneca Falls, New York, organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton?
A) the prohibition of alcohol
B) women's rights
C) rights for former slaves
D) ending the Civil War
E) the New Deal
Q2) The Thirteenth Amendment bans slavery. When was it passed?
A) when the South seceded from the Union
B) during the Civil War
C) immediately after the Civil War
D) immediately after Reconstruction
E) during the civil rights movement
Q3) When did women win the guaranteed right to vote?
A) when the Constitution was adopted
B) during the Civil War
C) immediately after the Civil War
D) at the same time that black males won the right to vote
E) decades after black males won the right to vote
Q4) Brown v. Board of Education overturned the __________ doctrine.
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Chapter 17: Domestic Policies
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Sample Questions
Q1) Social Security is considered an entitlement program.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What has been the U.S. government's recent trend regarding budget deficits and the national debt, and what factors are driving this trend?
Q3) Governments in all rich countries play a substantial role in managing economic affairs.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Social Security is aimed at what group of people?
A) children
B) business owners
C) seniors
D) the poor
E) college students
Q5) Keynesians would likely approve of the recent government stimulus package passed by Congress to deal with the economic crisis of the Great Recession.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 18: Foreign Policy and National Defense
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why do citizens play a smaller role in the formation of foreign policy than they do in the formation of domestic policy?
A) Foreign policy is more complex and unpredictable than domestic policy, and during a crisis, the need for speed and secrecy may exclude the public from decision making.
B) Foreign policy is handled only by the Department of State, which keeps most of its operations confidential.
C) Domestic policy concerns American citizens, but foreign policy has little effect on them, so there is no need for their input.
D) The Constitution gives most foreign policy responsibilities and powers to Congress, so ordinary citizens as well as the president and executive branch are excluded from most decisions.
E) In crisis situations, the president's actions often come under criticism from the public, causing great dissent, so it is prudent for the president to share as little as possible with the public during a crisis.
Q2) The secretary of __________ is a civilian and a member of the president's Cabinet who advises the president about military policy.
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