Contemporary American Politics
Exam Materials
Course Introduction
Contemporary American Politics provides a comprehensive analysis of the political system, institutions, and current issues shaping the United States today. This course examines the roles of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as federalism, political parties, elections, interest groups, and the media. Special attention is given to pressing contemporary debates such as polarization, campaign finance, civil rights, and the influence of technology and social media on political discourse. Through case studies, recent data, and critical discussions, students gain insight into the dynamics and challenges of governance, public opinion, and policy-making in modern America.
Recommended Textbook
American Democracy Now 4th Edition by Brigid Callahan Harrison
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19 Chapters
1359 Verified Questions
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Page 2
Chapter 1: People, Politics, and Participation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which ideology places the greatest emphasis on government control of the economy?
A) Liberalism
B) Conservatism
C) Socialism
D) Libertarianism
E) Populism
Answer: C
Q2) Which of the following values is considered the MOST essential quality of American democracy?
A) equality
B) collectivism
C) liberty
D) security
E) self-government
Answer: C
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3
Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Sample Questions
Q1) At the Second Continental Congress, who argued that "these united Colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent States"?
A) Richard Henry Lee
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) James Madison
D) Samuel Adams
E) John Hancock
Answer: A
Q2) Which of these features are contained within written constitutions?
A) mission statements
B) descriptions of foundational structures
C) identification of core bodies
D) details of essential operating procedures
E) All these answers are correct.
Answer: E
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism
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Sample Questions
Q1) Outline the key features of the Seventeenth Amendment, and identify its effects on intergovernmental relations since its passage.
Answer: Ratified in 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment shifted the power to elect senators away from state legislatures to a popular vote. Some scholars have argued this shift significantly lessened the influence of state governments and legislators over national policy-making.
Q2) Federal grants-in-aid are LOWEST in which policy area?
A) health
B) transportation
C) natural resources and environment
D) income security
E) education, training, employment, and social services
Answer: C
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5
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which concept argues that true and free political discourse requires a forum for free and unrestrained political discussion?
A) confederalism
B) divine right theory
C) marketplace of ideas
D) horizontal federalism
E) intergovernmental relations
Q2) Which piece of legislation passed in 2007 legally empowers the NSA to wiretap any communications that begin or end in a foreign country?
A) Protect America Act
B) USA PATRIOT Act
C) FISA Amendment Act
D) Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
E) NSA Empowerment Act
Q3) Define selective incorporation and discuss its historical development.
Q4) Compare and contrast the Court's interpretations and treatments of symbolic and commercial speech.
Q5) Identify the reasons why the Anti-Federalists argued for a separate, written bill of rights.
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Chapter 5: Civil Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) the Supreme Court ruled that in making admissions decisions universities could consider race
A) not at all.
B) as long as it was rationally related to a reasonable university policy.
C) as a factor, but not an overriding factor.
D) as its sole consideration.
E) only if the university could show a lack of diversity.
Q2) Explain the key features of the separate but equal doctrine created by the Court's ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson.
Q3) 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
Q4) Outline the important provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Q5) Discuss the origins and features of Jim Crow laws.
Q6) Discuss the role played by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in developing effective strategies against racial discrimination.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Political Socialization and Public Opinion
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Sample Questions
Q1) As compared to men, women are more likely to be attracted to all of these forms of activism EXCEPT
A) volunteering.
B) running, walking, and biking.
C) charity fund-raising activities.
D) neighborhood and community mediation.
E) persuading others to vote.
Q2) The key to a successful sample is to have a sample that
A) accurately reflects the population.
B) is exactly five percent of the population that is being polled.
C) is under 100 participants.
D) each participant is hand selected according to political views.
E) is polled only when it is ensured that they have enough time to answer the questions.
Q3) Out of the following groups, which youth cohort is the most politically engaged?
A) whites
B) African Americans
C) Native Americans
D) Latinos
E) Asian Americans
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Interest Groups
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Sample Questions
Q1) Political Action Committees give a large majority of their contributions to
A) challengers in elections where there is an incumbent.
B) Republican candidates in elections where there is no incumbent.
C) Democratic candidates in elections where there is no incumbent.
D) incumbents of both parties.
E) None of these answers is correct.
Q2) Define and explain the effects of the formation of iron triangles.
Q3) Which of the following are key factors in an interest groups' organizational environment?
A) financing and opposition
B) leadership and opposition
C) membership and resources
D) resources and leadership
E) demographics and intensity
Q4) In what way do interest groups succeed in channeling civic participation?
A) They offer ways for people to act collectively.
B) They involve individuals more actively in politics.
C) They assist in engaging communities in political issues.
D) They offer an alternative participatory option over the two-party system.
E) All these answers are correct.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Political Parties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Between 2003 and 2011, the greatest increase in support for a third major party came from
A) liberals.
B) moderates.
C) conservatives.
D) liberals and moderates equally.
E) moderates and conservatives equally.
Q2) Identify key principles of the Tea Party movement.
Q3) Which 1976 Supreme Court decision created the soft-money loophole, through which political parties could raise unlimited funds at the state level?
A) Buckley v. Valeo
B) Citizens United v. Federal Electoral Commission
C) United States v. Lopez
D) Miller v. California
E) Roe v. Wade
Q4) Outline the arguments that suggest a decline in the two-party system.
Q5) Identify the three faces of political parties in the United States.
Q6) Identify important features of the party system that have emerged since 1968.
Q7) Explain how the party in government influences government operations at all levels.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Elections, Campaigns, and Voting
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Sample Questions
Q1) During the presidential election of 2000, which state's voting system came under enormous scrutiny because of paper perforations known as chads?
A) California
B) New York
C) South Carolina
D) Florida
E) Ohio
Q2) In 2014, how much money could a PAC donate in total to all candidates, per election?
A) $2,600
B) $5,000
C) $32,400
D) $45,400
E) no limit
Q3) What type of election allows voters to cut short an officeholder's term?
A) recall election
B) runoff election
C) instant runoff election
D) primary election
E) runoff primary election
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Chapter 10: The Media
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Sample Questions
Q1) Studies by various political scientists have found that most news stories
A) actually contain a conservative bent.
B) are liberally biased.
C) take the form of a debate.
D) present only one point of view.
E) are tinged by the journalist's personal viewpoint.
Q2) The sheer quantity and constant availability of information, which may cause media consumers to dismiss the significance of particular events, is known as
A) media framing.
B) infotainment.
C) muckraking.
D) information overload.
E) information priming.
Q3) Explain the effects of the ending of the fairness doctrine by the FCC.
Q4) Between 1992 and 2012, viewer audiences for network television
A) declined significantly.
B) declined marginally.
C) remained steady.
D) increased marginally.
E) increased significantly.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Politics and Technology
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Sample Questions
Q1) To mobilize supporters, organizers of protests use sites like Twitter to quickly distribute information to a large amount of people. This is known as A) e-campaigning.
B) remarketing.
C) promoted tweets.
D) a cyber cascade.
E) micro-blogging.
Q2) A service that compiles all the news that we want from various outlets into one location is known as a A) news aggregator.
B) micro-blog.
C) wiki.
D) vlog.
E) bandwidth.
Q3) Describe virtual communities and discuss their impact on civic engagement and participation in the real world.
Q4) Who uses the Internet? Discuss the digital divide.
Q5) What are the key controversies currently surrounding the government's technology-based domestic surveillance programs?
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Chapter 12: Congress
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following typically wields the MOST influence in congressional decision making?
A) the president
B) the Speaker of the House
C) the constituency
D) interest groups
E) congressional staff
Q2) How many House members' signatures are necessary to execute a discharge petition, where a bill is extracted from committee for full House consideration?
A) a majority
B) three-fifths
C) two-thirds
D) three-quarters
E) absolute majority
Q3) Define gerrymandering and discuss its use in congressional redistricting.
Q4) Identify the advantages of incumbency in congressional elections.
Q5) Explain the role and functions of congressional subcommittees.
Q6) Compare and contrast the trustee and instructed delegate models of representation.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: The Presidency
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which two presidents were formally impeached by the House of Representatives?
A) Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton
B) Bill Clinton and George W. Bush
C) Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton
D) Andrew Johnson and Richard Nixon
E) Richard Nixon and Warren Harding
Q2) Which event prompted codified procedures for dealing with an incapacitated president?
A) the shooting of President James Garfield
B) the assassination of President William McKinley
C) the illness of President Woodrow Wilson
D) the assassination of President John Kennedy
E) the shooting of President Ronald Reagan
Q3) The Supreme Court has granted the president the broadest latitude to use emergency powers in cases involving
A) the collection of taxes.
B) foreign affairs.
C) the opening and closing of prisons.
D) immigration policy.
E) members of Congress.
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Chapter 14: The Bureaucracy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following refers to laws that provide plans of action to address societal concerns and identify the executive units that will put them into effect?
A) appropriation laws
B) dispensation bills
C) authorization laws
D) administrative discretions
E) administrative adjudications
Q2) Which of the following is the fifth stage in the public policy cycle?
A) agenda setting
B) resource allocation
C) policy formulation
D) policy approval
E) policy implementation
Q3) What criterion determines a federal job's salary?
A) status
B) rank
C) title
D) location
E) area of responsibility
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Page 16
Chapter 15: The Judiciary
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Sample Questions
Q1) The principle of stare decisis, a Latin phrase that means "let the decision stand," is the basis of the modern legal concept of
A) jury trials.
B) precedent.
C) code law.
D) judicial statute.
E) the primacy of common law.
Q2) Of the members of the Supreme Court in 2014, which one had the closest confirmation vote in the Senate?
A) Samuel Alito
B) Anthony Kennedy
C) Sonia Sotomayor
D) Elena Kagan
E) Clarence Thomas
Q3) To date, how many women have served on the bench of the Supreme Court?
A) two
B) four
C) seven
D) nine
E) fourteen
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Chapter 16: Economic Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following groups has the LEAST concern for the growing income inequality in the United States?
A) Democrats
B) liberals
C) independents
D) Republicans
E) All of these groups have about the same level of concern about the growing income inequality.
Q2) 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.
Q3) Discuss the course and identify benefits of the pursuit of free trade policy by the United States after World War II.
Q4) Discuss the difference between a pure capitalist economy and a regulated capitalist economy.
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Page 18
Chapter 17: Domestic Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Affordable Care Act
A) prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions.
B) requires everyone to pay for private health insurance, even if they are covered under a company or government insurance program.
C) does not provide any specific provisions for preventative health care, like diabetes screening and mammograms.
D) will not be fully implemented until 2020.
E) All these answers are correct.
Q2) What is the largest source of energy in the United States?
A) natural gas
B) crude oil
C) coal
D) nuclear
E) hydropower
Q3) Discuss the purposes and features of the minimum wage, and identify groups of workers not guaranteed it.
Q4) Identify examples of direct subsidies created by the U.S. government.
Q5) Define direct provision and provide examples of its application.
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Chapter 18: Foreign Policy and National Security
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Q1) What term is used for the influence of domestic politics on foreign policy?
A) intermestics
B) inter-foreign relations
C) isolationism
D) interventionism
E) pre-emption
Q2) What was the Soviet Union's response to the creation of NATO?
A) enactment of the policy of détente
B) refusal to sit on the United Nations' Security Council
C) institution of the use of containment
D) formation of the Warsaw Pact
E) refusal to contribute to the Marshall Plan
Q3) In drafting the Constitution, the founders sought which of the following in terms of foreign policy?
A) to insert the United States forcefully in world affairs
B) to develop a moderate position for the United States in world affairs that included regional hegemony
C) to forge alliances with the European powers
D) to expand the United States westward and southward as rapidly as possible
E) to remove the United States from world affairs
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Chapter 19: State and Local Government
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Sample Questions
Q1) In states in which judgeships are granted through an electoral process, judges are usually selected through which type of election?
A) partisan
B) contention
C) merit selection
D) nonpartisan
E) primary
Q2) In 2012, Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin faced a recall election. What happened?
A) He was the third governor in history to lose a recall election.
B) He became the first governor to survive a recall election.
C) He became the first governor in history to lose a recall election.
D) He resigned before facing a recall election.
E) He was impeached and removed from office before the election.
Q3) Which of the following affects the financial resources of a government?
A) diversity of people
B) climate
C) natural resources
D) diversity of political cultures
E) All these answers are correct.
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Page 21