Contemporary American Politics Exam
Practice Tests
Course Introduction
This course offers an in-depth exploration of the major institutions, processes, and issues that define contemporary American politics. Students will examine the roles of the presidency, Congress, the judiciary, political parties, and interest groups, as well as the media's influence on the political landscape. The course analyzes current policy debates, electoral trends, social movements, and the impact of polarization on governance. Through case studies and discussion of recent events, students will gain a nuanced understanding of the challenges and complexities facing the American political system today.
Recommended Textbook
Politics in America 2014 Elections and Updates Edition 10th Edition by Thomas
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Page 2
R. Dye
Chapter 1: Politics: Who Gets What,When and How 1
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Q1) Political science is the study of government and political processes,systems,and individual human political behavior.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) True democracy will not necessarily result in __________.
A)equal distribution of wealth
B)equal opportunities
C)individual dignity
D)equal protection under the law
Answer: A
Q3) What can be said of representative democracy?
A)It is universally implemented in all free nations.
B)Representatives of the people are elected by the people to decide issues on behalf of the people.
C)It is rare.
D)Elections are not open to competition.
Answer: B
Q4) __________ is deciding who gets what,when,and how.
Answer: Politics
Page 3
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Chapter 2: Political Culture: Ideas in Conflict
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Q1) Capitalism is a system that may be seen as the economic equivalent of
A)federalism
B)classical liberalism
C)communism
D)socialism
Answer: B
Q2) The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 abolished __________ quotas for immigration.
A)gender
B)national origin
C)faith-based
D)employment
Answer: B
Q3) In fascism,who is given supreme power?
A)business interests
B)the individual
C)political parties
D)the state
Answer: D
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Chapter 3: The Constitution: Limiting Governmental Power
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Q1) In what year was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?
A)1776
B)1788
C)1789
D)1791
Answer: D
Q2) 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)weights and measures
B)checks and balances
C)balances and powers
D)checks and freedoms
Answer: B
Q3) In what year was the U.S.Constitution ratified?
A)1776
B)1788
C)1791
D)1797
Answer: B
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Federalism: Dividing Governmental Power
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Q1) The Supreme Court's 1819 ruling in __________ firmly established the principle that the Necessary and Proper Clause gives Congress the right to choose its means for carrying out the enumerated powers.
Q2) Preemption is based on which clause of the U.S.Constitution?
A)Commerce
B)Due Process
C)Equal Protection
D)Supremacy
Q3) Unlike the United States,the European Union incorporates features of both federalism and __________.
Q4) Article VI of the U.S.Constitution establishes that federal law is __________ in conflicts between federal and state law.
A)irrelevant
B)persuasive authority
C)secondary
D)supreme
Q5) Many Americans believe that we live exclusively in a direct democracy.Critically evaluate that belief.How is it true,and how is it untrue?
Q6) Describe the evolution of federalism over the course of American history.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Opinion and Participation: Thinking and Acting in Politics
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Q1) Which of the following is credited with bringing an end to property qualifications for voting?
A)the support of the nation's leading newspapers
B)the spread of Jeffersonian and Jacksonian principles of democracy
C)the spread of public schools and increased rates of literacy
D)the growing hostility between North and South in the years preceding the Civil War
Q2) When the networks agreed not to use exit polls to call elections in a state until the polls in that state closed,they were responding to the criticism that early calls
A)overstate voter turnout
B)reduce voter turnout
C)"create" public opinion
D)translate into unpopular policy change
Q3) About 60 percent of the voting-age population in the United States typically fails to vote,even in presidential elections.
A)True
B)False
Q4) __________ is the legal right to vote.
Q5) Trace the expansion of the right to vote.
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Chapter 6: Mass Media: Setting the Political Agenda
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Q1) Edmund Burke called the free news press and the people and institutions of the free press the "__________ estate" of the realm.
Q2) What is the focus of political candidates early in their competition for office?
A)media events
B)speeches
C)press releases
D)paid advertising
Q3) Talk radio and cable news has resulted in the increased use of professional expert opinion-givers,called __________.
Q4) Laws against libel and slander are aimed at preventing __________.
A)intentional damage
B)freedom of the press
C)journalistic freedom
D)freedom of speech
Q5) A growing public backlash against televised incivility has led to a decrease in "drama" between pundits on political television programs.
A)True
B)False
Q6) How does political polarization of the media impact our political system?
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Political Parties: Organizing Politics
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Q1) The political realignment of the Gilded Age resulted from __________.
A)the development of the first political parties
B)economic distress and depression
C)national tensions exacerbated by the Civil War
D)America's failure to win the Vietnam War
Q2) Following the divisive government of the 1990s,what set of circumstances might explain the ability of the subsequent presidency to pass legislation easily?
A)the constitutional checks and balances system
B)media emphasis on cooperative efforts between parties
C)reduced ideological emphasis in both parties
D)single party control of Congress and the presidency
Q3) Convention delegates and candidates are chosen,by some state parties,in meetings of party members called caucuses.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Over time,trends in party __________ have indicated that increasing numbers of voters consider themselves independents,while the Democratic Party advantage among voters has declined.
Q5) Assess whether dealignment in the American party system has actually occurred.
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Chapter 8: Campaigns and Elections: Deciding Who
Governs
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Q1) Direct candidate contact with individual voters is known as __________ politics.
A)retail
B)spin
C)front-end
D)back-end
Q2) Voters go to precincts and straw vote for the presidential nominee in which caucus state?
A)New Hampshire
B)Iowa
C)Florida
D)Texas
Q3) Which of these is the most important factor in choosing a campaign strategy?
A)party
B)age of the candidate
C)media choices
D)incumbency
Q4) The FEC limits contributions to a candidate's campaign per election to __________ in direct individual contributions (in 2014).
Q5) What kinds of campaign finance receive little or no scrutiny?
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Chapter 9: Interest Groups: Getting Their Share and More
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Q1) What is K Street?
A)a location outside the U.S.Capitol building where interest groups are allowed to hold protests
B)a location outside the White House where interest groups are allowed to hold protests
C)the primary location,in Washington,D.C.,of many powerful lobbying organizations and interest groups
D)the location of the House of Representatives office building
Q2) According to the theory of pluralism,political power is distributed across a wide range of diverse and competing interest groups.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What did James Madison identify as the most prevalent special interest in politics?
A)economic interests
B)civil rights
C)social justice
D)access to education
Q4) __________ groups are organizations that seek to influence public policy.
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11
Chapter 10: Congress: Politics on Capitol Hill
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Q1) __________ can provide valuable information,political intelligence,and reelection funding,making legislators with whom they agree more effective.
A)Subcommittees
B)Senatorial aides
C)Standing committees
D)Lobbyists
Q2) A(n)__________ is an amendment to a bill that is not germane to the bill's purposes.
A)rider
B)cloture
C)filibuster
D)unanimous consent agreement
Q3) The role of Senate minority leader is important because __________.
A)he or she represents the opposition in negotiations with the majority leader
B)he or she serves as chief assistant to the majority leader
C)he or she serves as the national spokesperson for the party
D)the House does not have this position
Q4) Cloture is the only way to end a(n)__________.
Q5) After the Speaker,the next most powerful person in the House is the __________.
Page 12
Q6) Evaluate the successes and failures of the two parties in Congress.
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Chapter 11: The President: White House Politics
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Q1) Which word best describes the language used by the Framers to describe the office of the president?
A)exact
B)static
C)deferential
D)vague
Q2) When presidents set agendas and attempt to get their preferred policies enacted through the legislative process,they are __________.
A)managing crises
B)providing policy leadership
C)managing the economy
D)acting as global president
Q3) Refer to Figure 11.5.President Obama likely benefited from the __________,which attributed to his high box score at the beginning of his first term.
A)improved economy
B)honeymoon period
C)rally effect
D)threat of veto
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Chapter 12: The Bureaucracy: Bureaucratic Politics
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Q1) The __________ reinforced reforms initiated under the __________ by further restricted political influence on the bureaucracy by preventing federal employees from engaging in political activities.
A)New Deal; Pendleton Act
B)Hatch Act; Pendleton Act
C)Pendleton Act; Administrative Procedures Act
D)Administrative Procedures Act; Federal Courts Act
Q2) What role is the National Labor Relations Board taking when it settles a dispute between labor and management on federal labor laws?
A)regulation
B)oversight
C)rule-making
D)adjudication
Q3) Before 1883,how were government jobs awarded?
A)Jobs were awarded based on an applicants' expertise.
B)Jobs were awarded based on an applicants' personal wealth.
C)Jobs were awarded based on an applicants' performance on entrance exams.
D)Jobs were awarded based on an applicants' loyalty to the party in power.
Q4) The president appoints,but cannot dismiss,officials who serve on __________.
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Chapter 13: Courts Judicial Politics
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Q1) According to Table 13.2,Senate Confirmation Votes on Supreme Court Nominations Since 1950,which president had the highest number of Supreme Court justices confirmed?
A)Dwight Eisenhower
B)John Kennedy
C)William Clinton
D)Richard Nixon
Q2) The Supreme Court,circuit courts,and district courts are all types of __________.
A)U.S.Courts of Appeal
B)appellate courts
C)federal constitutional courts
D)U.S.Courts of Federal Claims
Q3) According to Table 13.2 in the text,Senate Confirmation Votes on Supreme Court Nominations Since 1950,the Senate refused to confirm the nomination of which of the following to the Supreme Court in 1987?
A)Antonin Scalia
B)Harlan Fiske
C)Earl Warren
D)Robert Bork
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Chapter 14: Politics and Personal Liberty
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Q1) Prior restraint is a constitutional doctrine that prevents the government from prohibiting speech or publication __________ the fact.
Q2) New York Times v.United States is the most important case regarding which of the following?
A)hate speech
B)prior restraint
C)fighting words
D)libel
Q3) The free exercise clause guarantees that the government will not interfere with the practice of religion.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The double jeopardy clause prevents 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
Q5) Discuss the evolution of abortion rights.
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Chapter 15: Politics and Civil Rights
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Q1) The admissions office at a public university could likely establish a permissible affirmative action policy that awards minority students by bumping up their SAT score by 100 points.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The passage of the Equal Rights Amendment has helped ensure women's equality in the workplace.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The civil rights movement pushed for racial equality.When did this movement take place?
A)immediately after the Civil War
B)during Reconstruction
C)during the early 1900s
D)during the 1950s and 1960s
Q4) Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat on a public bus was an act of __________ that led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Q5) __________ programs are designed to help remedy continued inequality by giving special treatment to members of previously discriminated-against groups.
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Chapter 16: Politics and the Economy
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Q1) Which of the following is a possible solution to the long-term problem of solvency in the Social Security program?
A)Eliminate the prescription drug program for seniors.
B)Increase the states' financial contribution.
C)Increase the minimum retirement age.
D)Lower the minimum retirement age.
Q2) Discuss the differences in philosophy,key actors,and tools of fiscal and monetary policy.Should the federal government give preference to one to the other? Why or why not?
Q3) Which of the following entities is responsible for determining interest rates in the United States?
A)Congress
B)the Congressional Budget Office
C)the Executive Office of the President
D)the Federal Reserve Board
Q4) The __________ is the federal government's largest source of revenue.
Q5) Discuss the changes in tax policies under the different administrations in recent decades.In your opinion,are tax policies based solely on party politics,or are other factors taken into account?
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Chapter 17: Politics and Social Welfare
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Q1) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families provides funds for families in need of financial assistance.Therefore,it is considered a means-tested program.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What is the public assistance program that provides health care to the poor?
A)Medicare
B)Medicaid
C)Food Stamp program
D)Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
Q3) Senior citizens are likely to be concerned about potential cuts to the medical program known as ___________.
Q4) According to the text and the feature box "Who's Getting What? Who Are the Poor?" which of the following household characteristics has a higher frequency of poverty and welfare dependency?
A)male-headed households with no wife present
B)female-headed households with no husband present
C)households headed by both a husband and a wife
D)same-sex households
Q5) Medicare is designed to help the __________ population.
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Chapter 18: Politics and National Security
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Q1) Poland,Hungary,and the Czech Republic were admitted to NATO in 1998,which was notable for which of the following reasons?
A)Other NATO countries objected strongly,since the democracies were so new.
B)They presented a huge security risk to NATO.
C)NATO usually did not accept Western European countries that were so poor.
D)They were the first Eastern European countries to be admitted to NATO.
Q2) Which of the following is most consistent with the new counterinsurgency emphasis of the U.S.military?
A)expansion of the U.S.Navy
B)increased use of traditional combat aircraft
C)an "enemy-centric" approach to armed conflict
D)heavy reliance on reserve units
Q3) Who instituted the Marshall Plan and who benefited directly from it?
A)The Soviet Union instituted the Marshall Plan to benefit Eastern Europe.
B)Germany instituted the Marshall Plan to benefit the United States.
C)Italy instituted the Marshall Plan to benefit Western Europe.
D)The United States instituted the Marshall Plan to rebuild Western Europe.
Q4) The __________ was the U.S.effort to help rebuild Western Europe after World War II.
Q5) __________ has the constitutional power to declare war.
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