Contemporary Issues in American Politics Practice
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Course Introduction
This course explores the major contemporary issues shaping American politics today, focusing on the interplay between political institutions, public opinion, and key policy debates. Students will examine topics such as polarization, voting rights, campaign finance, the role of media, race and identity politics, and the impact of recent Supreme Court decisions. Through critical analysis and discussion of current events, students will gain an understanding of the underlying causes of political conflict and change, as well as the implications for governance and democracy in the United States.
Recommended Textbook
Keeping the Republic Power and Citizenship in American Politics THE ESSENTIALS 8th Edition by Christine
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Politics: Who Gets What, and How?
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Q1) ______ can be thought of as the "how" in the definition "who gets what,and how." They are directives that determine how resources are allocated,and they determine how we try to get the things we want.
Answer: Rules
Q2) Which of the following reflects the type of economic system found in the United States?
A) Socialism, in which economic decisions are made by the government
B) Regulated capitalism, in which business has substantial freedom from government interference, but the government does step in and regulate the economy to guarantee individual rights
C) Pure capitalism, in which all means used to produce material resources are privately owned
D) Pure laissez-faire capitalism, in which the government has no economic role at all E) Social democracy, in which government plays an enormous role in ensuring substantive guarantees of fair outcomes for all citizens
Answer: B
Q3) ______ helps us understand how something works,such as politics.
Answer: Analysis
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Chapter 2: American Citizens and Political Culture
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Q1) The procedural character of equality for Americans causes them to argue that equality should be measured as ______.
A) the equal distribution of social resources
B) equal social status
C) equal economic but not equal social resources
D) equality of opportunity
E) the equal distribution of economic resources
Answer: D
Q2) The major disagreement among Americans on the ideological economic dimension is over ______.
A) whether the United States should adopt a socialist economic system
B) whether the economy should be structured so as to increase American military power
C) the degree to which the workforce needs to be pushed into vital economic jobs
D) how much the government should become involved in modifying the effects of the free market
E) whether women should be allowed to compete with men for prestigious jobs
Answer: D
Q3) Americans tend to believe in ______ guarantees by government.
Answer: procedural
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Chapter 3: Politics of the American Founding
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Q1) The Great Compromise ______.
A) provided strong powers to the state governments
B) established slaves as equal to three-fifths of a person when totaling populations for both representation and taxation
C) established a legislature with equal representation for each state in the Senate and representation by state population in the House
D) limited the importation of slaves for twenty years
E) created a confederate system of government
Answer: C
Q2) In Federalist No.10,James Madison warned against the dangers of ______.
A) bureaucrats
B) slavery
C) political elites
D) factions
E) campaign contributions
Answer: D
Q3) The ______ states favored the Virginia Plan.
Answer: large
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Chapter 4: Federalism and the USConstitution
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Q1) A ______ is a bill passed by a state legislature and submitted to voters for approval.
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a disadvantage of federalism?
A) It fosters "the race to the bottom."
B) It fosters a tendency toward "smokestack chasing."
C) It enables the states to serve as policy laboratories.
D) It permits local prejudices to find their way into state and local laws.
E) It creates interest groups to "shop" for governments favorable to their interests.
Q3) One reason for the growth of the national government's power and influence has been ______.
A) the trend among democratic countries to become more unitary
B) heightened expectations and demands placed on the federal government
C) an increase in popular apathy
D) the failure of the states to provide adequate opportunities for interest group participation
E) the gradual expansion of the national share of the property tax
Q4) Compare and contrast presidential and parliamentary systems.
Q5) Explain how the concept of federalism has changed since the days of Marbury v.Madison.
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Chapter 5: Fundamental American Liberties
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Q1) An action that criminalizes an act after it occurs is a(n)______.
A) unconstitutional ex post facto law
B) "closing the barn door after the horse is out" law
C) bill of attainder
D) habeas corpus law
E) exclusionary rule type of law
Q2) All of the following statements concerning incorporation of the Bill of Rights are true EXCEPT this one:
A) Incorporation has taken place on the basis of provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment.
B) Incorporation is a matter of interpretation rather than a constitutional principle.
C) The Supreme Court began the process of incorporation of the Bill of Rights in the late 1960s.
D) Incorporation has taken place on the theories of both selective incorporation and total incorporation.
E) Without incorporation, the Bill of Rights would apply only to acts of the federal government.
Q3) Written defamation of character is known as ______.
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Chapter 6: The Struggle for Equal Rights
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Q1) Explain the significance of the Lawrence v.Texas decision.
Q2) Native Americans face a particularly difficult task in winning battles in American politics for all of the following reasons EXCEPT this one:
A) They do not have the right to vote.
B) The status of tribes in the American political system is that of a unique form of federalism.
C) The states have been hostile to them.
D) The federal government has been hostile to them.
E) The courts have not been inclined to protect them.
Q3) The Supreme Court of ______ was the first in the nation to declare that marriage was a civil right and that banning same-sex marriage violated the state's equal protection and due process clauses.
A) Massachusetts
B) New York
C) New Jersey
D) Minnesota
E) Illinois
Q4) Explain the significance of Brown v.Board of Education.
Q5) ______ are the most underrepresented group in Congress and state legislatures.
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Chapter 7: Congress
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Q1) Congress makes use of __________ to increase its independence from the executive branch of government.
A) the Legislative Budget Board
B) conference committees
C) the Government Accountability Office
D) the Joint Authorization Task Force
E) the congressional chief of staff
Q2) The two major roles of members of Congress are ______.
A) agenda setting and lawmaking
B) policy making and agenda setting
C) representation and lawmaking
D) constituency service and budget approval
E) budget approval and policy making
Q3) Discuss the committee system in Congress.What functions does the committee system perform? What are the types of committees,and how do they differ? What is the role of the chair,and how has the selection and power of the chair changed over the years? How are members chosen for committees,and how do they decide the committees on which they wish to serve?
Q4) ______ are important in Congress because they organize the chambers.
Q5) Define racial gerrymandering,and explain its current legal status.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: The Presidency
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Q1) The term legislative liaison refers to ______.
A) congressional leaders who have a close relationship with the president
B) lobbyists who have an especially good relationship with Congress
C) the congressional party leadership who work closely with the committee chairs
D) reporters who have a close working relationship with leading members of Congress
E) executive personnel who seek congressional support for the president's agenda
Q2) Presidents must play their role as head of government in order to solve problems,but that requires them to behave in ways that conflict with their role as ______.
A) commander-in-chief
B) chief diplomat
C) finance minister
D) head of state
Q3) Barack Obama used signing statements much less than did George W.Bush.
A)True
B)False
Q4) According to the text,effective heads of state are expected to act as a ______ for all Americans.
Q5) What is the impact of divided government on the president's legislative agenda?
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Chapter 9: The Bureaucracy
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Q1) Very few ______,African Americans,or Hispanics reach the highest levels of the civil service ladder.
Q2) The lower levels of the bureaucracy are held accountable through ______.
A) congressional oversight
B) citizen review
C) the legislative branch
D) rules
Q3) The single largest program of the civilian federal bureaucracy today is ______.
A) foreign assistance
B) highway funding
C) agricultural subsidies
D) Social Security
E) welfare
Q4) Compare and contrast spoils-based and merit-based bureaucratic systems.
Q5) Bureaucracy is useful for all of the following tasks EXCEPT ______.
A) tasks that require a great deal of coordination
B) tasks that require a great deal of planning
C) tasks that require a great deal of expertise
D) tasks that can be handled on an ad hoc basis
E) tasks that require a great deal of routine work
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Chapter 10: The American Legal System and the Courts
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Q1) The power of the courts to determine the constitutionality of laws is called judicial
Q2) All of the following rights are protected by procedural laws EXCEPT this one:
A) the right to an attorney in a criminal case
B) the right to vote
C) the right to appeal a decision by the IRS
D) the Fourth Amendment right against illegal searches and seizures
E) the right to remain silent in testimony before Congress
Q3) Laws or regulations established by bureaucratic agencies on behalf of Congress are known as ______ laws or regulations.
A) administrative
B) criminal
C) regulatory
D) statutory
E) civil
Q4) What was the impact of Chief Justice John Marshall on the development of the power of the Supreme Court?
Q5) The judicial approach holding that the Constitution should be read literally,with the framers' intentions uppermost in mind,is known as ______.
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Chapter 11: Public Opinion
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Q1) Unscientific polls that are often conducted by newspapers and politicians to determine who is ahead in a political race are called ______ polls.
A) straw
B) interest
C) tracking
D) exit
E) benchmark
Q2) Internet polls are ______.
A) unreliable
B) highly reliable
C) reliable if they are conducted by professional pollsters
D) reliable only if the right types of questions are asked
E) more reliable than exit polls or tracking polls
Q3) Compared to other industrialized nations,the United States ranks in the top five percent in voter participation.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Pollsters use the technique of ______ to compensate for underrepresentation of a group in a sample.
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Chapter 12: Political Parties
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Q1) The central actors in the party-in-government comprise the president,the ______,the majority and minority leaders in the House and Senate,party whips in Congress,and state governors.
A) Secretary of State
B) citizen activist groups
C) Vice President
D) Speaker of the House
Q2) Patronage was once important to political parties because ______.
A) it created a more disciplined party-in-government
B) it ensured an army of supporters and workers for elections
C) it created a stronger party organization
D) it simplified the issue of hiring people after an election
E) members of the other party would be unemployed
Q3) The system in which successful party candidates reward supporters with jobs or favors is called ______.
Q4) The party organization consists of ______ who govern the party; the party-in-government consists of ______ who are members of the party; and the party-in-the-electorate consists of ______ who identify with the party.
Q5) Why can party organizations be described as fragmented?
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Chapter 13: Interest Groups
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Q1) Expressive benefits are ______.
A) selective incentives that derive from the opportunity to express values and beliefs and to be committed to a greater cause
B) incentives politicians try to give voters to get them to adopt ideological positions
C) incentives that generate research aimed at influencing public policymaking
D) benefits that present Democrats with research on public policy issues
E) none of the above
Q2) ______ are selective incentives that derive from the opportunity to express values and beliefs and to be committed to a greater cause.
Q3) Political action committees were created as a result of ______.
A) weaknesses among local Republican parties in the Deep South
B) interest group restrictions in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974
C) candidates' need for more money to pay for television advertising
D) fundraising scandals such as Teapot Dome
E) the growth in power of national political party committees
Q4) Discuss the different selective incentives that interest groups provide to overcome the free rider problem and to attract potential members and retain current members.
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Chapter 14: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
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Q1) ______ voting occurs when people base their voting decisions on well-informed opinions and consideration of the future consequences of their votes.
Q2) Some of the overall decline in voter turnout at the end of the twentieth century was likely due to ______.
A) increasing citizen involvement in community groups
B) the weakened relationship between interest group leaders and political leaders
C) the willingness of citizens to tax themselves to provide important community services
D) societal changes
E) the number of interest groups in a community
Q3) Wedge issues are controversial matters ______.
A) that differentiate the two major candidates
B) that are generally ignored in campaigns because they are too explosive
C) that undecided voters use to choose their preferred candidate
D) on which most voters and candidates share the same position
E) that one party uses to split voters in the other party
Q4) What are the major functions of elections in a democratic society? List and discuss each fully.
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Chapter 15: The Media
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Sample Questions
Q1) Covering which of the following would be an example of commercial bias?
A) John Edwards's extramarital affair
B) a report on the effects of NAFTA
C) the contents of an agricultural bill
D) a discussion about the appropriate qualifications for a Supreme Court justice
E) a story on the deregulation of the energy industry
Q2) A major criticism of the disseminator role of journalism is that ______.
A) journalists often don't know what news to report
B) journalists spend too much time covering scandals
C) it does nothing to help citizens understand the news
D) it severely limits news content
E) it creates information overload
Q3) ______ is an interpretation of a politician's words or actions designed to present a favorable image.
Q4) Excessive press coverage of an embarrassing or scandalous subject is called a ______.
A) news buffet
B) feeding frenzy
C) all-you-can-eat news story
D) hot lunch
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Social and Environmental Policy
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Q1) Which of the following groups benefit the most from corporate welfare?
A) universities
B) car manufacturers
C) beer distributors
D) technology firms
E) agribusiness
Q2) A(n)________ program is a social program whose beneficiaries qualify by demonstrating need.
A) exclusive-need
B) qualified-need
C) entitlement
D) subsidy
E) means-tested
Q3) Explain the recent controversy over Social Security.What are the major problems facing Social Security? What are the current politics behind the issue? If Social Security needs to be fixed,what is the best way to reform it? If Social Security does not need to be fixed,why do you believe this is the case?
Q4) What are the four reasons it is so hard to solve public problems?
Q5) _______ is often reluctant to act on climate change.
Q6) What is the Keystone Pipeline,and why it is controversial?
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Economic Policy
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Q1) John Maynard Keynes was an advocate of ______.
A) the theory that government should use its fiscal powers to regulate the economy
B) government elimination of social welfare policies
C) laissez-faire economic theories
D) a balanced budget
E) social welfare policies for those excluded from the traditional economy
Q2) A tax levied on returns from capital investments,such as profits from the sale of real estate,is a ______ tax.
Q3) Which of the following is NOT an argument made in favor of free trade?
A) Free trade helps promote peace.
B) Free trade discourages socialism.
C) Free trade limits retaliatory trade policies.
D) Free trade leads to more jobs.
E) Free trade leads to lower prices.
Q4) The Great Depression had the largest historical impact on the U.S.government becoming more involved in economic policy.
A)True
B)False
Q5) ______ control(s)monetary policy.
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Chapter 18: Foreign Policy
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Q1) A ______ is one that breaks international norms and procedures and tries to develop,sell,or use weapons of mass destruction.
Q2) The U.S.response to the September 11 terrorist attacks is an example of ______.
A) partisan defense policy
B) structural defense policy
C) crisis policy
D) strategic policy
E) preemption
Q3) The U.S.military strategy of having a three-pronged nuclear capability from land,sea,and air is known as ______.
A) mutual mass destruction
B) the Eisenhower Doctrine
C) Operation Tripod
D) the Manhattan Project
E) the nuclear triad
Q4) What are the three main types of foreign policy? Define them,and give an example of each.
Q5) What roles in foreign policy does the Constitution assign to the presidency?
Q6) What foreign policy powers does Congress have?
Page 20
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