Foundations of American Democracy Exam Preparation Guide
Course Introduction
Foundations of American Democracy explores the philosophical origins, historical development, and institutional structures of the United States government. The course examines key principles such as popular sovereignty, federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances, as well as the influences of Enlightenment thinkers and foundational documents like the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers. Students will analyze the evolution of democratic ideals, the challenges of maintaining a pluralistic society, and the role of civic participation in shaping contemporary governance. Through historical case studies and critical discussions, the course provides a comprehensive understanding of the enduring values and complexities at the heart of American democracy.
Recommended Textbook
AM GOV 2015 2016 4th Edition by Joseph Losco
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16 Chapters
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Citizenship in Our Changing Democracy
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Q1) Which of the following statements about democracy as currently practiced in the United States is MOST accurate?
A)The United States is one of the few countries that practices direct democracy.
B)In the United States, the rule of the majority is absolute.
C)In the United States, the majority in government cannot pass laws without the active support of the minority.
D)In the United States, the minority has veto power over the electoral and legislative choices of the majority.
E)In the United States, public policy is determined by the people's representatives, not by the people themselves.
Answer: E
Q2) Which of the following men called for periodic citizen uprisings to reinvigorate the spirit of democracy?
A)Aristotle
B)John Locke
C)John Stuart Mill
D)Thomas Jefferson
E)Robert Putnam
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: The Constitution: the Foundation of Citizens Rights
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Q1) What were the major political and economic weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation? How did the Constitution specifically address those weaknesses? Answer: The major political and economic weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation included the lack of a strong central government, the inability to regulate trade and commerce between states, the inability to levy taxes, and the lack of a national currency. These weaknesses led to a lack of unity and cooperation among the states, as well as economic instability and difficulty in conducting foreign relations.
The Constitution specifically addressed these weaknesses by creating a stronger central government with the power to regulate trade and commerce, levy taxes, and establish a national currency. The Constitution also established a system of checks and balances to prevent any one branch of government from becoming too powerful, and it provided for the creation of a federal court system to adjudicate disputes between states. Additionally, the Constitution outlined a process for amending the document to adapt to changing circumstances and address any future weaknesses that may arise. Overall, the Constitution aimed to create a more unified and stable government that could effectively address the political and economic challenges facing the young nation.
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Chapter 3: Federalism: Citizenship and the Dispersal of Power
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Q1) , Justice Louis Brandeis famously defended the
A)supremacy of the federal government over state governments.
B)right of citizens to seek redress from onerous state laws through federal courts.
C)need for the national and state governments to embrace a single, uniform regulatory code.
D)right of state governments to experiment with innovative public policies.
E)power of the Supreme Court to overturn state policies which are not founded on longstanding legislative tradition.
Answer: D
Q2) "Marble cake" federalism is also known as
A)cooperative federalism.
B)dual federalism.
C)new federalism.
D)laissez-faire federalism.
E)social federalism.
Answer: A
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties: Citizens Rights Versus Security
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Q1) Based on the precedent set by the "Pentagon Papers,"
A)the government can prevent the publication of sensitive materials, but it cannot punish a newspaper for such publication after the fact.
B)the federal government has an uncontested right to prior restraint.
C)the interests of national security outweigh the public's interest in critiquing government officials.
D)the federal government has little real power to prevent newspapers from publishing sensitive materials.
E)the public reputations of government officials are more strongly protected against slander than the reputations of private individuals.
Q2) Many Americans have been very concerned about their privacy after the Edward Snowden leaks showed the nature and extent of the National Security Agency's data collection program.How does this issue illustrate the tension between curtailing some rights in turn for increased security? Is the tradeoff worth it in this case? Why or why not?
Q3) What is selective incorporation and what is its constitutional basis? How has it been used to expand the rights and liberties of Americans?
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Chapter 5: Civil Rights: Toward a More Equal Citizenry
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Q1) All of the following contributed to the modern feminist movement EXCEPT
A)the publication of The Feminine Mystique.
B)the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
C)the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
D)a Supreme Court case upholding a discriminatory jury selection process on the grounds that a woman's place was in the home.
E)the creation of President Kennedy's Commission on the Status of Women and its subsequent report.
Q2) Currently, the largest ethnic minority group in the United States is
A)Asian Americans.
B)White Americans.
C)African Americans.
D)Hispanic Americans.
E)Native Americans.
Q3) The largest number of Hispanic Americans are of ___________ origin.
A)Honduran
B)Nicaraguan
C)Cuban
D)Mexican
E)Puerto Rican
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Chapter 6: Public Opinion
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Q1) On average, the highest number of Americans are likely to identify themselves as A)liberal.
B)conservative.
C)libertarian.
D)progressive.
E)populist.
Q2) Which of the following examples BEST illustrates the political concept of a "cohort"?
A)small children mimicking the political beliefs of their parents
B)voters supporting particular candidates on the basis of shared race or ethnicity
C)the tendency of men, taken as a group, to hold different views from women on key issues
D)young adults whose political beliefs have more in common with those of other people their own age than with those of their parents
E)citizens who combine their efforts in order to pressure lawmakers into pursuing particular policies
Q3) What is required for a scientific poll? What are the factors that can skew a poll, even when the pollsters are trying to conduct it accurately?
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8
Chapter 7: Political Participation: Equal Opportunities and Unequal Voices
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Q1) There are forms of political participation other than voting.What are they? How do they differ from voting? Which activity do you believe has the greatest impact for the individual's time, effort, or money? Should there be limits on an individual's contributions to these other forms of political participation, and why?
Q2) Which of the following is LEAST likely to vote?
A)Asian male
B)black male
C)Hispanic female
D)Asian female
E)black female
Q3) Which of the following is MOST likely to vote?
A)Asian female
B)black female
C)white male
D)black male
E)Asian male
Q4) What strategies have been taken to reduce voter turnout? Which segments of the population are the primary targets of these strategies? Are these strategies democratic?
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Interest Groups in America
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Q1) Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) rates members of the House and Senate based on their voting records and how they agree with the group's agenda.This rating system is known as
A)"heroes and zeros."
B)"winners and losers."
C)"good and bad."
D)"up and down."
E)"angels and devils."
Q2) What is the primary distinction between advocacy groups and other interest groups?
A)Advocacy groups are more focused on specific policy goals.
B)Advocacy groups are much more dependent on grass-roots mobilization.
C)Advocacy groups pursue broad policy goals but rely much less on local chapters and formal membership, if they have them at all.
D)Advocacy groups give citizens far more opportunities to participate actively, beyond simply writing a check to an interest group that they support.
E)Advocacy groups depend on broad participation to set agendas and formulate strategies.
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Chapter 9: Parties and Political Campaigns
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Q1) The political term "realignment" refers to
A)significant changes in the composition, strength, and direction of parties.
B)the regular transfer of power from one party to another after an election.
C)redrawing the lines of political districts in order to benefit the party in power.
D)how candidates change their political strategies after they've won a primary and can wield the resources of their party.
E)the occasional emergence of a third party that briefly commands limited public attention and then vanishes without having much effect on the political system.
Q2) One of the two major parties that dominated America's first party era was the Democratic-Republicans, who were led by
A)Thomas Jefferson.
B)Alexander Hamilton.
C)Benjamin Franklin.
D)John Adams.
E)George Washington.
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Chapter 10: Media: Tuning in or Tuning Out
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Q1) In 2012, people who followed the presidential debates live were MOST likely to do so via
A)radio.
B)television.
C)laptop or desktop computers.
D)cell phones.
E)tablets.
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a trend in newspaper readership today?
A)The number of daily newspapers has decreased.
B)The circulation of daily newspapers has declined.
C)The number of people reading newspapers online is increasing.
D)Most major cities only have one major newspaper.
E)The amount of coverage devoted to community reporting in newspapers has decreased.
Q3) Which of the following networks is MOST likely to please liberals?
A)MSNBC
B)ABC
C)CBS
D)Fox
E)NBC
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Chapter 11: Congress: Doing the Peoples Business
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Q1) Joseph "Uncle Joe" Cannon is an example of an exceptionally powerful turn-of-the-century
A)Speaker of the House.
B)senator.
C)president.
D)chief justice.
E)state governor.
Q2) Which of the following descriptions BEST captures popular attitudes toward the Senate in the late nineteenth century?
A)the government body most in tune with the will of the American people
B)a powerless body that placidly rubberstamped presidential initiatives
C)a source of progressive, even radical, policy initiatives
D)a group of nonpartisan, deliberative elder statesmen
E)a millionaire's club beholden to party bosses and big business
Q3) In recent years in Congress,
A)Democrats have moved more toward the political center.
B)Republicans have moved more toward the political center.
C)Polarization of the two parties has increased.
D)Partisanship has decreased.
E)All of these are correct.
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Chapter 12: The Presidency: Power and Paradox
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Q1) The major difference in fundraising in the 2012 presidential election came from
A)contributions of less than $200 from individuals.
B)the national party organizations.
C)the state party organizations.
D)ordinary PACs.
E)super PACs.
Q2) What was the first presidential election in which super PACs played a large role?
A)1992
B)2000
C)2004
D)2008
E)2012
Q3) This cabinet-level department was created during the presidency of George W.Bush:
A)Department of Homeland Security
B)Department of Labor
C)Department of Veterans Affairs
D)Department of Transportation
E)Department of Education
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Bureaucracy: Citizens As Owners and Consumers
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Q1) Is there a defense to be made for arrangements like the spoils system, which might seem self-evidently ill-advised to modern eyes?
Q2) Which president was assassinated by a frustrated job seeker?
A)William Henry Harrison
B)Abraham Lincoln
C)James Garfield
D)William McKinley
E)John Kennedy
Q3) The Postal Service, which was created by Congress and which reinvests its profits into itself rather than distributing them among shareholders, is an example of
A)a proxy administration.
B)a line organization.
C)a government corporation.
D)an independent regulatory agency.
E)a government-sponsored enterprise.
Q4) German sociologist Max Weber developed the five principles of a competent and efficient bureaucracy.What are these five principles and how do they contribute to a competent and efficient bureaucracy?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: The Courts: Judicial Power in a Democratic Setting
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Q1) Since the late nineteenth century (with a brief interruption in the mid-twentieth century), at least one Supreme Court seat has been held by a(n)
A)person affiliated with the opposite party from the president who nominated him or her.
B)Catholic.
C)African American.
D)woman.
E)political appointee with no legal training.
Q2) Petitions for writs of certiorari are an important part of the process by which
A)the Supreme Court decides which cases to hear.
B)the Supreme Court decides which justice will author the majority's decision.
C)the president decides whom to appoint when a vacancy appears in the Court.
D)the Senate decides whether or not to approve a presidential appointee to the Supreme Court.
E)the Supreme Court decides whether the argument of a disputant in a given case has a strong factual basis.
Q3) What is the relationship between the citizenry and the judicial system? How much access does the average citizen have to the courts? What factors have helped to expand this access in recent years?
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Chapter 15: Public Policy: Responding to Citizens
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Q1) By 2014, the amount of private debt from student loans was about
A)$70 billion.
B)$130 billion.
C)$380 billion.
D)$520 billion.
E)$1 trillion.
Q2) Following the BP spill, the president, Congress, and various government agencies had difficulty deciding on the correct actions to deal with the problem.This indicated a problem with
A)problem recognition.
B)agenda setting.
C)policy formation.
D)policy adoption.
E)policy evaluation.
Q3) Which of the following statements about student loans is true?
A)College tuition costs have increased dramatically in the last decade.
B)Grants and scholarships have kept up with recent rises in college tuition.
C)Student loans can be erased by declaring bankruptcy.
D)Private universities usually charge lower tuition than public universities.
E)The overall level of student loan debt has decreased over the last decade.
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Chapter 16: Foreign and Defense Policy: Protecting
American Interests in the World
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Q1) The central tenet of the Truman Doctrine was that the United States would
A)make no attempt to increase its own territorial holdings, and would prevent any other country from trying to seize new land.
B)welcome European military intervention in the internal affairs of American countries that had proven themselves incapable of self-government.
C)work closely with European powers to extend the blessings of republican government throughout the Americas.
D)intervene in the affairs of American nations whose internal disorder threatened regional stability.
E)intervene on behalf of people who were struggling to prevent their liberties from being taken away by internal factions or outside threats.
Q2) By 2020, the world's second largest economy will belong to A)Japan.
B)Britain.
C)China.
D)the United States.
E)India.
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