Foundations of American Democracy Exam Questions
Course Introduction
This course explores the fundamental principles, historical roots, and evolving structures of American democracy. Students will examine key documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, analyze the philosophical ideas that influenced the nation's founders, and track the development of major democratic institutions. Topics include federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, civil liberties, and the ongoing challenges of representation and participation. Through discussions, case studies, and analysis of current events, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of how democratic ideals have shaped, and continue to shape, the political life of the United States.
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We the People 10th Edition by Benjamin Ginsberg
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Chapter 1: American Political Culture
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Q1) In order to be a good citizen, it is most critical to possess ________.
A) powerful friends
B) money
C) political knowledge
D) strongly held convictions
E) a doctoral degree in political science
Answer: C
Q2) How does the U.S. Constitution create a system that underrepresents urban areas?
A) It provides representation based on population in the U.S. House of Representatives.
B) It provides each state with two U.S. senators regardless of population.
C) It provides for a system of direct democracy at the federal level.
D) It requires federal officials to spend the same amount of money in rural and urban areas of the country.
E) It requires that federal officials impose higher taxes on people living in urban areas of the country.
Answer: B
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Chapter 2: The Founding and the Constitution
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Q1) ________ was the only state NOT to send delegates to the Philadelphia Convention.
A) Rhode Island
B) Massachusetts
C) Virginia
D) Maine
E) New York
Answer: A
Q2) According to the authors of the text, which sector of society did not have interests that were important to colonial politics?
A) New England merchants
B) small farmers
C) slaves
D) royalists loyal to Britain
E) southern planters
Answer: C
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Chapter 3: Federalism
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Q1) The power of Congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the several states, and with Native American tribes is found in ________ of the U.S. Constitution.
A) Article I
B) the Preamble
C) the First Amendment
D) the Second Amendment
E) the Tenth Amendment
Answer: A
Q2) ________ occurs when a state grants a city the ability to govern its own local affairs.
A) Home rule
B) Dual federalism
C) Ostracism
D) Separation of powers
E) City governance
Answer: A
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
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Q1) Which of the following is the best description of the Supreme Court's first ruling on the issue of the nationalization of the Bill of Rights in 1833?
A) The takings clause restricts national and state governments but not city governments.
B) The Bill of Rights should not be used if a state's constitution already contains its own bill of rights.
C) The takings clause does not cover accidents caused by government officials.
D) The Bill of Rights limits the national government but not state governments.
E) The Bill of Rights limits state governments but not the national government.
Q2) ________ was largely responsible for getting a series of constitutional amendment proposals passed in the U.S. House of Representatives that would ultimately become known as the Bill of Rights.
A) Alexander Hamilton
B) James Madison
C) Patrick Henry
D) Benjamin Cardozo
E) Henry Clay
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Page 6
Chapter 5: Civil Rights
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Q1) Suffragists called the Statue of Liberty "the greatest hypocrisy of the nineteenth century" because
A) it was in New York-a state that had prohibited women from owning property throughout its history.
B) it was a gift from France and French women were frequently abused by their husbands during the time.
C) "liberty" had historically been represented as a male figure, not a female figure.
D) it was supposed to represent "liberty," yet women could not vote in the United States.
E) the statue did not wear clothes that were appropriate for women during the time.
Q2) What happened to California's Proposition 187?
A) A federal judge declared it constitutional.
B) A federal judge declared most of it a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
C) It was ruled a violation of the state constitution but not the U.S. Constitution.
D) It was negated by a law passed by the California state legislature.
E) There was never a court challenge to its legality and it remains in effect.
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Chapter 6: Public Opinion
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Q1) Each of the following organizations has a liberal orientation EXCEPT ________.
A) the Sierra Club
B) the National Organization for Women
C) World Wildlife Federation
D) the Chamber of Commerce
E) Friends of the Earth
Q2) The process by which underlying political values are formed is known as
A) political socialization.
B) ideological education.
C) brainwashing.
D) value enhancing.
E) attitudinal evolution.
Q3) ________ led the exposure of the Watergate scandal.
A) Journalists at the Washington Post
B) Journalists at the Boston Globe
C) Journalists at the Indianapolis Star
D) Journalists at the Los Angeles Times
E) Journalists at the Miami Herald
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Chapter 7: The Media
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Q1) A website devoted entirely to reporting on climate change and other environmental issues is an example of ________ journalism.
A) protest
B) adversarial
C) niche
D) nonprofit
E) public
Q2) The Communications Decency Act was struck down by the Supreme Court because it violated the
A) First Amendment's right to freedom of speech.
B) FCC's equal time rule.
C) FCC's right of rebuttal.
D) FCC's Fairness Doctrine.
E) Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause.
Q3) The Vietnam War initiated the growth of ________ journalism.
A) yellow
B) advocacy
C) adversarial
D) corporate-driven
E) government-regulated
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Chapter 8: Political Participation and Voting
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Q1) Which of the following did NOT take part in the 2012 protests against SOPA and PIPA?
A) Wikipedia
B) Google
C) Facebook
D) Twitter
E) U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Q2) What is the best explanation for the fact that Latinos have tended to favor Democratic Party candidates in national elections?
A) They disagree with the Republican Party's stance on immigration.
B) They support the Democratic Party's foreign policy toward Cuba.
C) They agree with the Democratic Party's stance on military issues.
D) They typically find the Democratic Party's candidates more charismatic than the Republican Party's candidates.
E) They are socially conservative and, as a result, support the Democratic Party's positions more.
Q3) Describe the influence of race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status in political participation. How do these differences affect the character and level of political participation?
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10
Chapter 9: Political Parties
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Q1) ________ occurs when one party controls the presidency while another party controls one or both houses of Congress.
A) An electoral realignment
B) Divided party government
C) Seditious government
D) Internal mobilization
E) External mobilization
Q2) A party activist is an individual who
A) attends every social function that a political party stages.
B) writes favorable news reports for the national media.
C) commits acts of civil disobedience when asked to by a political party.
D) not only votes but also contributes time, energy, effort, and financial resources to party affairs.
E) formally declares his or her membership with a political party when registering to vote.
Q3) The two main political parties have each changed dramatically over time. What are the historical origins of both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party? What is a party system? Describe some of the party systems that have arisen over the course of American history.
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Chapter 10: Campaigns and Elections
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Q1) What did the Supreme Court justices mean by the principle "one person, one vote"?
A) Voters may only vote once in an election.
B) Within a state, electoral districts must have roughly equal populations.
C) No one could be denied suffrage on the basis of race or gender.
D) Voting was an individual right, not a group right.
E) Compulsory voting is constitutional.
Q2) A runoff election is likely to occur when
A) there are only two candidates running in the election.
B) there are more than two candidates running in the election.
C) there is only one candidate running in the election.
D) turnout in the election is very high.
E) turnout in the election is very low.
Q3) A(n) ________ does NOT coincide with a presidential election.
A) closed primary election
B) open primary election
C) franchise vote
D) midterm election
E) referendum
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12
Chapter 11: Groups and Interests
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Q1) The Christian Coalition is a(n) ________ group.
A) public interest
B) ideological
C) labor
D) professional
E) business
Q2) The solidary benefits of interest groups include ________.
A) friendship and consciousness-raising
B) special services and goods
C) information and money
D) identification with the purpose or ideology of the group
E) representation before government
Q3) Which of the following is NOT a key organizational component of interest groups?
A) members
B) money
C) leadership
D) newsletter and website
E) an agency or office
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Chapter 12: Congress
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Q1) The frequency with which they must seek re-election makes members of the U.S. House
A) more responsive to the needs of the elites in the states they represent.
B) less responsive to the needs of elites in the states they represent.
C) less responsive to the needs of local interest groups in the districts they represent.
D) more responsive to the needs of local interest groups in the districts they represent.
E) less responsive to the needs of both elites and interest groups in the districts they represent.
Q2) Why does the House have greater party unity than the Senate?
A) Representatives have more partisan constituents than senators.
B) House leaders have more organizational control over the actions of representatives than Senate leaders.
C) Political parties donate more money to re-elect representatives than senators, who are more independent fund-raisers.
D) There is, in fact, no real difference in levels of party unity between the House and the Senate.
E) Interest groups are less influential in the House than in the Senate.
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Page 14
Chapter 13: The Presidency
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Q1) As a means of managing the gigantic executive branch, presidents have increasingly come to rely upon the ________.
A) Cabinet
B) Executive Office of the President
C) kitchen cabinet
D) White House staff
E) the Speaker of the House
Q2) Describe some of the different individuals and institutions that advise the president. What is the role of the Cabinet? What is the job of the Executive Office of the President? What more informal networks do presidents maintain? Explain.
Q3) Which of the following statements about presidential pardons is FALSE?
A) George Washington declared amnesty to all Americans who fought for the British during the War for Independence.
B) Andrew Johnson declared amnesty to all Confederate soldiers.
C) Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon for crimes he may have committed.
D) Jimmy Carter declared amnesty for all draft evaders during the Vietnam War.
E) The presidential power to grant pardons involves power over all individuals who may be threats to the security of the United States.
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Chapter 14: Bureaucracy in a Democracy
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Q1) Which of the following is the most constitutionally essential way to make the bureaucracy responsible?
A) more efficient executive management
B) further devolution
C) congressional oversight
D) more administrative courts
E) more government regulation
Q2) The first regulatory agencies Congress established were ________.
A) in the Department of Commerce
B) independent regulatory commissions
C) government corporations
D) in the Labor Department
E) within the Environmental Protection Agency
Q3) During the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, ________ federal agencies or programs were terminated.
A) 0
B) 10
C) 26
D) 137
E) 52
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Chapter 15: The Federal Courts
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Q1) A writ of habeas corpus declares that
A) the government must show a legal cause for holding someone in detention.
B) the government cannot send a defendant to stand trial in a geographically distant jurisdiction.
C) a defendant in a felony trial must receive assistance from legal counsel.
D) capital punishment can be neither cruel nor unusual.
E) the government cannot search premises without a warrant issued by a judge.
Q2) There are ________ U.S. district courts.
A) 50
B) 94
C) 100
D) 200
E) 434
Q3) The size of the U.S. Supreme Court is set by ________.
A) the U.S. Constitution
B) Congress
C) a national convention
D) the American Bar Association
E) the president
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Page 17
Chapter 16: Government and the Economy
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Q1) The United States has about ________ percent of the world's population and is responsible for ________ percent of its greenhouse gas emissions.
A) 1; 5
B) 10; 25
C) 5; 45
D) 20; 60
E) 25; 10
Q2) The minimum wage was first enacted in ________.
A) 1879
B) 1901
C) 1938
D) 1962
E) 1995
Q3) Which of the following does the Small Business Administration provide?
A) insurance
B) legal counsel
C) disaster assistance
D) subsidies
E) grants
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Page 18
Chapter 17: Social Policy
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Q1) Which of the following is a program of forced savings?
A) Medicaid
B) Medicare
C) Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
D) food stamps
E) Aid to Families with Dependent Children
Q2) When did the American welfare state begin?
A) the 1890s
B) the 1920s
C) the 1930s
D) the 1960s
E) the 1980s
Q3) The first federal government assistance in education came in
A) 1785, when the federal government set aside land for public schools.
B) 1812, when Congress established public schools in Washington, D.C.
C) 1862, with the establishment of land-grant colleges.
D) 1944, with the G.I. Bill.
E) 2001, with the No Child Left Behind Act.
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Chapter 18: Foreign Policy and Democracy
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Q1) The policy of deterrence and containment pursued by the United States during the Cold War can be viewed as
A) an early version of the Bush doctrine.
B) no different than a policy of isolationism.
C) no different than a policy of preventive war.
D) no different than a policy of appeasement.
E) midway between preventive war and appeasement.
Q2) Which of the following goals has traditionally been of lowest priority in U.S. foreign policy?
A) economic interests
B) human rights
C) national security
D) globalization
E) international trade
Q3) The United States withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol because it
A) did not include any provisions to limit carbon emissions.
B) did not require other countries to protect basic human rights.
C) would threaten American national security.
D) would be too harmful to American national economic interests.
E) did not go far enough in limiting carbon emissions.
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