Foundations of Democracy Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Foundations of Democracy explores the historical, philosophical, and practical origins of democratic governance. The course examines key political theories, influential documents, and major events that have shaped democratic systems around the world. Students will engage with the principles of constitutionalism, rule of law, separation of powers, and civic participation, analyzing how these concepts have developed and functioned within diverse societies. Through case studies, readings, and discussions, the course provides a foundational understanding of the values, institutions, and challenges central to democracy, preparing students to critically assess its evolution and contemporary relevance.
Recommended Textbook
The Struggle for Democracy 9th Edition by Edward S. Greenberg
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
19 Chapters
4836 Verified Questions
4836 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/1243 Page 2
Chapter 1: Democracy and American Politics
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
210 Verified Questions
210 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24531
Sample Questions
Q1) The nature of the U.S. economy, the population, the constitutional rules of the game, the political culture, and the place of the United States in the international system constitute the ________ level in the authors' analytical framework.
Answer: structural
Q2) Most Western philosophers and rulers before the eighteenth century were friendly to the idea of a government in which the many can, and should, rule themselves.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) According to Struggle for Democracy, the structural framework constrains
A) the most fundamental and enduring factors that influence politics.
B) public officials and institutions.
C) media and interest groups.
D) government action.
E) none of the above
Answer: A
Q4) The Greek roots of the term democracy mean ________.
Answer: rule by the people
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 3
Chapter 2: The Constitution
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
269 Verified Questions
269 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24532
Sample Questions
Q1) People like Patrick Henry and George Mason, who opposed the Constitution, were called ________.
Answer: Anti-Federalists
Q2) In a ________, each state retains most of its powers and independence.
Answer: confederation
Q3) Article I, Section 10, of the Constitution forbids the states from impairing the obligations of contracts, coining money, or making anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts. These provisions
A) were declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison.
B) basically enlarged states' rights.
C) were ignored by state governments.
D) meant that states could no longer help debtors by inflating money or forgiving debts.
E) were declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in McCulloch v. Maryland.
Answer: D
Q4) Why do we sometimes refer to the Constitution as "the living Constitution"?
Answer: Because of its tendency to change with the times.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism States and Nations
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
269 Verified Questions
269 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24533
Sample Questions
Q1) What is the first historical instance of federalism?
A) the Union of Utrecht in the Netherlands in 1579
B) the Articles of Confederation of the United States in 1781
C) the Magna Carta in England in 1225
D) the Estates General of the French Revolution in 1789
E) the United States Constitution in 1787
Answer: A
Q2) Categorical grants are an example of
A) dual federalism.
B) "marble cake" federalism.
C) "layer cake" federalism.
D) "cupcake" federalism.
E) "picket fence" federalism
Answer: B
Q3) An argument against federalism asserts that diversity and experimentation among the states creates spillover and ________.
Answer: competition
Q4) The division of ________ between the national government and the states is what we call federalism.
Answer: power
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 5
Chapter 4: Structural Foundations of the American Government
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
262 Verified Questions
262 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24534
Sample Questions
Q1) Immigration tends to undermine the culture of the United States, by confusing citizens and new-comers as to what is really "American".
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a problem for American democracy as the growth of economic inequality increases?
A) Those with higher income are more likely to vote.
B) Those with higher income tend to participate less in politics than others.
C) Those with higher income give more money to advocacy groups.
D) Those with higher income have more information available to them.
E) Those with higher income can, and do, make more contributions to political candidates.
Q3) Recent efforts to stem the influence of illegal immigrants is associated with
A) the Know-Nothing party.
B) the Minuteman Project.
C) rising white supremacy in the Northeast.
D) Republican dominance of state legislatures.
E) efforts to support a guest worker program.
Q4) ________ reactions were nineteenth-century, anti-immigration movements.
Page 6
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 5: Public Opinion
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
265 Verified Questions
265 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24535
Sample Questions
Q1) Social change often occurs when old ideas die off with old people, a process known as
A) population development.
B) policy inception.
C) issue reinstatement.
D) generational replacement.
E) population regeneration.
Q2) The use of a party label
A) helps individuals organize their thinking about politics.
B) has no real value.
C) is the same thing as political efficacy.
D) is an absolute predictor of the way a person will vote.
E) has similar effects as civic duty.
Q3) What impact does "social class" have on American politics?
Q4) One important test of how well democracy is working is how closely government policy corresponds to the expressed wishes of its citizens.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What does the case study of the Vietnam War illustrate about public opinion?
Page 7
Q6) Most evangelical Christians are ideologically ________.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 6: News Media
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
249 Verified Questions
249 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24536
Sample Questions
Q1) One essential role for the media in a democracy is that of A) entertainer.
B) policy formulator.
C) watchdog.
D) observer.
E) perpetuator.
Q2) Media corporations are in business to
A) make a profit.
B) streamline the news-gathering system.
C) protect democracy.
D) support the government.
E) perform a public service.
Q3) When the news media influences what people consider important, it is called A)agenda setting.
B) framing.
C) yellow journalism.
D) creating a template.
E) government regulation.
Q4) Much of the news is created or originated by ________ officials, not by reporters.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 8
Chapter 7: Interest Groups and Business Corporations
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
258 Verified Questions
258 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24537
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of these is considered a nonprofit interest group?
A)the Red Cross
B) the American Medical Association
C) the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
D) the National Association of Counties
E) the Federation of Small Businesses
Q2) If there is an upper-class bias in the interest group system, the value of ________ is violated.
Q3) Very few members of the drug industry's registered lobbyists are former members of Congress, former congressional staffers, or former employees of the executive branch.
A)True
B)False
Q4) An individual who joins an organization to promote a cause or ideology is motivated by ________ incentives.
Q5) The growth in lobbying by business firms and trade groups may be tied to the emergence of hyper-competition in the global economy.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 9
Chapter 8: Social Movements
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
237 Verified Questions
237 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24538
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following reforms was NOT brought about by social movements?
A) welfare reform
B) Social Security
C) environmental protection
D) equal rights for African Americans
E) labor unions
Q2) A social movement is particularly unlikely to have an impact on policy when
A) it stimulates the formation of a powerful countermovement.
B) the President of the United States condemns the social movement.
C) the Supreme Court rules that the social movement violates the Constitution.
D) one of the two major political parties accepts some of the goals of the social movement.
E) society deems the movement too radical.
Q3) What helped sound the death knell of "Jim Crow" and the "separate but equal" doctrine from the Plessy decision?
A) the Civil War
B) the election of Richard Nixon
C) the Civil Rights Act of 1964
D) the Vietnam War
E) the women's suffrage movement
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 10
Chapter 9: Political Parties
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
270 Verified Questions
270 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24539
Sample Questions
Q1) After Andrew Jackson become president Henry Clay helped form the A) Department of State.
B) Whig Party.
C) modern Democratic Party.
D) Department of Treasury.
E) Republican Party.
Q2) The United States has the most "pure" ________ in the world.
A) democracy
B) parliamentary system
C) proportional representation system
D) two-party system
E) government
Q3) Suppose you are national party chair of one of the major political parties in the United States. What would you do to ensure that American political parties are as democratic as they can be? Is this even possible for the national committee chair to do? Why or why not?
Q4) The second party system that grew out of the 1824 presidential election can be termed Jeffersonian.
A)True
B)False
Page 11
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 10: Participation Voting, and Elections
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
278 Verified Questions
278 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24540
Sample Questions
Q1) According to Figure 10.3, which factor was the best predictor of voter turnout in 2004?
A) race
B) gender
C) age
D) education
E) income
Q2) The electoral reward and punishment model of voting maintains that
A)candidates take the most popular positions they can during an election campaign.
B) parties appeal to the midpoint of the political spectrum.
C) past performance and personal competence are important for explaining vote choice.
D) parties offer clear and distinct policy positions during the campaign.
E) candidates differ from their party's platforms to decrease accountability.
Q3) Prospective voting models assess how voters decide based on past performance.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What do the authors of Struggle for Democracy reveal about voter turnout in the United States?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 12
Chapter 11: Congress
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
280 Verified Questions
280 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24541
Sample Questions
Q1) What are David and Oleszek measuring when they track the way a member of a Congress votes in terms of his or her party?
A) partisanship
B) loyalty
C) reelection potential
D) media influence
E) interest group influence
Q2) ________ powers are specifically granted to Congress in Article 1, Section 8.
Q3) The Framers of the Constitution wanted the legislative branch to be
A) the center of policymaking for the federal government.
B) unlimited in power over the federal government.
C) subordinate to the executive branch.
D) combined with the executive, similar to the British system.
E) responsible for judicial as well as legislative oversight.
Q4) Bills are scheduled for floor debate in the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Are members of Congress representative of the populace as a whole?
Q6) The constitutional presiding officer of the U.S. Senate is the ________.
Page 13
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 12: The President
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
249 Verified Questions
249 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24542
Sample
Questions
Q1) The president tends to fare better with ________ policy than on domestic policy.
Q2) The organization in the executive office that is made up of a small group of economists who advise on economic policy is known as
A) the Council of Economic Advisors.
B) the Office of Management and Budget.
C) the Executive Office of the President.
D) the National Economics Council.
E) the President's Economic Advisory Group.
Q3) What title is given to the role of the president as symbol of national authority and unity?
A) Chief Executive
B) Protean President
C) Chief of State
D) CEO
E) Chief of Washington
Q4) When ________ took office in 1901, he vigorously pushed the prerogatives and enhanced the powers of the office as no president had done since Lincoln.
Q5) For what is Woodrow Wilson's presidency notable in terms of relationship with the people?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 14
Chapter 13: The Executive Branch
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
262 Verified Questions
262 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24543
Sample Questions
Q1) The FBI is located within the
A) Justice Department.
B) Central Intelligence Agency.
C) White House Office.
D) Executive Office of the President.
E) Drug Enforcement Agency.
Q2) Which of the following statements best describes bureaucrats?
A)Bureaucrats</KT> engage in a wide range of activities that are relevant to the quality of democracy in the United States and affect how laws and regulations work.
B) Bureaucrats are inefficient and lack proper skills to work effectively.
C) Most bureaucrats are hired based on their political party affiliation.
D) Bureaucrats tend to be resistant to leadership by Congress and the president.
E) none of the above
Q3) From 1828 until the late nineteenth century, the executive staff was staffed through the spoils system.
A)True
B)False
Q4) How is the executive branch organized?
Q5) What attitudes do most Americans have towards the executive branch bureaucracy?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 15
Chapter 14: The Courts
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
280 Verified Questions
280 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24544
Sample
Questions
Q1) What did the reading of laissez-faire economic theory into constitutional law do in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?
A) It made the Supreme Court the principal ally of business during that period.
B) It ensured that all nominees would come from a business background.
C) It created an era of regulation by involving the courts in business practices.
D) The presidents were unable to have the courts do what they wanted during this period.
E) It kept the government and the courts involved in the economy.
Q2) Who would be considered a strict constructivist?
A) Justice Harry Blackmun
B) Justice David Souter
C) Justice William Brennan
D) Chief Justice Earl Warren
E) Justice Antonin Scalia
Q3) Framers of the US Constitution, including Alexander Hamilton, did not anticipate the possibility for judicial review by the courts.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 16
Chapter 15: Freedom: the Struggle for Civil Liberties
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
278 Verified Questions
278 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24545
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is assured in the Second Amendment?
A) Congress may not make any law with respect to the establishment of religion.
B) Congress may not abridge the free exercise of religion.
C) Congress may not abridge the right to assemble or petition the government.
D) Congress may not infringe on the right to keep and bear arms.
E) None of the above
Q2) The Supreme Court uses the "Lemon test" to determine the constitutionality of which type of law?
A) Laws that define the separation between church and state.
B) Laws having to do with freedom of speech.
C) Laws regulating the rights of the accused.
D) Laws having to do with religious beliefs.
E) Laws applying to agricultural imports.
Q3) Which of the following Supreme Court cases dealt with freedom of petition?
A) Gitlow v. New York
B) DeJonge v. Oregon
C) Hague v. CIO
D) Cantwell v. Connecticut
E) Everson v. Board of Education
Q4) Give several examples of how Supreme Court decisions have affected free speech.
Page 17
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 16: Civil Rights: the Struggle for Political Equality
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
229 Verified Questions
229 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24546
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is synonymous with a device that allowed whites who had failed the literacy test to vote anyway by extending the franchise to anyone whose ancestors had voted prior to 1867.
A) Grandfather clause
B) Poll tax
C) White primary
D) Segregation
E) The Thirteenth Amendment
Q2) The phrase __________ is often used interchangeably with civil rights.
A) civil liberties
B) equality of opportunity
C) equal citizenship
D) universal suffrage
E) equal rights
Q3) When a law falls under "strict scrutiny" by the courts, it means the law is presumed to be constitutional, and the authors of the enactment bear the burden of convincing the courts otherwise.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Define civil rights.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 18
Chapter 17: The Budget and Economic Policies
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
221 Verified Questions
221 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24547
Sample Questions
Q1) The states get most of their income from personal income taxes.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The Fed enjoys very little independence and is largely controlled by the president, Congress, and the Office of Management and Budget.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The federal government spent a little more than ________ in 2006.
A) $100 billion
B) $10 billion
C) $2 trillion
D) $100 trillion
E) $500 trillion
Q4) The U.S. economy was hurt in 2007 and 2008 by rising oil prices.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) determines the discount rate.
A)True
B)False
Q6) The sum of total yearly federal budget deficits is called the ________.
Page 19
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 18: Social Safety Nets
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
219 Verified Questions
219 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24548
Sample Questions
Q1) An example of a program that is NOT jointly financed and administered by federal and state governments is
A) TANF.
B) Medicaid.
C) Food Stamps.
D) Social Security.
E) None of the above
Q2) Which part of American culture is especially important when considering what works against a generous and comprehensive social welfare system?
A) The belief in competitive individualism.
B) The belief in equal opportunity.
C) The belief in liberty.
D) The belief in freedom.
E) The belief in democracy.
Q3) Social Security is funded by federal income taxes.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The two types of social welfare programs in the U.S. are social insurance programs and ________ programs.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 20
Chapter 19: Foreign Policy and National Defense
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
251 Verified Questions
251 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24549
Sample Questions
Q1) Figure 19.3 is quite clear that
A) a majority of nations have favorable views of the United States.
B) favorable views of the United States have increased since 1999.
C) favorable views of the United States have declined across all countries listed.
D) Canada continues to have the most favorable view of the United States of any country.
E) Great Britain's favorability has declined the most of any nation.
Q2) Which president promised a form of foreign aid called Millennium Challenge Accounts
A) Bush
B) Clinton
C) Reagan
D) Carter
E) Nixon
Q3) ________ has generally played a less active role in foreign than in domestic policy.
Q4) A roadside bomb is an asymmetric warfare tactic.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 21