Introduction to American Government Exam Materials
Course Introduction
Introduction to American Government provides an overview of the fundamental principles, structures, and processes that define the political system of the United States. The course examines the Constitution, federalism, the roles of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, and the mechanisms of political participation such as elections and political parties. Students will explore how public policy is formulated and implemented, the influence of interest groups and media, and key issues facing American democracy today, fostering a deeper understanding of the strengths and challenges of the U.S. government.
Recommended Textbook Government in America 2014 Elections and Updates 16th Edition by by
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Page 2
George C. Edwards III
Chapter 1: Introducing Government in America
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Q1) __________ opposed the 2009 stimulus bill,arguing that such increases in the scope of the federal government would result in less freedom and prosperity.
Answer: Conservatives
Q2) What is an example of a collective good?
A) clean air
B) medical care
C) a college education
D) food stamps
Answer: A
Q3) Compare and contrast majority rule and minority rights. How does democracy provide for both?
Answer: 1. Indicate that majority rule means that policies should reflect the will of more than half the people.
2. Explain that minority rights protect the minority from having their rights deprived by the majority. Restraints are placed on the majority to prevent them from limiting the rights of the minority.
3. Provide examples of democratic governments emphasizing both majority rule and minority rights.
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3
Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Q1) At least __________ states had to ratify the proposed Constitution for it to become law.
Answer: nine
Q2) Describe the system of checks and balances created by the Framers. Why is this system important?
Answer: 1. Indicate that the powers of the government were divided into three branches.
2. Identify the ways in which the Constitution allocates the power to make,interpret,and enforce laws among the three branches.
3. Explain the ways in which each branch has a role in the actions of the others.
4. Explain how checks and balances are used to prevent tyranny and corruption.
Q3) The New Jersey Plan proposed a powerful central government with three branches. A)True
B)False Answer: False
Q4) John Locke argued that __________ included life,liberty,and property. Answer: natural law
Q5) James Madison,Alexander Hamilton,and John Jay authored the __________. Answer: Federalist Papers
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Chapter 3: Federalism
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Q1) What is devolution? What are its advantages and disadvantages? Discuss how devolution impacted policy in the 1990s.
Answer: 1. Explain devolution in detail with emphasis on the return of administrative power to the states.
2. Discuss how devolution affected speed limits,welfare policy,and the ability of state prisoners to seek relief in federal courts.
3. Explain the pros and cons of devolution,including the ability to experiment with state-specific solutions to social problems,and the difficulty of a subnational unit of government to tackle major social problems effectively.
Q2) What model of federalism is sometimes described metaphorically as a marble cake?
A) cooperative federalism
B) dual federalism
C) progressive federalism
D) new federalism
Answer: A
Q3) Funds awarded by the National Science Foundation to university professors are an example of __________ grants.
Answer: project
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Chapter 4: Civil Liberties and Public Policy
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Q1) The Supreme Court has interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment to mean that most of the protections in the Bill of Rights apply to the states.
A)True
B)False
Q2) In Zelman v. Simmons-Harris,the Supreme Court upheld a program that provided some families in Cleveland,Ohio,with __________ they could use to pay tuition at religious schools.
Q3) In Abington School District v. Schempp,the Court ruled that state-mandated Bible readings were constitutional under the free exercise clause.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Prior restraint is a constitutional doctrine that prevents the government from prohibiting __________ before the fact.
Q5) The Supreme Court has interpreted the __________ Amendment to protect an individual's right to own a firearm for self-defense.
Q6) Why did the Supreme Court suspend capital punishment in 1972?
Q7) Explain the evolution of the incorporation doctrine.
Q8) How has the Supreme Court applied the exclusionary rule?
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Civil Rights and Public Policy
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Q1) Describe the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Why were they necessary,given that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were enacted decades before?
Q2) What was the objective of the women's suffrage movement?
A) broad gender equality
B) the right to own property
C) equal pay for equal work
D) the right to vote
Q3) Why did Congress pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
A) the Supreme Court had determined that only the national government could regulate elections
B) because it was clear that the South had no intention of living up to the spirit of the Fifteenth Amendment
C) because Congress was afraid the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. would lead a boycott of white businesses if the legislation was not passed
D) to prevent the race riots from spreading from African American neighborhoods into traditionally white neighborhoods
Q4) The __________ Amendment guarantees African Americans the right to vote.
Q5) Jim Crow laws required __________ of African Americans and whites.
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Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Action
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Q1) Which group makes up the smallest percentage of the minority population in the United States?
A) white, non-Hispanic
B) Hispanic
C) Native American
D) African American
Q2) You agree with Darrell M. West,who argues that the United States needs to reorient its immigration policy toward enhancing economic development. Which of the following potential immigrants do you think is most deserving of an immigrant visa?
A) a Turkish national with a promising new manufacturing process
B) the parents of neurobiologist L. S. Chung, a permanent legal resident from South Korea
C) a former Syrian army officer, now a refugee
D) a student-athlete from New Zealand who plays basketball and hopes to coach professionally in the future
Q3) What is the gender gap in public opinion? Why does it exist?
Q4) What did John F. Kennedy mean when he said that America is "not merely a nation but a nation of nations"? Does Kennedy's conception of America still hold true?
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Page 8
Chapter 7: The Mass Media and the Political Agenda
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Q1) Television,radio,and the Internet are __________ media; newspapers and magazines are __________ media.
A) electronic; print
B) public; private
C) private; public
D) liberal; conservative
Q2) Who declared,"The president of the United States will not stand and be questioned like a chicken thief by men whose names he does not even know"?
A) Herbert Hoover
B) John F. Kennedy
C) Richard Nixon
D) Ronald Reagan
Q3) What do network executives blame for the superficiality in media reporting?
A) cable news
B) social media
C) the Internet
D) the public
Q4) What are sound bites? How does their use influence the nature of the news?
Q5) What are media events,and how are they used?
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Chapter 8: Political Parties
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Q1) What is the party in the electorate?
A) party officers who seek to educate the public on key party stances
B) public officials who are registered with a political party
C) voters active in the business of the party
D) all citizens who claim to be a member of a political party
Q2) Richard Nixon's __________ attempted to bring conservatives over to the Republican Party in what was a Democratic stronghold at the time.
A) Southern strategy
B) Western strategy
C) suburban strategy
D) urban strategy
Q3) Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley ruled one of the most powerful political __________ in U.S. history.
Q4) The Downs model suggests that rational parties position themselves as close to the center as possible.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain the concept of political parties as "three-headed political giants."
Q6) What is party image? How does it influence elections?
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Chapter 9: Campaigns and Voting Behavior
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Q1) How does the U.S. system of voter registration work? Explain how voter registration increases the costs of voting and affects voter turnout. What would happen if other states adopted Election Day voter registration procedures? What would happen if the United States adopted the voter registration procedures used in most other democracies? What other elements of elections in other democracies could the United States adopt to increase voter turnout? The United States attempted to boost turnout by adopting the Motor Voter law. What does the law do and how has it affected the costs of registering to vote? How has this law affected voter turnout? Why do you think Motor Voter has had this effect?
Q2) __________ was an unintended result of changes to the Federal Election Campaign Act that allowed parties to raise and spend money on voter registration and other campaign materials without limits on spending or the size of contributions that they could accept.
A) Party discretionary funding
B) Party expenditure exemption
C) Soft money
D) Walking-around money
Q3) What is frontloading? What is the incentive for states to participate in frontloading? What are the consequences of frontloading?
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Chapter 10: Interest Groups
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Q1) Discuss James Madison's views on factions and how he would respond to the tremendous growth in the number of interest groups actively lobbying in Washington,D.C.,over the past several decades.
Q2) Which type of organization would find it easiest to overcome the free-rider problem?
A) an environmental organization working to pass climate change legislation
B) a labor union in a state where union membership is optional
C) a trade association for a small industry
D) a national organization fighting for women's rights
Q3) Which of the following comes closest to James Madison's conception of factions?
A) the media
B) women
C) interest groups
D) workers
Q4) Anti-Vietnam War activists formed __________ interest groups.
Q5) Which of the following is an example of a business interest group?
A) the National Rifle Association
B) the American Association of Retired People (AARP)
C) the Chamber of Commerce
D) the National Education Association
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Chapter 11: Congress
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Q1) Which of the following is an advantage congressional incumbents possess in seeking reelection over challengers?
A) outsider status
B) financial support from the federal government campaign fund
C) progressive taxes
D) the franking privilege
Q2) __________ is a good example of congressional casework.
A) Analysis of an incumbent's policy positions prior to a debate
B) Analysis of water quality within a district
C) Helping a constituent navigate red tape
D) Assisting a federal agency operating within a member's district
Q3) Why did the government shut down in 2013?
A) Congressional Democrats and Republicans could not agree on a budget.
B) The government shut down because each party wanted to take credit for addressing the ensuing crisis.
C) The government shut down in order to save money.
D) Members of Congress forgot to pass the budget.
Q4) Discuss the formal responsibilities and informal powers held today by the Speaker of the House.
Q5) Contrast the responsibilities and power structures of the House and the Senate.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: The Presidency
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Q1) The Twenty-fifth Amendment was enacted in order to clear up uncertainties over the constitutional provisions surrounding __________.
A) presidential powers to conduct war
B) presidential and vice presidential succession and disability
C) the president's powers to negotiate treaties
D) the Electoral College
Q2) The president may grant pardons for federal offenses (except impeachment).
A)True
B)False
Q3) Since Lyndon Johnson,presidents have tended to __________.
A) oppose government growth
B) support an increase in the role of government
C) advocate for reductions in military spending
D) exercise their veto power more aggressively
Q4) Which best describes a president's constitutional duty to Congress?
A) The president must give Congress an occasional update on the state of the union.
B) The president must have at least one cabinet member of the opposing party.
C) The president must maintain party support in Congress.
D) The president must inform Congress of the reasoning behind a veto.
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Chapter 13: The Budget: the Politics of Taxing and Spending
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Q1) Financially,who benefits the most from the military-industrial complex?
A) Congress
B) the president
C) defense contractors
D) taxpayers
Q2) By law,the president must submit a budget by the first Monday in __________.
A) February
B) September
C) October
D) November
Q3) The Social Security Act was enacted in __________.
A) 1865
B) 1890
C) 1935
D) 1964
Q4) The congressional budget process begins on the first Monday in February and ends on __________.
Q5) Explain why Congress passes continuing resolutions.
Q6) The __________ is responsible for helping the president produce budgetary policy.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: The Federal Bureaucracy
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Q1) Why do laws passed by Congress often lack clarity? How does this affect the way these laws are implemented by the bureaucracy?
Q2) Extensive presidential use of the spoils system lasted through the 1950s.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Evaluate whether efforts to curb air pollution should rely on command-and-control policy or incentive systems.
Q4) Under what circumstance are bureaucrats most likely to exercise discretion?
A) when an agency is creating environmental regulations
B) when an agency is under congressional investigation
C) when an agency is implementing a vague law
D) when an agency is proposing legislation
Q5) If a cabinet department is not implementing a policy supported by the president,what tools can the president use to influence the department?
Q6) The president appoints,but cannot easily dismiss,officials who serve on
Q7) The federal bureaucracy is part of the __________ branch of government.
Q8) How does the president exercise control over the federal bureaucracy?
Q9) Discuss the potential advantages and disadvantages of privatization.
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Chapter 15: The Federal Courts
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Q1) A dissenting opinion is written by a justice who agrees with the decision of the majority,but disagrees with the rationale.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Describe the different types of federal constitutional courts.
Q3) The increasing polarization of partisan politics in recent years has made the confirmation process for court of appeals judges longer and less certain.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The __________ Act of 1789 established the basic three-tiered structure of the federal court system.
A) Federal Courts
B) Appellate
C) Confirmation
D) Judiciary
Q5) Explain the "rule of four" and its relationship to the decision of the Supreme Court to hear a case.
Q6) What are class action lawsuits?
Q7) Describe the difference between civil and criminal law.
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Economic and Social Welfare Policymaking
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Q1) Imagine the economy is slipping into a recession. What would a Keynesian advocate and why?
Q2) Which group has the highest poverty rate?
A) children under 18
B) Hispanics
C) central-city residents
D) unmarried women
Q3) Discuss the differences in philosophy,key actors,and tools of fiscal and monetary policy. Should the federal government give preference to one or the other? Why or why not?
Q4) How did President George W. Bush propose to reform Social Security? How have President Barack Obama's proposals differed from those of his predecessor?
Q5) Elected officials are often unresponsive to the policy preferences of low-income citizens.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Keynesians in Congress would support increasing __________ as a means to address high levels of unemployment.
Q7) How does American social welfare policy compare to that of European democracies?
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Chapter 17: Policymaking for Health Care, the Environment, and Energy
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Q1) Of the following countries,which has the lowest infant mortality rate and the highest life expectancy?
A) the United States
B) France
C) Canada
D) Japan
Q2) Medicare is designed primarily to help the __________ population.
Q3) The scope of the federal government's involvement in health care decreased under the George W. Bush administration when it urged Congress to remove prescription drug benefits from Medicare because costs were rising at an unsustainable rate.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Who typically qualifies for Medicare?
A) full-time workers
B) those 65 or older
C) the unemployed
D) the poor
Q5) The Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act,but held that states could opt out of extending __________ coverage.
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Chapter 18: National Security Policymaking
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Q1) How were the Cold War conflicts fundamentally different from more recent conflicts involving terrorism? What were the principal Cold War conflicts,and who were the principal combatants? How have recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan differed from the Cold War conflicts? What changes in the approach to national security have been required because of terrorism?
Q2) Groups such as churches,labor unions,and environmental groups that are not connected with governments but which have international interests and activities and,therefore,an influence on foreign policy are known as __________.
Q3) If the president wishes to address a foreign policy crisis without using the military,the president may instead opt for the use of __________ as orchestrated by the Department of State.
Q4) The primary responsibility of the National Security Council is to advise Congress about national and defense policy.
A)True
B)False
Q5) In the early 1970s,fuel shortages and long lines at gas stations resulted from an oil embargo imposed by __________ in response to American support of Israel in its war against Egypt.
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