Introduction to American Government Final Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Introduction to American Government offers students a comprehensive overview of the foundational principles, structures, and processes that define the political system of the United States. This course explores the Constitution, federalism, the roles and functions of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and the dynamics of elections and political participation. It also examines the influence of political parties, interest groups, media, and public opinion. Through case studies and analysis of current events, students develop a deeper understanding of how government operates at the national, state, and local levels, as well as its impact on American society and individuals.
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) Who was Robert Parris Moses?
Answer: He showed black farmers in the South how to register to vote, including how to pass the literacy test of the state of Mississippi to be able to register.
Q2) Many of our ideas about democracy originated in
A) Africa.
B) Mesopotamia.
C) ancient Greece.
D) east-Asian islands.
E) Rome.
Answer: C
Q3) The definition of popular sovereignty is a form of political decision making in which policies are decided on the basis of what a majority of the people want.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) ________ means that the ultimate source of all public authority in a democracy rests with the people.
Answer: Popular sovereignty
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) Under the Articles of Confederation, the Continental Congress
A) had little to do and had virtually no power.
B) was comprised of a House of Representatives and a Senate.
C) frequently declared state laws unconstitutional.
D) was all-powerful.
E) was dissolved.
Answer: A
Q2) The ________ Plan favored small states.
A) New Jersey
B) Three-fifths
C) Virginia
D) Connecticut
E) Pennsylvania
Answer: A
Q3) In his book, An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution, ________ argued that the Framers were motivated by immediate and personal economic interests.
Answer: Charles Beard
Q4) In a ________, each state retains most of its powers and independence. Answer: confederation
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) The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, authored by Jefferson and Madison, were failed attempts at
A) nullification.
B) federalism.
C) amending the Constitution.
D) dual federalism.
E) preemption.
Answer: A
Q2) The Civil War Amendments were enforced vigorously by state and local governments during and after Reconstruction.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) The __________ clause is found in Article VI of the US Constitution.
Answer: Supremacy
Q4) How is a federal system different from a confederation?
Answer: In a confederation, the constituent units get together for certain common purposes but retain ultimate authority. In a federal system, significant government powers are divided between the central government and smaller governments.
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) The increasing frequency with which U.S. companies are trimming their health care plans, freezing wages, and laying off employees is a consequence of
A) the competitive global economy.
B) the abrupt recent downturn in the U.S. economy.
C) the labor unions' insistence on salary and benefit raises.
D) the sharply rising wages of manual and service workers.
E) the relative lack of competition.
Q2) In chapter 4 of the textbook, the authors use a Gini coefficient to illustrate levels of A) poverty.
B) economic growth.
C) inequality.
D) human rights violations.
E) democratization.
Q3) A strong sense of competitive individualism is
A) a foundational belief of the American public.
B) a value shared by most of the world's leaders.
C) a fundamental tenet of communism.
D) results in a hostility toward religion.
E) not compatible with notions of American democracy.
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) The collective political attitudes and beliefs expressed by ordinary citizens are called ________.
Q2) There can be little doubt that public opinion influenced the United States' disengagement from the Vietnam War.
A)True
B)False
Q3) We can learn a lot about Americans' policy preferences by looking at policies that they favor or oppose. What are some of the policies Americans oppose?
Q4) On what issues do whites and blacks differ most in their political opinions?
Q5) What is the result of a people's core beliefs taken together?
A) Taken together, they make up the political culture.
B) Taken together, they create a random sampling.
C) Taken together, they describe a country's government.
D) They are used collectively to create a democracy.
E) They are used collectively to create a republic.
Q6) Discuss the primary differences-in general and policy specific terms-between liberals and conservatives in American politics.
Q7) Most evangelical Christians are ideologically ________.
Page 7
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) The use of investigative reporting by journalists has increased over time.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The government can engage in prior restraint
A)only in the most pressing circumstances of danger to national security.
B) whenever it wants, although it has usually restricted the practice to wartime.
C) only when it suspects that an official leak has occurred.
D) only during presidential campaigns.
E) only when there is evidence that a news story is substantially inaccurate.
Q3) The equal time provision required that broadcast stations that granted air time to one candidate had to grant other candidates equal time, too.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Political reporters tend to
A) move frequently from government institution to government institution.
B) do a lot of investigative reporting.
C) develop comfortable relationships with government officials.
D) be hostile to government officials.
E) none of the above
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) Interest groups have borrowed many of the techniques of ________, involving advances in computer and communications technology, to get their message to the public and to channel responses to public officials.
A) CD lasers
B) satellite technology
C) direct marketing
D) home shopping channels
E) legislators
Q2) If there is an upper-class bias in the interest group system, then the concept of ________ is violated.
A) popular sovereignty
B) elitism
C) political equality
D) political independence
E) political influence
Q3) The main difference between the inside game and the outside game in interest groups politics is the type of groups that play them.
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 these structural factors is necessary for the development of a social movement?
A) A society with members who are safe and prosperous.
B) A society with social strain and distress.
C) A society whose members have few skills or organizational resources.
D) A society with members who believe that their actions will have no impact.
E) all of the above
Q2) Resources are not important for successful social movements.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following statements applies to social movements?
A) Social movements fit well in a democracy because they use disruptive tactics to further the interests of a minority.
B) Social movements undermine democracy because they often decrease the level of popular involvement and interest in politics.
C) Social movements are undemocratic because they prevent those without substantial resources to enter the game of politics.
D) Social movements usually start with a large majority of people.
E) none of the above
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) What is political ideology?
Q2) Political parties are by nature
A) exclusive.
B) elitist.
C) inclusive.
D) restrictive.
E) populist.
Q3) One disadvantage of a divided, two-party government system is A) gridlock.
B) that people don't know who to vote for.
C) that it becomes stagnant.
D) that the parties tend to become increasingly similar over time.
E) that the parties tend to become better organized over time.
Q4) The ________ are the governing bodies of the parties.
Q5) American political parties generally try to direct their campaigns at a specific, cohesive range of voters by running candidates from a narrow range of ethnic and racial groups.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Describe the extent to which American political parties are organizations.
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) What is the relationship between presidential nomination politics and democracy?
Q2) Elections are fundamental to democratic politics. Explain.
Q3) Which of the following problems besets not only the responsible party model and the electoral competition model, but also the electoral reward and punishment model?
A) The campaign strategies of the candidates involved in the election are considered to be less important than their party affiliation.
B) All the models assume that all citizens will participate in the voting process.
C) All the models require that ballots be disqualified if they contain errors.
D) All the models assume that the party leadership can make decisions that affect all levels of the party.
E) Voters select candidates who have the best "pork barrel" proposals.
Q4) Political activity by individual citizens is known as A) political participation.
B) suffrage.
C) conventional participation.
D) the expansion of the franchise.
E) turnout.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
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) The lawmaker who introduces a bill (or resolution) is its ________.
Q2) The path by which a bill becomes a law is so strewn with obstacles that few bills survive.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Reapportionment
A) is most prominent in the Senate.
B) is rarely invoked for political reasons.
C) is done by statistical sampling.
D) has lead to an increase in House seats for the North and Eastern American states.
E) is also the technical name for the redistribution of congressional seats
Q4) The "Great Compromise" dealt with
A) representation in Congress.
B) election of the president.
C) abolition of slavery.
D) lawmaking authority of Congress
E) none of the above
Q5) Compare the trustee form of representation with the delegate form of representation.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 13
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 vice presidency
A) has not always been highly regarded.
B) has always been a highly sought-after position.
C) has always been a role with a great deal of power.
D) is generally used in the role of liaison between the cabinet and the president.
E) is always a stepping-stone to the presidency.
Q2) Which of these offices was NOT a part of George Washington's cabinet?
A) the chief of staff
B) the secretary of war
C) the secretary of state
D) the postmaster general
E) the secretary of the treasury
Q3) President Reagan helped push
A) labor interests.
B) a liberal agenda.
C) a conservative agenda.
D) the regulation of business.
E) domestic spending increases.
Q4) Discuss the dormant presidency.
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) "Getting government off our backs" refers to the burden of A) Congress.
B) cost-benefit analysis.
C) bureaucracy.
D) reinventing government
E) none of the above
Q2) ________ and minorities are represented in the bureaucracy in fair proportion to their percentage in society, but they are underrepresented in high-ranking jobs.
Q3) Which of the following is NOT an argument used by critics of privatization?
A) The U.S. government would be taking an unprecedented step by using private companies to perform its functions.
B) Private businesses might not provide services that do not bring a profit.
C) Certain national security matters should not be handled by private companies.
D) Private companies are unlikely to be responsive to the wishes of the public.
E) Private companies may not have to follow the same rules and regulations that apply to government employees.
Q4) Cost-benefit analysis has been used to speed up rule making by federal agencies.
A)True
B)False
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) According to the authors of Struggle for Democracy, the Court does not recognize its policymaking role.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Stare decisis refers to
A) legal briefs submitted by counsel in federal courts.
B) legal standing in federal courts.
C) the doctrine of closely following precedent in federal courts.
D) "friends of the court" briefs by interested parties.
E) the term used to call up a case on appeal.
Q3) The Warren Court is known for having A) expanded the protections of individual actions.
B) restricted the rights of individuals in the area of free expression.
C) restricted individual rights in the area of religious expression.
D) expanded the power of the states.
E) none of the above
Q4) Constitutionally speaking, the president has no influence over the Supreme Court.
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) How many of our modern civil rights and liberties were guaranteed in the original Constitution, before any formal amendments?
Q2) College campuses have become an important battleground in the continuing struggle over the meaning of free speech in the United States.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The ________ rule prevents police and prosecutors from using evidence gained through warrantless and unreasonable searches.
Q4) According to the framers of the U.S. Constitution, the president and Congress engage in shared war powers. What is more, the framers provided for basic individual protections through the Bill of Rights. Thinking about the fight against terrorism and civil liberties, what is your assessment of how well the framers created a constitution to ensure a balance of power during war and protect individual liberties at the same time?
Q5) The original Constitution (without formal amendments) listed a slew of liberties to be protected from the national and state governments.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 17
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) Early in the civil rights movement, most civil rights organizations opposed affirmative action.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The United States has restructured civil rights for women, much in the same way it has for other groups.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The Supreme Court's decision that allowed women the right to an abortion was
A) Roe v. Wade.
B) Webster v. Reproductive Health Services.
C) Griswold v. Connecticut.
D) Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
E) National Organization for Women v. Scheidler.
Q4) Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A) The Court has restructured civil rights for women.
B) The Supreme Court simply has not been sympathetic at all to women's issues.
C) In cases of discrimination, women are not viewed as a protected group.
D) The Court has not restructured rights for women.
E) None of the above
Page 18
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
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) Agenda setting is
A) the process by which a problem comes to the attention of government.
B) a decision made by government that creates laws.
C) putting a law into effect.
D) deciding to support or oppose legislation.
E) an assessment of the success of a policy.
Q2) Which of the following presidents are considered supply-siders
A) Ronald Reagan
B) Bill Clinton
C) Jimmy Carter
D) George W. Bush
E) A and D
Q3) Macroeconomic policy refers
A) solely to the regulations of financial and investment businesses.
B) to all government policy that influences the economic well-being of citizens.
C) to policies involving foreign exchange rates, international trade, and foreign aid.
D) to fiscal and monetary policies.
E) to inelasticity of supply and demand.
Q4) What is the primary source of discretionary spending in the federal budget?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 19
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) How does the Medicaid program operate?
Q2) Public assistance or ________ is the target of widespread criticism although it accounts for only a small part of the annual federal budget.
Q3) What is the fear about the future of Social Security benefits?
A) They will run out before many Americans can begin collecting benefits.
B) There will be a situation where the benefits cannot keep up with inflation rates.
C) In an economic downturn, Social Security benefits will be the first to be cut.
D) Large deficits will make it impossible for the government to pay for the structure that keeps Social Security running.
E) Large deficits will need to be paid by Social Security funds.
Q4) Despite their success, social insurance programs are also plagued by problems. What are these problems?
Q5) Medicare is not an entitlement program.
A)True B)False
Q6) What are entitlement programs?
Q7) Describe the battle between various groups over Social Security in early 2005
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) The increasing worldwide integration of markets, production, and communications across national boundaries is known as
A) globalization.
B) the European Union.
C) nongovernmental organizations.
D) global instability.
E) world trade.
Q2) Which of the following countries has been a long-standing military ally of the United States as part of NATO
A) Georgia
B) Turkey
C) Ukraine
D) Kosovo
E) Bosnia
Q3) The ________ intercepts and analyzes foreign messages and breaks foreign codes.
A) Central Intelligence Agency
B) Intelligence Department
C) Q-Bert Agency
D) National Security Agency
E) Department of Defense
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 21