Introduction to American Government Exam Preparation Guide
Course Introduction
Introduction to American Government explores the fundamental principles, structures, and processes of the political system in the United States. The course covers the Constitution, federalism, the three branches of government (legislative, executive, judicial), and the roles of political parties, interest groups, and the media. Students will analyze the policy-making process, civil rights and civil liberties, and the relationship between state and federal governments. Through case studies and current events, the course aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of American democracy, civic responsibility, and the challenges facing American governance today.
Recommended Textbook
American Government Institutions and Policies 16th Edition by James Q. Wilson
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Chapter 1: The Study of American Government the Study of
American Government
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Q1) Identify the government institutions whose influence on agenda setting has become especially important.Explain.
Answer: The <b>courts</b> can make decisions that force the hand of the other branches of government.
The <b>bureaucracy</b> has acquired significance because it is now a source of political innovation.It has become a source of policy proposals as well as implementers of the proposals that become law.
In the 1960s the <b>Senate</b> became an incubator for developing new policies and building national constituencies.
Q2) None of the Founders was particularly concerned about the government being too democratic.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) One can have political power even if one does not possess formal authority.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: The Constitution the Constitution
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Q1) How many of the delegates of the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia in 1787 were women or non-white men?
A) 0
B) 1
C) 2
D) 3
E) 5
Answer: A
Q2) One of the basic liberties sought by the colonists through independence from Great Britain was
A) freedom from taxation without representation.
B) the right to bear arms and to defend life and property.
C) freedom to assemble in public and to engage in public debate.
D) the right to own and trade slaves.
E) the right to travel.
Answer: A
Q3) Rhode Island refused to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Federalism Federalism
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Q1) In United States v.Lopez,the Supreme Court said that Congress had exceeded its commerce clause power by creating gun-free zones around schools.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) The text suggests that we might expect to find more mandates in policy areas where the government
A) spends less.
B) spends more.
C) wants the states to spend less.
D) has been involved a longer period of time.
E) cannot possibly enforce them.
Answer: A
Q3) The American experience suggests that many of the Antifederalists' primary concerns were warranted.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 4: American Political Culture American Political Culture
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Q1) Summarize the long-term trends in public confidence in government and what the authors say about how such data should be interpreted.
Q2) What was the Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal referring to when he spoke of "America's dilemma"?
A) Affluence
B) Race relations
C) Corporate dominance
D) Political ignorance
E) Economic disparities
Q3) Discuss Max Weber's "Protestant ethic" and its influence on American political culture.
Q4) Alan Abramowitz suggests that the culture war might be more real than imagined because people are increasingly choosing their party affiliation on the basis of
A) issues.
B) income.
C) competition.
D) social background characteristics.
E) advertising.
Q5) Discuss the four sources of American political culture mentioned in the text.
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Chapter 5: Civil Liberties Civil Liberties
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Q1) In a 1947 decision,the Supreme Court allowed a New Jersey town to fund busing to a parochial school because
A) no alternative form of transportation existed.
B) enrollment at that school was open to all.
C) the resulting tax burden on the average citizen was negligible.
D) busing was religiously neutral.
E) there was no true case and controversy.
Q2) Benjamin Gitlow's case was significant because it resulted in the Supreme Court's declaring that
A) all sedition laws were unconstitutional.
B) freedom of speech and freedom of the press were "fundamental."
C) all sedition laws were constitutional.
D) antiwar protesters could only distribute leaflets.
E) protesters could no longer peacefully assemble.
Q3) The right to be indicted by a grand jury for serious crimes has been incorporated to the states.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Discuss five key provisions of the USA Patriot Act.
Q5) Define libel and outline the basic features of libel law in the United States.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Civil Rights Civil Rights
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Q1) One white-black gap in education and standards of living that has NOT closed much in the last half-century is the __________ rate.
A) high school completion
B) poverty
C) unemployment
D) homeowner
E) All of these are correct.
Q2) Identify,define,and explain the three standards that the Supreme Court uses in discrimination cases.
Q3) The outcome of the 1964 election helped the civil rights forces.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In this seminal decision,the Supreme Court held that a "right to privacy" is "broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy."
A) Griswold v. Connecticut
B) Webster v. Reproductive Health Services
C) Planned Parenthood v. Casey
D) Roe v. Wade
E) Gonzales v. Carhart
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Chapter 7: Public Opinion Public Opinion
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Q1) Research conducted on the nature polling has found that
A) neither the wording of questions nor the order in which they are asked has a measurable impact on the answers pollsters get.
B) the wording of questions and the order in which they are asked both have a significant impact on the answers pollsters get.
C) the wording of questions has a significant impact on the answers pollsters get, but the order in which the questions are asked does not.
D) the order in which questions are asked has a significant impact on the answers pollsters get, but the wording of questions does not.
E) the wording of questions and the order in which they are asked can either have or not have a significant impact on the answers pollsters get, for reasons researchers still don't understand.
Q2) Describe how polls are conducted.
Q3) Explain why activists are much more likely to exhibit clear ideological consistency than average members of the public.
Q4) Discuss the use of heuristics in making political decisions,their benefits,and their costs.
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Chapter 8: Political Participation Political Participation
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Q1) Which of the following statements regarding the Australian ballot is FALSE?
A) It is printed by the government.
B) It appeared first in the states.
C) It appeared in the late 1800s.
D) It is cast in secret.
E) It eliminated vote fraud.
Q2) Which of the following participation groups avoids both elections and community groups in its political activity?
A) Voting specialists
B) Campaigners
C) Communalists
D) Parochial participants
E) Inactive voters
Q3) Voting is more often viewed as a special occasion in Europe than it is in America.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In the 2016 national election,in addition to voting in the ballot box,there were three other methods of voting used in many states.Identify those methods.
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Chapter 9: Political Parties Political Parties
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Q1) After appearing to die out for roughly two decades,the party system resurged with the campaign of
A) Andrew Jackson.
B) Henry Clay.
C) Martin Van Buren.
D) the Anti-Masonic Party.
E) the Whigs.
Q2) The supporters of Thomas Jefferson called themselves Federalists,and the supporters of Alexander Hamilton referred to themselves as Republicans.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The national party conventions meet every __________ years to nominate a presidential candidate.
A) two
B) three
C) four
D) six
E) eight
Q4) Explain the ways that American parties differ from their European counterparts.
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Chapter 10: Elections and Campaigns Elections and Campaigns
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Q1) The agency responsible for monitoring federal elections and campaign finance is the
A) United States Congress
B) United States Department of State
C) United State Department of Justice
D) State Departments of State
E) Federal Election Commission
Q2) Funding of congressional elections comes from
A) public sources only.
B) private sources only.
C) party sources only.
D) a combination of public, party, and private sources.
E) the parties and public sources.
Q3) Define gerrymandering in congressional districts.
Q4) In recent elections,candidates have relied increasingly on
A) appearances at malls to reach potential voters.
B) large parades and rallies to reach potential voters.
C) whistle-stop train tours to reach potential voters.
D) appearances at factories to reach potential voters.
E) broadcasting to reach potential voters.
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Chapter 11: Interest Groups Interest Groups
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Q1) Many of the best known and largest interest groups,such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Chamber of Commerce,formed in the
A) first two decades of the 19th century.
B) last two decades of the 19th century.
C) first two decades of the 20th century.
D) 1860s and 1870s.
E) 1960s and 1970s.
Q2) Under current law,an individual must register as a lobbyist if he or she spends at least __________ of his or her time lobbying.
A) 90 percent
B) 70 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 20 percent
E) 5 percent
Q3) Describe three types of feminist organizations.
Q4) What four factors account for the increase in interest groups in recent years?
Q5) Compare interest group membership in America to that of other democracies.
Q6) Define a public-interest law firm.Discuss how these firms act to influence government.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: The Media the Media
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Q1) The presidential press secretary is a relatively new White House position,dating from the Hoover administration.
A)True
B)False
Q2) More people read blogs than essays in magazines.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Since the 1980s,broadcasting licenses are automatically renewed unless
A) the station has been found guilty of broadcasting obscenity.
B) some community group formally objects.
C) the station has been found to criticize the government unfairly.
D) the station's ownership has changed.
E) the station's ownership has not changed for a considerable period of time.
Q4) When it comes to news,the Internet is dominated by a few sites and should not be considered a free market of news coverage.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Why are there so many leaks in American government?
Q6) Discuss the reasons for public distrust in the media.
Q7) Discuss six ways in which the Internet has simplified the work of politicians.
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Chapter 13: Congress Congress
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Q1) The typical member of Congress is a(n)
A) middle-aged, white, Protestant businessman.
B) older, white, Protestant businessman.
C) older, white, Catholic lawyer.
D) middle-aged, white, Protestant lawyer.
E) young, white, communications major.
Q2) Article I,Section 8 of the U.S.Constitution confers on Congress all of the following powers EXCEPT
A) the power to veto bills.
B) the power to collect taxes.
C) the power to declare war.
D) the power to establish courts.
E) the power to regulate commerce.
Q3) Discuss the public's opinion of Congress compared to the public's view of the Supreme Court and the presidency.
Q4) Congress tends to be a decentralized institution,with all members more interested in their own views and those of their voters than with programs proposed by the president.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: The Presidency the Presidency
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Q1) The Constitution states that only the secretary of state can receive ambassadors.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Presidents are now limited to two terms by the
A) Fourteenth Amendment.
B) Sixteenth Amendment.
C) Nineteenth Amendment.
D) Twenty-first Amendment.
E) Twenty-second Amendment.
Q3) The last time a candidate won a majority of the electoral college without winning the popular vote was
A) 2016.
B) 2000.
C) 1888.
D) 1824.
E) 1800.
Q4) Explain what signing statements have been used to do and what the trends have been with respect to their use throughout history.
Q5) Discuss some of the differences between the president and prime ministers.
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Chapter 15: The Bureaucracy the Bureaucracy
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Q1) The text argues that many of the problems of bureaucracy in government arise from its
A) formality.
B) political context.
C) remoteness from everyday life.
D) complexity.
E) transparency.
Q2) One way that Congress exercises authority over agencies is through
A) the statutes that create and define them.
B) control of Office of Personnel Management (OPM) hiring practices.
C) the use of discharge petitions.
D) dismissal of agency heads.
E) the use of the Civil Service Exam.
Q3) What are three aspects of our constitutional system and political traditions that give bureaucracy a distinctive feature?
Q4) When Donald Trump took office,he had to fill about twice as many jobs as President Kennedy.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Define the five bureaucratic pathologies described in the text.
Page 17
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Chapter 16: The Judiciary the Judiciary
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Q1) A diversity case involves both a state and a federal litigant.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What does the U.S.Constitution have to say about the size of the Supreme Court?
A) It specifically sets the number of justices at six, later amended to nine.
B) It specifically sets the number of justices at nine.
C) It suggests but does not mandate a Court of nine justices.
D) It does not indicate how large the Court should be.
E) It specifically places the matter in the hands of the House of Representatives.
Q3) Federal Courts do not issue _________ opinions.
A) advisory
B) diverse
C) unanimous
D) contentious
E) multiple
Q4) Supreme Court justices did not start serving long terms on the Court until the presidency of Andrew Jackson.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 17: Domestic Policy Domestic Policy
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Q1) Compared with European countries,environmental policymaking in the United States tends to be
A) less regional.
B) more centralized.
C) more adversarial.
D) less client centered.
E) more uniform.
Q2) Which of the following accurately reflects public opinion on Obamacare?
A) In 2009, people packed town halls to protest its enactment, and in 2017, people packed town halls to protest its repeal.
B) In 2009, people overwhelmingly favored its enactment, but by 2017, nearly everyone called for its repeal
C) In 2009, people overwhelmingly favored its enactment, and in 2017, people packed town halls to protest its repeal.
D) In 2009, people packed town halls to protest its enactment, and in 2017, people cheered for its repeal.
E) None of these are correct.
Q3) Identify and discuss the four types of politics based on benefits and cost.
Q4) Explain how the environmental movement was created by entrepreneurial politics.
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Chapter 18: Economic Policy Economic Policy
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Q1) According to the monetarist theory,inflation occurs when
A) government holds down interest rates.
B) there is too little money, and interest rates are low.
C) demand exceeds supply.
D) the budget deficit exceeds the gross national product (GNP).
E) the government prints too much money.
Q2) Until 1986,debates over taxes focused primarily on
A) government grants.
B) tariffs.
C) interest rates.
D) marginal tax rates.
E) deductions.
Q3) Keynes was skeptical of the notion that the market would automatically operate at a full-employment,low-inflation level.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A monetarist believes that inflation is caused by too little money chasing too many goods.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 19: Foreign and Military Policy Foreign and Military Policy
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Q1) Identify five reasons why cost-overruns are such an issue when it comes to military expenditures.
Q2) Summarize the major provisions of the War Powers Act.
Q3) The president's national security adviser and the National Security Council (NSC)
A) help the president coordinate the foreign policy bureaucracy.
B) control the State Department.
C) run the Defense Department.
D) attenuate the rivalries between the executive branch and Congress.
E) None of these are correct.
Q4) The president may negotiate treaties,but the Senate must ratify these by a majority vote.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Alexis de Tocqueville thought that the democratic qualities of the United States would handicap its ability to conduct foreign affairs.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Identify and discuss the four worldviews discussed in thisChapter.
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Chapter 20: American Democracy, Then
and Now
American Democracy, Then and Now
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Q1) Lyndon Johnson was able to get his Great Society programs through Congress because
A) most of the public favored the programs.
B) Democrats controlled both houses of Congress by large margins.
C) most Republicans worked with him on these issues.
D) he broke up the conservative coalition by convincing Southern Democrats to defect.
E) the federal government had surplus funds to be spent.
Q2) In which decade did TV first begin to shape the political agenda and possibly the types of candidates nominated?
A) 1940s
B) 1950s
C) 1960s
D) 1970s
E) 1980s
Q3) The Supreme Court initially prevented the government from levying an income tax.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Compare the presidency in the New System with that of the Old System.
Page 22
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