Introduction to Political Science Study Guide Questions
Course Introduction
Introduction to Political Science offers a comprehensive overview of the fundamental concepts, theories, and structures that shape political systems and governance around the world. This course examines the nature of politics, various forms of government, the roles of institutions, political behavior, public policies, and the impact of political ideologies and culture. Students will explore key topics such as democracy, authoritarianism, power dynamics, the function of law, and patterns of participation, gaining insight into both historical and contemporary issues in national and international contexts. The course also develops critical thinking and analytical skills through discussions, case studies, and comparative analysis of political systems.
Recommended Textbook Struggle for Democracy 2012 Election Edition 11th Edition by Edward S. Greenberg
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Chapter 1: Democracy and American Politics
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Q1) The form of political decision making in which policies are decided on the basis of what a majority of the people want is known as __________.
Answer: majority rule
Q2) Political linkages are particularly suited to which of the following?
A) communicating the most fundamental and enduring factors that influence politics
B) transmitting the desires of people to representatives in government
C) overseeing the policymaking activities of Congress and the presidency
D) acting on behalf of the government
E) influencing the distribution of income and wealth in society
Answer: B
Q3) What constitutes government action?
A) public officials that have formal, legal responsibility in making policy
B) political actors that do not hold official public office
C) institutions that transmit preferences to elected officials
D) what issues become important in politics and government
E) what government does
Answer: E
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Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Q1) Which of the following is a method of ratification for a constitutional amendment?
A) by three-fourths of the state legislatures
B) by three-fourths of the state governors
C) by three-fourths of voting-age citizens
D) by half of the state legislatures
E) by half of the state governors
Answer: A
Q2) The Constitution was formally approved in 1776.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Which of the following would the Framers have seen as a serious encroachment on controls to protect against majority rule?
A) abolishment of the Electoral College
B) expansion of the use of executive privilege
C) repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment
D) the Supreme Court ruling in Bush v. Gore
E) voter ID laws and other voter suppression efforts
Answer: A
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism: States and Nation
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Q1) On which of the following clauses did President Obama and Democratic leaders base the Affordable Care Act?
A) commerce
B) due process
C) equal protection
D) full faith and credit
E) privileges and immunities
Answer: A
Q2) __________ is a system under which significant government powers are divided between the central government and smaller units, such as states or provinces.
Answer: Federalism
Q3) Before the ratification of the Constitution, the United States was organized as
A) colonies
B) a confederation
C) a monarchy
D) an oligarchy
E) a conglomerate
Answer: B
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Page 5
Chapter 4: The Structural Foundations of American
Government and Politics
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Q1) The "By the Numbers" feature presents two ways to measure income inequality. How does inequality in the United States compare with inequality in other democracies around the world?
A) The United States ranks at about the middle of the pack in terms of inequality. While the problem does not seem to be getting worse, it is not getting better either.
B) The United States ranks very high on measures of inequality and the problem seems to be getting worse.
C) The United States ranks very high on measures of inequality but the problem seems to be getting better.
D) The United States ranks very low on measures on inequality and the problem seems to be getting better.
E) The United States ranks very low on measures on inequality but the problem seems to be getting worse.
Q2) Describe the roles that sourcing, outsourcing, and globalization played in the construction of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.
Q3) __________ is an economic system in which most productive assets are in private rather than public hands.
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Page 6
Chapter 5: Public Opinion
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Q1) You are a consultant for a large public opinion polling organization, advising several potential candidates for elective office about the political opinions and attitudes of African Americans. In your role, which of the following points are you least likely to make in your discussions with these potential officeholders?
A) that the racial divide between black and white Americans looms large, particularly with respect to what role government should play in helping people and making America more equal
B) that the racial divide between black and white Americans is narrowing, particularly with respect to what role government should play in helping people and making America more equal
C) that partisanship is one important area where African Americans differ from whites
D) that, in 2011, African Americans were the most solidly Democratic of any group in the population
E) that African Americans more confident in the country and their place in it, since the 2008 election of Barack Obama
Q2) Compare and contrast the different agents of political socialization.
Q3) How do pollsters assess the general mood of the country?
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Page 7
Chapter 6: The News Media
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Q1) Despite the dramatic growth of __________, research suggests that __________ remain(s) at the center of American news operations.
Q2) How might media managers choose to cover a story about a human rights tragedy in order to get politicians to take action?
A) Focus on matters that are of most concern to those who are not in power but rather vying for power.
B) Incorporate as much infotainment as possible.
C) Highlight the tragedy in real time.
D) Focus on stories that throw off the relative power balance between Democrats and Republicans in Washington.
E) Run retrospectives on related events from the past.
Q3) How must U.S. citizens get information and politics and policies?
A) conversations with co-workers
B) political party mailing lists
C) higher education initiatives
D) the different news media
E) from special interests
Q4) Framing provides a context for ___________ stories.
Q5) The Founders fully subscribed to the idea that a free press was __________.
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Chapter 7: Interest Groups and Business Organizations
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Q1) Which of the following is an example of "the outside game"?
A) earmarking
B) filing an amicus curiae brief
C) lobbying Congress
D) lobbying the executive branch
E) organizing the district
Q2) A(n) __________ refers to an organization that seeks to influence public policy.
A) corporation
B) interest group
C) institute
D) faction
E) administration
Q3) In recent years, political action committees (PACs) have declined as vehicles for campaign contributions.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What types of organizations engage in grassroots/outside lobbying, and why do they do so? Why is grassroots lobbying effective?
Q5) __________ are organizations that seek to influence public policy.
Q6) Discuss the role of interest groups in elections.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Social Movements
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Q1) What major crisis, combined with growing social movements, created the basis for laws protecting the rights of working people?
A) World War I
B) World War II
C) Occupy Wall Street
D) the Great Depression
E) AIDS epidemic
Q2) What amendment's passage was a main objective of the women's movement, which ultimately did not succeed?
A) Women's Rights Amendment
B) Civil Rights Amendment
C) Equal Rights Amendment
D) Voting Rights for Women Amendment
E) Women's Fair Labor Amendment
Q3) Political leaders joined the civil rights movement because they hoped to maintain support in the international community in the U.S. struggle against the Soviet Union.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Define political efficacy and explain why it is important to social movements.
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Chapter 9: Political Parties
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Q1) Over which of the following do official party organizations have no control?
A) national party conventions
B) nomination of candidates
C) national party committees
D) direct mail campaigns
E) state party organizations
Q2) The __________ is the formal governing body of both major parties.
A) national party assembly
B) national party committee
C) national party convention
D) national party delegation
E) national party legislature
Q3) The form of change in which a dominant party declines and is replaced by another dominant party is called dealignment.
A)True
B)False
Q4) When did the "parties at war" era begin, and what changes have occurred in this era? Do you think the changes have reflected the attitudes and views of the American public?
Q5) Why have minor parties been so unsuccessful in U.S. politics?
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Chapter 10: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
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Q1) What happens in France if no candidate wins a majority in the first round of voting for president?
A) The election is declared null and the current president continues to serve.
B) A "run-off" election is held among the top three vote-getters.
C) The candidate who gets a majority in the French College d'Electors vote wins.
D) Parties nominate new candidates and the campaign begins all over again.
E) A second election is held.
Q2) Contributions to and spending by candidate and party committees that fall under the jurisdiction of the Federal Election Commission are known as __________.
A) soft money
B) hard money
C) discretionary funds
D) matching funds
E) public funds
Q3) An individual state is unlikely to abandon its "winner-take-all" Electoral College system because doing so would not be in the state's short-term best interest.
A)True
B)False
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Congress
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Q1) Bills are scheduled for floor debate in the Senate not by a powerful committee but by __________, meaning that business can be blocked by a single dissenter.
A) discharge petition
B) open rule
C) restricted rule
D) unanimous consent
E) unrestricted rule
Q2) Which kind of committee can be convened to conduct a special investigation in the event of a major scandal, such as the Watergate scandal and the Iran-Contra affair?
A) conference
B) investigative
C) joint
D) select
E) standing
Q3) Political rhetoric in campaigns often includes a challenger attempting to disparage the incumbent by labeling him or her a "Washington insider." Does being an incumbent make a politician more or less effective or corrupt? Be sure to weigh the pros and cons of incumbency on politicians and society.
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Chapter 12: The Presidency
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Q1) How has the democratization of the president's office since the Constitution was written created a mandate for the president?
A) Since public approval has become much more important to modern presidents, most presidents rely on the mandate and the polls to measure their popularity and increase their approval ratings.
B) The presidential mandate claimed by modern presidents makes it easier for them to get their choices of Supreme Court justices approved than in the past.
C) Because Congress sees the president as holding a mandate of the people, the legislators do not block the president's agenda as vehemently as legislators in the past did.
D) The president's mandate consists of the modern perception among members of Congress that, by virtue of having been elected, the president has the ability to manage the bureaucracy.
E) Because modern presidents are more dependent on the people for election and more involved in policy making than early presidents, they are prone to claim the mandate of the people when governing.
Q2) Describe the informal powers of the president.
Q3) What is a veto? Can a veto be overridden?
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Chapter 13: The Executive Branch
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Q1) The largest organizational unit in the federal bureaucracy is a(n) __________.
A) agency
B) bureau
C) commission
D) corporation
E) department
Q2) Political appointees in the federal bureaucracy __________.
A) may remain in office until a new party majority in Congress
B) may remain in office until a new president is elected
C) often remain in office despite political changes
D) serve fixed terms of office lasting two years
E) serve fixed terms of office lasting four years
Q3) Which of Max Weber's characteristics of bureaucracy is illustrated by a government agency in which the greatest authority resides with the agency head?
A) administrative discretion
B) the merit principle
C) division of labor/task specialization
D) hierarchy/chain of command
E) goal orientation
Q4) Critique or defend the constitutional doctrine known as the unitary executive.
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Chapter 14: The Courts
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Q1) In a process known as __________, presidents generally allow senators from the state in which a judicial vacancy occurs to block the nomination.
A) advice and consent
B) presidential deference
C) judicial review
D) senatorial courtesy
E) Senate confirmation
Q2) If Court justices have become more willing to monitor the activities of other governmental entities, they likely believe in exercising which of the following?
A) judicial restraint
B) judicial conservatism
C) judicial originalism
D) judicial review
E) judicial construction
Q3) The United States has a dual system of justice.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The circuit courts hear appeals from the __________ courts.
Q5) Describe the difference between civil and criminal law.
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Chapter 15: Civil Liberties: the Struggle for Freedom
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Q1) Article I of the Constitution prohibits which of the following, which make an act punishable as a crime even if the act was legal when it was committed?
A) writs of habeas corpus
B) bills of attainder
C) ex post facto laws
D) procedural guarantees
E) prior restraints
Q2) Government regulation of political speech is subject to ordinary scrutiny.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Under the Lemon test, the government must not foster _____________ between the state and religion.
Q4) The Constitution protects against search of an individual's person, home, or vehicle without __________.
A) due process
B) permission
C) a warrant
D) compensation
E) a good reason
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Chapter 16: Civil Rights: the Struggle for Political Equality
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Q1) The Fifteenth Amendment guarantees citizens the right to vote regardless of
A) race
B) gender
C) age
D) property ownership
E) involvement in insurrection
Q2) What are the two main reasons why public schools have partially resegregated in recent years? Do you find this trend troubling? Why or why not?
Q3) The __________ is the government agency that hears complaints filed by those who believe they have been sexually harassed at work.
Q4) The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is most likely to fight to reduce which of the following?
A) racism
B) affirmative action
C) sexism
D) sodomy
E) job training programs
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Chapter 17: Domestic Policies
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Q1) ___________ programs are welfare programs like Temporary Assistance to Needy Families that provide assistance to those who lack financial resources.
Q2) Senior citizens are likely to be concerned about potential cuts to the medical program known as ___________.
Q3) If all citizens who are 65 years and older are eligible for Medicare, but only some citizens are eligible for Medicaid because they lack certain resources, which of the following is also true?
A) Both Medicare and Medicaid are principally retirement programs.
B) Both Medicare and Medicaid are means-tested programs.
C) Medicare is an entitlement program, but Medicaid is a means-tested program.
D) Medicare is a means-tested program, but Medicaid is an entitlement program.
E) Medicare and Medicaid have been replaced by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
Q4) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families provides funds for families in need of financial assistance. Therefore, it is considered a means-tested program.
A)True
B)False
Q5) How has welfare been restricted in the past two decades?
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Chapter 18: Foreign Policy and National Defense
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Q1) Given the size of its economy and increased globalization, U.S. foreign policy toward __________ is motivated primarily by trade policy.
Q2) The secretary of state spearheads U.S. diplomatic efforts on behalf of the president.
A)True B)False
Q3) Why is it easier for the president to influence foreign and defense policy than it is for Congress to do so?
A) The president has a larger group of foreign and defense policy advisors.
B) The president has unlimited appropriations for foreign and defense policy.
C) The president has the power to approve treaties.
D) The president can pass laws that require Congress to act.
E) The president cannot use the military without prior approval from Congress.
Q4) Outline a possible diplomatic solution to a foreign policy crisis involving North Korea's nuclear program. How difficult would it be for the United States and North Korea to reach such a solution?
Q5) The George W. Bush administration's stated reason for __________ was the danger posed by weapons of mass destruction.
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