Political Institutions and Behavior
Midterm Exam
Course Introduction
This course examines the structures and functions of political institutions and how they shape, and are shaped by, the behavior of individuals and groups within a society. Students will explore comparative perspectives on legislatures, executives, judiciaries, and electoral systems, analyzing how these institutions influence political outcomes and citizen participation. The course also investigates political culture, public opinion, voting behavior, and collective action, providing an integrated understanding of the dynamic relationship between institutions and political behavior in various political systems around the world.
Recommended Textbook
American Government Institutions and Policies 14th Edition by James Q. Wilson
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Study of American Government
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Sample Questions
Q1) In our political system, Aristotle's ideal of direct democracy has been most closely approximated by the
A) AFL-CIO.
B) U.S. House of Representatives.
C) New England town meeting.
D) Constitutional Convention.
E) southeastern United States before the Civil War.
Answer: C
Q2) In 1935, ____ of American families paid no federal income tax.
A) 4 percent
B) 90 percent
C) 96 percent
D) 80 percent
E) 1 percent
Answer: C
Q3) During the early 1930s, very few American families paid income tax.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 3
Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Q1) The nature of the amendment process has probably kept the amendments added to the U.S. Constitution
A) relatively simple in nature.
B) legally complex in nature.
C) relatively few in number.
D) extremely controversial.
E) somewhat redundant.
Answer: C
Q2) The Federalist papers were
A) written at the Constitutional Convention as a way to explain the work that was done there.
B) composed by Hamilton and Washington just before the meeting at Annapolis.
C) articles written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay to gain support for the Constitution.
D) adopted by the Constitutional Convention as a substitute for the Bill of Rights.
E) rejected by the Federalists as Antifederalist propaganda.
Answer: C
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Chapter 3: Federalism
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Sample Questions
Q1) Compare and contrast the following two kinds of federal controls on state governments: conditions of aid and mandates. Be sure to list examples of each.
Answer: -Conditions of aid are requirements placed on state governments when they accepted federal dollars. Examples are: Environmental impact studies, "prevailing wage" requirements, citizen participation, and nondiscriminatory in hiring. -Mandates are terms set by the federal government that states must meet whether or not they accepted federal dollars. Examples are: school-desegregation, Massachusetts hiring of firefighters, police brutality in Philadelphia, and planning in Chicago. Most federal mandates occur in civil rights and environmental issues.
Q2) In United States v. Morrison, the Supreme Court ruled that violence against women
A) was not an appropriate focus of punitive damages.
B) did not substantially affect interstate commerce.
C) could not be made the responsibility of distant relatives.
D) was nonjusticiable.
E) could not be regulated by law.
Answer: B
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Chapter 4: American Political Culture
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Q1) Which of the following statements concerning attitudes and opinions expressed by Americans in surveys is incorrect?
A) They have greater faith in political institutions than citizens of other nations.
B) They are more likely to be patriotic than citizens of other nations.
C) They have greater faith in private institutions than citizens of other nations.
D) Their trust in government has declined in recent years.
E) None of the above is True.
Q2) Discuss how religion has been an important factor in the history of American politics and its continued relevance to the political behavior of individuals and candidates.
Q3) In our society, government officials should be accountable to the people. This principle is known as
A) liberty.
B) equality.
C) civic duty.
D) democracy.
E) capitalism.
Q4) Compare and contrast political culture in America and in Japan.
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Chapter 5: Civil Liberties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Discuss the facts of the case and the importance of the Supreme Court's rule in in Mapp v. Ohio.
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 federal sedition laws were unconstitutional.
D) antiwar protesters could only distribute leaflets.
E) protesters could no longer peacefully assemble.
Q3) The First Amendment states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the "free exercise" of religion. It may, however,
A) make laws that impose a special burden on religion.
B) bind religions to laws that bind all others.
C) insist that church and state remain separate.
D) make laws respecting the establishment of a religion.
E) declare an official religion for ceremonial purposes.
Q4) Identify the three-pronged test that the Supreme Court has employed to assist in decision making for cases involving concerns about separation of church and state.
Q5) Discuss five key provisions of the USA Patriot Act.
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Chapter 6: Civil Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act granted amnesty and citizenship to illegal aliens who
A) received college diplomas.
B) remained employed for more than one year.
C) voted in all state and local elections.
D) resided continuously in this country since January 1, 1982.
E) worked in a job vital to the nation.
Q2) A 1992 Supreme Court decision reaffirmed the necessity of busing to achieve full school integration regardless of housing patterns.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Until 1967, 16 states outlawed marriages between whites and nonwhites.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In its 2013 State of Black America report, the National Urban League credited civil rights legislation for helping the black community make progress in education and standard of living, but the same report also listed a number of challenges still facing the community. Discuss these areas of progress and the continuing challenges.
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Chapter 7: Public Opinion
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Sample Questions
Q1) If properly conducted, a survey of public opinion can capture opinions of 300 million citizens by interviewing as few as __________ respondents.
A) 300
B) 500
C) 1,000
D) 1,500
E) 3,000
Q2) Explain why activists are much more likely to exhibit clear ideological consistency than the average member of the public.
Q3) Public policy is invariably consistent with public opinion.
A)True
B)False
Q4) U.S. Senators were not popularly elected until the __________ Amendment.
A) Fourteenth
B) Tenth
C) Sixteenth
D) Seventeenth
E) Nineteenth
Q5) What factors influence a person's political opinions (political socialization)?
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Chapter 8: Political Participation
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Sample
Questions
Q1) In the 2012 national election, in addition to voting in the ballot box, there were three other methods of voting used in many states. Identify those methods.
Q2) The first presidential elections in which all persons between the ages of 18 and 21 were able to vote were held in A) 1944.
B) 1956.
C) 1972.
D) 1984.
E) 1985.
Q3) Which of the following statements about U.S. voter participation in presidential elections is correct?
A) It increased sharply after the suffrage rights of women, blacks, and youths were protected.
B) It has remained steady since at least the 1950s.
C) It has declined since the latter part of the 1900s.
D) It rose steadily throughout the first half of the 1900s but has recently declined.
E) It has risen steadily since the campaign of Ralph Nader.
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Chapter 9: Political Parties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Ticket splitting was almost unheard of in the nineteenth century.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What are the four types of minor parties identified by the authors?
Q3) The 2012 election produced the following outcome:
A) Congress was controlled completely by Republicans, and the president was a Democrat.
B) Congress was split with the Republicans controlling the Senate and the Democrats controlling the House, and the president was a Democrat.
C) Congress was controlled completely by Democrats, and the president was a Democrat.
D) Congress was split with the Democrats controlling the Senate and the Republicans controlling the House, and the president was a Democrat.
E) None of the above is True.
Q4) Jefferson formed the first political party when he organized opposition against the policies of Hamilton.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain the ways that American parties differ from their European counterparts.
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Chapter 10: Elections and Campaigns
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Q1) The first real test of a candidate vying for the nomination comes in A) Florida.
B) California.
C) Pennsylvania.
D) Rhode Island.
E) Iowa.
Q2) Members of the House and Senate can remove fellow members by a __________ vote.
A) plurality
B) majority
C) two-thirds
D) three-fourths
E) unanimous
Q3) The campaign finance law created in the 1970s was the direct by-product of A) the Watergate scandal.
B) the passage of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment.
C) decreasing vote turnout.
D) wage and price controls.
E) riots in Chicago.
Q4) Explain the difference between position issues and valence issues. Summarize the trends regarding each in recent elections.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Interest Groups
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Q1) The text suggests that the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946
A) had considerable effect.
B) had a slight impact on lobbying activities.
C) had little practical effect.
D) was effective with respect to registration of lobbyists.
E) resulted in accurate reporting of interest-group finances.
Q2) Discuss interest groups in America, Great Britain, and Germany.
Q3) The lobbying firm, Cassidy and Associates, securing federal money for a university to construct a nutrition center is an example of A) a logroll.
B) a dovetail.
C) an earmark.
D) a scratched back.
E) a tag line.
Q4) Solidary incentives are the sense of pleasure, status, or companionship that arises out of meeting together in small groups.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What new regulations were applied to lobbyists as of March 2007?
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Chapter 12: The Media
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Q1) Which types of news stories cover events that a reporter seeks out because they are not covered by the press?
A) Blockbuster
B) Insider
C) Feature
D) Routine
E) Trade
Q2) When it comes to politics, Old Media is not being threatened by New Media.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In __________, the Court ruled that public officials may not win a libel suit unless they can prove that the statement was made knowing it to be False or with reckless disregard of its truth.
A) Near v. Minnesota
B) New York Times v. Sullivan
C) Miami Herald v. Tornillo
D) McCulloch v. Maryland
E) New York Times v. United States
Q4) Discuss how news stories differ in the opportunity for bias.
Q5) Discuss how the degree of competition in the media has changed.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Congress
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Q1) The original purpose of the General Accounting Office (GAO), now the Government Accountability Office, was to perform
A) research in the Library of Congress.
B) audits of financial records.
C) evaluations of technological advancements.
D) employment application evaluations.
E) audits of high-ranking military officers.
Q2) In Great Britain's parliamentary system, candidates for Parliament are selected by A) other members of Parliament, as in a private club.
B) the people, through primary elections.
C) delegates to the party conventions.
D) the party.
E) the prime minister.
Q3) The Congress is a unicameral institution.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Identify three major staff agencies in Congress. Explain their work.
Q5) Summarize the constitutional qualifications for members of the House and Senate.
Q6) Identify the six distinct stages in the history of the House of Representatives.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: The Presidency
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Q1) Which of the following statements about a president's serving more than two terms is correct?
A) It has been done by only one president.
B) It is neither prohibited nor encouraged by the U.S. Constitution.
C) It is illegal under Article II of the U.S. Constitution.
D) It has never been done by a president.
E) It has been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Q2) Identify the five principle agencies in the Executive Office.
Q3) According to presidential scholar Richard Neustadt, the president's most important audience is
A) heads of state from around the world.
B) fellow politicians in Washington, D.C.
C) party activists.
D) the public.
E) officeholders outside of D.C.
Q4) A president's popularity has no effect on how much of his program is passed by Congress.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain the constitutional roles of the vice president.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: The Bureaucracy
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Q1) Government-by-proxy is used to describe a government that is cutting key services.
A)True
B)False
Q2) When a law originating in a legislative committee specifies a certain sum of money, it is called a(n) __________ measure.
A) allocation
B) appropriation
C) monetary-enhancement
D) fiscal
E) authorization
Q3) The text refers to the Civil War as the "great watershed in bureaucratic development" because
A) citizens start to realize the importance of bureaucracy.
B) fighting the war led to the hiring of many new officials and the creation of new offices.
C) the Union had better bureaucrats than the Confederacy.
D) state governments were able to manage the growth in government from the war.
E) bureaucrats became popular among the people.
Q4) Compare the United States bureaucracy to the United Kingdom bureaucracy.
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Chapter 16: The Judiciary
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Questions
Q1) One unintended consequence of the Supreme Court's heavy caseload is an increase in the influence wielded by
A) the chief justice.
B) associate justices.
C) the attorney general.
D) the deputy attorney general.
E) law clerks.
Q2) Studies have shown the ideology of judges
A) determines behavior for most decisions.
B) does not entirely determine behavior.
C) is predictable based on the party of the president that nominated them.
D) is not well-known.
E) None of the above is True.
Q3) A remedy is a judicial order enforcing a right or redressing a wrong.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Marbury v. Madison helped clarified and enlarged the powers of the early Supreme Court.
A)True
B)False
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Domestic Policy
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Q1) In this decision, the Supreme Court ruled that EPA rules must be observed without regard to their cost or technological feasibility.
A) Union Electric Co. v. Environmental Protection Agency
B) Chevron v. National Resources Defense Council
C) Whitman v. American Truck Association
D) Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency
E) Gibbons v. Ogden
Q2) Identify the three largest social welfare programs as a percentage of the federal budget.
Q3) Medicaid was created during Franklin Roosevelt's administration.
A)True
B)False
Q4) One notable difference between the passage of Medicare (1965) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) was
A) the lack of bipartisan support for the 2010 Act.
B) the lack of bipartisan support for the 1965 Act.
C) the lack of media coverage given to the 2010 Act.
D) the lack of media coverage given to the 1965 Act.
E) the lack of support by Democrats for the 2010 Act.
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Chapter 18: Economic Policy
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Q1) If a tax is progressive,
A) the wealthiest individuals pay the lowest rate.
B) the wealthiest individuals pay the highest rate.
C) every taxpayer pays the same rate.
D) rates are lower at the lowest and highest income brackets.
E) rates are the highest for the middle class.
Q2) Republicans tend to support free trade, but George W. Bush imposed sharp increases in the taxes that must be paid on imported steel because
A) Congress pressured him to do so.
B) the CEA recommended that he do so.
C) other nations had done the same thing.
D) he wanted political support in states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania.
E) of a bargain with Democratic senators.
Q3) 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.
Q4) Discuss the difference between deficit and debt.
Page 20
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Chapter 19: Foreign and Military Policy
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Q1) Summarize the major provisions of the War Powers Act.
Q2) Which president was notable for suggesting that the world was, at last, "safe for democracy"?
A) Herbert Hoover
B) Woodrow Wilson
C) Franklin Roosevelt
D) Harry Truman
E) Dwight Eisenhower
Q3) In the early years of the republic, foreign policy was often made and almost always carried out by
A) the president.
B) Congress.
C) the secretary of state.
D) the U.S. Senate.
E) the Speaker of the House.
Q4) Explain what the "rally 'round the flag" effect involves and cite some recent examples and exceptions.
Q5) What are some examples of the majoritarian component of foreign policy?
Q6) Identify and discuss the four worldviews discussed in this chapter.
Q7) Discuss Tocqueville's opinion of conducting foreign policy in a democracy.
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Chapter 20: American Democracy, Then and Now
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Q1) Discuss how Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society ushered in the New System.
Q2) When the Supreme Court declares that a feature of the Bill of Rights is applicable to the states as well as the federal government, we say that feature has been A) excised.
B) truncated.
C) bifurcated.
D) redacted.
E) incorporated.
Q3) Under the Old System, power was somewhat centralized in the hands of A) party and Congressional leaders.
B) party activists.
C) interest group leaders.
D) voters in primary elections.
E) PACs.
Q4) Power was more decentralized under the Old System of American politics.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What are four consequences of the enlarged scope of governmental action?
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