Political Processes in the United States Exam Questions
Course Introduction
This course offers a comprehensive examination of the key political processes shaping the United States, including the functioning of federal, state, and local governments. Students analyze the roles of political parties, interest groups, the media, and public opinion in influencing policy and elections. The course explores the development and dynamics of the American electoral system, campaign strategies, and the impact of political institutions on democratic participation and representation. Through historical context and contemporary case studies, students gain insight into the complex interplay between citizens, policymakers, and governing bodies within the US political framework.
Recommended Textbook Struggle for Democracy 11th Edition by Benjamin I. Page
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Democracy and American Politics
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Q1) 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
Q2) Are the low levels of voter turnout in American elections an indication that popular sovereignty does not really exist in the United States? Why or why not?
Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Indicate that the idea behind popular sovereignty is that the power resides with the people.
2. Explain how low levels of turnout undermine popular sovereignty because many people do not vote. Accordingly, power may be in the hands of the few, rather than the many.
3. Discuss how despite these limitations, other forms of participation-joining groups, working on campaigns, participating in protests-might increase popular sovereignty.
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3
Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Q1) __________ is a political doctrine advocating limited government based on popular consent.
Answer: Republicanism
Q2) The 2012 Supreme Court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) illustrated the political nature of __________, the power to declare the actions of other branches of government unconstitutional.
Answer: judicial review
Q3) The Anti-Federalists strongly supported the Bill of Rights.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Which Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence?
A) Second
B) Third
C) Fourth
D) Fifth
E) Tenth
Answer: A
Q5) The Constitution has been amended __________ times.
Answer: twenty-seven
Page 4
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Chapter 3: Federalism: States and Nation
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Q1) Explain how the federal government uses federal funding to indirectly impose its will upon the states.
Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Describe fiscal federalism.
2. Define types of federal funding to the states and the ways in which the type of funding influences the amount of control the federal government has over the actions of states receiving the money.
Q2) The power to regulate commerce within a state belongs to the __________ government(s).
Answer: state
Q3) Describe the primary strengths of a federal system.
Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Explain that a federal system controls tyranny by decentralizing power.
2. Explain that a federal system allows for local solutions to national problems.
Q4) Lyndon Johnson's __________ program aimed to alleviate poverty and empower the poor and racial minorities.
Answer: Great Society
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5
Chapter 4: The Structural Foundations of American
Government and Politics
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Q1) The study of population characteristics in terms age, education, religion, and occupation is called __________.
A) cultural studies
B) demography
C) geography
D) nativism
E) social studies
Q2) To build the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing __________.
A) contained costs by avoiding unionized labor
B) partnered with other firms to share rewards and risks
C) promised to use American workers only
D) renegotiated union contracts to keep production at home
E) used tried-and-true materials and production processes
Q3) On the eve of the presidential campaign in 2011, polls showed strong support for the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street agendas, especially from middle-class, middle-aged men.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are Americans' concerns about outsourcing? Are they justified?
Q5) What kinds of challenges does globalization pose for labor unions?
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Chapter 5: Public Opinion
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Q1) Of the following, which would political scientists consider least likely to be an agent of political socialization?
A) a college education
B) popular culture
C) school
D) family
E) intelligence
Q2) Which type of survey question is best suited to addressing concerns about errors in public opinion polling resulting from difficulty in measuring intensity?
A) questions with simple yes-or-no options
B) questions with approve-or-disapprove options
C) questions with five to seven options, ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree
D) questions with interviewee-bias measures built in
E) questions with demographic-information measures built in
Q3) The family, popular culture, and schools all serve as important agents of
Q4) Most Americans share certain __________ about the nature of human beings, society, and the political order.
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7
Chapter 6: The News Media
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Q1) 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.
Q2) Choose the statement that best illustrates who determines newsworthiness.
A) Editors make quick judgments about what their audiences and employers want.
B) Owners decide what the most important news stories are relative to the national interest.
C) Investigative reporters make the calls on what to print as they are most highly paid.
D) Art departments choose to publish the stories with the most visuals.
E) Politicians put pressure on corporate owners of news outlets about what to print.
Q3) Most large media outlets are owned by __________.
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Interest Groups and Business Organizations
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Q1) You are the leader of an environmental organization working to address the problem of climate change. Given the free rider problem, what would be the most effective way to get others to join your cause?
A) Describe the harmful consequences of global warming.
B) Explain how future generations will benefit from enacting climate change legislation.
C) Offer an incentive, such as a t-shirt, to those who join the campaign.
D) Publicly criticize those who don't join the campaign.
E) Circulate a petition on the Internet.
Q2) What is a political action committee (PAC)?
A) an organization within a political party that coordinates campaign events
B) an organizations that focuses on grassroots/outside lobbying
C) an organization that conducts voter registration drives
D) an organization that solicits campaign contributions and distributes them to political candidates
E) an organization within a political party that creates and runs campaign advertisements
Q3) An interest group holding a demonstration outside the White House is an example of
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Chapter 8: Social Movements
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Q1) In the sense of the definition "social movements are the instruments of outsiders," how did women's rights, civil rights, religious fundamentalist, and pro-immigration activists make the political climate more democratic?
A) by encouraging participation
B) by overcoming political inequality
C) by creating new majorities
D) by overcoming constitutional limitations on change
E) by organizing violent protests
Q2) Explain how social movements affect democracy and explain how the women's movement and the civil rights movement have affected democracy.
Q3) Which term refers to the number of groups involved in a political conflict?
A) mobilization
B) scope
C) majoritarian
D) collective bargaining
E) power
Q4) Explain the balance between the role of social movements and democracy. In what democratic circumstances would social movements be unnecessary, necessary, valuable, important, dangerous, etc.?
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Chapter 9: Political Parties
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Q1) Which of the following combine both social and economic dimensions and hold that the federal government should play a very small role in economic regulation and social justice?
A) moderates
B) independents
C) conservatives
D) leaners
E) liberals
Q2) Tea Party candidates running on the Republican ticket in 2010 demonstrate Duverger's law: that minor parties in a first-past-the-post system will usually converge with a major party.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The years 1860-1928 saw the ascendency of which party?
A) Democratic-Republicans
B) Democrats
C) Federalists
D) Republicans
E) Whigs
Q4) The __________ coalition began to slowly disintegrate in the 1968 election.
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Chapter 10: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
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Q1) Why is door-to-door canvassing effective?
Q2) A gathering of delegates who nominate a party's presidential candidate is called a
A) party convention
B) electoral convention
C) caucus convention
D) caucus election
E) party election
Q3) Researchers suggest that voter turnout is low because ballots are too __________.
A) short
B) irrelevant
C) biased
D) complex
E) inconsistent
Q4) Most serious candidates for the presidency in recent elections have elected not to use funds from the public campaign finance system.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Initiatives are measures placed on the ballot by __________.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Congress
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Q1) Senators with six-year terms face the electorate less often than members of the House, so they are generally freer than representatives to assume the delegate style of representation.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Analyze the types of committees that operate in Congress and describe the purposes served by each type of committee. Then discuss how membership on committees is distributed between Republicans and Democrats.
Q3) What best explains the overwhelming advantage incumbents possess in seeking reelection over opposition candidates?
A) additional financial support from constituent taxes
B) additional financial support from the federal government campaign fund
C) demonstrated ability to lead and public record of votes
D) name recognition, access to media, and franking privilege
E) name recognition and access to district taxes
Q4) Explain the purpose, process, and potential problems associated with redistricting. Describe attempts by states and the federal government to solve redistricting problems. Were these solutions effective?
Q5) After the Speaker, the next most powerful person in the House is the __________.
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Chapter 12: The Presidency
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Q1) Compare the White House staff and the Cabinet.
Q2) Describe the role of the president as commander in chief. Include what limitations the president has in this role.
Q3) Franklin D. Roosevelt's __________ enacted programs such as Social Security and commissions to regulate aspects of business such as the stock market.
Q4) What distinguishes modern presidents from early presidents?
A) Modern presidents are much more liberal than early presidents.
B) Modern presidents are much less active in the formulation of policy than early presidents.
C) Modern presidents are much more active in the formulation of policy than early presidents.
D) Modern presidents are much less prone to engage in international conflicts than early presidents.
E) Modern presidents are much more conservative than early presidents.
Q5) Describe the major ways in which the presidency has changed since the beginning of the twentieth century. Be sure to include a description of the changes and the reasons why these changes occurred. Include a conclusion to summarize your key points.
Q6) What makes a great/successful president?
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Chapter 13: The Executive Branch
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Q1) The federal bureaucracy consists of the departments, agencies, and offices within the __________that perform the functions of government.
Q2) Congress and the president share which of the following powers over agencies and departments in the federal bureaucracy?
A) the power to influence budgets
B) the power to issue executive orders
C) the power to sign executive agreements
D) the power to hold oversight hearings
E) the power to use inspectors general
Q3) How are independent regulatory commissions similar to independent executive agencies?
A) Both are headed by a single administrator.
B) Both are part of the president's Cabinet.
C) Both operate outside of executive department control.
D) Both are allowed to charge for their services.
E) Both perform activities that private investors cannot.
Q4) If a Cabinet department is not implementing a policy supported by the president, what tools can the President use to influence the department?
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Chapter 14: The Courts
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Q1) A court that hears and weighs evidence in order to reach the first decision in a civil or criminal case is a court of __________ jurisdiction.
A) appellate
B) constitutional
C) trial
D) original
E) mandatory
Q2) For a case to be heard in the Supreme Court, a minimum of how many justices must vote to hear the case?
A) one
B) four
C) five
D) nine
E) six
Q3) Congress has not reorganized the federal courts since the Judiciary Act of 1789.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Explain the significance of Marbury v. Madison.
Q5) Describe the difference between original and appellate jurisdiction.
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Chapter 15: Civil Liberties: the Struggle for Freedom
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Q1) Which of the following could pass muster and not be considered obscenity under the Roth test?
A) child pornography
B) nude images
C) film
D) hardcore pornography
E) profane language
Q2) Which of the following considerably narrowed the exclusionary rule?
A) harmless error rule
B) closed container rule
C) inevitable discovery rule
D) confidential informant rule
E) illegal substance rule
Q3) The USA Patriot Act enhances the government's ability to do which of the following?
A) examine private records
B) take personal property
C) imprison citizens without trial
D) indict foreign enemies
E) control public schooling
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Page 17
Chapter 16: Civil Rights: the Struggle for Political Equality
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Q1) Which of the following is an accurate statement about the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy?
A) Barack Obama initiated the policy as a goodwill gesture to the gay and lesbian community.
B) It prevented gays and lesbians from serving in the military.
C) It required gay and lesbian soldiers to keep quiet about their sexual orientation.
D) It prevented the military from discharging gay and lesbian soldiers.
E) It prohibited gay and heterosexual soldiers from discussing their sexual activity.
Q2) Because of the Supreme Court's decision in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, an affirmative action program that uses racial __________ would likely be deemed unconstitutional.
Q3) Which of these does the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ban?
A) poll taxes and grandfather clauses
B) discrimination in public accommodations
C) integration in public transportation
D) discrimination based on sexual orientation
E) nonviolent direct action
Q4) Jim Crow laws required __________ of African Americans and whites.
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Page 18
Chapter 17: Domestic Policies
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Q1) Which of the following entities is responsible for setting interest rates in the United States?
A) the Congress
B) the Congressional Budget Office
C) the Executive Office of the President
D) the Federal Reserve Board
E) the Office of Management and Budget
Q2) Which of the following best reflects the current Republican view regarding national involvement in ensuring health care coverage?
A) Republicans have called for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare.
B) Republicans have called for improvements to the Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare.
C) Republicans intend to replace the Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare, with a single-payer system.
D) Republicans have avoided taking a position on health care.
E) Republicans were initially against the Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare, but they now support it.
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Chapter 18: Foreign Policy and National Defense
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Q1) The failure of the U.S. government to notice the developing threat to American interests posed by a new terrorist organization would suggest that the intelligence community is not doing a good job.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The 2003 war in Iraq was the United States' most immediate and direct response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What are three ways in which Congress can exercise influence over the president's foreign policy?
Q4) After World War II, under American leadership, the most important trading nations adopted the __________, an agreement designed to lower, then eliminate, tariffs on most traded goods and to end nontariff trade restrictions as well.
Q5) Terrorism is a technique used to effect political change by instilling __________ among the general public.
Q6) The George W. Bush administration's stated reason for __________ was the danger posed by weapons of mass destruction.
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