Political Science I: American Government Review Questions
Course Introduction
Political Science I: American Government introduces students to the fundamental principles, structures, and functions of the United States government. The course explores the Constitution, federalism, civil liberties and rights, the roles of Congress, the Presidency, and the Supreme Court, as well as the influence of political parties, interest groups, public opinion, and the media. Through analysis of historical context and contemporary issues, students gain a comprehensive understanding of how American democracy operates and the various factors that shape political processes and policy-making.
Recommended Textbook
American Government Power and Purpose 15th Edition by Stephen Ansolabehere
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
17 Chapters
2398 Verified Questions
2398 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/2336
Page 2
Chapter 1: Five Principles of Politics
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
128 Verified Questions
128 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46415
Sample Questions
Q1) The policy principle holds that political outcomes are the products of individual preferences and institutional procedures.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) A large majority of U.S. citizens has favored mandatory background checks for firearms purchases for several years, but Congress has not enacted this into law. Which principle indicates that preferences (here, citizens' views on gun control) do not automatically translate into policy change but instead are the result of actors working within governing institutions?
A)rationality principle
B)collective action principle
C)policy principle
D)institution principle
Answer: C
Q3) Legislators typically make their decisions with forethought and calculation.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 3
Chapter 2: Constructing a Government: The Founding and the Constitution
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
145 Verified Questions
145 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46416
Sample Questions
Q1) In what ways did the new Constitution represent an improvement over the Articles of Confederation?
Answer: (1) The new Constitution delegated real power to the national government. Thus, the federal government was much better able to provide collective goods to states and citizens, such as the following:
a) military security against potential invasions or internal revolt
b) defense of U.S. merchant ships at sea
c) effective and coordinated diplomacy with other countries
d) a national postal service
e) better-coordinated domestic trade with uniform rules and weights and measures
(2) This new national government included independent executive and judicial branches. This provided a new source of quick action (the president) and oversight over the legislative branch.
(3) More broadly, the new national government effectively paired a larger grant of power to itself with multiple checks to prevent tyrannical use of this power. As a result, citizens were more secure from the abuses of government; they had previously been subject to potential abuse by state governments acting with little national oversight.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism and the Separation of Powers
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
134 Verified Questions
134 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46417
Sample Questions
Q1) Using the concept of path dependency, explain how contemporary attempts to adopt national policies are constrained by institutional decisions made by the Founders. Answer: The framers believed that agenda, decision, and veto powers should be dispersed among many different institutions. And because history matters and the 13 existing states already possessed significant autonomy when the Constitution was drafted, the framers had little choice but to relinquish considerable agenda, decision, and veto powers to them as well.
After federalism was established as a core principle of the Constitution, it constrained the ability of the central government to enact national laws in a variety of issue areas. These include, critically, civil rights, education, law enforcement, and health care. On one hand, this has allowed some states to move faster on civil rights than others (e.g., Wyoming's granting female suffrage in 1869 and Massachusetts's being one of the first states to allow same-sex marriage), but it also means that ensuring civil rights and equality for all can be difficult for the central government. The variety of state laws regulating health care adds complexity to national efforts to reform health policy.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 5
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
122 Verified Questions
122 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46418
Sample Questions
Q1) In the Supreme Court case Buckley v. Valeo, the Court declared that since campaign spending was not a form of speech, the First Amendment did not protect it.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The role of precedent in guiding and constraining Supreme Court decision making illustrates which of the five principles of politics?
A)rationality
B)collective action
C)institution
D)history
Q3) The exclusionary rule generally prevents prosecutors from using evidence collected without a legal search warrant in a court of law.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The Supreme Court decided in the Barron v. Baltimore case that states are prohibited from treating people as property.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 6
Chapter 5: Civil Rights
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
105 Verified Questions
105 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46419
Sample Questions
Q1) Which institution of the American political system best explains the ability of southern states to resist court-ordered desegregation following Brown v. Board of Education?
A)equal protection clause
B)federalism
C)checks and balances
D)separate but equal rule
Q2) Civil rights did not become a part of the Constitution until 1868 with the adoption of the __________ Amendment.
A)Twelfth
B)Fourteenth
C)Sixteenth
D)Seventeenth
Q3) Since the Fourteenth Amendment's ratification, how has the Supreme Court interpreted the amendment's guarantee of "equal protection of the laws" with respect to racial discrimination?
Q4) The Fourteenth Amendment made civil rights a part of the American Constitution.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Should affirmative action be continued? Why or why not?
Page 7
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 6: Congress: The First Branch
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
154 Verified Questions
154 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46420
Sample Questions
Q1) In recent years, how have congressional party leaders sought to augment their formal powers?
A)fundraising for members, including the use of leadership political action committees (PACs)
B)limiting campaign spending to focus resources on the administrative and intellectual core of the party organization
C)setting affirmative action quotas on their leadership and membership
D)encouraging members to neglect their constituencies
Q2) Which term describes the direct services and benefits that congressional representatives provide for their districts, such as appointing supporters to government offices or conferring grants and licenses to constituents?
A)patronage
B)incumbency
C)franking privilege
D)sponsorships
Q3) Under Senate rules, members have a virtually unlimited ability to propose amendments to a pending bill.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 8
Chapter 7: The Presidency As an Institution
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
160 Verified Questions
160 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46421
Sample Questions
Q1) Members of Congress are often certain about the president's policy preferences, and therefore avoid sending legislation to the president that will be vetoed.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Franklin Roosevelt's fireside chats explaining his policies over the radio are an example of what presidential tactic?
A)backdoor passing
B)whistle-stopping
C)back fencing
D)going public
Q3) The indirect method of electing the president has significantly dampened the power of most modern presidents.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The Constitution grants the power to declare war to
A)the president.
B)Congress.
C)the secretary of defense.
D)the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 9
Chapter 8: The Executive Branch: Bureaucracy in a Democracy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
147 Verified Questions
147 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46422
Sample Questions
Q1) "When created, bureaucracies assume a status of relative permanence, and future developments are shaped, as the history principle suggests, by these initial conditions." This point of view is most consistent with which of the following concepts?
A)principal-agent problems
B)path dependency
C)agency loss
D)coalitional drift
Q2) Once an agency has approved regulations to interpret a new law, those regulations remain in place until Congress rewrites the law.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A bureaucracy can be thought of as the agent in a principal-agent, with __________ as the principal.
A)U.S. citizens
B)the president and Congress
C)the news media
D)campaign donors
Q4) What motivates bureaucratic behavior?
Q5) Should bureaucracy be reduced? If so, how?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 10
Chapter 9: The Federal Courts
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
157 Verified Questions
157 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46423
Sample Questions
Q1) The U.S. Courts of Appeals are divided into three geographic circuits.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Rarely in American history have presidents been disappointed by the judges they have named to the bench.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following guiding legal doctrines is a Latin phrase for "let the decision stand?"
A)stare decisis
B)leonina societus
C)ex post facto
D)a writ of habeas corpus
Q4) Under which condition would a criminal case enter the realm of public law?
A)if the plaintiff appeals to a higher court
B)if the plaintiff waives the right to a jury trial
C)if the defendant is found not to have standing
D)if the defendant claims that constitutional rights were violated
Q5) In the United States, how do the courts work as political institutions?
Q6) How do presidents and Congress influence the Supreme Court's decision making?
Page 11
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 10: Public Opinion
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
143 Verified Questions
143 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46424
Sample Questions
Q1) Ballot initiatives are one way to reduce discrepancies between government policy and public opinion on an issue.
A)True
B)False
Q2) One explanation for the role of party identification in voting is psychological attachment, which means that
A)voters favor the party that best satisfies their ids.
B)parental influence and early presidential elections cause a lifelong loyalty to a particular party.
C)interest in politics stems from neuroses, with one party offering a comforting solution to the uncertainty of social life.
D)voters choose the party that best matches their own policy views.
Q3) What position should a liberal take on immigration? Should a liberal favor keeping America's borders open to poor people from all over the world or be concerned that America's open borders create a pool of surplus labor that permits giant corporations to drive down the wages of American workers? What role does ideology play in a citizen's opinion of issues like this?
Q4) What factors account for differences in public opinion?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 12
Chapter 11: Elections
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
163 Verified Questions
163 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46425
Sample Questions
Q1) Article I of the U.S. Constitution requires members of the U.S. House of Representatives to be elected from single-member districts.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act included a maximum limit on donations (indexed for inflation) from an individual citizen to a candidate's campaign.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In 1966, the state of Mississippi responded to the passage of the Voting Rights Act by dividing up a majority-black congressional district across three other congressional districts. This is an example of ___________________ based on race.
A)gerrymandering.
B)trimodal distribution.
C)filibustering.
D)segregation.
Q4) How does government regulate the electoral process?
Q5) Discuss the politics surrounding congressional redistricting.
Q6) Explain how the rules governing the electoral process help determine outcomes.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 13
Chapter 12: Political Parties
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
153 Verified Questions
153 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46426
Sample Questions
Q1) As part of its brand name, the national leadership of the Republican Party supports A)increases in social programs.
B)regulation of business and industry.
C)increased restrictions on abortions.
D)a more progressive tax system.
Q2) Political parties seek to influence the government.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The electoral structure of the United States creates incentives for rational politicians to join one of two major political parties.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What factors explain the weakening of party power in the American political system?
Q5) What is a pluralist view of parties?
A)There will always be at least two parties in American politics.
B)Parties need a lot of different money sources to compete in elections.
C)People develop party identification for all kinds of reasons.
D)Parties consist of many organized groups of citizens.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 14
Chapter 13: Groups and Interests
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
140 Verified Questions
140 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46427
Sample Questions
Q1) Does the Madisonian model ensure that all groups within a democratic political system are represented equitably and fairly? Why or why not?
Q2) Super PACs are nonprofit groups that spend money to influence politics but cannot donate to candidates for office.
A)True
B)False
Q3) When theorizing about social situations involving collective action, researchers often rely on the metaphor of the A)perplexed citizen.
B)prisoner's dilemma.
C)cowboy's quandary.
D)omnivore's dilemma.
Q4) The sharing of a commonly developed ideology with other group members is an example of __________ benefits.
A)solidary
B)material
C)informational
D)purposive
Q5) What strategies are available for interest groups to influence public policy?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 15
Chapter 14: The Media
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
136 Verified Questions
136 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46428
Sample Questions
Q1) The print media engage in very little actual reporting; they primarily cover stories that have been broken or initially reported by the broadcast media.
A)True
B)False
Q2) How do the media select its agenda of issues and topics?
Q3) The print media provide more detailed and complete information and offer a better context for analysis than the broadcast media.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of television, newspapers, radio, and the Internet in terms of the quantity and quality of the information they provide about public affairs and politics. Do the media do a good job of informing the public about politics?
Q5) Infotainment programs such as The Daily Show provide viewers with no correct substantive information.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What are the sources of media power?
Q7) To what extent can the media influence government and elected officials?
Page 16
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 15: Economic Policy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
144 Verified Questions
144 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46429
Sample Questions
Q1) Republicans and Democrats tend to have the same federal budgetary priorities.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The income tax was added to the Constitution with the Twenty-Seventh Amendment.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The swift passage of a $700 billion bill to bail out failing financial corporations in 2008 was the result of politicians' career ambitions (mixed with concern for the nation) operating through the legislative process. Which of the five principles of politics did this illustrate?
A)history principle
B)collective action principle
C)institution principle
D)policy principle
Q4) If businesses were allowed to compete without government regulation, monopolies
A)would be prevented by entrepreneurs starting new businesses.
B)would develop in several market sectors.
C)would provide lower prices than competing firms.
D)would invest heavily in worker training programs.
Q5) How does government make a market economy possible?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 17
Chapter 16: Social Policy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
125 Verified Questions
125 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46430
Sample Questions
Q1) The Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017 followed a well-established pattern of politicians seeking political gain by making major changes in social welfare programs.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The earned income tax credit provides supplemental income to all Americans over age 65.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In most states, it is easier to qualify for TANF benefits than for the federal home mortgage interest deduction.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The federal tax code is only used to raise revenue, not to make social policy.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is only available to Americans over the age of 65.
A)True
B)False
Page 18
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 17: Foreign Policy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
142 Verified Questions
142 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/46431
Sample Questions
Q1) In the post-Cold War era, non-state actors have generally been deterred from action against the United States by the same means that deter nation-state actors.
A)True
B)False
Q2) This type of interest group uses high-profile protests to influence international politics?
A)national origin
B)trade
C)environmental
D)economic
Q3) In 2017, President Donald Trump followed through on his campaign pledge to withdraw from this pending trade agreement negotiated by the Obama administration?
A)North American Free Trade Agreement
B)Central American Free Trade Agreement
C)North Atlantic Treaty Organization
D)Trans-Pacific Partnership
Q4) How did the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, change U.S. foreign policy?
Q5) How did the Cold War change the conduct of American foreign policy?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 19