Principles of American Government
Textbook Exam Questions
Course Introduction
This course offers an in-depth exploration of the foundational principles and structures of the American government. Students will examine the historical context and philosophical ideas that shaped the United States Constitution, the three branches of government, the federal system, and the protection of individual rights. Through analysis of key documents, court cases, and contemporary political issues, students will develop an understanding of how American democracy functions, the roles and responsibilities of citizens, and the ongoing challenges facing the political system today.
Recommended Textbook
We The People An Introduction to American Government 10th Edition by Thomas Patterson
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Political Thinking and Political Culture: Becoming a
Responsible Citizen
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Q1) The United States has certain rules in place to keep politics within peaceful bounds.These rules include all of the following EXCEPT
A) autocracy.
B) democracy.
C) constitutionalism.
D) free markets.
E) None of these answers is correct.
Answer: A
Q2) How could one argue that America is not run by a small power elite?
Answer: One could argue that due to the diversity of group structures in America and the fierce competition over whose values will emerge victorious on any particular issue,it would be difficult for one homogeneous group to consistently control policies and all other competing political forces in the United States.Power in America is also dynamic; whereas once women and minorities were severely restricted from the exercise of power,many of those barriers have been removed,and the influence of women and minorities has grown considerably.
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3
Chapter 2: Constitutional Democracy: Promoting Liberty and Self-Government
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Q1) Where is the Bill of Rights found in the Constitution?
A) Article I, Section 8
B) Article II
C) the first ten amendments
D) amendments 17 through 26
E) Article III
Answer: C
Q2) A contemporary legislator who voted for a bill because of a belief in its benefit,even though his constituents back home overwhelmingly opposed the bill,would be performing the Edmund Burke role of
A) trustee.
B) delegate.
C) statesperson.
D) politician.
E) oversight.
Answer: A
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism: Forging a Nation
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Q1) What did Newt Gingrich declare about federalism in 1994?
A) that government had moved too far away from the federalism of the early twentieth century
B) that power was beginning to swing back to the federal government
C) that the 1960s-style federalism was dead
D) that federalism was the only system that could preserve the power of the states
E) that the federal government had betrayed the promise of states' rights in the Constitution
Answer: C
Q2) Describe the differences between a federal system of government and a unitary system.
Answer: The United States has a federal system of government,in which sovereign authority is divided between a national government and state/regional governments.In other words,federalism is a system where sovereignty,or ultimate governing authority,is divided between national and regional governing levels.In a unitary system,sovereignty is vested solely in the national government,and all subunits of that government have authority only to the degree that the national government grants it,which can also withdraw any such grant.
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Chapter 4: Civil Liberties: Protecting Individual Rights
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Q1) The Supreme Court's position on prior restraint of the press is that
A) national security needs are of highest priority.
B) only classified government documents are subject to prior restraint.
C) prior restraint can never be exercised by government.
D) prior restraint should apply only in rare circumstances, and it is better to hold the press responsible for what it has printed than to restrict what it may print.
E) prior restraint should be used fairly frequently in a democracy.
Q2) What is the greatest restriction on appeals in the United States?
A) the refusal by state appeals court judges to grant even a first appeal
B) a federal law that bars in most instances a second federal appeal by a state prison inmate
C) the lack of any formal right of appeal in the federal process
D) a federal law that bars a first federal appeal to persons convicted of homicides
E) the very low income of some convicted persons, which reduces their ability to appeal
Q3) What is meant by selective incorporation? Discuss the history of this process and its importance to the protection of individual rights.
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Chapter 5: Equal Rights: Struggling Toward Fairness
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Q1) According to Gunnar Myrdal,what is America's curse?
A) greed
B) racial discrimination
C) obesity
D) street violence
E) religious intolerance
Q2) Any law that attempts a racial or ethnic classification is subject to the
A) reasonable basis test.
B) strict scrutiny test.
C) intermediate scrutiny test.
D) precedent basis test.
E) suspect classification test.
Q3) Equality of result policies are primarily directed at ________ discriminatory effects.
A) de jure
B) de facto
C) religious
D) gender
E) due process
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Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization:
Shaping the Peoples
Voice
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Q1) Scholars have done the LEAST study into the political influence of ________ on American citizens.
A) religion
B) families
C) schools
D) media
E) peers
Q2) The process by which individuals acquire their political opinions is called
A) popular culture.
B) social communication.
C) socio-economic change.
D) political socialization.
E) political assimilation.
Q3) Discuss the general relationship between public opinion and the policy actions of government.
Q4) Define what is meant by a political ideology.Why is ideology important to consider when discussing the political thinking of the American people?
Q5) How informed is American public opinion? Explain.
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Chapter 7: Political Participation: Activating the Popular Will
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Q1) If Americans vote less than Europeans,why are they more likely to work in a political campaign than are citizens in Europe?
A) America's federal structure provides more campaign opportunities.
B) European candidates seldom need campaign workers.
C) Americans have more leisure time than Europeans.
D) U.S. candidates pay campaign workers, whereas European candidates do not.
E) Laws in some U.S. communities require citizens to participate in campaigns.
Q2) African American men technically gained suffrage with the passage of the ________ Amendment.
A) Fifteenth
B) Nineteenth
C) Twenty-first
D) Twenty-third
E) Twenty-sixth
Q3) Why are people of higher income and education levels more likely to be politically active?
Q4) Describe three systemic reasons why Americans vote at a lower rate than Western Europeans.
Q5) Give three reasons why some Americans vote regularly while others do not.
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Chapter 8: Political Parties, candidates, and Campaigns:
Defining the Voters Choice
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Q1) During the twentieth century,American parties lost their complete control over A) nominations.
B) financing.
C) platforms.
D) the staffing of government jobs.
E) All these answers are correct.
Q2) Which of the following is an indication of strong party loyalty?
A) split-ticket voting
B) an increase in independent voters
C) straight-ticket voting
D) the influence of short-term issues and candidates
E) a focus on candidate charisma and personal style
Q3) In 1912,a candidate for which minor party managed to earn more votes than one of his major party opponents?
A) Socialist
B) Prohibition
C) Bull Moose
D) Reform
E) Populist
Q4) How do European parties differ from American parties?
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Chapter 9: Interest Groups: Organizing for Influence
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Q1) Theodore Lowi's theory of interest-group liberalism
A) constitutes a partial and wrongful abdication by government of its authority over policy.
B) argues that lawmakers are rightly prevented from using government to promote group interests.
C) posits that interest groups result in an efficient use of society's resources.
D) describes the effect of groups on policy, resulting in a system of rule by majorities.
E) deals with the tendency of officials to support the policy demands of the interest group or groups that have a special stake in a policy.
Q2) Which of the following groups primarily uses litigation as its lobbying method?
A) NRA
B) ACLU
C) NAACP
D) AARP
E) NEA
Q3) Define economic groups.Identify four types of economic interest groups and the constituencies they serve.
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Chapter 10: The News Media: Communicating Political Images
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Q1) On-the-scene coverage of a natural disaster is an example of the press's role of A) watchdog.
B) signaler.
C) partisan advocate.
D) common-carrier.
E) interpreter.
Q2) How has the Internet affected the watchdog role of the media?
A) It has diluted the watchdog capacity with an overflow of opinions.
B) It has expanded the watchdog capacity of the media.
C) It has tainted the watchdog role with a partisan bent.
D) It has almost completely usurped the watchdog role from the traditional media outlets.
E) It has had little to no effect because it lacks the objective standards of traditional media outlets.
Q3) Which institution receives the most news coverage from the national press?
A) the presidency
B) U.S. House of Representatives
C) U.S. Senate
D) U.S. Supreme Court
E) the federal bureaucracy
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Congress: Balancing National Goals and Local
Interests
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Q1) Why is redistricting a problem for U.S.House members? Explain.
Q2) The second-most powerful federal official (after the president)is often said to be the
A) chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
B) president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate.
C) Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
D) chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
E) Senate majority leader.
Q3) Committee staffs within Congress
A) concentrate on constituency relations.
B) perform an almost entirely legislative function.
C) concentrate on public relations.
D) split their time between legislative functions and public relations.
E) are devoted to logistical functions and committee public relations.
Q4) What percentage of state legislators are women?
A) less than 5 percent
B) more than 20 percent
C) about 50 percent
D) about 60 percent
E) more than 40 percent
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Chapter 12: The Presidency: Leading the Nation
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Q1) Congress authorized an official impeachment investigation of
A) Andrew Johnson.
B) John Quincy Adams.
C) Theodore Roosevelt.
D) Warren Harding.
E) Calvin Coolidge.
Q2) In the modern era,the equivalent practice of using the presidency as a bully pulpit (Theodore Roosevelt)could best be summed up in the phrase,"________."
A) going public
B) spin control
C) air wars
D) lobbying the bureaucracy
E) manipulating the media
Q3) Discuss the relationship of presidential power to public support for the president,and explain why this relationship is both an asset and a liability for the president.
Q4) Identify the four systems of presidential selection that the United States has had during its history.What has been the overriding reason for the changes that have taken place?
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Page 14
Chapter 13: The Federal Bureaucracy: Administering the Government
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Q1) Compared to the president and Congress,the bureaucracy
A) is held in higher esteem by the public.
B) is authorized by a constitutional amendment rather than by the original Constitution.
C) has a more direct impact on the daily lives of Americans.
D) has changed very little during the nation's history.
E) is more easily controlled by the voters.
Q2) Bureaucrats tend to follow
A) the wishes of the president.
B) the wishes of Congress.
C) their own agency's point of view.
D) the expectations of the general public.
E) the wishes of federal judges.
Q3) Federal regulatory agencies have responsibility primarily in the area of
A) economic policy.
B) social welfare policy.
C) foreign and defense policy.
D) law enforcement policy.
E) environmental policy.
Q4) What is the "agency point of view"? Why is it important?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: The Federal Judicial System: Applying the Law
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Q1) Describe the relationship between the federal and the state court systems.
Q2) The number and types of lower federal courts is established by A) Congress.
B) the president.
C) the Constitution.
D) the Supreme Court.
E) the Justice Department.
Q3) Regarding Supreme Court procedures,which one of the following statements is NOT accurate?
A) When part of the majority, the chief justice decides which justice will write the majority opinion.
B) A concurring opinion is a view written by a justice who votes with the majority and agrees with its reasoning.
C) A dissenting opinion is an opinion of a judge who votes against the majority.
D) Attorneys who argue a case before the Supreme Court operate under strict time limits.
E) The Court has broad standards in choosing the cases it will hear.
Q4) What is meant by the term jurisdiction? What is the difference between original and appellate jurisdiction as it applies to the U.S.Supreme Court?
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Chapter 15: Economic and Environmental Policy:
Contributing to Prosperity
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Q1) The Federal Reserve controls the money supply through all of the following actions EXCEPT
A) raising the cash reserve that member banks are required to deposit with the Federal Reserve.
B) raising the interest rate that member banks are charged when they borrow from the Federal Reserve.
C) lowering the cash reserve that member banks are required to deposit with the Federal Reserve.
D) lowering the interest rate that member banks are charged when they borrow from the Federal Reserve.
E) lowering the tax rate on individuals.
Q2) Economic efficiency requires
A) that the free market not be regulated by government.
B) that the output of goods and services is the highest possible given the amount of input used to produce them.
C) the economy to be organized around large firms.
D) economic transactions to be fair to each party.
E) economic transactions to be equal to each party.
Q3) Describe Adam Smith's laissez-faire model of economics.
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Welfare and Education Policy: Providing for
Personal Security and Need
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Q1) Which of the following is a true statement about the visibility of poverty in American society today?
A) Media coverage often focuses on the plight of the poor in America.
B) In polls each year, Americans place the problem of poverty as the nation's top problem.
C) Poverty is less visible in the suburbs than in inner cities or rural areas.
D) Poverty has been virtually eliminated in the United States.
E) Poverty is most apparent in the case of elderly Americans.
Q2) Which of the following is true regarding income patterns in America?
A) The income of the average American family exceeds $100,000.
B) The top fifth of Americans in terms of income get nearly 90 percent of the total income in the nation.
C) The bottom fifth of Americans get slightly less than a twentieth of total national income.
D) The United States has the lowest amount of income inequality of any industrialized democracy.
E) None of these answers is correct.
Q3) Discuss what is meant by a public assistance program,and provide examples.
Q4) Discuss what is meant by a social insurance program and provide examples.
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Foreign Policy: Protecting the American Way
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Q1) The phrase that best describes the shift in America's world position from the pre- to the post-World War II eras is
A) internationalism to isolationism.
B) isolationism to internationalism.
C) containment to isolationism.
D) interventionism to isolationism.
E) None of these answers is correct.
Q2) Which of the following is the measure of success in an unconventional war?
A) winning the support of the people
B) territory gained
C) enemy soldiers killed
D) combat units destroyed
E) regime change
Q3) The European Recovery Plan is better known as the
A) Truman Doctrine.
B) Marshall Plan.
C) Carter Doctrine.
D) Clinton Manifesto.
E) Reagan Decree.
Q4) Identify the three broad goals of the United States in the global economy.
Page 19
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