U.S. Government and Politics Exam Bank
Course Introduction
This course provides an in-depth exploration of the institutions, processes, and actors that shape the United States government and political system. Students will examine the constitutional framework, the roles and powers of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and the federal-state relationship. The course also covers political behavior, public opinion, political parties, elections, interest groups, and the impact of the media. Emphasis is placed on understanding policy-making, civil liberties, and civil rights, as well as current issues and debates that influence American governance.
Recommended Textbook
Politics in America 2014 Elections and Updates Edition 10th Edition by Thomas R. Dye
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Chapter 1: Politics: Who Gets What,When and How 1
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Q1) Which of the following is the closest approximation to direct democracy in the United States?
A)members of Congress holding meetings in their districts
B)numerous presidential candidate debates
C)the president consulting with Congress
D)traditional New England town meetings
Answer: D
Q2) Only governments use force.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) A government that is itself restrained by law is called __________.
A)a limited government
B)totalitarianism
C)a direct democracy
D)authoritarianism
Answer: A
Q4) The meaning of the word __________ is "rule by the many."
Answer: democracy
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Chapter 2: Political Culture: Ideas in Conflict
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Q1) Why has the collapse of communism been called the "end of history"?
Answer: An ideal response will:
1.Explain that the collapse of communism symbolized a movement toward free markets and democracy throughout the world.
2.Discuss how the "end of history" refers to a new world order that is not determined by the ideological struggles among democracy,fascism,and communism.This may include a discussion about the clash of civilizations in the twenty-first century or an elaboration on how the "end of history" changes international relations.
Q2) How does the text define subcultures?
A)Subcultures are created when political conflict arises.
B)Subcultures are groups that form outside of the public limelight.
C)Subcultures are expressions of the American Dream.
D)Subcultures are variations on the prevailing values and beliefs in a society.
Answer: D
Q3) Values are widely shared views about who should govern,for what ends,and by what means.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 4
Chapter 3: The Constitution: Limiting Governmental Power
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Q1) Which of the following was a problem under the Articles of Confederation?
A)The national government was too strong compared to the states.
B)The government derived its power from the citizens themselves.
C)Congress imposed excessive taxes.
D)Many different forms of money were circulating.
Answer: D
Q2) _________ is the primary form of checks and balances used by the Supreme Court.
Answer: Judicial review
Q3) Which state's representation plan included a council of revision?
A)Virginia
B)Delaware
C)Connecticut
D)New Jersey
Answer: A
Q4) James Madison was the author of many of the essays known as the __________,which were written in support of the Constitution.
Answer: Federalist Papers
Q5) The __________ guaranteed the feudal rights of English lords and set the precedent of a limited government.
Answer: Magna Carta
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Chapter 4: Federalism: Dividing Governmental Power
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Q1) Which type of federalism is characterized by a system of separate but equally powerful state and national governments?
A)combined
B)cooperative
C)dual
D)progressive
Q2) In Marbury v.Madison,the U.S.Supreme Court limited the power of the courts to interpret the federal constitution.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The Supreme Court's 1819 ruling in __________ firmly established the principle that the Necessary and Proper Clause gives Congress the right to choose its means for carrying out the enumerated powers.
Q4) __________ occurs when a national law or regulation takes precedence over a conflicting state or local law or regulation.
Q5) Unlike the United States,the European Union incorporates features of both federalism and __________.
Q6) Describe the evolution of federalism over the course of American history.
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Chapter 5: Opinion and Participation: Thinking and Acting in Politics
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Q1) Higher education is also associated with greater political participation,including voting.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Frank decides he's had enough with bank fees that seem to regularly take a bite out of his savings.He decides to head to City Hall and hand out leaflets against fee-rich banking practices to people heading in and out of the building.Which amendment protects his right to stage this act?
A)the 1st Amendment
B)the 2nd Amendment
C)the 4th Amendment
D)the 6th Amendment
Q3) Your American government class is discussing political socialization.The professor asks you to reflect on your earliest memory of an experience that demonstrates diffuse support for the American political system.What might your answer be?
A)registering to vote
B)captaining a sports team
C)learning the Pledge of Allegiance
D)voting in a mock presidential election during a high school assembly
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Mass Media: Setting the Political Agenda
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Q1) Media influence over values and opinions is reduced by selective perception,mentally screening out __________ with which we disagree.
Q2) No prior restraint on speech or publication refers to __________.
A)the Supreme Court interpretation of freedom of the press
B)the constitutional guarantee of press liberties
C)creative differences protected under the Third Amendment
D)the rights of newspapers and television to publish what they want
Q3) The Sullivan rule relates to slander and libel.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The new media make it more difficult to __________.
A)avoid political content you do not agree with
B)share your political opinions with others
C)run for public office without an online presence
D)find like-minded people who share your views
Q5) Howard Dean was the first major candidate to __________.
A)use the Internet for fund-raising purposes
B)use social media to coordinate campaign efforts
C)create and frequently update a Web site
D)send e-mails to supporters and potential volunteers
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Chapter 7: Political Parties: Organizing Politics
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Q1) Ross Perot's Reform Party represented a __________ the current party system. A)dealignment from B)polarization of C)rejuvenation of D)realignment of
Q2) What is a delegate?
A)anyone who official joins a major political party
B)an accredited voting member of a party's national presidential nominating convention C)someone who is nominated for office at a national political convention
D)an individual who casts a ballot in an open or runoff primary
Q3) Under the leadership of Republican president __________,a new political coalition emerged in the 1980s that consisted of economic conservatives,social conservatives,white ethnic voters,religious fundamentalists,and southern whites.
Q4) A(n)__________ is a delegate to the Democratic Party national convention selected because of his/her position in the government or party and not pledged to any specific candidate.
Q5) Which political era saw the longest period of Republican domination? Explain the origin and demise of party domination during this period.
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Chapter 8: Campaigns and Elections: Deciding Who
Governs
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Q1) A campaign manager would be more alarmed by a gaffe her candidate made in a televised appearance than in an attack ad from an opponent because __________. A)the news media are always looking for mistakes to analyze B)voters do not like attack ads
C)candidates who make gaffes never get elected D)voters tend to pay more attention to news coverage than to paid advertisements
Q2) Congressional incumbents make full use of the __________ privilege to send self-promotional newsletters at taxpayers' expense.
Q3) Voters go to precincts and straw vote for the presidential nominee in which caucus state?
A)New Hampshire
B)Iowa
C)Florida
D)Texas
Q4) Presidential debates emphasize candidate image over substantive policy issues.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Would elimination of the Electoral College change American elections? Would the change be positive?
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Chapter 9: Interest Groups: Getting Their Share and More
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Q1) Generally speaking,political action committee (PAC)contributions have
A)become increasingly important in congressional elections
B)decreased,following a growing movement of representatives who have rejected all PAC money
C)become less important in federal-level elections and more important in state-level elections
D)become more important in federal-level elections and less important in state-level elections
Q2) The __________ problem occurs when people fail to join a group because they can get the benefits the group offers without contributing to the group's efforts.
A)free-rider
B)pluralist
C)collective good
D)group coordination
Q3) Political economists argue that rent-seeking behavior contributes to the efficiency of government.
A)True
B)False
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Page 11
Chapter 10: Congress: Politics on Capitol Hill
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Q1) Cloture is the only way to end a(n)__________.
Q2) As demonstrated in Figure 10.3,packing and cracking both draw district lines to the favor of the majority party,and thus,are two types of __________.
A)gerrymandering
B)lawmaking
C)oversight
D)reapportionment
Q3) What are the three broad mandates of Congress?
A)form subcommittees,report to constituents,balance executive branch authority
B)appropriate lobbyist funding,be delegates for constituents,validate constitutional validity of laws
C)make laws,control the budget,and oversee the executive branch
D)control standing committees,oversee the judicial branch,veto unconstitutional laws
Q4) Which is an example of logrolling in Congress?
A)awarding a government contract to a campaign supporter
B)introducing and sponsoring a bill
C)sponsoring a bill in exchange for federal monies
D)supporting a bill in exchange for support of one's own bill
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Page 12
Chapter 11: The President: White House Politics
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Q1) Which of the following includes the president's closest aides and advisers?
A)White House staff
B)the armed forces
C)the Cabinet
D)Executive Office of the President
Q2) The president may grant pardons to anyone convicted of a federal crime for any reason.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The __________ was created in 1947 to advise the President on foreign policy,defense,and national security issues.
A)Defense Department
B)Cabinet
C)State Department
D)National Security Council
Q4) The idea that the president may be advised by executive branch officials in confidence without the advice becoming public is called __________.
Q5) In 1957,Dwight Eisenhower used military force in domestic affairs to enforce a federal court's __________ order.
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Chapter 12: The Bureaucracy: Bureaucratic Politics
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Q1) __________ refers to the authority of administrators in the federal bureaucracy to make choices concerning the best way to implement policies and spend money.
A)Adjudication
B)Discretion
C)Division of labor
D)Independence
Q2) Refer to Table 12.1.The most recently-created Cabinet department is the __________.
A)Department of Veterans Affairs
B)Department of Homeland Security
C)Department of Education
D)Department of Energy
Q3) A president can fire civil service employees who do not belong to the president's political party.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Compare the spoils system to the federal civil service system in terms of how each has influenced the performance of the federal bureaucracy.
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Chapter 13: Courts Judicial Politics
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Sample Questions
Q1) In court rulings,reliance on past decisions to formulate decisions in new cases is known as which of the following?
A)per curiam
B)stare decisis
C)coram nobis
D)amicus curiae
Q2) Marbury v.Madison significantly expanded the power of the federal judiciary.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The doctrine of original intent states that the Constitution should be interpreted in light of modern values.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The Supreme Court regularly exercises its original jurisdiction.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain the historical development of the independent counsel (or special prosecutor).Do you believe that the special prosecutor should still exist? Why or why not?
Q6) Justices who do not agree with the outcome of a case write __________ opinions.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Politics and Personal Liberty
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Q1) Congress tried unsuccessfully to ban indecent and offensive communications from the Internet in the __________ Act of 1996.
A)Clean Internet
B)Decent Communications
C)Clean Communications
D)Communications Decency
Q2) The requirement that a warrant be specific is designed to protect citizens from police fishing expeditions that would constitute unreasonable __________.
Q3) Slander was once protected under the First Amendment.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The First Amendment requires that an indictment be issued by a grand jury before a person may be brought to trial on a felony offense.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Prior restraint is a constitutional doctrine that prevents the government from prohibiting speech or publication __________ the fact.
Q6) __________ include profanity,obscenity,and threats.
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Chapter 15: Politics and Civil Rights
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Q1) What did Jim Crow laws mandate?
A)voting rights
B)racial segregation
C)poll taxes
D)grandfather clauses
Q2) The rights of individuals that government must protect from discriminatory treatment on the basis of classifications such as race,gender,and ethnicity are
A)public policies
B)equal rights
C)civil rights
D)voting rights
Q3) Which of the following weakened the Civil Rights Act of 1875?
A)Adarand v.Pena
B)Brown v.Board of Education
C)the Civil Rights Cases
D)the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Q4) The __________ was enacted in 1990 and is designed to protect the civil rights of disabled Americans.
Q5) Jim Crow laws required __________ of African Americans and whites.
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Politics and the Economy
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Q1) If the Federal Reserve wanted to slow the rate of economic growth,it would most likely __________.
A)encourage the president to lower taxes
B)increase interest rates
C)encourage the president to raise taxes
D)increase the money supply
Q2) Federal estate taxes levy a tax rate that rises to __________,but estates worth less than $5 million per person are exempt.
A)15 percent
B)25 percent
C)35 percent
D)40 percent
Q3) Tax revenues lost to the federal government because of exemptions,exclusions,deductions,and special treatments in tax laws are called
A)tax evasion
B)tax expenditures
C)tax avoidance
D)loop holes
Q4) The __________ is the federal government's largest source of revenue.
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Politics and Social Welfare
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Q1) The text uses the term dependency ratio to evaluate which of the following?
A)the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
B)the New Deal
C)Social Security
D)the Earned Income Tax Credit
Q2) Contributors to health care costs in the United States are an aging population and __________.
A)individual mandates
B)employer mandates
C)chronic disease
D)the number of births
Q3) The Affordable Care Act requires that Americans purchase health insurance.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Advances in medicine have led to increases in health care costs.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Senior citizens are likely to be concerned about potential cuts to the medical program known as ___________.
Page 19
Q6) Medicare is designed to help the __________ population.
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Chapter 18: Politics and National Security
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Q1) One of the primary purposes of the war in Afghanistan was to __________.
A)prevent the spread of communism
B)remove the Taliban-led government
C)protect religious freedom
D)retaliate for the bombing of the USS Cole
Q2) Which of the following best describes the relationship between international politics and power?
A)Although the aims of international politics may be identified as freedom,security,prosperity,and the like,the immediate goal is always the struggle for power.
B)The primary goal of international politics is achieving cooperation and a balance of power between democratic countries.
C)The aim of international politics is always a struggle for power so as to control as many people and countries as possible.
D)The immediate goal of international politics is to slow down the pace of globalization so power can be redistributed between democracies.
Q3) The __________ was the U.S.effort to help rebuild Western Europe after World War II.
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