U.S. Government and Politics
Mock Exam
Course Introduction
This course provides a comprehensive overview of the structure, functions, and processes of the United States government and the political system. It examines the foundations of American democracy, including the Constitution, federalism, and civil liberties, as well as the institutions of Congress, the Presidency, and the Supreme Court. Students will explore the roles of political parties, interest groups, and the media, and analyze the policymaking process. The course also addresses current political issues, electoral systems, and citizen participation, equipping students with the analytical tools to understand and engage with contemporary U.S. political life.
Recommended Textbook
Struggle for Democracy 11th Edition by Benjamin I. Page
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1865 Verified Questions
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Democracy and American Politics
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46 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) The most obvious sign of popular sovereignty is the existence of a close correspondence between what __________ does and what the people want it to do.
Answer: government
Q2) Why do some political thinkers believe that democracy is superior to other forms of government?
A) because it encourages dreams that can never be achieved
B) because it is incapable of promoting progress on important decisions
C) because it protects human rights
D) because it is found only in the United States
E) because it subverts the views of the masses
Answer: C
Q3) It is safe to say that most people do not want to live in places where there is no government to speak of at all.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Taken together, political equality and equal treatment are sometimes called
Answer: civil rights
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Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government had broad power to levy taxes.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Which of the following remains a compelling source for determining the intent of the Framers?
A) Minutes of the Constitutional Convention
B) The Federalist Papers
C) Common Sense
D) Treatise on Government
E) Declaration of Independence
Answer: B
Q3) Article I of the Constitution describes the powers of the president.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) __________ is a political doctrine advocating limited government based on popular consent.
Answer: Republicanism
Page 4
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Chapter 3: Federalism: States and Nation
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Sample Questions
Q1) New federalism favors which type of government grant?
A) block grants
B) business grants
C) categorical grants
D) programmatic requests
E) unfunded mandates
Answer: A
Q2) __________ powers are shared by the federal and state governments.
A) Concurrent
B) Constitutional
C) Federal
D) Libertarian
E) Unified
Answer: A
Q3) The United States has always had a federal system of government.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) __________ gives Congress the authority to exercise its enumerated powers.
Answer: Article I, Section 8
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Chapter 4: The Structural Foundations of American
Government and Politics
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105 Verified Questions
105 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Recent changes to the age of the American population are most likely to put a strain on which of the following?
A) immigration
B) Medicare
C) national security
D) public schools
E) roads
Q2) __________ is an economic system in which most productive assets are in private rather than public hands.
Q3) __________ is the largest economy in the world, but __________ is catching up quickly.
A) China, Brazil
B) China, the United States
C) Japan, China
D) The United States, China
E) The United States, Japan
Q4) Describe the roles that sourcing, outsourcing, and globalization played in the construction of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.
Q5) What are Americans' concerns about outsourcing? Are they justified?
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Chapter 5: Public Opinion
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which word best completes this sentence: Political socialization is a __________ process.
A) childhood
B) demographic
C) lifetime
D) one-time
E) random
Q2) Name two reasons why the political attitudes of some Hispanic Americans tend to be more conservative than the attitudes of the Hispanic population as a whole, which tends to identify much more with the Democrats than the Republicans.
Q3) Why is public opinion particularly important in a democracy?
A) because political attitudes expressed by ordinary people are unusually coherent
B) because the public's passions are capable of infringing on others' liberties
C) because what the people want should be directly challenged by government action
D) because grave doubts about the wisdom of the public would otherwise be ignored
E) because democracy is be fundamentally about the rule of the people
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Chapter 6: The News Media
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108 Verified Questions
108 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Framing provides a context for ___________ stories.
Q2) In the June of 1995, U.S. pilot Scott O'Grady was shot down over Bosnia. This event received more coverage than France's resumption of nuclear testing in French Polynesia. and reflects a __________ to news coverage.
A) negative perspective
B) nationalistic perspective
C) biased perspective
D) focused perspective
E) limited perspective
Q3) Define the "horse race" concept, and explain the implications of the horse race as a media focus.
Q4) A recent USA Today headline reading, "Fixing Mel Gibson's 2008 Maserati Could Get Costly," is an example of __________.
A) spin
B) infotainment
C) investigative reporting
D) objective journalism
E) agenda setting
Q5) The Founders fully subscribed to the idea that a free press was __________.
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Chapter 7: Interest Groups and Business Organizations
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the main objective of most labor unions?
A) to protect consumers from unsafe products
B) to protect the interests of businesses within an industry
C) to protect jobs and secure favorable wages and benefits for their members
D) to ensure equality of all people under the law
E) to support free trade policies
Q2) You are the leader of a consumer rights group that has been unable to get a meeting with your elected representative in Congress. How could you get the attention of your legislator on the issues your group cares about?
A) Organize a demonstration in the representative's district and invite the media.
B) File an amicus curiae brief.
C) Draft a bill and introduce it in Congress.
D) Form a political action committee.
E) Contact the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
Q3) If James Madison were alive today, he would most likely view the rapid growth of interest groups over the past several decades as a positive development.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 8: Social Movements
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102 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) An estimated 16 million people worldwide gathered over a February 2003 weekend to protest the coming U.S.-led invasion of what country?
A) Turkey
B) Iran
C) Afghanistan
D) Syria
E) Iraq
Q2) Why is the Brown v. Board of Education decision important?
A) It gave blacks the right to vote.
B) It gave blacks rights to full citizenship.
C) It desegregated public areas in the southern states.
D) It outlawed violent response to demonstrations and protests.
E) It declared "separate but equal" that came from the Plessy decision as unconstitutional.
Q3) Economic shortcomings, such as rising deficits, as well as taxes and regulations, are examples of the __________ factor that gave rise to the Tea Party movement.
Q4) Abolitionists generally supported the Fugitive Slave Act.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: Political Parties
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106 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) How many periods of identifiable party eras have there been over the course of U.S. history, and which years did they cover?
A) six, 1860 to present
B) seven, 1816 to present
C) five, 1894 to present
D) six, 1816 to present
E) seven, 1860 to present
Q2) Which of the following developments triggered the change in the party system during the dealignment era following the New Deal coalition?
A) Democratic Party support for civil rights and equal rights, and opposition to the Vietnam War
B) the historic victory of the Republicans in the congressional elections of 1994
C) Republican Party support for industrial workers and farm laborers
D) fierce debate about the doctrine of separation of church and state, which the Republicans supported
E) Ross Perot's crusade for a balanced budget, which upset the Republican coalition
Q3) The __________ coalition began to slowly disintegrate in the 1968 election.
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11
Chapter 10: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
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108 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following accurately describes 501 and 527 groups?
A) They are types of hard money expenditures.
B) They were prohibited by the McCain-Feingold Act.
C) They are ways for groups to influence elections without being subject to contribution limits.
D) They are only found in caucus states.
E) They were prohibited by the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Communications Commission.
Q2) In a presidential primary, __________.
A) party leaders nominate candidates
B) voters select delegates to national party conventions
C) the national committee nominates candidates
D) state legislatures nominate candidates
E) delegates select members of the Electoral College
Q3) If you wanted to give a substantial contribution to be used in a particular campaign but did not want your name to be reported, you would give the money to a(n) __________ group.
Q4) What are 527 and 501 groups, and what is the most significant difference between them?
Q5) Why is door-to-door canvassing effective?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Congress
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe majority-minority districts and explain their purpose(s).
Q2) Define reciprocity, as practiced in Congress.
A) deferral by members of Congress to the executive branch
B) deferral by members of Congress to party leaders
C) deferral by members of Congress to subject-matter specialists
D) mutual support for bills by members of the same party
E) supporting an opposing party's bill in exchange for future support
Q3) In the face of inaction by House membership, a discharge petition signed by a majority can force a bill out of a committee and to the floor.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Contrast the trustee model versus the delegate model of representation, and explain the factors that affect which of the models a representative chooses to follow.
Q5) The framers of the Constitution were concerned about the possibility of government tyranny. Yet they also wanted an energetic government capable of accomplishing its assigned tasks. These multiple and sometimes conflicting objectives are reflected in the constitutional design of Congress. Explain how the framers both empowered Congress and constrained Congress in their design.
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Chapter 12: The Presidency
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Sample Questions
Q1) Barack Obama used his veto power less at the beginning of his term.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Throughout most of its history, which was considered an insignificant office?
A) attorney general
B) chief of staff
C) secretary of state
D) Speaker of the House
E) vice president
Q3) What changed the problem in the original Constitution in which the runner-up in the presidential election became vice president?
A) Sixteenth Amendment
B) Twenty-Fifth Amendment
C) Twenty-Second Amendment
D) Twelfth Amendment
E) Fifth Amendment
Q4) Compare the White House staff and the Cabinet.
Q5) What makes a great/successful president?
Q6) How has the role of the vice presidency changed over time?
Q7) What is a veto? Can a veto be overridden?
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Chapter 13: The Executive Branch
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Sample Questions
Q1) The __________ led to the creation of a bipartisan commission to oversee appointments to the federal bureaucracy.
Q2) How do government corporations differ from private companies?
A) Government corporations perform activities that private companies cannot.
B) Government corporations cannot borrow money, whereas private companies can.
C) Government corporations cannot sell stock, whereas private companies can.
D) Government corporations can borrow money, whereas private companies cannot.
E) Government corporations need less government oversight than private companies.
Q3) What are civil servants?
A) government workers who are employed under the merit system
B) government workers appointed by the president
C) government workers who are elected to office
D) government workers who serve within the Executive Office of the President
E) government workers who serve within cabinet departments
Q4) What are the advantages and disadvantages of cutting the size of bureaucracy as a way to decrease waste and inefficiency in government?
Q5) One consequence of ambiguity in the laws passed by Congress is that government agencies exercise __________ in the implementation of those laws.
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Chapter 14: The Courts
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Sample Questions
Q1) In a process known as __________, presidents generally allow senators from the state in which a judicial vacancy occurs to block the nomination.
A) advice and consent
B) presidential deference
C) judicial review
D) senatorial courtesy
E) Senate confirmation
Q2) The district courts are appellate courts.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What do presidents look for in selecting a Supreme Court justice?
Q4) Who is generally considered to be the swing vote on the Roberts Court?
A) John Roberts
B) Elena Kagan
C) Ruth Bader Ginsburg
D) Anthony Kennedy
E) Robert Bork
Q5) Describe the difference between civil and criminal law.
Q6) Of all the federal courts, only the __________ is established by the Constitution.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Civil Liberties: the Struggle for Freedom
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Sample Questions
Q1) __________ include profanity, obscenity, and threats.
Q2) In what context did the Supreme Court first apply the Fourteenth Amendment?
A) to abolish slavery
B) to eliminate racial discrimination
C) to eliminate sex discrimination
D) to strike down labor regulations
E) to protect voting rights
Q3) Which of the following was mentioned in the original Constitution?
A) the right to bear arms
B) the right to a speedy trial
C) the right to execute a private contract
D) the right to practice religion
E) the right to vote
Q4) Why does the plight of the Guantanamo detainees raise concerns about civil liberties?
Q5) Burning the American flag is not constitutionally protected symbolic speech.
A)True
B)False
Q6) An early effort to define __________ focused on whether the material had any serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Civil Rights: the Struggle for Political Equality
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Sample Questions
Q1) The grandfather clause was a device that allowed whites who had failed the literacy test to vote as long as their ancestors had voted prior to 1867.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The Supreme Court has affirmed the right of consenting adults to engage in private sexual activity.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is an example of de jure segregation?
A) Jim Crow laws
B) the tendency for churches to be racially homogeneous
C) the small number of African American senators
D) sequestering the jury in order to ensure a fair trial
E) Title IX legislation
Q4) What are the two main reasons why public schools have partially resegregated in recent years? Do you find this trend troubling? Why or why not?
Q5) The __________ was enacted in 1990 and is designed to protect the civil rights of disabled Americans.
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Chapter 17: Domestic Policies
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Sample Questions
Q1) Imagine the economy is slipping into a recession. What would a Keynesian advocate and why? Compare this approach to using interest rates to affect the money supply.
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.
Q3) One reason for the increase in health care costs is the aging population in America.
A)True
B)False
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19
Chapter 18: Foreign Policy and National Defense
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why is it easier for the president to influence foreign and defense policy than it is for Congress to do so?
A) The president has a larger group of foreign and defense policy advisors.
B) The president has unlimited appropriations for foreign and defense policy.
C) The president has the power to approve treaties.
D) The president can pass laws that require Congress to act.
E) The president cannot use the military without prior approval from Congress.
Q2) U.S. foreign policy toward China is largely driven by the fact that China is a large market in an increasingly global economy.
A)True
B)False
Q3) If the president wishes to address a foreign policy crisis without using the military, the president may instead opt for the use of __________ as orchestrated by the Department of State.
Q4) What is a hegemon? What is a hegemon expected to do? To what extent is the United States a hegemon? Is the world better off if there is a hegemon? Should the United States act more like a hegemon?
Q5) U.S. foreign policy toward North Korea is largely driven by its __________ ambition.
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