U.S. Government and Politics
Pre-Test Questions
Course Introduction
This course introduces students to the foundational principles, institutions, and processes of the United States government and political system. Through exploration of the Constitution, federalism, civil liberties, political parties, elections, interest groups, and the roles of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, students will develop an understanding of how American democracy operates and evolves. The course also examines contemporary political issues and the impact of public opinion and mass media on policy-making. By the end, students will have a comprehensive understanding of the structures and dynamics that shape governance and political life in the U.S.
Recommended Textbook
Government in America People Politics and Policy Brief Edition 11th Edition by George C. Edwards
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17 Chapters
2189 Verified Questions
2189 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Introducing Government in America
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108 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements is FALSE?
A)Compared to most other economically developed nations,the U.S. devotes a smaller percentage of its resources to government.
B)The United States,more than Western European democracies,displays a preference for free markets.
C)The U.S.,more than Western European democracies,displays a preference for limited government.
D)The United States,more than Western European democracies,displays a preference for more generous social welfare benefits.
E)All of these are false.
Answer: D
Q2) The principle that,in a democracy,choosing among alternatives requires the majority's desire to be respected is called
A)majority rule.
B)minority rights.
C)representation.
D)pluralism.
E)enlightened understanding.
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Who authored The Second Treatise of Civil Government?
A)Thomas Jefferson
B)John Locke
C)Thomas Paine
D)James Madison
E)Peyton Randolph
Answer: B
Q2) Which of the following best describes the United States government under the Articles of Confederation?
A)It was weak and ineffective.
B)It was frequently involved in foreign affairs.
C)It was very large and bureaucratic.
D)It was dictatorial.
E)It was a puppet for George Washington.
Answer: A
Q3) The U.S.Constitution encourages quick change.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism
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118 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) All of the following areas provide examples of how federalism decentralizes our policies EXCEPT
A)the federal income tax.
B)the regulation of abortion.
C)the death penalty.
D)the funding of education.
E)environmental protection.
Answer: A
Q2) Since the mid-1990s,Republicans in Congress have taken a pragmatic approach to federalism evidenced by
A)efforts to restrict state power while turning to the federal government in policy areas such as environmental regulation,immigration,and health.
B)legislation removing class action lawsuits from state courts.
C)passage of the No Child Left Behind Act.
D)extending federal criminal penalties.
E)All of these are evidence of Republicans' pragmatic approach.
Answer: E
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Chapter 4: Civil Liberties and Public Policy
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135 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Prior restraint refers to government actions preventing material from being published.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure are most relevant to which stage of the criminal justice system?
A)Evidence gathered
B)Suspicion cast
C)Arrest made
D)Interrogation held
E)Trial held
Q3) The right to privacy was first articulated in Griswold v.Connecticut (1965),a case involving a Connecticut law forbidding the use of contraceptives.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The right to peaceably assemble is protected by the Second Amendment.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What is prior restraint? How has the Supreme Court dealt with this issue?
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Chapter 5: Civil Rights and Public Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Dred Scott v.Sandford ruling was handed down by the Supreme Court
A)a few years after the Civil War.
B)in 1896.
C)during the Civil War.
D)in the 1950s.
E)a few years prior to the Civil War.
Q2) In which case did the Supreme Court decide that a compelling interest for promoting diversity on campus existed?
A)Grutter v. Bollinger
B)Johnson v. Transportation Agency,Santa Clara County
C)Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
D)Reed v. Reed
E)Brown v. Board of Education
Q3) The Nineteenth Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Women are permitted to serve as combat pilots in the navy and air force and to serve on navy warships.
A)True
B)False
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Action
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126 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to the U.S.Census Bureau,approximately what percentage of the nation's population is constituted by immigrants?
A)5 percent
B)8 percent
C)12 percent
D)20 percent
E)25 percent
Q2) Which of the following statements about public opinion polling is FALSE?
A)Public opinion polling started in 1932 with George Gallup.
B)Sample sizes are getting smaller,not larger.
C)The amount of public opinion polling has increased in recent years.
D)Public opinion polling is a uniquely American phenomenon.
E)A sample of 1,500 people is enough to relatively accurately reflect the universe of American people.
Q3) What are exit polls,and why have they been so severely criticized?
Q4) Americans tend to favor the idea of big government but oppose it in practice.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What is random-digit dialing,and why are most polls conducted this way?
Q6) What have been the main consequences of the "graying of America"?
Page 8
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Chapter 7: The Mass Media and the Political Agenda
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Sample Questions
Q1) What consequences follow the character and quality of media coverage of political news when news organizations are privately owned? How does this differ from the type of coverage provided by publicly owned organizations?
Q2) Explain how the news media affect the scope of government and American individualism.How have they helped and hindered the growth of democracy in the United States?
Q3) Vietnam and Watergate were significant in that they further tightened the cozy relationship between politicians and reporters that had existed since the early part of the twentieth century.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The media are always monopolized by political elites.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Policy entrepreneurs are people who invest "political capital" in an issue. A)True
B)False
Q6) In your opinion,what role should the media play in American democracy? What role do they play?
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Political Parties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is TRUE of Americans' political party identifications?
A)The number of people identifying as Democrats has declined since 1952.
B)The number of people identifying as Republicans has declined since 1952.
C)The number of people identifying as Independents has declined since 1952.
D)The number of people identifying as Republicans has consistently outnumbered the number of people identifying as Democrats since 1952.
E)There has been little change in Americans' party identification since 1952.
Q2) Andrew Jackson was the first president identified as a(n) A)Independent.
B)Democrat.
C)Republican.
D)Democratic-Republican.
E)Whig.
Q3) The Republicans emerged as a powerful political party in the A)1890s.
B)1790s.
C)1930s.
D)1850s.
E)1820s.
Q4) Compare and contrast the phenomena of party dealignment and party realignment.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Campaigns and Voting Behavior
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156 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Today,a majority of the delegates to the national convention are selected through
A)state party conventions.
B)party caucuses.
C)presidential primaries.
D)local party conventions.
E)state legislatures.
Q2) Describe some of the changes in voting behavior between the 2000 and 2008 presidential elections.How were these changes instrumental in helping Obama win?
Q3) Which of the following did the Federal Election Campaign Act NOT do?
A)Require disclosure of campaign contributions by all candidates for federal offices
B)Provide public financing for the presidential nominees of both major parties
C)Provide public financing of House and Senate races
D)Limit presidential campaign spending
E)Provide public financing of Senate races
Q4) Explain the changes to federal regulations that resulted from the McCain-Feingold Act of 2002.Why were they necessary? Has this act done enough to make the campaign process fairer?
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Chapter 10: Interest Groups
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Sample Questions
Q1) All subgovernments have the same goal of
A)protecting the public interest.
B)attacking the government head-on.
C)protecting their self-interest.
D)electing the most qualified people to office.
E)joining the main government.
Q2) Interest group liberalism refers to
A)government freedom to favor some interest groups over others.
B)government's excessive deference to interest groups.
C)the liberal political ideology of most interest groups.
D)the proliferation of the number of interest groups.
E)the strong tendency of interest groups to back the Democratic Party and not the Republican Party and that keeps the Democratic Party in power.
Q3) Interest groups differ from political parties because
A)parties use technology more effectively.
B)groups tend to be policy specialists while parties tend to be policy generalists.
C)the groups' main arena is the electoral system.
D)parties seek many access points in government.
E)parties use technology less effectively.
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Congress
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140 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) One of the key differences between the House and Senate is that the House
A)has weaker leadership.
B)is more influential on foreign affairs.
C)has more policy specialization.
D)is less centralized.
E)is less institutionalized.
Q2) Joint committees exist in a few policy areas,such as taxation and the economy,and draw members from both the House and the Senate.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following statements about the role of money in congressional elections is FALSE?
A)Outspending your opponent by a large margin is no guarantee of success.
B)The more challengers spend,the more votes they receive.
C)Challengers usually outspend incumbents.
D)In open seats,the candidate who spends the most usually wins.
E)Incumbents benefit less from campaign spending than challengers.
Q4) Party leaders who work to count votes and lean on waverers are called whips.
A)True
B)False
Page 13
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Chapter 12: The Presidency
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe what is meant by the president as the "chief legislator."
Q2) Recent research suggests that presidential coattails rarely help members of Congress win elections.
A)True
B)False
Q3) According to Richard Neustadt,the most powerful power of the president is the power to persuade.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The Nineteenth Amendment limits presidents to two terms of office.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The three-member body appointed by the president to advise the president on economic policy is the
A)Department of State.
B)Department of the Interior.
C)Council of Economic Advisers.
D)Office of Management and Budget.
E)Treasury Department.
Q6) What is the veto power? How and why do presidents use the veto?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: The Federal Bureaucracy
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125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The 96 agencies that are all involved in issues of nuclear proliferation constitute an example of ____ within the bureaucracy.
A)standard operating procedures
B)lack of resources
C)fragmentation
D)general schedule
E)discretion
Q2) In addition to a hierarchical authority structure,Max Weber argued that a bureaucracy involves all of the following EXCEPT
A)extensive rules.
B)an incentive system.
C)task specialization.
D)the merit principle.
E)a hierarchical authority structure.
Q3) Why are standard operating procedures important to an agency?
Q4) Karl Marx is the German theorist who advanced the classic conception of bureaucracy.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: The Federal Courts
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Sample Questions
Q1) Laws permitting a small number of people to sue on behalf of all other people similarly situated are referred to as judiciable disputes.
A)True
B)False
Q2) How and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy is a process referred to as judicial implementation.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The vast majority of all civil and criminal cases
A)begin and end in courts with original jurisdiction.
B)involve federal law but are tried in state courts.
C)begin and end in federal courts.
D)begin in state courts and are appealed to federal courts.
E)involve state laws that are tried in federal courts.
Q4) There are 10 associate justices and one chief justice on the U.S.Supreme Court. A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain the organization of the federal court system.What types of cases are heard in each of the different courts?
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Chapter 15: Congress,the President,and the Budget: the
Politics of Taxing and Spending
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Sample Questions
Q1) The federal income tax is a flat tax.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Spending on the defense currently makes up approximately what proportion of all federal expenditures?
A)One-tenth
B)One-fifth
C)One-quarter
D)One-third
E)One-half
Q3) The biggest uncontrollable expenditure in the federal budget is
A)national defense spending.
B)pay for military personnel.
C)veterans' aid.
D)the Social Security system.
E)interest on the national debt.
Q4) The Internal Revenue Service was established to collect federal sales taxes.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What expenditures make up the bulk of federal spending?
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Chapter 16: Social Welfare Policymaking
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Sample Questions
Q1) The gap between the rich and the poor is smaller today than it was in the middle of the twentieth century.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A sales tax is a progressive tax.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following statements about wealth in the United States is FALSE?
A)The top 1 percent of the wealth-holders currently possess about 30 percent of all American wealth.
B)The wealth of the richest 1 percent exceeds the wealth of the bottom 90 percent.
C)There are now over two million millionaires in the world,most in the United States.
D)Between 1979 and 1995,the poorest one-fifth of the population saw their real incomes increase,while the richest one-fifth of the population saw their real incomes decrease.
E)Since the 1980s,the rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer.
Q4) What is the poverty line? How is it determined?
Q5) How do Americans view responsibility for social welfare?
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Page 18
Chapter 17: National Security Policymaking
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Sample Questions
Q1) Among Congress' foreign policy powers is the ability to declare war and raise the armed forces.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What caused a public uproar involving the National Security Agency in 2005?
A)Revelations that the NSA had tortured prisoners at Guantanamo,Cuba
B)Revelations that the NSA was monitoring the communications of American citizens without obtaining warrants
C)A leaked memo that linked the events of September 11,2001,with the Democratic National Committee
D)A scathing report condemning the George W. Bush administration for "building a case for the war in Iraq on a quicksand foundation"
E)The resignation of Donald Rumsfeld under a cloud of suspicion for his role in a Colombian-based drug smuggling operation
Q3) What is an international organization,and how is it different from a nongovernmental organization?
Q4) Congress appropriates less than 1 percent of the federal budget for economic and humanitarian aid.Is that enough? Why or why not?
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Page 19