U.S. Political Systems
Test Questions
Course Introduction
This course provides a comprehensive overview of the structures, processes, and functions of political systems in the United States. Students explore the Constitution, federalism, and the roles of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Key topics include political parties, elections, interest groups, public opinion, and civil liberties. Emphasis is also placed on the evolution of U.S. political institutions, policymaking processes, and contemporary debates affecting American democracy, helping students develop a deeper understanding of the dynamics that shape government and politics in the United States.
Recommended Textbook
American Government Power and Purpose 13th Edition by Theodore J. Lowi
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14 Chapters
1596 Verified Questions
1596 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction: Making Sense of Government and Politics
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63 Verified Questions
63 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) On the eve of World War II,the National Socialist (Nazi)Party rose to power in Germany and consolidated its hold on political institutions by effectively striking down any significant opposition through violence and intimidation.Nazi Germany achieved almost absolute control over every facet of its citizens' lives.In terms of limits on governmental power,the political system of Nazi Germany would most accurately be categorized as:
A)totalitarian
B)monarchical
C)authoritarian
D)constitutional
E)democratic
Answer: A
Q2) Autocracy can best be defined as rule by:
A)all
B)one
C)few
D)many
E)self-executing laws
Answer: B
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Chapter 2: The Founding and the Constitution
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101 Verified Questions
101 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In order for Congress to send a small amendment to the Constitution to state legislatures or ratifying conventions for approval,it must pass in:
A)either the House or Senate with a simple majority
B)both the House and Senate with a simple majority
C)either the House or Senate with a two-thirds majority
D)both the House and Senate with a two-thirds majority
E)the House by a simple majority and the Senate by a two-thirds majority
Answer: D
Q2) Article VI of the Constitution states that all laws passed by the national government and all treaties are superior to laws adopted by any state.This has come to be known as the:
A)supremacy clause
B)judicial review clause
C)full faith and credit clause
D)necessary and proper clause
E)popular mandate
Answer: A
Q3) What compromises were made during the Constitutional Convention and why?
Answer: Answer will vary.
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism and the Separation of Powers
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120 Verified Questions
120 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In Brown v.Board of Education (1954),the Supreme Court ruled that schools segregated by race were unconstitutional.In response,some states opposed to desegregation passed laws to prevent the desegregation of schools.However,the Supreme Court again ruled in Cooper v.Aaron (1958)that their 1954 decision was binding on all states,regardless of conflicting state laws.Which clause in the Constitution allowed the Supreme Court to make this 1958 ruling?
A)commerce clause
B)supremacy clause
C)full faith and credit clause
D)privileges and immunities clause
E)necessary and proper clause
Answer: B
Q2) In the United States,each of the three branches of government exercises power over the other two.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of federalism?
Answer: Answer will vary.
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
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164 Verified Questions
164 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Strict scrutiny refers to:
A)the most stringent standard of judicial review of a government's actions
B)the careful application of the Bill of Rights to the states
C)the criteria used to determine whether or not commercial speech is protected
D)careful attention to legal procedures
E)the ability of courts to exclude evidence when it is obtained through an illegal search
Q2) Which of the following outlawed discrimination by all private and public employers on the basis of race,religion,and sex (for those that employ more than fifteen workers)?
A)the Brown decision
B)the Milliken decision
C)Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
D)Title IX of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
E)Title I of the 1957 Civil Rights Act
Q3) The Bill of Rights failed to become a vital instrument for the extension of civil liberties until after the Civil War and passage of the Fourteenth Amendment.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Congress: the First Branch
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116 Verified Questions
116 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Compared to the Senate,the House of Representatives has exhibited considerably more:
A)ideological unity
B)intense partisanship
C)deliberation of issues
D)willingness to compromise
E)indifference to public opinion
Q2) Redistricting can give an advantage to one party by clustering votes with some ideological or sociological characteristics in a single district.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Since most incumbents are male,the number of females in Congress has grown slowly.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Explain the incumbency advantage and discuss its potential influence on the policy-making process.
Q5) Explain how the institutional structures and the rules of congressional procedure influence lawmaking in the United States.
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Chapter 6: The Presidency
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125 Verified Questions
125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the United States,the cabinet is the government.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Congress has tended to give executive agencies broad mandates and draft legislation that offers few clear standards to guide executive implementation.
A)True
B)False
Q3) President Franklin Roosevelt's speaking trips around the nation and radio broadcasts designed to promote his programs are an example of the presidential tactic often referred to as:
A)getting dirty
B)going negative
C)going public
D)going native
E)going vocal
Q4) In 1970,Congress assigned the task of improving the nation's air and water quality to the new Environmental Protection Agency.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 7: The Executive Branch
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116 Verified Questions
116 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Bureaucracy helps solve the problem of credibly committing to the long-term existence of a policy.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which choice is an example of a government department agency that is both an agency for the maintenance of the Union and a fiscal agency?
A)Treasury Department
B)Federal Reserve System
C)Congressional Budget Office
D)Securities and Exchange Commission
E)Bureau of the Budget
Q3) Bureaucracies take advantage of the division of labor to perform their tasks with greater efficiency.
A)True
B)False
Q4) All government agencies are part of cabinet departments.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Should bureaucracy be reduced? If so,how?
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Chapter 8: The Federal Courts
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Sample Questions
Q1) The court that initially hears a criminal or civil case is the ________ court.
A)trial
B)circuit
C)original
D)appellate
E)justice
Q2) If a defendant is convicted of robbery in a trial court,he or she may choose to re-file the case in a higher court,such as:
A)the same court where it was previously heard
B)a different trial court
C)a secondary court
D)a tertiary court
E)a court of appeals
Q3) In order for the Supreme Court to grant certiorari,agreement has to be reached by at least ________ justices.
A)two
B)three
C)four
D)five
E)six
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Chapter 9: Public Opinion and the Media
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113 Verified Questions
113 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) On which two levels should one understand public opinion?
A)ideology and age
B)state and local
C)race and gender
D)party and gender
E)aggregate and individual
Q2) Similar to blacks,Latinos are politically homogeneous.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Citizens in the United States have only a narrow set of means to express their opinions.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Basically,the mass media are neutral messengers for ideas developed by others.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Have differences in public opinion between African Americans and whites increased or decreased in the past few decades? Are these differences of opinion important?
Q6) What are the major differences between conservatives and liberals?
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Chapter 10: Elections
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96 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The electoral format that presents just the names of the candidates for just a single party is called the Australian ballot.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Explain how the rules governing the electoral process help determine outcomes.
Q3) Voter turnout declined sharply around the turn of the twentieth century because a two-party system replaced the multiparty system of the nineteenth century.
A)True
B)False
Q4) To many progressive reformers,corruption was a code word referring to the type of politics practiced in:
A)the South in which Jim Crow laws prevented African Americans from voting
B)smoke-filled rooms of Congress where party bosses decided election outcomes
C)the West where Native Americans were allowed to run their own tribal governments
D)large cities where political parties had organized immigrant and ethnic populations
E)communities just south of the U.S.-Mexico border who tried to influence U.S.elections
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Political Parties
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110 Verified Questions
110 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Typically,third parties in the United States have represented social and economic interests that:
A)appeal to the wealthy
B)were not given voice by the two major parties
C)have ultimately proved extremely unpopular with the general public
D)tend to work specifically against an existing program or party platform
E)defy the tenets of organized religion
Q2) How have third parties influenced American politics? Why is it difficult for the influence of third parties to endure? Do third parties achieve any success in accomplishing their aims?
Q3) Describe the evolution of the two-party system.Identify the six major party systems that have existed in the United States over time.Is the American party system entering into a new era?
Q4) Ralph Nader's 2000 campaign for president is an example of a(n):
A)third-party candidacy
B)Southern strategy
C)anti-incumbent campaign
D)antilabor campaign
E)favorite son candidacy
Q5) What specific functions do political parties perform?
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Groups and Interests
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108 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Modern research indicates that interest groups easily form in response to changes in the political environment.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The Watergate scandal was triggered by the illegal:
A)trading of arms for hostages in Iran
B)taping of presidential conversations in the White House
C)use of unregistered cash from corporate executives by the Nixon campaign
D)entry of Republican workers into the Democratic National Committee office
E)use of wiretapping of Democratic candidates' phones
Q3) James Madison argued that organized interests would have less opportunity to dominate the political process if the nation:
A)was large with diverse interests
B)was small with diverse interests
C)was large with common interests
D)was small with common interests
E)had a strong party system
Q4) Interest groups help craft language in legislation.
A)True
B)False
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Introduction to Public Policy
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135 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the first feature inherent in the very idea of government?
A)law and order
B)rules for liability
C)creation of a labor force
D)maintenance of a market structure
E)individual property rights
Q2) Laws that structure the conditions under which you can sell your property are called:
A)trade agreements
B)market standards
C)contractual terms
D)laws of exchange
E)collective bargaining agreements
Q3) How did the Great Depression change how the national government attempts to manage the American economy?
Q4) Evaluate the welfare state.What are the best arguments against it,and what are the most effective arguments for it?
Q5) What goals should social and economic policies promote and why?
Q6) List and define the prerequisites for a market economy.
Q7) Describe the government's role in creating the foundation for a market economy.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Foreign Policy
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109 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Since the collapse of the Soviet Union,the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has not expanded to include former Warsaw Pact countries.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The oft-discussed notion from the Cold War that the United States should attack the Soviet Union before the Soviet Union attacks the United States is an example of the policy of:
A)preventative war
B)appeasement
C)isolationism
D)strike warfare
E)mutually assured destruction
Q3) In 1997,the United States withdrew from an agreement that set limits on the emissions of greenhouse gasses from industrialized nations that was known as the:
A)United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
B)Montreal Protocol
C)Kyoto Protocol
D)Manhattan Protocol
E)Dayton Accords
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Page 16