U.S. Government Test Bank
Course Introduction
This course provides an in-depth overview of the structure, functions, and processes of the United States government. Students will explore the foundational principles established by the Constitution, the roles and powers of the three branches of government, and the federal system. The course covers key topics such as civil liberties, civil rights, political parties, elections, and the influence of interest groups and the media. Through the examination of historical and contemporary issues, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of how government policies are formed and implemented, and how citizens can participate effectively in the democratic process.
Recommended Textbook
American Government and Politics Today The Essentials 17th Edition by Barbara A. Bardes
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15 Chapters
1059 Verified Questions
1059 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Democratic Republic
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70 Verified Questions
70 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Politics is
A) a process that resolves conflict within a society.
B) a struggle over power or influence within organizations or informal groups.
C) a type of anti-social behavior by individuals.
D) fundamentally irrelevant.
E) Options A and B are true.
Answer: E
Q2) In authoritarian governments
A) freedom of speech is usually allowed.
B) the leaders may be voted out of office.
C) the right to a fair trial is considered a fundamental right.
D) government is fully controlled by a ruler.
E) All the above are true.
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Sample Questions
Q1) "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal" are the first words of
A) the Constitution of the United States of America.
B) the Declaration of Independence.
C) the Magna Carta.
D) the United Nations Charter.
E) the Bill of Rights.
Answer: B
Q2) A constitutional amendment can be ratified by
A) a positive vote in conventions in three-fourths of the states.
B) a positive vote in the legislatures of three-fourths the states.
C) a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress.
D) the legislatures in two-thirds of the states.
E) Options A and B are true.
Answer: E
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Chapter 3: Federalism
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Sample Questions
Q1) Federal mandates are
A) rules for operation in the Supreme Court.
B) requirements attached to state laws to dispense state grants.
C) requirements in federal legislation that force states to comply with federal rules.
D) always accompanied by ample federal funding to cover costs of the mandate.
E) are unconstitutional.
Answer: C
Q2) The Defense of Marriage Act
A) was passed by Congress in anticipation of states legalizing same-sex marriage.
B) allows states to ignore same-sex marriages performed in other states.
C) directs federal agencies not to recognize same-sex marriages, even if some states do.
D) was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
E) Options A, B, and C are true.
Answer: E
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Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
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Sample Questions
Q1) In Osborne v. Ohio, the Supreme Court ruled that states can outlaw the possession of child pornography in the home
A) because owning the material perpetuates commercial demand for it and for the exploitation of the children involved.
B) to protect children who may be living in the home.
C) because it universally violates community standards.
D) because it encourages deviant behavior.
E) when it employs graphics, as opposed to mere text.
Q2) In the area of freedom of speech,
A) high schools can impose restrictions on speech that would not be allowed in colleges.
B) high school officials may censor school publications.
C) some universities continue to prohibit "hate speech."
D) campus speech restrictions have usually been ruled unconstitutional.
E) All the above are true.
Q3) Explain how the Fourteenth Amendment and incorporation theory affected the Bill of Rights.
Q4) Explain what symbolic speech is and give examples of Supreme Court decisions on this type of speech.
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Page 6
Chapter 5: Civil Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Fifteenth Amendment provides that
A) citizens will not be denied the right to vote based on skin color.
B) children born in the United States will be granted U.S. citizenship.
C) slavery and involuntary servitude would end.
D) the right to vote will not be denied on the basis of religion or gender.
E) the right to vote shall be determined by state laws.
Q2) When reaching the age of majority
A) a person is entitled to handle one's own affairs without parental interference.
B) an individual is not legally liable for contracts signed.
C) a person may be subject to more serious penalties for crimes committed.
D) an immigrant is eligible to become an American citizen.
E) Options A and C are true.
Q3) The Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), held that
A) school integration was to take place immediately.
B) school integration was to occur with all deliberate speed.
C) school integration was to take place using the school transportation system.
D) school integration was to take place within two years.
E) Options A and B are true.
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Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization
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Sample Questions
Q1) Peer groups are most likely to influence political attitudes when A) people are over the age of fifty.
B) it is not an election year.
C) people within the peer group do not have strong party identification.
D) the peer group is actively involved in political activities.
E) members of the peer group are all of the same gender.
Q2) In presidential elections, manual laborers, factory workers and union members are
A) more likely to vote for Republican candidates.
B) more likely to vote for Democratic candidates.
C) likely to split their vote between the two major parties.
D) more likely to vote for socialist candidates.
E) more likely to vote for communist libertarian candidates.
Q3) Describe the concept of a generational effect and provide examples of its impact on public opinion.
Q4) Describe the ways in which social media on the Internet can be employed by candidates and political groups.
Q5) Describe the significance and possible origins of the gender gap.
Q6) Explore the means by which political socialization occurs in the United States.
Q7) Discuss four things that influence one's public opinion.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Interest Groups
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71 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain how economic interest groups, public-interest groups, and single-issue interest groups differ from each other.
Q2) A public-policy interest that is not recognized or represented by a group is a
A) free rider.
B) common interest.
C) public benefit.
D) rational incentive.
E) latent interest.
Q3) Foreign governments
A) often contribute large sums of money to key members of Congress.
B) sometimes hire former members of Congress as lobbyists.
C) provide expensive gifts to members of Congress who travel to a country on official government business.
D) are rarely interested in the policy debates concerning trade issues.
E) are prohibited by law from attempting to influence U.S. policy.
Q4) Explain the different incentives Americans have for joining interest groups. What are some examples of the types of groups Americans join?
Q5) Describe legislative efforts to regulate the activities of lobbyists.
Q6) Explain the factors that make an interest group powerful.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Political Parties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is true about the 2008 elections?
A) Fourteen out of the fifteen wealthiest states tended to vote Republican.
B) Southern states voted for Democratic candidates more than for Republicans.
C) Thirteen out of the fifteen poorest states voted Republican.
D) The reverse-income effect proved that those with lower incomes usually vote for independent candidates.
E) In the Democratic presidential primaries, working-class voters voted for Obama rather than for Hillary Clinton.
Q2) Democrats have emphasized
A) limited government.
B) a flat tax that would eliminate the progressive income tax system.
C) social welfare and protection of seniors' benefits.
D) a major reduction in most social programs that result in direct payments to individuals.
E) conservative political ideas.
Q3) Which do you consider yourself-a Democrat, Republican, or Independent? Explain your answer by discussing your viewpoints on the issues that align with one of the above ideologies.
Q4) Analyze the role of cultural politics in recent elections.
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Chapter 9: Campaigns, Elections, and the Media
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Sample Questions
Q1) All of following are true \(\bold{except}\)
A) today's campaigns are centered on the candidate rather than on the party.
B) the goal of a campaign is to convince voters to choose the party's candidate.
C) to run a successful campaign the candidate's organization must be able to raise funds, produce political commercials, and get voters to the polls.
D) campaigns are concerned with getting the support of their party members, but not too concerned with independent voters.
E) campaigns no longer depend on parties because fewer people identify with political parties.
Q2) If a candidate is a highly visible incumbent seeking reelection,
A) the strategy will be to get the incumbent's name before the voters as much as possible.
B) a front porch campaign has been proven most effective.
C) there may be little need for campaigning except to remind the voters of the officeholder's good deeds.
D) the strategy will be to keep as low a profile as possible.
E) the incumbent must devote almost every moment to campaigning to avoid seeming overly confident and arrogant.
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Page 11
Chapter 10: The Congress
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Sample Questions
Q1) The necessary and proper clause
A) has expanded the role of the national government relative to the states.
B) has increased the powers of the state governments at the expense of Congress' powers.
C) was in the original Constitution, but was eliminated as a consequence of the Twenty-seventh Amendment.
D) has served to limit the expansion of national authority.
E) is located in the Constitution in the text of the Tenth Amendment.
Q2) All of the following are true of bicameralism \(\bold{except}\)
A) it establishes two bodies in the legislature.
B) the Framers wished to balance the interests and the numerical superiority of the common citizens with the property interests of the less numerous landowners, bankers, and merchants.
C) it provided for House members to be directly elected by the people.
D) it set up different ways to amend the Constitution.
E) originally, senators were to be chosen by elected representatives in the state legislatures who would more likely be members of the elite.
Q3) Explain the different types of committees and their functions.
Q4) Explain the difference between reapportionment and redistricting.
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Chapter 11: The President
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the history of the United States, no president has ever
A) been impeached and acquitted.
B) died while in office.
C) been impeached and convicted.
D) resigned.
E) been impeached.
Q2) The office that includes most of the key personal and political advisers to the president is the
A) Council of Economic Advisers.
B) cabinet.
C) Executive Presidential Office.
D) White House Office.
E) Domestic Policy Council.
Q3) Informal advisors to the president are called
A) FOP, or Friends of the President.
B) the kitchen cabinet.
C) the Executive Counsel.
D) the cabinet.
E) the brain trust.
Q4) Analyze the president's functions as party chief and superpolitician.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: The Bureaucracy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is true of political appointees?
A) The president makes political appointments to most of the top jobs in the federal bureaucracy.
B) Ambassadors to foreign countries are political appointees.
C) Their powers are often exaggerated.
D) Most have little background for their positions and may be mere figureheads
E) All of the above are true.
Q2) Which of the following is not one of the four major types of structures within the executive branch?
A) Independent regulatory agencies
B) Cabinet departments
C) Privatized bureaucracies
D) Government corporations
E) Independent executive agencies
Q3) The number of federal government employees has
A) increased significantly in the last several decades.
B) remained relatively stable for the last several decades.
C) decreased substantially in the last ten years.
D) grown to exceed the number of local government employees.
E) grown to exceed the number of state government employees.
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Chapter 13: The Courts
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Sample Questions
Q1) Sharia law applied to mediation and arbitration in a divorce within the Muslim community
A) is supreme over state laws if both parties agree.
B) is supreme over the Constitution if both parties agree.
C) is reviewed by a court to determine if the decision is not grossly unfair or undermines public policy.
D) can be applied if one party agrees and the other disagrees.
E) All of the above are true.
Q2) According to the Constitution, the Supreme Court can exercise original jurisdiction
A) in matters where the United States is a party.
B) in cases where jurisdiction has been granted by statute.
C) to intervene in a federal case.
D) in cases affecting foreign diplomats and in cases in which the state is a party.
E) over cases appealed from state supreme courts.
Q3) Compare and contrast the theories of judicial activism and judicial restraint and theories of strict construction and broad construction.
Q4) How do recent Supreme Court decisions show how the Court has moved rightward?
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Chapter 14: Domestic and Economic Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) All of the following are concerns about health care in the United States except A) in 2010, more than 49 million Americans did not have health insurance.
B) in 2011 employer-provided health insurance cost $5,429 for single coverage and $15,073 for family coverage.
C) younger workers find it harder to get coverage because they are employed in entry-level jobs without benefits.
D) the cost of healthcare has been growing at a rapid pace, especially for those over age 65.
E) new medical technology and services have made health care less expensive.
Q2) All of the following statements about the Medicare system are true \(\bold{except}\)
A) it pays for hospital and physician bills for almost all U.S. residents over sixty-five years of age.
B) it helps pay for prescription drugs for those over sixty-five.
C) because of caps on reimbursements, some seniors refuse to participate in the program.
D) it is funded out of general government revenues.
E) it is funded by a special tax on wages and salaries.
Q3) Explain the impact of Keynesian economics on fiscal policy in the United States.
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Page 16
Chapter 15: Foreign Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements is true of the terror attacks of 9/11?
A) Americans were forced to change their views of national security.
B) One of the major challenges for U.S. foreign and national security policy became how best to respond to an attack on the United States by China.
C) Americans found that the attacks on the World Trade Center had been planned and carried out by a terrorist network called al Qaeda.
D) Americans still knew that regional conflicts in other parts of the world had no direct impact on the United States.
E) Options A and C are true.
Q2) The key official member of the intelligence community is the
A) Central Intelligence Agency.
B) Department of Defense.
C) Federal Bureau of Investigation.
D) Drug Enforcement Administration.
E) National Security Agency.
Q3) Explain the intervention of the United States in Afghanistan and the problems encountered there by the U.S. Forces.
Q4) What problems might there be if the draft was used again in the United States?
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