United States Political Institutions
Pre-Test Questions
Course Introduction
This course provides an in-depth examination of the major political institutions in the United States, including the Congress, the Presidency, the federal judiciary, and the bureaucracy. Focusing on their historical development, structural organization, and functional roles within the American political system, students will analyze how these institutions interact with each other and with broader social, economic, and cultural forces. The course also explores key concepts such as federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and the influence of public opinion and interest groups on institutional decision-making. Through readings, case studies, and discussions, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of how U.S. political institutions shape governance and policy outcomes.
Recommended Textbook
American Government and Politics Today The Essentials 17th Edition by Barbara A. Bardes
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Democratic Republic
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Sample Questions
Q1) All of the following are fundamental values of American political culture \(\bold{except}\)
A) economic and personal liberty.
B) private property.
C) equality of race, gender and religion.
D) radical egalitarian beliefs.
E) market based capitalism.
Answer: D
Q2) Evidence that the gap between rich and poor has grown includes
A) salaries have stagnated in the last ten years.
B) the number of millionaires and billionaires has grown.
C) it is harder to advance in the United States as compared to other developed nations.
D) the income of the top 5 percent has grown faster than other sectors.
E) All of the above are true.
Answer: E
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3
Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Great Compromise
A) was advanced by the delegates from Georgia.
B) proposed a bicameral legislature with equal representation in the Senate.
C) was presented too late to be considered.
D) was proposed by Texas.
E) proposed a unicameral legislature in which each state would have one vote.
Answer: B
Q2) The only formal method used so far to propose an amendment to the Constitution is
A) the popular vote of the people.
B) a two-thirds vote in favor of it by both houses of Congress.
C) state legislatures or conventions in three-fourths of the states.
D) a national convention.
E) a proposal by the president.
Answer: B
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Chapter 3: Federalism
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the case of Gibbons v. Ogden
A) the national government lost the power to regulate intrastate commerce.
B) state governments won the right to control navigation in interstate waters.
C) the power to regulate interstate commerce was determined to be an exclusive national power of the federal government.
D) the ruling provided the national government with decreasing power over economic affairs throughout the land.
E) the Supreme Court found that commerce was defined as the exchange of goods and not navigation or transport of people.
Answer: C
Q2) Which government system is used most in the world today?
A) Unitary system
B) Confederate system
C) Federal system
D) Bicameral system
E) None of the above is true.
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
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Q1) Under which circumstances is the government able to interfere with freedom of speech?
Q2) A concern with school vouchers is that they may be used at religious schools and, therefore, violate the
A) establishment clause.
B) supremacy clause.
C) free exercise clause.
D) Fifth Amendment.
E) exclusionary rule.
Q3) The Miranda rule
A) was overturned by a Supreme Court decision.
B) forbids the admission of illegally seized material evidence at trial.
C) cannot be used to prevent confessions from being introduced as evidence.
D) requires that suspects be read their rights before questioning.
E) All of the above are true.
Q4) Explain how the Fourteenth Amendment and incorporation theory affected the Bill of Rights.
Q5) What are the Miranda rights? What exceptions have been allowed to these rights?
Q6) Explain what symbolic speech is and give examples of Supreme Court decisions on this type of speech.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Civil Rights
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Q1) Explain the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education and the impact it had on education and the new problems it created.
Q2) Contrast the approaches of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.
Q3) Which of the following about the civil rights movement is true?
A) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. advocated nonviolent civil disobedience as a means to rational justice.
B) African Americans were alone in the nonviolent demonstrations for civil rights.
C) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led the black power movement.
D) Advocates of the black power movement only advocated peaceful racial assimilation.
E) The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom celebrated the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Q4) 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.
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization
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Q1) Determining which public policy questions will be debated or considered is known as A) consensus building.
B) opinion leadership.
C) public opinion.
D) agenda setting.
E) political socialization.
Q2) The gender gap
A) was first revealed in polling in the 1980s.
B) was first revealed in polling in the 1960s.
C) is the difference between the percentage of women and men who vote for a particular candidate.
D) is the difference between the number of men and women who turn out to vote in elections.
E) Options A and C are true.
Q3) Describe the ways in which social media on the Internet can be employed by candidates and political groups.
Q4) Discuss four things that influence one's public opinion.
Q5) Describe the significance and possible origins of the gender gap.
Q6) Explain how demographic influences shape voting behavior.
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Chapter 7: Interest Groups
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Q1) Which of the following groups are economic interest groups?
A) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce
B) The American Dairy Association
C) The AFL-CIO
D) The American Federation of Teachers
E) All of the above are true.
Q2) Describe the role played by interest groups in shaping public policy.
Q3) Interest groups
A) have equal resources to influence legislation.
B) possess different combinations of resources to use in the policymaking process.
C) always begin as social movements.
D) are always comprised of members who have high social status.
E) All of the above are true.
Q4) Explain the different incentives Americans have for joining interest groups. What are some examples of the types of groups Americans join?
Q5) Explain the indirect techniques used by interest groups.
Q6) What would be the unintended consequences if lobbying was abolished?
Q7) Describe the categories of economic interest groups and provide examples of each.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Political Parties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Analyze the role of cultural politics in recent elections.
Q2) During the Civil War
A) the issue of slavery did not affect the political party alignment.
B) the political parties realigned to form new parties, one in support of slavery and one opposed.
C) political parties were suspended until the end of the war.
D) the political parties unified behind President Lincoln.
E) All of the above are true.
Q3) Many political scientists contend that third parties
A) have consistently failed because they never reflect the political mood of the nation.
B) serve as a safety valve for dissident political groups, preventing major confrontations and political unrest.
C) can only come into existence if they are organized around a single charismatic leader.
D) can only come into existence if they split off from one of the major political parties.
E) are incapable of being formed from scratch by individuals who are committed to a particular issue or ideology.
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Chapter 9: Campaigns, Elections, and the Media
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Q1) The concerns about concentrated media ownership include
A) concentration could lead to a decline in the democratic debate.
B) media owners might steer the debate.
C) cable news viewers will be lost to newspapers owned by the parent company.
D) Options A and B are true.
E) All of the above are true.
Q2) Describe the steps you can take to become a critical news consumer.
Q3) What are the theories of media bias? Is there evidence to support the claims of media bias?
Q4) Which of the following statements is \(\bold{false}\)?
A) Campaign fund-raising has grown due to a reduction in limits on the process.
B) Recent Supreme Court decisions have made it easier to raise large donations.
C) The media play a minor role in the political process.
D) Newspapers have become less important as new media have become involved in the political process.
E) Political campaigns are long, bitter, and expensive.
Q5) Explain how the electoral college works, the situations in which it has produced controversial results, and the criticisms leveled against it.
Q6) How has the right to vote been expanded since the Constitution was written?
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Chapter 10: The Congress
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Q1) Redistricting is
A) the allocation of seats in the House to each state after each census.
B) the redrawing of district boundaries within each state to ensure equal district populations.
C) a court order to hold new elections because of voting irregularities.
D) altering a legislative formula that apportions spending among the states.
E) normally a bipartisan exercise.
Q2) All of the following are true of the Senate \(\bold{except}\)
A) the Senate has a tradition of unlimited debate as a blocking tactic.
B) the Senate can end debate by invoking cloture.
C) the Senate cannot pass budget bills without first allowing a filibuster.
D) the Senate can circumvent a filibuster by using reconciliation.
E) the Senate use of filibuster has expanded.
Q3) Describe the enumerated or expressed power of Congress.
Q4) Explain the roles played by the members of the House and Senate leadership.
Q5) Explain the functions and rules regarding filibuster, cloture, and reconciliation.
Q6) Explain the difference between reapportionment and redistricting.
Q7) Compare and contrast the trustee and instructed-delegate theories of representation.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: The President
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Q1) The granting of release from punishment for a crime is called a(n)
A) reprieve.
B) congressional sanction.
C) pardon.
D) executive privilege.
E) impeachment.
Q2) Before a treaty can become legally binding, the treaty must be
A) signed by the justices of the World Court.
B) approved by three-fourths of the state governments.
C) ratified by the Supreme Court.
D) approved by a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
E) approved by a majority vote in both chambers of Congress.
Q3) Executive agreements are
A) not valid in foreign policy matters unless approved by the Senate.
B) agreements between the president and a head of foreign government that do not have to be approved by the Senate.
C) an unconstitutional expansion of the power of the president.
D) binding upon future presidents.
E) used to achieve trivial matters, since the most significant issues must be addressed by the Senate.
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Chapter 12: The Bureaucracy
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Q1) Describe the difference between Sunshine laws and Sunset provisions.
Q2) Independent regulatory agencies
A) are administered independently of all three branches.
B) make rules that have the force of law.
C) provide enforcement of the rules they have passed.
D) decide disputes over the rules they have made.
E) All the above are true.
Q3) Describe the manner(s) in which Congress attempts to control the bureaucracy.
Q4) 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.
Q5) Explain both sides of the issue of the privatization of government. Provide examples of ways privatization might make government more efficient and some of the unintended consequences of privatization.
Q6) Describe the evolution of the civil service with particular emphasis on legislation that implemented reforms in government employment policies.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: The Courts
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Sample Questions
Q1) A previous court decision that influences and is the basis for deciding later, similar cases is called
A) a precedent.
B) criminal law.
C) a judicial maxim.
D) common law.
E) statutory law.
Q2) If a case is affirmed, it
A) means all justices unanimously agree on an opinion.
B) is sent back to the court that heard the case.
C) means the decision is valid and must stand.
D) will result in a new trial for the defendant.
E) is accepted as a case that the Supreme Court will hear.
Q3) The last step in the decision-making process of the Supreme Court is
A) announcing its decision to the public and the reasons for it.
B) assigning a justice to write an opinion.
C) deciding if the Court will hear the case.
D) hearing oral arguments in the case.
E) asking the lower court to sent the records of the case for review.
Q4) How do recent Supreme Court decisions show how the Court has moved rightward?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Domestic and Economic Policy
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Q1) Which of the following is not a regressive tax?
A) Social security tax
B) Medicare tax
C) State sales tax
D) Federal income tax
E) Local real estate tax
Q2) Which of the following is true?
A) In the last decade, the rich have increased their share of the nation's income.
B) In the last decade, after adjusting for inflation, the hourly wages of average workers have remained flat.
C) At the end of the last decade, there are more millionaires and billionaires.
D) The top 50 percent of earners pay nearly 100% of the federal income tax.
E) All of the above are true.
Q3) The number of incarcerated persons in the United States
A) includes an equal number of African-American males and females.
B) has increased requiring more prisons to be built.
C) has declined in recent years.
D) is greater in federal prisons than state prisons.
E) is growing mostly due to arrests to prevent terrorism.
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Page 16
Chapter 15: Foreign Policy
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Q1) Describe the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and the efforts to bring peace to this troubled part of the world.
Q2) United States foreign policy toward Europe during most of 1800s was
A) isolationism.
B) interventionist.
C) internationalist.
D) one of détente.
E) multilateral.
Q3) The Department of Defense
A) is smaller than the State Department.
B) was created in 1947, to gather all military activities under one department secretary. C) is headed by the military joint chiefs of staff.
D) has consistently grown in size under every president. E) is staffed entirely by uniformed personnel.
Q4) Will the relationship between the United States and Russia be substantially different from the relationship that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War? Why or why not?
Q5) What problems might there be if the draft was used again in the United States?
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