Which of the following is not considered a core political ideal in the United States?
Socialism
The reality that officials in the United States spend comparatively less
money on government programs for the poor than other fully
industrialized democracies reflects the American ideal of
individualism
The two primary sources of political conflict are
scarcity and differences in values.
Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean Jacques Rousseau would all have agreed with which of the following statements?
All legitimate governments are based on a social contract.
In Leviathan (1651), _____ argued that the government rests on a
social contract in which ordinary people surrender what they would have
in the state of nature in return for the protection a sovereign ruler
could provide.
a substantial division of governing authority.
Which of the following statements provides the most accurate description of democracy as practiced in the United States?
The people govern through elected representatives.
Which of the following is an input into the American political system?
E)All these answers are correct.
A)public opinion
B)voting
C)political parties
D)interest groups
E)All these answers are correct.
Which of the following is an output of the American political system?
law passed by Congress and presidential decision in foreign policy
In contrast to most regimes established by military coups in recent decades, Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia were
totalitarian.
Pluralists such as _____ argue that government responds to the true interests of most Americans most of the time.
Robert Dahl
Thomas Jefferson counted the founding of which university to be among his greatest accomplishments?
the University of Virginia
Being the world's highest rate, roughly _____ of Americans have a college degree.
one-quarter
Which of the following statements is true?
E)All these answers are correct.
A)Slavery lasted for almost 250 years in America.
B)The Jim Crow era followed the Civil War.
C)In 1882, Congress suspended Chinese immigration on the assumption that the Chinese were an inferior people.
D)President Calvin Coolidge asked Congress for a permanent ban on Chinese immigration in 1923.
E)All these answers are correct.
Which of the following statements is true of African Americans today?
E)All these answers are correct.
A)African Americans have equal rights under the law.
B)African Americans are twice as likely as whites to live in poverty.
C)African Americans are twice as likely as whites to be unable to find a job.
D)African Americans are twice as likely as whites to die in infancy.
E)All these answers are correct.
Which Western philosopher declared in a political tract from 1690 that
all individuals have certain natural rights, including those of life,
liberty, and property?
John Locke
In which famous document did James Madison argue that government is most
dangerous when a single group gains complete political control?
Federalist No. 10
The Federal Reserve Board is illustrative of the _____ theory of political power.
elitist
Which of the following is true of majoritarianism in the United States?
E)All the statements are true, except the statement that the public is interested and well-informed on all policy issues.
A)Majorities do sometimes rule in America.
B)In many policy areas, majority opinion is ignored by policy makers.
C)When majority opinion on major issues changes, policy tends to change in that direction as well.
D)The public is interested and well-informed on all policy issues.
E)All the statements are true, except the statement that the public is interested and well-informed on all policy issues.
_____ refers to the characteristic and deep-seated beliefs of a particular people about government and politics.
Political culture
Americans prefer wealth to be allocated by government direction and control rather than through the marketplace.
False
Compared with European democracies, Americans show a weak commitment to equality and social welfare programs.
True
A major characteristic of the American political system is its extraordinary emphasis on individual rights.
True
The concept of constitutionalism allows for some restrictions to be put on the exercise of individual rights.
True
Americans practice democracy by using the representative model rather than by direct rule.
True
In American society, political conflict occurs primarily over scarcity
of resources and access to a guaranteed minimum standard of living.
False
Equality of opportunity is not an important concept in the United States.
False
The United States has one of the most costly and elaborate sets of
programs for the poor and disadvantaged of any of the industrialized
democracies.
False
Pluralism is the principle that Americans should be free to act and think as they choose.
False
The United States has the world's most elite system of college education.
False
ESSAY QUESTION
1.Identify and define four major theories of political power.
2According to the author, what are the five encompassing tendencies of American politics?
3 What is the social contract? How is the social contract embodied in the U.S. Constitution?
4 What are the major rules of American politics? What do these rules establish?
5 What are America's core political ideals? What is the power of these ideals?
In the American political context, John Locke's conception of
inalienable rights and the legitimacy of the social contract found its
most explicit statement in
the Declaration of Independence.
What was the significance of Shays's Rebellion?
It demonstrated that Congress was weak and unable to respond to crises in an effective manner.
The three-fifths compromise dealt directly with the issue of
apportionment of taxes and seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Anti-Federalists opposed ratification of the Constitution because
E)All the answers are true, except that they felt the national government would be too weak and ineffective.
A)they felt that the national government would be too powerful.
B)they felt that the national government would threaten the sovereignty of the states.
C)they felt that the national government would threaten the liberty of the people.
D)they felt that the national government would be too weak and ineffective.
E)All the answers are true, except that they felt the national government would be too weak and ineffective.
Under the Articles of Confederation,
E)All are true, except the president did not overshadow Congress.
Which of the following states had the largest percentage of African Americans in 1790?
South Carolina
In Federalist No. 10, James Madison warns against the dangers of
factions
The principle of checks and balances is based on the notion that
power must be used to offset power.
Marbury v. Madison (1803) became the foundation
for judicial review by the federal courts.
Under the original Constitution, U.S. senators were elected by
state legislatures.
_____ persuaded the states to choose their presidential electors on the basis of the popular vote.
Andrew Jackson
Which reforms occurred during the Progressive Era?
After Andrew Jackson's time, which three candidates won the presidency after losing the popular vote?
E)All these answers are correct
A)initiative
B)referendum
C)recall election
D)primary election
E)All these answers are correct
After Andrew Jackson's time, which three candidates won the presidency after losing the popular vote?
Rutherford B. Hayes (1876), Benjamin Harrison (1888), and George W. Bush (2000)
Under the U.S. Constitution, members of the U.S. House of
Representatives have a _____ term, members of the U.S. Senate have a
_____ term, and the president has a _____ term.
2 year; 6 year; 4 year
_____ wrote The Federalist Papers.
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay
The Constitution forbids Congress from
passing ex post facto laws and imprisoning a person indefinitely without being charged.
Which of the following nations has neither separation of powers nor judicial review?
Great Britain
Under the Constitution,
representation in Congress.
_____ was the only state in existence that did not send a delegation to the Philadelphia Convention (1787).
Rhode Island
John Locke maintained that a government, if originally put into place by legitimate means, could never be revoked legitimately.
False
The case of Marbury v. Madison established the power of the Supreme Court to decide the constitutionality of an act of Congress.
True
In a parliamentary democracy, policy is made by direct referendum from the people, since there is no legislature.
False
There is no provision in the U.S. Constitution for any form of direct
popular participation in public policymaking, such as a national
referendum.
True
The staggered terms of office for the House, Senate, and president were
devised by the writers of the Constitution in order to provide voters
with more frequent opportunities to go to the polls.
False
The U.S. Constitution was an attempt to strike a balance between representative government and limited government.
True
Over time, the American national political system has become more responsive to popular majorities.
True
Federal justices are the only national leaders who can serve for life unless they are impeached or have committed a crime.
True
Thomas Jefferson's "Revolution of 1800" was based on rejection of the elite-centered politics of President John Adams.
True
Since presidential electors have been chosen on the basis of popular vote, there has not been a president elected who lost the popular vote and won the electoral vote.
False
ESSAY QUIZ CH 2
1. Identify the fundamental flaws of the Articles of Confederation.
2What was the central importance of Shays's Rebellion?
3What were the major goals of the Framers of the U.S. Constitution?
4What political reforms occurred during the Progressive Era?
5How did the Framers ensure that popular rule would be limited in the United States?
The Framers of the Constitution created a federal system of government because
E)All these answers are correct.
A)the states already existed.
B)they felt that it would protect liberty.
C)they felt that it would provide the foundation for an effective national government.
D)the confederal system in existence was ineffective.
E)All these answers are correct.
_____ initially proposed that Congress charter a national bank.
Alexander Hamilton
What was the constitutional basis for the Supreme Court's decision in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)?
Under the doctrine of implied powers, Congress had the power to create a
national bank because it was assigned the powers to tax, borrow money,
and regulate interstate commerce under the Constitution and national law
was supreme over conflicting state law.
_____ created the doctrine of nullification based on the premise that
each state had the constitutional right to nullify a national law.
John C. Calhoun
What happened in the Dred Scott case of 1857?
All the statements are true, except the statement that the Supreme Court justices ruled that slavery was unconstitutional.
In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court justices
created the "separate but equal" standard.
Why do southern states get more revenue from the federal government than most other states?
Poverty is more widespread in the South than other areas.
Which of the following nations does not have a unitary form of government?
Canada
Which of the following is true about the Supreme Court between 1865 and 1937?
It consistently restricted national power and ruled that Congress could not regulate child labor.
At the worst depths of the Great Depression, _____ percent of the nation's work force was unemployed.
25
In 1994, Republican House leader, _____ declared that the "1960s-style federalism is dead."
Newt Gingrich
Devolution has resulted in
a modification of fiscal and cooperative federalism rather than their demise.
_____ was a leading figure in the American Revolution and later opposed ratification of the Constitution on the grounds that the national government should be a union of states and not also of people.
Patrick Henry
Federalism was invented in
America in 1787.
In 1937, Justice _____ abandoned his opposition to Franklin Roosevelt's policies and thus gave the president judicial support of key provisions of his New Deal legislation.
Owen Roberts
Cooperative federalism has been likened to
a marble cake.
Which Supreme Court case allows Congress to ban marijuana even in states that have authorized it for medical use?
Gonzalez v. Raich
During the six years under the Articles of Confederation,
Congress did not raise enough money to pay the interest on Revolutionary War debts.
In Schechter v. United States (1935), the Supreme Court
invalidated the National Industry Recovery Act, ruling that it usurped powers reserved to the states.
The No Child Left Behind Act
increased federal control over state and local education policy.
Federalism is the name given to a way to allocate power between the nation and the states.
True
The supremacy clause protects state power in providing that state law is supreme to conflicting national law.
False
The authority of the national government is specified by the Constitution's enumerated and implied powers. Authority not granted in this way is left to the states as reserved powers.
True
In the McCulloch case, the meaning of the "necessary and proper" clause was tested over the issue of whether the national government could establish a postal service.
False
In 1886, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations were "persons" under the Fourteenth Amendment and thus could protect their property rights from state regulation.
True
In the twentieth century, the national government expanded its economic power, supported by its superior taxing powers and a broad interpretation of the commerce clause.
True
Block grants allow state and local officials to exercise discretion in the national government over the use of federal funds within broad categories such as education or health.
True
Under the first national government based on the Articles of Confederation, the American national government was weak because the central government had no way, short of war on the states, to make the states comply with laws.
True
In terms of constant dollars (dollars adjusted for the rate of inflation), federal grants-in-aid have increased tenfold in the past four decades.
True
Most countries in the world have a federalist type government similar to that of the United States.
False
Essay Questions Ch 3
1.Why did the Framers choose to create a federal system of government?
2Describe the doctrine of dual federalism.
3Describe the doctrine of cooperative federalism.
4What are the two major types of assistance from Washington, D.C. to state and local governments?
5What prompted the devolution movement of the end of the twentieth century?
The Bill of Rights was enacted in
1791
Which test did the Supreme Court justices devise for free speech in Schenck v. United States (1919)?
clear and present danger test
In 1925, the Supreme Court justices decided that the Fourteenth Amendment applied to the states in
Gitlow v. New York.
Which amendment guarantees freedom of assembly?
First
In _____, the Supreme Court justices required the states to furnish attorneys for poor defendants in all felony cases.
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
In 2007, the Supreme Court reversed an earlier ruling by determining that bans on partial-birth abortion were constitutional. One cause of this shift was the replacement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor by
Samuel Alito.
Of the following nations, which has the largest rate of incarceration?
United States
Which Supreme Court case dealt with the publication of the "Pentagon Papers"?
New York Times Co. v. United States
What happened in Engel v. Vitale (1962)?
The Supreme Court justices banned the reciting of prayers in the public schools.
Which of the following statements is true?
Since Roe v. Wade, public opinion on abortion has not changed greatly.
Which state has executed more prisoners in the past 25 years than any other state?
Texas
The _____ Amendment prohibits "cruel and unusual punishment."
Eighth
Which 1973 Supreme Court case stated that obscenity must be defined by "contemporary community standards"?
Miller v. California
Civil liberties
are not absolute and must be balanced against other considerations.
What was the constitutional justification of selective incorporation by the Supreme Court?
Fourteenth Amendment due process clause
England's Glorious Revolution in 1689 focused primarily on the issue of
religion.
The statement, "You have the right to remain silent...Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law...You have the right to an attorney," is called the
Miranda warning.
_____ is a written attack on a person's reputation.
Libel
Which of the following is true of the USA Patriot Act of 2001?
E)All these answers are correct.
A)Government was granted more leeway in its wiretapping activities.
B)Authorities were granted more discretion and a lower burden of proof when seeking to wiretap a suspected terrorist.
C)Government was granted enhanced investigative powers.
D)It has led to a reduction of America's constitutional protections.
E)All these answers are correct.
Individual rights ultimately must be protected by
open-minded representatives and a tolerant citizenry.
Although the Constitution says that Congress shall pass "no law" restricting freedom of speech, the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution has specified instances in which congressional limitation of speech is lawful.
True
Prior restraint refers to the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure by law enforcement officials.
False
The clear-and-present-danger test was developed by the Supreme Court in response to the Sedition Act of 1798.
False
Selective incorporation is the process by which the Fourteenth Amendment has been interpreted to protect liberties listed in the Bill of Rights from infringement by the states.
True
When the two conflict, the First Amendment's free exercise clause takes precedence over the establishment clause.
False
The exclusionary rule holds that evidence obtained through unlawful search and seizure is inadmissible in court.
True
The Supreme Court has tended to be more protective of and sensitive to civil liberties than have elected officials or popular majorities.
True
The Supreme Court ruling in the Roe v. Wade abortion case derived from an earlier ruling upholding the right of privacy.
True
Since the 1980s, Supreme Court decisions have tended to weaken the protections of the exclusionary rule for defendants.
True
Amnesty International found that the United States ranks lowest in the number of people it places behind bars and in the length of sentences for various categories of crime.
False
ESSAY QUIZES
1 What did the Supreme Court justices rule in the 2002 case from Cleveland, Ohio that addressed the issue of vouchers?
Since 1973, how have the Supreme Court justices addressed the issue of abortion and the law?
2 Since 1973, how have the Supreme Court justices addressed the issue of abortion and the law?
3 In the past two decades, how has the Supreme Court evolved in dealing with cases involving sexual relations among consenting adults?
4What are the specific procedural protections in the U.S. Constitution?
5 What is racial profiling? Does this practice continue in the United States?
