Federal Government Midterm

Are the population changes in the U.S. affecting the House of Representatives?

The goods and services affordable to and available to the residents of a nation is a definition for...

Approximately how many illegal immigrants reside in the United States?

Congress passes legislation to ensure that all Americans have access to medical care. Congress's action best illustrates:

To comply with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a department store remodels its restroom facilities to make them more accessible to people in wheelchairs. This action illustrates:

The percentage of the nation's children who live in poverty is

Which group of U.S. states receives the largest number of immigrants?

The widely held, deeply rooted political values of a society is a definition for

According to the Census Bureau, what is the population of the U.S.?

What groups in society are expected to expand significantly in the next 30 to 40 years?

The process through which problems become matters of public concern and government action is a definition for

A group of disabled people picket City Hall, complaining that the city doesn't do enough to provide public services to disabled persons. The group's protest best illustrates:

On what basis does government set the poverty threshold?

During which period of time was the baby boom generation born?

The president convenes a meeting of economic advisors to develop a plan for spending the federal budget surplus. The president's action best illustrates:

Federally funded programs that provide healthcare for certain groups in society include:

The institution with authority to set policy for society is a definition of

Which country has the largest defense budget?

According to the 2000 census, which of the following statements is true about the population of the U.S.?

How many Americans are over the age of 65?

Suppose the United States is hit by an outbreak of food poisoning caused by improperly canned tuna. Which of the following policy responses would you expect to be LEAST likely considering the nation's political culture?

As measured by GDP, which nation has the largest economy in the world?

Which of the following lists the five stages of the pubic policy process in the correct order?

According to demographers, what percentage of the nation's population is white, non-Hispanic?

Which of the following nations has the largest GDP per capita?

The power to declare unconstitutional the actions of government is known as which of the following?

Why did the colonists oppose the taxes imposed by the British after 1763?

The Supreme Court first found an act of Congress unconstitutional in which case?

Both the national government and the state governments may levy income taxes. This is an example of

In Country B, the government arrests political opponents and holds them in jail without filing charges and without a trial. What provision of the U.S. Constitution is designed to prevent such actions from occurring in this country except in times of civil war?

In which of the following forms of government do states have the most power?

In America's constitutional system, ultimate authority to interpret the Constitution is vested in which of the following?

Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce has, over the years, served to

The authority to collect taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce, coin money, and declare war are all examples of

The reserved (or residual) powers are the powers exercised by

Did the framers of the Constitution believe that all policy decisions should be made by majority vote of the people?

The Americans who wrote the Constitution generally believed which of the following?

Which of the following was NOT a major criticism of the government created by the Articles of Confederation?

Which of the following political philosophers had the greatest intellectual influence on the author of the Declaration of Independence

The belief that individual rights transcend the power of government is known as:

Why were the Federalist Papers written?

Which of the following statements most closely reflects the views of an advocate of states' rights?

Suppose a state legislature passes a law making it a crime for anyone to have possessed an assault weapon at any time during the five years prior to the law's passage. Would this law be constitutional?

The authors of the American Constitution anticipated that which branch of national government would be the strongest?

The Full Faith and Credit Clause in Article IV of the Constitution requires that states

A political system that divides power between a central government and state governments is the definition for

Why did the British reorganize their colonial system after 1763?

Representative democracy is a system that

A legal requirement placed on a state or local government by the national government requiring certain policy actions is a definition for

Which of the following is the constitutional basis for the reserved powers?

The cases of Everson v. Board of Ewing Township and Engel v. Vitale dealt with which of the following issues?

The Supreme Court has ruled that freedom of expression is a fundamental right. May the government restrict freedom of expression?

The Interstate Commerce Clause

"No State shall...deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This phrase is found in which of the following sections of the U.S. Constitution?

In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court rule that states must provide attorneys for indigent defendants charged with serious crimes?

The constitutional provision holding that government must follow certain legal procedures before depriving someone of life, liberty, or property is known as

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects against which of the following?

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits

Which of the following is the best explanation for continued racial separation in the nation's pubic schools today?

Which of the following statements is NOT true about the case of Brown v. Board of Education?

According to the Supreme Court, which of the following forms of expression is protected by the Constitution?

The legal requirement that companies and other organizations take positive steps to remedy the effects of past discrimination is known as

A minority business set-aside is

Which of the following cases established the policy known as separate-but-equal?

Which of the following constitutional provisions was written in order to protect the voting rights of former slaves?

Which of the following defines a type of law that is written by a legislative body?

The case of University of California v. Bakke dealt with what issue?

Which of the following statements is true regarding the "suspect classification" doctrine?

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

The case of Gregg v. Georgia dealt with which of the following issues?

The Supreme Court has held that which of the following is entitled to First Amendment protection as freedom of expression?

Roe v. Wade dealt with which of the following issues?

In light of Supreme Court decisions concerning free expression and national security, which of the following forms of expression could be prohibited by the government?

After stopping someone for a routine traffic violation, police officers search the trunk of the car and discover illegal drugs. The defendant's lawyer claims that the police search was illegal and the evidence cannot be used based on

Which of the following statements is true about white primaries?

A national newsmagazine publishes an article on efforts to restrict smoking in public places. Subsequently, the magazine receives 1,500 letters commenting on the article, with nearly two-thirds of the letters favoring tougher restrictions on smoking in public. Would this be an accurate reflection of public opinion on this issue?

Voting in America is a two-step process. Before being able to vote, Americans must:

Which of the following groups is more likely to lose its right to vote due to felony convictions?

Political efficacy refers to which of the following?

The average age of the U.S. population is increasing. What impact would you expect this development to have on voter participation rates?

The U.S. lags behind most other nations in electoral participation and has:

In which of the following elections would you anticipate having the highest participation rate of eligible voters?

Which of the following groups is disproportionately represented among nonvoters?

On which of the following issues has public opinion grown more conservative in recent years?

The process whereby individuals acquire political knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs is known as which of the following?

Which of the following is the most common act of political participation in the U.S.?

How would increased voter turnout most likely influence election results?

After a debate between presidential candidates, a television network invites viewers to phone in to indicate which candidate they think won the debate. What is the best evaluation of the likely accuracy of this survey?

On September 1, a national survey found that 61 percent of Americans favored handgun control. Two months later, a survey showed that 58 percent of Americans favored handgun control. The margin of error for both surveys was plus or minus four percentage points. Which of the following statements is the most accurate evaluation of the two polls?

Battleground states are states:

On which of the following issues would you expect an individual, acting alone, to have the most influence on policy?

Political scientists believe that college attendance has which of the following socializing effects on young people?

Which of the following is associated with increased levels of political participation?

Which of the following is the best description of the relationship between the media and the policy agenda?

In general, studies have found that people from which two areas of the country tend to express more liberal views than people from other areas?

The phrase gender gap refers to:

The Literary Digest poll of 1936 failed because of which of the following problems?

On which of the following issues would you expect lower-income people to express more liberal views than middle-income people?

When does the process of political socialization end for most people?

Which of the following groups of Americans is most likely to support government action for social welfare policies?

Business and trade groups are influential because of which of the following reasons?

The top spending group in 2008 on lobbying activities was

A group that can advocate a cause without being subject to federal campaign laws is

It is said that the media may not tell people what to think, but they do tell people what to think about. This refers to the media's:

A ________ is a short phrase taken from a candidate's speech by the news media for use on newscasts.

Which of the following interest group strategies depends on credibility and information?

Which of the following categories of interest groups is stronger in the industrial states of the Northeast and upper Midwest than in other parts of the country?

Media consolidation means:

When journalists take an adversarial attitude toward candidates and elected officials, it is sometimes referred to as:

Which of the following groups would be more likely aligned with the Republican Party?

Which of the following groups would be most likely to lobby Congress on behalf of African American interests?

Republicans prefer to get their news from which of the following media sources?

Which of the following is NOT an example of an interest group?

Which of the following is a women's group?

Since 1960, coverage by the news media has become:

In which part of the United States does organized labor enjoy the LEAST political influence?

Journalism that presents all sides of an issue and focuses on facts rather than opinion is called:

Which of the following groups is organized primarily to support the interests of Latino civil rights?

Cuban residents who write articles critical of the Cuban government for foreign websites:

Political scientists believe that groups give campaign contributions to candidates seeking office in hopes of gaining access. Which of the following statements best describes the meaning of access?

In general, who among the following receive the most PAC contributions?

Which of the following groups calls itself the citizen lobby, working for campaign finance reform and tighter rules on interest group lobbying?

In the United States, direct government ownership of media outlets:

The Public Broadcasting Servcie (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR):

Political action committees are organized to do which of the following?

Which of the following elections always takes place in November of even-numbered years?

Which of the following groups is the most supportive of the Democrat party?

Conservatism is a political ideology that favors

Which of the following is the strongest contemporary argument in favor of preserving the Electoral College?

Which national party favored partial privatization of Social Security in its 2008 platform?

Organization A takes positions on political issues, raises and spends money in election campaigns, and nominates some of its members as candidates for public office. Organization A is which of the following?

The cases of Baker v. Carr (1962) AND Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) dealt with which of the following issues?

A party platform is

The federal government provides campaign money for qualified candidates running for which of the following offices?

Which of the following parties proclaims that border security is essential for national security?

Which of the following regions has elected the largest proportion of conservative Democrats to Congress?

The governor of a large state is running for reelection. Which of the following items would you expect to be the largest expenditure category in the governor's campaign budget?

On Election Day, a voter who votes for the Republican candidate for president but casts a ballot for the Democrat candidate for Congress is engaging in

How often must legislative district lines be redrawn?

If a state legislature draws an awkwardly shaped district in order to help a particular candidate win election, the legislature could be accused of which of the following?

The gender gap is defined as

Which of the following is an example of the coattail effect?

Which of the following parties wants an energy policy that includes more domestic oil drilling?

Which of the following parties supports gun control?

Liberalism is a political ideology that favors

In the 2008 presidential election, younger people were most likely to support which candidate?

A voter who decided to cast his ballot for all of the Democrats in the 2008 general election is an example of

Why have the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary played such an important role in the presidential nomination process?

In which of the following elections do candidates from the same political party compete against one another instead of against candidates from other parties?

Which statement best explains the meaning of the term divided government?

In the U.S. Senate, how many senators must agree to end a filibuster?

Which of the following actions could the Senate take alone without participation by the House of Representatives?

Which of the following events was not part of the Watergate scandal?

How is the Senate Majority Leader chosen?

According to the Constitution, who is the presiding officer in the U.S. Senate?

A recess appointment allows the president to:

Which of the following statements is true about membership turnover in the U.S. Congress?

Which of the following statements correctly describes the size of the two houses of Congress?

Who of the following presidents was impeached?

Should the president die or resign and the vice president become president, what then happens to the vacant office of the vice president?

Which of the following statements is NOT true about the U.S. Congress?

Assume that the party balance in the U.S. Senate is 55 Republicans and 45 Democrats. Which of the following individuals would be a Democrat?

Which of the following actions requires the participation of BOTH the House and Senate?

Should the president die or resign, which of the following is the correct order of succession?

Which of the following descriptions more accurately describes the Senate as opposed to the House?

Assuming that the Republican Party holds a majority of seats in the U.S. Senate, what title does the Republican leader in the Senate hold?

Which of the following statements more accurately describes the House than the Senate?

The U.S. House passes a bill dealing with healthcare reform. The Senate passes a bill that is similar but not identical to the House bill. What becomes of the legislation?

Members of the White House staff

Which of the following individuals would be most likely to hold the position of Senate president pro tempore?

Assume that the Republican Party holds a majority of seats in the U.S. House. What position in the chamber would you expect the Republican Party leader to hold?

When can the vice president cast a vote in the Senate?

Which of the following presidential actions does not require Senate ratification or confirmation?

Which of the following most accurately describes the process of impeachment and removal?

Which of the following individuals is constitutionally qualified to serve as president?

Which of the following presidents presided over one of the largest expansions of the federal bureaucracy?

Critics of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sometimes argue that the agency acts in the interest of the pharmaceutical industry that it should be regulating rather than in the interest of the public. These critics believe that the FDA is

The Supreme Court's power of judicial review:

In general, presidents usually rely most closely on which of the following cabinet secretaries for policy advice?

Someone who believes that judges should stick close to the literal meaning of the words in the Constitution is an advocate of which of the following?

The Supreme Court votes six to three to decide a case. Justice A is a member of the majority but disagrees with the reasoning presented in the majority opinion. What action might Justice A take?

The Hatch Act deals with which of the following?

Senatorial courtesy refers to which of the following?

Which of the following is not part of the inner cabinet?

The Department of Homeland Security:

Which agency regulates business competition?

Which of the following forms of law does a legislative body, such as Congress, write?

Which of the following legal disputes would most likely be tried in a federal court?

A lawsuit initiated to assess the constitutionality of a legislative or executive act is known as which of the following?

Which of the following is an example of a criminal case?

Which of the following is an example of a cabinet-level executive department?

If the Supreme Court grants certiorari, what has the Court done?

Which of the following would you expect to be the main difference between federal judges appointed by President Bush and judges appointed by President Obama?

Agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and the Environmental Protection Agency are part of which branch of government?

The U.S. Supreme Court rules that an act of Congress is uconstitutional. How might that decision be overturned?

The three levels of federal courts are:

Which of the following is an example of a civil case?

Allegations of improper trading by Wall Street brokers would be investigated by which of the following agencies?

The Postal Service and AMTRAK are examples of which of the following?

Which of the following is part of an iron triangle?