AMERICAN GOV'T MIDTERM EXAM PRACTICE

Which of the following statements best characterizes the difference between agenda setting and framing? a. Agenda setting is more about how events are interpreted; framing is more about which events are covered by the media. b. Framing is more about how events are interpreted; agenda setting is more about which events are covered by the media. c. Agenda setting is about the criteria by which public officials are evaluated; framing has more to do with whether or not the officials are considered partisan or nonpartisan. d. Agenda setting is something politicians do to the media; framing is something the media does to politicians.

b. Framing is more about how events are interpreted; agenda setting is more about which events are covered by the media.

Which of the following statements concerning political values in the United States is most accurate? a. American values often conflict with each other in practice. b. Because of their diversity, Americans do not share a similar set of core political values. c. The origins of American political values are found in the 1960s. d. American politics relies on its value of neutrality.

a. American values often conflict with each other in practice.

The Boston Tea Party was largely a response to the... a. British government's decision to grant the East India Company a monopoly on the export of tea from Britain. b. British government's decision to remove all of its soldiers from the colonies. c. British government's decision to tax the colonists' personal incomes. d. Boston Massacre.

a. British government's decision to grant the East India Company a monopoly on the export of tea from Britain.

How was political power in the Continental Congress divided under the Articles of Confederation? a. Each state had an equal vote. b. Each state's votes were proportionate to its population. c. Each state's power depended on its geographic size. d. Each state's power depended on its economic wealth.

a. Each state had an equal vote.

Which of the following best summarizes the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954)? a. Racially segregated schools can never be equal. b. States that segregate must spend more money to make African American schools equal. c. States that segregate must spend less money on all-white schools in order to make them equal with African American schools. d. School segregation is unethical but does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment.

a. Racially segregated schools can never be equal.

Online media, by representing a wider range of political views than traditional news sources, have created a: a. more democratic press. b. news monopoly. c. more conservative press. d. more liberal press.

a. more democratic press.

The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth amendments are largely about... a. protections for those accused of committing crimes. b. the right to privacy. c. the demands that citizens be treated equally. d. the limits of Congress regarding economic regulation.

a. protections for those accused of committing crimes.

Under the traditional system of American federalism, most of the fundamental governing in the United States was done by... a. state governments. b. the federal government. c. local governments. d. the courts.

a. state governments.

Why was the Declaration of Independence a remarkable philosophical statement for its time? a. It asserted that slavery was a "morally unjust" institution that should be outlawed. b. It asserted that there were "unalienable rights" that could not be abridged by governments. c. It asserted that laissez-faire capitalism would be the "supreme law of the land" in America. d. It asserted that America was "first and foremost, a Christian nation."

b. It asserted that there were "unalienable rights" that could not be abridged by governments.

The DREAM Act would... a. provide federal scholarships and student loans for all undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as young children. b. provide a route to permanent residency for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as young children via military service or college attendance. c. prohibit undocumented immigrants from receiving benefits from any federal government education program. d. increase the number of student visas available to foreigners by 50%.

b. provide a route to permanent residency for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as young children via military service or college attendance.

What is one of the main differences between those who have gone to college and those who have not? a. Those with a college education are less likely to believe that women and men should have equal roles. b. Those with a college education are more likely to believe that abortion should never be allowed. c. There is a higher level of political participation among those with a college education. d. There is a lower level of political participation among those with a college education.

c. There is a higher level of political participation among those with a college education.

One problem with online news is that when negative stories go viral and spread quickly without fact-checking or respect for the privacy of public figures, it is possible people are reading: a. profit journalism. b. investigatory journalism. c. fake news. d. representative news.

c. fake news

The belief that government is wasteful and should be limited to as few activities as possible is an example of a political... a. culture. b. value. c. ideology. d. interest.

c. ideology.

Which clause is the source of implied powers under the U.S. Constitution? a. full faith and credit b. comity c. necessary and proper d. commerce

c. necessary and proper

Conservatives are more likely than liberals to support... a. government regulation of business. b. abortion rights. c. school prayer d. the expansion of government programs, such as Medicaid.

c. school prayer

The power of the federal government began to expand after 1933 in response to... a. the Supreme Court's ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson. b. World War II. c. the stock market crash of 1929, the Great Depression, and the run on banks of 1933. d. the stock market boom of 1929 and the economic expansion of the "Roaring Twenties."

c. the stock market crash of 1929, the Great Depression, and the run on banks of 1933.

Which clause in the U.S. Constitution affirms that national laws and treaties are the supreme law of the land? a. the full faith and credit clause b. the necessary and proper clause c. the supremacy clause d. the establishment clause

c. the supremacy clause