AP GOV practice final

authoritarians

-Preservation of the state is more important than individual liberties -Gov should play a role in preserving a traditional belief system

Equal Protection Clause

14th amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination

Free Exercise Clause

A First Amendment provision that prohibits government from interfering with the practice of religion.

Popular Sovereignty

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

Federalist #10

An essay composed by James Madison which argues that liberty is safest in a large republic because many interests (factions) exist. Such diversity makes tyranny by the majority more difficult since ruling coalitions will always be unstable.

Which of the following scenarios best explains how the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment has influenced political behavior?

Civil Rights leaders, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., cited constitutional arguments as a basis for opposing segregation and inequality.

Establishment Clause

Clause in the First Amendment that says the government may not establish an official religion.

The Supreme Court struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act with their decision in United States v. Lopez (1995). Which of the following statements accurately describes the Supreme Court's reason for its ruling?

Congress exceeded its authority in the use of the Commerce Clause

All of the following are ways in which the legislative branch can check the powers of the Executive EXCEPT FOR

Congress may declare executive orders unconstitutional

Which of the following is an accurate representation of both conservative and liberal political views?

Conservatives: tend to be pro-life; Liberal: favor a progressive tax system

14th Amendment

Declares that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens and are guaranteed equal protection of the laws

categorical grants

Federal grants for specific purposes, such as building an airport

4th Amendment

Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures

1st Amendment

Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition

US v. Lopez

Gun Free School Zones Act exceeded Congress' authority to regulate interstate commerce.

#15 Accurate description of the powers of the House and Senate

House- Initiates all revenue bills; Senate: confirms presidential appointments

Comparison of the US House and Senate

House- Proportional representation; Senate: Equal representation

McDonald v. Chicago

Incorporated the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms to the states

Which of the following statements regarding campaign finance is most accurate since the decision in Citizens United v. FEC?

Interest groups and corporations have more influence in elections than ever before.

Which of the following reflects the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade (1973)?

It ruled that a woman's right to an abortion was a privacy right incorporated to all of the states.

politico representation

Legislators follow their own judgment until the public becomes vocal about a particular matter, at which point they should follow the dictates of constituents

McCulloch v. Maryland

Maryland was trying to tax the national bank and Supreme Court ruled that federal law was stronger than the state law

block grant

Money given to states for general programs within a broad category

Which of the following accurately describes who is allowed to vote in a closed primary?

Only members of that party

Legislative checks Executive

Override bills, approve appointments, impeach

Concurrent powers

Powers held jointly by the national and state governments.

Shay's Rebellion

Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.

Trustee Representation

Representatives do what they regard as the best interest of the voters independent of what the voters want.

ABC News declares one presidential candidate the winner in a televised debate. In this role ABC News is acting as the

Scorekeeper

Which of the following statements regarding voter turnout in public elections is most accurate?

Senior citizens are more likely to vote than are college students

A newly elected president faces a Senate controlled by the opposition party. Which of the following presidential appointments is the most likely to encounter difficulty with confirmation by the Senate?

Supreme Court Justice

Which of the following features of the US Constitution would most concern the author of Brutus 1

The Supremacy clause, which gives the federal government authority over states.

A woman is arrested for possessing illegal substances that were obtained after a warrantless search of her home by local police. Which of the following best explains whether the evidence could be used in a criminal trial?

The exclusionary rule, derived from the Fourth Amendment, prevents the evidence from being used against the suspect.

Which of the following best describes the relationship between socioeconomic status and participation in politics?

The higher one's socioeconomic status, the greater the probability of active involvement in the political process.

selective incorporation

The process by which provisions of the Bill of Rights are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and so applied to state and local governments.

In a public opinion poll of a representative sample of a population, 1,200 people were asked to agree, disagree, or express neutrality toward the following statements. Statement A: The government should spend more money on welfare. Statement B: The government should spend more money on helping the poor.

The questions contained a difference in wording

Marbury v. Madison

This case establishes the Supreme Court's power of Judicial Review

libertarians

Those who are opposed to using government to promote either order or equality.

Brutus #1

To argue against a strong central government. The country would be too large for one central government and the government would have too much power.

Columbia v. Heller

Until 2008, the Supreme Court interpreted Second Amendment to mean there was no Constitutional right to keep and bear arms outside the context of a state militia; This case(2008) overturned this interpretation

How are congressional committee chairs determined?

Usually the longest serving members of the committee become chairs

The New York Times publishes an article showing evidence that a Senator was using his office to bribe oil industry executives. In this role, the Times is acting as a __

Watchdog

In which of the following situations would the Supreme Court be most likely to utilize the doctrine of selective incorporation?

When an individual claims that a right protected by the Bill of Rights is infringed upon by a state

Delegate Representation

When representatives follow expressed wishes of the voters

Based on the demographic information provided, which of the following individuals would MOST LIKELY vote for a Republican candidate

a 44-year-old white male with some high school education who is employed as a laborer in Kentucky

Congressional Committees

a legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty

what is margin of error

a measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll

#24 Which of the following scenarios illustrates an action that would be protected by the free exercise clause in the First Amendment?

a person wears a necklace bearing a Christian cross to work a federal agency

Which of the following most accurately describes an Exit Poll?

a poll that asks voters at randomly selected voting places whom they voted for so that election results can be predicted more quickly

Which of the following is an example of a check and balance among the branches of government?

a treaty negotiated by the president with a foreign government must be ratified in the Senate by a 2/3 majority

political socialization

agents of political socialization: family, school, peers, media, group membership, political generations

3/5ths Compromise

agreement providing that enslaved persons would count as three-fifths of other persons in determining representation in Congress

what is a push poll

an ostensible opinion poll in which the true objective is to sway voters using loaded or manipulative questions.

Which of the following types of federal funding would the states most likely prefer according to the political cartoon?

block grants

Which of the following statements best explains the diagram above?

cases arising at both the state and federal level may be appealed to the United States Supreme Court

Which of the following statements most accurately describes lobbying?

communication as a representative of an interest group with government officials to persuade them to support a particular policy

The term 'horse-race journalism' refers to the tendency of the media to

cover campaigns by emphasizing the relative standings of the candidates in the polls rather than the issues they discuss

Settled Law/stare decisis

decisions of the supreme court that have remained unchanged for a long time

A member of Congress votes in favor of a bill as a result of receiving many letters of support for the bill from constituents. Which form of democratic representation best describes this voting decision?

delegate

#20 A public school district implemented a policy that allowed students to vote on whether they wanted a student-led prayer to be read at football games. This policy was later found to be unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court. Which of the following clauses did the policy most likely violate?

establishment clause

What is random sampling?

everyone in the population has an equal chance of being studied

Which of the following is an accurate description of the decision in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)?

federal government had the authority to establish a national bank as it was an implied power of Congress, and Maryland's tax was unconstitutional as it violated the Supremacy Clause

On which constitutional principle did the Supreme Court base its ruling in Citizens United v. FEC?

freedom of speech

Which of the following statements is true regarding congressional elections?

incumbents have built in advantages as opposed to their challengers, such as name recognition and experience

An expenditure for a communication that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate and which is not made in coordination with any candidate, or his or her authorized committees or agents is referred to as?

independent expenditure

On November 2, 2014, a Gallup poll reported that 51 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana, while 47 percent oppose legalization. The reported margin of sampling error was +/- 4 percent. Which of the following inferences can be made from the poll?

it cannot be determined with certainty whether more people support marijuana legalization than oppose it.

Which of the following sets of policies aligns with libertarian ideology?

legalize the commercial sale of marijuana and reduce government spending on prisons

Which of the following accurately describe what the Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional in their decision in Citizens United v. FEC?

limits on corporate political expenditures

A committee chair in the House of Representatives and Senate is always which of the following?

member of majority party

The Declaration of Independence states "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Which of the ideals of democracy does this excerpt support?

popular soverighnty

Which of the following types of public opinion polls is the cartoonist referencing in the image above? "If the election were today would you: a. vote against republicans b. throw the corrupt evil bums out or, c. banish the GOP to everlasting scorn and ridicule?

push poll

During his confirmation hearing, Chief Justice John Roberts stated that Roe v. Wade (1973) "is the settled law of the land." This statement suggests that in a case that challenges the constitutionality of legislation restricting privacy and reproductive rights, which of the following should be a key factor in the court's ruling?

reliance on legal precedent, or stare decisis

McDonald v. Chicago (2010) and District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) both dealt with issues surrounding which of the protections found in the Bill of Rights?

right to bear arms

Prior to being banned in 2002 by the McCain-Feingold Act, unlimited monetary contributions that were earmarked for party-building expenses at the grassroots level or for get out the vote purposes were known as _

soft money

Which of the following statements offers the most accurate interpretation of the political cartoon?

state governments want federal funding but do not want federal oversight over how the money is spent

Which of the following best illustrates a formal check on the power of the bureaucracy

the Secretary of Defense being called to testify before the Senate Armed Forces Committee

#19 Which of the following accurately describes what the Supreme Court established with its decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803)?

the Supreme Court can interpret the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress

Two interest groups are competing for influence in Congress. One group represents Wall Street banking institutions, while the other advocates for consumer protections. A critic of the influence of interest groups would make which of the following claims

the banking interest group likely has greater financial resources and access to policy makers than the consumer protection group

Which of the following best describes the concept of political efficacy?

the belief that an individual can make a difference in politics by expressing an opinion and acting politically

Which of the following would the most important consideration if a voter votes according to the prospective model?

the campaign promises made by the candidates

Which of the following statements best describes how the winner-take-all allocation of Electoral College votes work?

the candidate who wins the popular vote in a state wins all of its Electoral College votes

What is public opinion?

the distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues

In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), the Supreme Court ruling limited state action in segregating public school students based on their race, stating "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The Court pointed to which of the following amendments to the United States Constitution to achieve this ruling?

the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

In Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton argued that the federal judiciary "is beyond comparison the weakest of the three departments of power." Which of the following statements represents his reasoning for this argument?

the federal judiciary has no reinforcement mechanism, and must rely on the executive branch to enforce its decisions

Using both of the maps, which of the following best explains the role that ideology has played in the shaping of corporate tax rates?

the maps indicate that states that have high corporate tax rates are more likely to enact liberal policies

Where are the Democratic and Republican candidates for president formally nominated by their respective party

the national party conventions

Which of the following was a direct outcome of the Three-Fifths Compromise?

the number of representatives in the House of Representatives from slaveholding states increased

#27 Which of the following enumerated powers would permit Congress to increase military spending?

the power to pass a federal budget

Political socialization is a term that best refers to

the process by which individuals acquire political beliefs and values

why are questions important in polling

the way the question is asked influences the way it is answered

In the 1780's, proponents of the new Constitution cited Shays' Rebellion as an example in support of which of the following criticisms of the national government under the Articles of Confederation?

there was a lack of a national military power to address security concerns

Concurrent powers have which of the following effects on the United States political system?

they make it possible for both the states and national government to simultaneously exercise influence in the same areas of public policy

social conservatives

those who endorse limited government control of the economy but considerable government intervention to realize a traditional social order; based on religious values and hierarchy rather than equality

economic conservatives

those who favor a strictly procedural government role in the economy and the social order

economic liberals

those who favor an expanded government role in the economy but a limited role in the social order

social liberals

those who favor greater control of the economy and the social order to bring about greater equality and to regulate the effects of progress

What leads to polls being "bad or inaccurate"?

turnout, how the question is asked, only asked to a specific population

Federalist #78

written by Alexander Hamilton; talks about the federal judiciary; judiciary must depend on other two branches to uphold its decisions

Are exit polls reliable?

yes