Fed. Govt Exam 4

43) Legislation whose tangible benefits are targeted solely at a particular legislator's constituency is often criticized as A) pork. B) logrolling. C) gerrymandering. D) private legislation. E) public interest legislation.

A) pork.

27) The cabinet department with the largest number of full-time civilian employees is the Department of A) State. B) Defense. C) Labor. D) Health and Human Services. E) Education.

B) Defense.

14) Who said the following: "Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us." A) Donald Trump's former Secretary of Defense James Mattis B) Donald Trump's own daughter Ivanka Trump C) Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi D) Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez E) MSNBC host Rachel Maddow

A) Donald Trump's former Secretary of Defense James Mattis

23) What technology led editors to substitute news reports for partisan commentary? A) radio B) telegraph C) broadcast TV D) cable TV E) power-driven printing presses

B) telegraph

30) Which of the following statements is true? A) Objective journalism is based on the communication of facts in a fair manner. B) Yellow journalism attempts to describe what is taking place or has occurred. C) The New York Post is the bulletin board of major newspapers. D) Objective journalism is based on the communication of facts and fairness, while yellow journalism attempts to describe what is taking place or has occurred. E) None of these answers are correct.

A) Objective journalism is based on the communication of facts in a fair manner.

8) Yellow journalism contributed most notably to public support for the A) Spanish-American War. B) Civil War. C) War of 1812. D) Mexican War of 1848. E) American Revolution.

A) Spanish-American War.

15) What did the Supreme Court rule about executive agreements in 1937? A) They are legally binding in the same way that treaties are. B) They can only be issued in matters of national security. C) They will only be binding if reviewed and approved by both houses of Congress. D) They can only be made with the approval of a president's entire cabinet. E) They were ruled unconstitutional and are no longer used by the executive.

A) They are legally binding in the same way that treaties are.

39) Historically, the American press has shifted from A) a political to a journalistic orientation. B) objectivity to subjectivity. C) a journalistic to a political orientation. D) partisan to very partisan. E) negative to positive.

A) a political to a journalistic orientation.

47) The spending bill of 2020 meant to cushion the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak illustrates the dual nature of Congress: A) both a lawmaking institution for the country and a representative assembly for states and districts. B) handling both fiscal and monetary economic policy. C) both doling out money and overseeing tax collection. D) both enacting and reviewing the constitutionality of laws. E) both printing money and spending it.

A) both a lawmaking institution for the country and a representative assembly for states and districts.

37) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has regulatory oversight over which of the following? A) broadcast radio B) magazines C) Internet content D) newspapers E) All these answers are correct.

A) broadcast radio

29) Campaign fundraising tends to be a much greater challenge for A) challengers than for incumbents. B) Republican candidates. C) Democratic candidates. D) candidates in urban areas than for candidates in rural areas. E) men than for women.

A) challengers than for incumbents.

4) In the late 1800s, rapid economic growth placed new demands on the federal government and led it to A) create new federal departments built around economic interests. B) establish the Senior Executive Service. C) reorganize the cabinet in order to make it the center of economic policy making. D) both create new federal departments built around economic interests, and establish the Senior Executive Service. E) None of these answers are correct.

A) create new federal departments built around economic interests.

3) During the era of objective journalism, the commitment of newspapers to two-sided news reporting A) did not extend to their editorializing. B) was enshrined in the editorial section. C) was uniform throughout the sections of a newspaper. D) caused democracy in the United States to deteriorate. E) All these answers are correct.

A) did not extend to their editorializing.

17) Objective journalism is based on the idea that the reporter's job is to A) report the facts and present both sides of a partisan debate. B) report what political leaders want them to report. C) discover what other reporters are saying and provide a uniform interpretation of events. D) scrutinize the partisan debate, and inform the news audience about which party has the better argument. E) All these answers are correct.

A) report the facts and present both sides of a partisan debate.

21) The framers of the Constitution regarded Congress as A) the preeminent branch of the federal government. B) the branch with the least of all the powers of government. C) a body that was most to resemble British traditions in parliamentary government. D) a compromise on the issue of slavery. E) the body solely imbued with the power to veto the laws.

A) the preeminent branch of the federal government.

50) In midterm elections, A) the president's party usually loses seats. B) voter turnout is substantially higher than in presidential elections. C) half the House is up for reelection. D) voters are more likely to have weaker ties to political parties. E) All these answers are correct.

A) the president's party usually loses seats.

45) The presidency was created by Article ________ of the U.S. Constitution. A) I B) II C) III D) IV E) VII

B) II

2) Modern bureaucracy in America is best characterized in terms of A) inefficiency, inflexibility, and red tape. B) hierarchy, specialization, and rules. C) honesty, efficiency, and patronage. D) corruption, incompetence, and spoils. E) waste, red tape, and lack of rules.

B) hierarchy, specialization, and rules.

12) The Whig theory holds that the presidency A) is a shared office, where the president and the cabinet are equally powerful. B) is a limited office whose occupant is an administrator who carries out the will of Congress. C) is the office most representative of the people. D) should provide strong leadership in the area of foreign policy but not in domestic policy. E) is subordinate to the Supreme Court.

B) is a limited office whose occupant is an administrator who carries out the will of Congress.

1) Redistricting A) happens every 4 years. B) is conducted by state legislatures. C) must be approved by Congress. D) must be approved by the highest court in each state. E) has little appreciable effect on who wins or loses congressional races.

B) is conducted by state legislatures.

28) The FCC's requirement for radio stations relating to equal airtime A) included the print media. B) prohibited broadcasters from selling or giving time to political candidates without offering the same to their opponents. C) required broadcasters to air equal amounts of programming that supported both major political parties. D) required broadcasters to give equal time to news programming and commercial advertising. E) required broadcasters to give equal time to third parties as well as the Democrats and Republicans in debates.

B) prohibited broadcasters from selling or giving time to political candidates without offering the same to their opponents.

19) The yellow journalism of the late 19th century was characterized by A) its appearance solely in weekly and monthly magazines. B) the emphasis on sensationalism as a way of selling newspapers. C) prejudice against Asian people and countries. D) an unwillingness to take editorial positions because of a fear of losing circulation. E) the desire to present the news in an objective manner.

B) the emphasis on sensationalism as a way of selling newspapers.

18) The federal government's licensing of broadcasting was based primarily on A) the fact that broadcasting is a national medium. B) the scarcity of broadcasting frequencies. C) the fact that broadcasting was invented after the First Amendment was adopted. D) the desire of national officials to control the content of broadcast news and entertainment. E) a desire to censor reporters so that they would stop criticizing governmental officials.

B) the scarcity of broadcasting frequencies.

38) A president's power has largely depended on A) the margin of victory in the presidential campaign. B) whether circumstances favor strong presidential leadership. C) the president's ability to come up with good ideas. D) the president's skill at balancing the demands of competing groups. E) midterm elections.

B) whether circumstances favor strong presidential leadership.

22) Redistricting happens after the census, which is conducted every ________ years. A) 4 B) 8 C) 10 D) 15 E) 20

C) 10

42) The number of employees in the federal bureaucracy is about ________. A) 80,000 B) 800,000 C) 2.8 million D) 4.8 million E) 8 million

C) 2.8 million

36) The framers of the Constitution saw the ________ as the preeminent component of the federal government. A) Supreme Court B) bureaucracy C) Congress D) president E) None of these answers are correct.

C) Congress

6) The circulation battle of which two newspapers may have contributed to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War? A) Chicago Tribune and Boston Herald B) Los Angeles Times and New York Times C) New York Journal and New York World D) Gazette of the United States and National Gazette E) San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle

C) New York Journal and New York World

26) Congressional staffers spend most of their time on A) constituency service and legislative matters. B) legislative matters. C) constituency service and public relations. D) legislative matters and constituency service. E) public relations.

C) constituency service and public relations.

32) Early American newspapers A) were written and copied by hand. B) were so inexpensive that nearly everyone read a daily paper. C) could not have survived without political party support. D) were more widely read than today's papers. E) All these answers are correct.

C) could not have survived without political party support.

7) Compared to the president and Congress, the bureaucracy A) is held in higher esteem by the public. B) is authorized by a constitutional amendment rather than by the original Constitution. C) has a more direct impact on the daily lives of Americans. D) has changed very little during the nation's history. E) is more easily controlled by the voters.

C) has a more direct impact on the daily lives of Americans.

24) Which of the following is/are the top priority of the vast majority of representatives in the House? A) tax cuts B) environmental deregulation C) reelection D) election reform E) campaign finance reform

C) reelection

34) Senate incumbents have about a(n) ________ chance of winning reelection. A) 57 percent B) 65 percent C) 74 percent D) 84 percent E) 98 percent

D) 84 percent

16) What did Alexander Hamilton argue about war in Federalist No. 69? A) Congress is the only body with enough deliberative powers to be able to justly declare war. B) War under any circumstances is unjust, even in self-defense. C) A president should be allowed to declare war, because only the executive can react quickly enough. D) A surprise attack on the United States is the only justification for war by presidential decree. E) Building a strong military for engagement in foreign wars would be a key ingredient in establishing executive authority.

D) A surprise attack on the United States is the only justification for war by presidential decree.

25) During the early 20th century, which newspaper developed a reputation as the country's best newspaper? A) Washington Times B) Miami Herald C) Los Angeles Times D) New York Times E) Chicago Tribune

D) New York Times

9) What responsibility did the federal government have in the crash of the Boeing 737 MAX equipped with MCAS? A) Government programmers had developed the MCAS. B) Government bureaucrats had required the installation of the foreign-designed system on the Boeing. C) The FAA had thoroughly tested MCAS and not found any flaws with it. D) The FAA had given Boeing wide latitude in judging the safety of MCAS itself. E) The FAA had forged the documentation approving the MCAS system.

D) The FAA had given Boeing wide latitude in judging the safety of MCAS itself.

35) Which of the following is a reason for the relatively weak presidency during the 19th century, as compared to the presidency in the 20thcentury? A) the smaller size and complexity of the federal government B) the sectional nature of the nation's major issues C) the U.S. government's smaller role in world affairs D) all of these factors: the smaller size and complexity of the federal government; the sectional nature of the nation's major issues; and the U.S. government's smaller role in world affairs E) None of these answers are correct.

D) all of these factors: the smaller size and complexity of the federal government; the sectional nature of the nation's major issues; and the U.S. government's smaller role in world affairs

11) In promoting their agency's goals, bureaucrats rely on A) their expert knowledge. B) the backing of the president and Congress. C) the support of clientele groups. D) all of these: their expert knowledge; the backing of the president and Congress; and the support of clientele groups. E) None of these answers are correct.

D) all of these: their expert knowledge; the backing of the president and Congress; and the support of clientele groups.

41) The president's constitutional roles, such as chief executive and commander in chief, A) are based on very precise constitutional grants of power. B) are rooted in tradition only; they have no basis in the language of the Constitution. C) are not subject to check by Congress. D) have expanded in practice to be more powerful than the writers of the Constitution intended. E) are absolute powers under the Constitution.

D) have expanded in practice to be more powerful than the writers of the Constitution intended.

5) Bureaucracy is based on which of the following principles? A) hierarchical authority B) job specialization C) formalized rules D) hierarchical authority, job specialization, and formalized rules E) None of these answers are correct.

D) hierarchical authority, job specialization, and formalized rules

48) Which of the following agencies or departments is likely to have strong allies from a group of particular states in Congress? A) the Department of State B) the Central Intelligence Agency C) the Environmental Protection Agency D) the Department of Agriculture E) the Federal Trade Commission

D) the Department of Agriculture

44) More than ________ of all PAC contributions in recent elections have gone to incumbents. A) 10 percent B) 30 percent C) 50 percent D) 70 percent E) 85 percent

E) 85 percent

46) House incumbents have about a(n) ________ chance of winning reelection. A) 57 percent B) 65 percent C) 74 percent D) 82 percent E) 92 percent

E) 92 percent

13) The Department of ________ was founded in 1889. A) Health and Human Services B) State C) Labor D) Homeland Security E) Agriculture

E) Agriculture

20) Which of the following did the framers want from a president? A) national leadership B) administration of the laws C) direction in foreign affairs D) command of the military E) All these answers are correct.

E) All these answers are correct.

40) Incumbents may have some problems in reelection campaigns if A) disruptive issues such as general public discontent with Congress become prominent. B) the incumbent is tainted with charges of personal misconduct or corruption. C) the election is a midterm election, and the incumbent is of the same party as the president. D) they appear vulnerable, and contributors from outside the state or district might target the race and donate money to the challenger. E) All these answers are correct.

E) All these answers are correct.

10) The FCC restriction requiring broadcasters to "afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of public importance" was known as the A) "Equal Time" rule. B) objective-reporting model. C) signaling function. D) common-carrier function. E) Fairness Doctrine.

E) Fairness Doctrine.

33) The Gazette of the United States was founded to promote the policies of President A) Warren Harding. B) Grover Cleveland. C) William Henry Harrison. D) James Madison. E) George Washington.

E) George Washington.

49) How did Theodore Roosevelt change the conception of the presidency? A) He altered the stewardship theory to reduce the power of the presidency while remaining an activist president. B) He sought to act only within the confines of expressly-granted constitutional authority. C) He rejected the idea of the "strong presidency." D) He cast aside the stewardship theory in favor of the Whig theory. E) He cast aside the Whig theory in favor of the stewardship theory.

E) He cast aside the Whig theory in favor of the stewardship theory.

31) In an average election, about one in ________ House seats is a truly competitive election. A) two B) three C) four D) five E) six

E) six