AP Gov Final

In which of the following did Congress move to regain powers previously lost to the executive branch?

A. Budget and Impoundment Control Act

Which of the following statements about voting behavior in the United States is correct?

A. College graduates are more likely to vote than are those who have at most a high school diploma

Following the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was designed to overturn the

A. Dred Scott Decision

Diversity of public policy throughout the United States is primarily a consequence of

A. Federalism

The advantages of incumbency in congressional elections include which of the following?

A. I and II only (incumbents receive more campaign contributions than do challengers & Incumbents are able to provide important services for individual voters)

Public monies are used to help finance which of the following campaigns?

A. I only (Presidential)

Which of the following is true about the right of free speech, as currently interpreted by the supreme court?

A. It protects the right to express opinions even with the use of actual words.

Supreme Court justices were given tenure subject to good behavior by the framers of the Constitution in order to ensure that

A. Justices are free from direct political pressures

Which of the following is the most important influence on the choice made by voters in presidential elections?

A. Partisan identification

Question: "We hear a lot of talk these days about liberals and conservatives. I'm going to show you a seven-point scale on which the political views that people might hold are arranged from extremely liberal- point 1- to extremely conservative-point 7. Where would you place yourself on this scale? MY POLITICAL VIEWS ARE..." The graph above supports which of the following statements?

A. People with higher incomes are more likely to think of themselves as conservatives than are those with lower incomes

The request of recent Presidents for the line-item veto is a challenge to which of the following principles?

A. Separation of Powers

In McCulloh v Maryland, the Supreme Court established which of the following principles?

A. States cannot interfere with or tax the legitimate activities of the federal government

Of the following, which has been used to most to expand the power of the national governement?

A. The commerce clause of the Constitution

Which of the following is true of amicus curiae briefs?

A. They are used by interest groups to lobby courts

In recent presidential administrations, the principal staff for the President has been made up of members of the

A. White House Office

Which of the following statements about voting patterns is best supported by the table?

A. Women were more likely than men to vote Democratic

The largest amount of political coverage in newspapers during presidential campaigns is devoted to

A. day-to-day campaign activities

The reserved powers of the state governments can best be described as those powers

A. not specifically granted to the national government or denies to the states

The "Miranda Warning" represents an attempt to protect criminal suspects against

A. unfair police interrogation

When selecting a vice-presidential candidate, a presidential nominee is usually concerned primarily with choosing a running mate who

B. Adds balance and appeal to the national ticket

One of the formal tools used by Congress for oversight of the bureaucracy is

B. Authorization of Spending

Which of the following is a significant trend in the presidential nominating process over the past three decades?

B. Increasing importance of presidential primaries rather than state conventions

Which of the following is true about the line-item veto?

B. It is used by many state governors

The most important source of the Supreme Court's caseload is

B. Its appellate jurisdiction

A major reason why the majority of Supreme Court justices have had political experience prior to the appointment to the Court is that

B. Presidents seek to place individuals on the Court whose policy views are similar to their own

The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to

B. Reserve powers to the state

Griswold v Connecticut and Roe v Wade are similar in Supreme Court cases in that both cases are based on the

B. Right of privacy

Congressional district boundaries are usually redrawn every ten years by the

B. State Legislatures

Which of the following procedures results in the removal of the President from office?

B. The House votes for impeachments, and the Senate conducts a trial and reaches a guilty verdict

Which of the following is true under the system of checks and balances?

B. The Senate must ratify treaties negotiated by the President before they become a law

Which of the following statements about Congress is true?

B. The legislative process is frequently lengthy, decentralized, and characterized by compromise and bargaining

Considering all elections at all levels of government, which of the following best describes electoral behavior in the United States?

B. The majority of the electorate does not vote in most elections

Which of the following is the most accurate statement about political parties in the United States?

B. The percentage of voters identifying themselves as either Democrats or Republicans has been declining since the 1970s

The boundaries of United States congressional districts are usually determined by

B. The state legislatures

The data in the table provided clear evidence that

B. The vote in the Midwest predicted the outcome rather consistently

Which of the following is NOT a presidential role authorized by the Constitution?

B. To lead the political party of the President

The Supreme Court ruled the legislative veto unconstitutional on the grounds that such vetoes

B. Violated the principle of separation of powers

A primary election in which voters are required to identify a party preference before the election and are not allowed to split their ticket is called?

C. A closed primary

An election involving more than two candidates in which the person who receives the most votes is the winner is called the

C. A plurality election

States and localities have the most discretion in establishing policy when federal funding is derived from

C. Block Grants

Discrimination in public accommodations was made illegal in the United States as a direct result of the

C. Civil Rights Act of 1964

A president attempting to influence congress to pass a legislative program might employ all of the following strategies EXCEPT

C. Denying campaign reelection funds to legislators who oppose the President's policy stand

The "wall of separation" doctrine refers to the

C. Division of church and state

The data displayed in the table above best supports which of the following statements?

C. House seats are safer from election turnover than are Senate seats

The table above supports which of the following conclusions?

C. III only (The largest percentage increase in political identification between 1952 and 1994 occurred among independents)

The importance of Shay's Rebellion to the development of the US Constitution was that it

C. Indicated that a strong, constitutionally designed national government was needed to protect property and maintain order

Decisions reached by the Supreme Court under the leadership of Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953-1969) did all of the following EXCEPT

C. Invalidate state abortion rights

Interest groups and political parties both promote the Unites States democracy by

C. Linking citizens to the political process

Which of the following best explains why delegates to both the Republican and Democratic Conventions in 1996 were much more likely to have college and postgraduate degrees than was the rest of the voting population?

C. Political activism increases with education levels

Which of the following best illustrated the point being made in the cartoon above?

C. Presidents can have an influence on public policy far beyond their terms of office

The establishment clause in the First Amendment does which of the following?

C. Prohibits the setting up of a state church

A state has 11 electoral votes. In a presidential election, the Democratic candidate receives 48 percent of the state's popular vote, the Republican candidate receives 40 percent of the vote, and an independent candidate receives 12 percent of the vote. If the state is similar to most other states, how will the electoral votes most likely be allocated?

C. The democratic candidate will receive all 11 electoral votes

Which of the following is articulated in the War Powers Resolution?

C. The president must bring troops home from hostilities within 60 to 90 days unless Congress extends the time

Which of the following conclusions about income distribution during the Reagan administration is supported by the table above?

C. The share of income received by the highest fifth increased, whereas the share received by the lowest fifth decreased

Which of the following took place after presidential candidates Truman in 1948, Nixon in 1968, and Clinton in 1992 won only pluralities of the popular vote?

C. The winning candidate took office after receiving less than 50% the popular cotes cast.

A corporate lobbyist would be LEAST likely to have an informal discussion about a pending policy matter with which of the following?

D. A Federal judge in whose court a case important tot he corporation is being heard

Which of the following statements about trends in presidential approval ratings is supported by information presented in the graph above?

D. A president's popularity tends to fall during his term in office

Which of the following is a result of the electoral college system?

D. Candidates focus on the states with the largest population

The President can do which of the following without seeking the consent of either the House or the Senate

D. Deploy troops

In a federal system of government, political power is primarily

D. Divided between the central government and regional governments

An electoral system based on single-member districts is usually characterized by?

D. Domination of the legislature by two political parties

Registered voters directly elect which of the following?

D. III and IV only (Members of Senate & Members of House of Representatives)

Which of the following is generally true of the gerrymandering of congressional districts?

D. It creates districts that favor one political party over another.

Congressional standing committees are best described as

D. Permanent subject-matter committees

In Miranda v Arizona, the United States Supreme court declared that

D. Police must inform criminal suspects of their constitutional rights before questioning suspects after arrest

Political socialization is the process by which

D. Political values are passed to the next generation

Cabinet members often do not have a dominant influence on presidential decision-making because

D. Presidential goals often conflict with the institutional goals of individual cabinet-level agenices

The table best supports which if the following statements about the two elections for which data are provided?

D. Pure Independents were less likely to vote for the Democratic presidential candidate in 1988 than for Democratic House candidates in 1990

Which of the following committees of the House of Representatives sets the conditions for debate and amendment of most legislation?

D. Rules

Which of the following is an accurate statement about committees in Congress?

D. Standing committees oversee the bureaucracy's implementation of legislation

Which of the following statements accurately describes the selection of the caseload for the United States Supreme Court?

D. The Supreme Court is free to choose the cases it hears with only a few limitations

Which of the following best explains the trend depicted in the chart above?

D. The Voting Rights Act of 1965

Which of the following is an example of checks and balances, as established by the Constitution?

D. The requirements that the presidential appointments to the Supreme Court be approved by Senate

Which of the following is one of the central concerns of the First Amendment

D. The right of citizens to petition the government for redress of grievances

Which of the following actions can Congress take if the Supreme Court finds a federal law unconstitutional?

D. Try to amend the Constitution

When 18 to 21 year olds received the right to vote in 1971, in the 1972 national elections they did which of the following?

D. Turned out at a lower rate than the rest of the electorate

Presidents have had the most success in changing the direction of decisions of the federal judiciary by

D. Using the appointment process to select judges with judicial philosophies similar to those of the President

The committee system is more important in the House than in the Senate becuase

D. the House is so large that more work can be accomplished in committees than on the floor

A fundamental source of power for the federal bureaucracy lies in its

E. Ability to set specific guidelines after receiving a general mandate from Congress

Which of the following generalizations about group voting tendencies is true?

E. African American Democrats tend to support more liberal candidates within their party

Which of the following form an "iron triangle"?

E. Executive department, Congressional committee, interest group

The term "fiscal federalism" and "cooperative federalism" refer to situations in which

E. Federal, state, and local governments work together to complete a project, with the federal government providing much of the project funding

All of the following powers are granted to the President by the Constitution EXCEPT

E. Forming new cabinet-level departments

Most of the individual protections of the Bill of Rights now apply to the states because of the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution's

E. Fourteenth Amendment

Which of the following statements can be supported from information in the table above?

E. I, III, and IV only (Federal grants to state and local government have increased substantially in total dollar amount since 1950, Between 1980 and 1990, grants decreased as a percentage of federal outlays, In 1994 states were more dependent on federal grants for revenue than in 1990,1970, or 1960)

All of the following have contributed to an increase in presidential power in the post-1945 era EXCEPT

E. Legislation granting the President the power to impound funds appropriated by Congress

In the 1992 election, the membership of Congress was altered significantly by an increase in the number of

E. Minorities and Women

The table best supports which of the following statements about party identification and voting behavior?

E. People with strong Democratic party identification tend to vote for the Democratic party

The primary function of political action committees (PACs) is to

E. Raise campaign funds to support favored candidates

The role of a conference committee is to

E. Reconcile differences in bills passed by House and Senate

The congressional power that has been contested most frequently in the federal courts is the power to

E. Regulate interstate commerce

The franking privilege refers to the

E. Right of members of Congress to send mail to their constituents at the government's expense

Which of the following statements best describes the organization of the two major political parties in the United States?

E. Separate and largely independent party organizations exist at national, state, and local levels

Which of the following statements about rules of procedure in the House and Senate is correct?

E. The House operates more by formal rules, while the Senate operates more by informal understandings

Which of the following did the most to expand civil rights in the 1950's?

E. The Supreme Court decision declaring state-mandated school segregation to be unconstitutional

When a lower court decision is appealed to the Supreme Court, which of the following is most likely to occur?

E. The Supreme Court will not hear the appeal

The procedure for formally amending the United States Constitution best illustrates which of the following?

E. The federal structure of the United States government

In which of the following scenarios would a presidential veto most likely be upheld?

E. Two-thirds of the representatives and senators are member of the same party as the President.

Critical elections in the United States typically have occured

E. When groups of voters have changed their traditional patterns of party loyalties

Lobbyists try to influence legislators mainly through

E. providing legislators with information on technical issues