AP Gov Unit 1 test study guide

The Framers adopted a federal system for all of the following reasons EXCEPT: a Americans' loyalty to state governments was stronger than it was to the United States. b The confederation had clearly failed in managing the country's problems. c Transportation and communication systems were too primitive for a unitary government to work. d Americans had weak allegiance to their states. e The population was too dispersed for a unitary system to work.

Americans had weak allegiance to their states.

(Political cartoon: Jeff Sessions holds up a bottle of "weed be gone" "roundup of offenders in all states") The conflict depicted in the cartoon above is best explained as a result of which of the following political concepts? A. Enumerated powers B. Checks and balances C. Concurrent powers D. Limited government

C. Concurrent powers

The President can do which of the following with out seeking the consent of either the House or the Senate?

Deploy troops.

Following the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was designed to overturn the

Dred Scott decision

Which of the following principles protects, a citizen from imprisonment without trial?

Due process

In the Constitution as originally ratified in 1788, the provisions regarding which of the following most closely approximate popular, majoritarian democracy?

Election of members of the House of Representatives

Which of the following accurately characterizes the main difference between elite theories and pluralist theories of politics in the United States?

Elite theories argue that a single minority dominates politics in all policy areas; pluralist theories argue that many minorities compete for power in different policy areas.

The principle of the supremacy of federal law over state law was affirmed in

McCulloch v. Maryland.

Which of the following provisions of the Constitution best supports the elitist theory of representative democracy? a The Seventeenth Amendment established the direct election of senators. b The president is limited to two terms. c Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms. d Members of the judicial branch are not elected by citizens.

Members of the judicial branch are not elected by citizens

The expansion of the right to vote through various amendments best supports which of the following models of representative democracy?

Participatory democracy

Which of the following actions by the federal government best illustrates the concept of unfunded mandates?

Requiring states and municipalities to provide certain services for their citizens without providing resources to pay for those services

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

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

The Tenth Amendment most often comes into conflict with which section of the Constitution?

The "necessary and proper" clause

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

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

Of the following, which has been used most to expand the power of the national government? a The bill of attainder clause of the Constitution b the Fifth Amendment c The commerce clause of the Constitution d the First Amendment e The habeas corpus clause of the Constitution

The commerce clause of the Constitution

Which of the following is an example of checks and balances, as established by the Constitution? a Media criticism of public officials during an election campaign period b The election of the President by the electoral college rather than by direct election c A requirement that states lower their legal drinking age to eighteen as a condition of receiving funds through federal highway grant programs d The Supreme Court's ability to overturn a lower court decision e The requirement that presidential appointments to the Supreme Court be approved by the Senate

The requirement that presidential appointments to the Supreme Court be approved by the Senate

Which of the following statements would best support the assertion that the United States is a participatory democracy? a The sheer number of interest groups in the United States has significantly slowed the legislative process. b Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the right to vote was expanded to more citizens in the United States. c A college education has become an informal qualification for holding national office. d Most political candidates accept contributions from political action committees and interest groups.

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the right to vote was expanded to more citizens in the United States.

Which one is NOT a presidential role authorized by the Constitution? a To be chief executive b To negotiate treaties with foreign nations c To lead the political party of the President d To be commander in chief of the armed forces e To present the State of the Union address

To lead the political party of the President

The United States has increasingly relied on the national government to solve problems primarily because:

a problem or policy often requires the authority and resources of the national government

All of the following are consequences of the federal system in the United States EXCEPT a multiple points of access for interest groups b inequality in government services across subnational entities c a strict division of power among levels of government d decentralization of political conflict e opportunities for experimentation in government programs

a strict division of power among levels of government

Federalism is

a system of shared power by the state and national governments.

Proposal of a formal amendment to the Constitution requires:

a two-thirds vote in Congress.

Anti-Federalists argued that the Constitution would

a. provide for elite control, endanger liberty, and weaken the states.

The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution

after the ratification process was complete, and partly to fulfill a promise to those who supported ratification.

The practical effect of the necessary and proper clause has been

allow the national government to extend its powers beyond those enumerated in the Constitution

In The Federalist papers, James Madison expressed the view that political factions

are undesirable but inevitable in a free nation

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

block grants

Which of the following statements reflects a pluralist theory of American politics? a. Public policies emerge from cooperation among elites in business labor, and government. b. The American political arena is made up of isolated individuals who have few group affiliations outside the family. c. Public policies emerge from compromises reached among competing groups d. American politics is dominated by a small elite. e. American politics is dominated by cities at the expense of rural areas

c. Public policies emerge from compromises reached among competing groups

The legislative process at the national level reflects the intent of the framers of the Constitution tocreate a legislature that would

cautious and deliberate

The Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison (1803) asserted the power of the Court to

check the actions of the other branches through judicial review.

The Madisonian requirement that each branch of government acquire the consent of the others for many of its actions created a system o

checks and balances.

nformal changes to the Constitution have come about as a result of all of the following EXCEPT

constitutional amendments.

Madison believed that in order to prevent a "tyranny of the majority" the new government should include all the following EXCEPT a limiting the president's term of office b creating political institutions that could function with the consent of a majority c creating different branches of government with distinctive and separate powers d limiting the ability of the electorate to vote directly for government officials except members of the House e creating a system of checks and balances

creating different branches of government with distinctive and separate powers (not sure abt this one)

The federal system

decentralizes our politics.

In Marbury v. Madison (1803), the Supreme Court assumed the power to

decide on the constitutionality of a law or an executive action

In a federal system of government, political power is primarily

divided between the central government and regional governments

The "wall of separation" doctrine refers to the

division of church and state

Shays' Rebellion was

e. an uprising by farmers to prevent judges from foreclosing on farms.

The theory that sees wealth as the basis of power is the

elite theory.

"The Congress shall have the power ... to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by the Constitution in the government of the United States, or any department or officer thereof." Intepretations of this lause have been central to attempts to define the nature of which of teh following aspects of the United States political system?

federalism

A consequence of separation of powers and checks and balances has been

fragmented policymaking processes.

A birth certificate issued in one state is valid in all states under the constitutional provision of

full faith and credit.

The Framers adopted the Three-Fifths Compromise in order to

garner support from Southern delegates at the Constitutional Convention

Federal policies to regulate food and drugs are examples of:

implied powers

Congress would be required to use the "elastic clause" of the Constitution to

impose workplace safety standards

As originally ratified, the United States Constitution included provisions designed to

increase the economic powers of the central government

The importance of Shays' Rebellion to the development of the United States Constitution was thatit

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

The author of Brutus No. 1 wrote that a "that a free republic cannot succeed over a country of such immense extent." This quote argues that the United States

is too large to govern as a single entity.

Anti-Federalists argued against adoption of the Constitution for all the following reasons EXCEPT

it failed to centralize power

All of these are advantages of federalism EXCEPT: a it allows for a greater diversity of opinion to be reflected in public policies. b it allows more opportunities for political participation. c it increases access to government. d it allows customization of policies for local needs. e it reduces the amount of experimentation on public policy

it reduces the amount of experimentation on public policy

All of the following are specifically mentioned in the Constitution EXCEPT a rules of impeachment b judicial review c the national census d length of term of federal judgeships e the state of the Union address

judicial review

Pluralist theory contends that in the United States

many groups vie for power with no one set of groups dominating.

In The Federalist No. 10, James Madison argued that factions in a republic are

natural but more controllable by institutions.

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

not specifically granted to the national government or denied to the states

The government designed at the Constitutional Convention allowed the voters to directly elect

only the House of Representatives.

The framers of the Constitution all believed that one of the primary functions of government is

protecting individual property rights

The Connecticut Compromise at the Constitutional Convention

resolved the impasse over the issue of representation in Congress.

Federal mandates impose burdens upon:

state and local governments

The primary intent of the Tenth Amendment is that

states have certain powers that are reserved for them.

On the issue of slavery, the Constitution specified

that three-fifths of the slaves would count for population in determining the number of House seats to which each state would be entitled.

The procedure for formally amending the United States Constitution best illustrates which of the following? a The federal structure of the United States b The Supreme Court's power to review constitutional amendments c The dominance of the national government over the state governments d The dominance of the state governments over the national government e The Foundign Fathers' desire to facilitate rapid constitutional revisions

the federal structure of the United states

Which of the following was NOT a problem with the national government under the Articles of Confederation?

the lack of power given to state legislatures

In 2001, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act, which President George W. Bush signed. This act required states to administer regular standardized exams to students starting in the third grade. States that refused to do this would not receive federal education funds. This is an example of

the national government using the grant process to influence state behavior.

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

the right of citizens to petition the government for redress of grievances

Under the Articles of Confederation, most governmental power rested in

the state governments.

Political parties are an important example of the

unwritten constitution

All of the following issues were decided at the Constitutional Convention EXCEPT a representation in the legislature b method of electing the President c qualifications for members of the House and Senate d congressional power to override a presidential veto e voting qualifications of the electorate

voting qualifications of the electorate

The new Republican majority in Congress in the 1990s preferred block grants to categorical grants because it:

wanted the federal government to exercise less authority over the states.

The Framers of the United States Constitution

were distrustful of democracy.