Chapter 1

In what year was discrimination against Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian immigrants finally removed from U.S. immigration law?

1965

Slavery in America lasted for ______ years.

250

Which of the following statements are true about American ideals and government? (Select all that apply.)

Americans believe that their government should have a high purpose. Americans generally believe that government power should be widely shared.

The text suggests that Americans tend especially toward selective memory and recasting history because

Americans' beliefs are so idealistic.

Which of the following are among the false beliefs that roughly 50 percent or more of Americans believed were actually true in recent years?

China owns more than half of US debt. Social Security will go broke in my lifetime. Crime has gone up in the past decade. All of the answers are correct.

Which of the following statements are true about the motivations for creating American democracy? (Select all that apply.)

Colonists, following Enlightenment ideas, wanted to overturn the European way of governing. The idea of individual potential could be achieved more easily in the New World than in the Old World. The American Revolution sought to create a radically different form of society.

Which of the following statements are true of economic power in the United States? (Select all that apply.)

Corporate power operates in part through the influence that firms have with government officials. Firms have greater control over wages and working conditions than in other Western democracies. Roughly two-thirds of all lobbyists in the nation's capital represent business firms.

What is the true test of an opinion?

Does it hold up when judged against other views?

True or false: It is more dangerous for an electorate to be uninformed than misinformed.

False

Which of the following statements about political institutions and interests in the United States is true?

Few nations have as many competing interests and institutions as the United States.

Which of the following is a core value of American political ideology?

Government should serve the people.

______ is a commitment to personal initiative and self-sufficiency.

Individualism

Which of the following correctly describes political culture?

It helps define the relationship between citizens and their government. It helps define citizens' relationships to each other. It is derived from the country's traditions.

Which of the following people is acting in a way that promotes critical thinking?

Jamal is a liberal but his best friend is conservative. The two often compare sources before forming opinions on political issues.

Which of the following statements best describes politicians' "slanting" of the facts?

Leaders of both parties have done this.

What best describes the ways in which our media system has presented obstacles to critical thinking in recent history?

Media consumers fail to question media sources. Some sources purposely hide contradictory information. All the answers are correct. Some sources invent information that suits their purpose.

Which of the following are true of party polarization? (Select all that apply.)

Partisan fights have become prolonged and bitter. Partisanship has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Partisan divisions have surfaced on nearly every issue.

Which of the following are true of party polarization? (Select all that apply.)

Partisanship has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Partisan divisions have surfaced on nearly every issue. Partisan fights have become prolonged and bitter.

What role, generally, do politicians play in misinformation?

Politicians' deceptions have always been part of our politics, and they have contributed to the current rise in misinformation.

What best explains why European governments give the American colonies a degree of self-determination?

The geographical distance that separated them was too great to do otherwise.

How are the media treated under an authoritarian government?

They are tightly controlled.

Which of the following is true of American democratic political ideals?

They come from European Enlightenment beliefs about individual worth.

If citizens do not develop the habit of critical thinking, what may result? (Select all that apply.)

They may engage in wishful thinking. Their choices may not result in the outcome they expect. They may invent odd versions of reality.

True or false: Americans turn to the courts to make rights claims more often than people elsewhere in the world.

True

Which of the following were periods with high levels of bipartisanship in American history? (Select all that apply.)

World War II George Washington's first years as president World War I

Helga and Halla are sisters who vehemently disagree about politics and support opposing parties. When they watch a news story about how a Republican congressional representative has been accused of embezzling campaign funds to support his drug addiction, Republican Helga immediately dismisses the story, while Democrat Halla counters that "of course it's true." Both women are demonstrating

a confirmation bias.

An economic system that operates mainly on private transactions where firms are free to make their own production, distribution and pricing decisions is known as

a free-market system.

Compared to other countries, Americans have pursued their individual rights

aggressively and in many areas.

Political culture in the U.S. is based upon Americans'

allegiance to common goals.

A properly designed legal system enables citizens to do which of the following?

assert their rights and interests

______ is the recognized right of officials to exercise power.

authority

The text cites President Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on climate change—even though two-thirds of Americans polled disagreed with the decision—as an example of

authority.

As political leaders have become more willing to make deceptive claims, the public has

become more tolerant of the practice.

Henri is a conservative Republican. This morning, he heard a news story describing how the local Democrat school board chair was allowing student scores to be artificially inflated. If Henri is guilty of confirmation bias, he will likely

believe the story without any further research.

Americans' belief in self-government formed in

colonial America.

Politics are necessary because

conflict in a society is inevitable. people do not all think alike. society's resources are limited.

Which of the following is a system based on rule of law, including legal protections for individuals, empowering individuals by enabling them to claim their rights in court?

constitutional

According to sociologist C. Wright Mills, who or what has greater control over economic policy than even elected officials have?

corporate elites

What term refers to the influence of business firms on public policy?

corporate power

Individualism in the U.S. is best described as

deeply ingrained.

A form of government in which the power to govern is in the hands of the citizens, either directly or through representatives, is called a(n)

democracy.

Which of the following is a system of majority rule through elections, empowering majorities, groups, and officials?

democratic

What is critical thinking?

determining what can be reasonably believed and then using the information to reach a thoughtful conclusion

In a(n) ______ form of democracy (for example, the type that might be conducted through town meetings) citizens decide policy instead of depending on elected representatives.

direct

Liberals who only listen to liberal talk radio as a source of information are immersing themselves in a(n)

echo chamber.

What does the text describe as "America's most elusive ideal"?

equality

Which of the following reflects the notion that all individuals have the same moral worth and treatment under the law?

equality

Critical thinking should involve which of the following? (Select all that apply.)

evaluating information carefully. putting forth considerable effort.

Which of the following is an economic system that centers on the transactions between private parties?

free market

The obstacles to critical thinking have ______ in recent decades.

increased

In the democratic system of the United States, which of the following are bestowed with legal authority to exercise power?

judges the president members of Congress

How would your grandparents likely have reacted to deceptive claims when they were young?

less tolerance

Political scientists use the term ______ to describe the situation in which the majority of citizens effectively determines what government policy will be.

majoritarianism

When political leaders respond to the policy desires of the majority, it is referred to as

majoritarianism.

The overall way in which society settles conflicts and allocates the resulting benefits and costs is called

politics.

The ability of persons, groups, or institutions to influence political developments is called

power.

Who or what owns the means of production in a free-market economic system?

private firms

Critical thinking should involve which of the following? (Select all that apply.)

putting forth considerable effort evaluating information carefully

Which of these ideals encompasses the principle that the people are the ultimate source of government authority and should have a voice in their governing?

self-government

The tools of political science attempt to

sharpen students' understanding of American politics.

Pluralism asserts that, on most issues, the actors who exercise the most influence over government policy are

special interest groups.

Democracy may free the mind, but who determines how that freedom will be used?

the individual

At what point in American history did the influence of business firms on public policy become a defining feature of American politics?

the late 1800s

Who is the "self" in the political ideal of self-government?

the people

Elements of constitutionalism include

the protection of individual rights. lawful restrictions of governmental power. officials being required to follow the laws.

In a pluralist system, who or what would have the most influence on policies regarding regulation of Internet service providers?

the providers themselves

The term party polarization refers to

the situation resulting from the intense conflicts between Republicans and Democrats in recent years.

In America, majoritarianism occurs mainly

through competition between the Republican and Democratic parties.

A country's political culture derives from its

traditions.

The "two Americas" referenced in the text are

white America and black America.