american gov exam 1

One of the biggest indicators that civic engagement is declining in the United States is ___________.

a decline in small group membership

Which amendment includes the right to "remain silent"?

5th amendment

Which of the following scenarios could be attributed to the "race to the bottom" approach?

In 2013, New York spent $19,818 per student for elementary/secondary education; Utah spent $6,555. In 2014, the median household income in Maryland was $73,971; in Mississippi it was $39,680. In 2014, Oklahoma spent $7,829 per student for elementary/secondary education; Alaska spent $18,416.

South Dakota v. Dole (1987)

Mandated that the 21-year old drinking age by threatening to withhold federal highway funds from all states that did not comply. Said to be constitutional

Which of the following is an example of direct democracy?

New England town meetings

______________ demonstrated the inability of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation to protect the citizenry from armed rebellion or provide adequately for the public welfare.

Rebellion leaders, such as Daniel Shays,

Which type of government controls essential industries and gives a very limited role to private businesses?

Socialist

In response to _________, the federal government enacted the Force Bill in 1833, authorizing President Jackson to use military force against states that challenged federal tariff laws.

South Carolina's Ordinance of Nullification

Which of the following is NOT an example of an unfunded mandate?

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

Which of the following Supreme Court rulings on a specific policy area determined that the states possessed essential authority?

United States v. Windsor

Which of the following was an argument made by the Federalists in support of the Constitution?

a national currency, which the federal government had the power to create, would ease business transactions

Why is civic engagement important in a representative democracy?

because decisions are made through majority rule

What was one reason why Anti-Federalists argued against the ratification of the U.S. Constitution?

because it lacked a bill of rights

Many people tend to equate _______ with democracy.

capitalism

Becoming active in the community and engaging in a wide variety of community-based volunteer efforts is an important form of ______.

civic engagement

A form of government in which the people maintain the responsibility for making all policy decisions is known as ______.

direct democracy

A layer cake is a metaphor used by scholars to refer to ________, while a marble cake refers to ________.

dual federalism; cooperative federalism

The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution to ___________.

encourage Anti-Federalist support of the new national government quiet fears that the Constitution did not adequately protect individual liberties protect fundamental rights

The Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments _________.

extended the right to vote

Which of the following terms is used to describe the means by which a society organizes itself and allocates authority in order to accomplish collective goals?

government

The Supreme Court ruling in Arizona v. United States is still considered a major source of conflict between the state and federal government because __________.

it affirmed federal supremacy on immigration

In what way did the Great Compromise affect the structure of the U.S. government under the Constitution?

it created a Congress composed of two chambers: one with representation based on population and the second with equal state representation

Which of the following answers would be considered an advantage of federalism?

it encourages states to engage in policy experimentation

Why was the decision in McCulloch v. Maryland significant for the evolution of federalism?

it established the doctrine of implied powers

What has been one of the implications of the open-ended construction of the elastic clause?

it has enabled the national government to expand its authority beyond what is specified in the Constitution

One of the first disagreements in drafting the Constitution was between ______ and ______, and revolved around ______.

large states; small states; representation

What is the oldest purpose of government?

maintaining order by protecting members of society from violence and criminal activity

Although unpopular with states, ___________ are an attractive strategy for national lawmakers trying to cut federal spending.

mandates

Which of the following options best explains the reasoning behind the structure of the new government formed after the American Revolution?

many feared that a nation as large as the United States could not be ruled effectively as a republic, so a confederation was created

Elite theorists will point to the fact that ___________ to prove their thesis that a group of wealthy individuals control the government.

most presidents are ivy league educated very few members of congress are minorities most members of congress are millionares

Which of the following statements applies to categorical grants?

often require commitment of matching funds subject to strict administrative criteria that guide project selection, performance, and financial oversight, among other things the recipient is limited in terms of how the funds can be used

Which of the following types of citizens are the most likely to be engaged with their government, especially if they have intense preferences about an issue?

older, wealthier, more highly educated individuals

Unlike the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan proposed a legislature based on _________.

one vote per state

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a representative democracy?

only those who belong to a particular political party are allowed to vote or hold office

Congress check president by

overriding presidential veto

One factor which particularly affects young people's willingness to become engaged in government is ________.

partisan politics

What is John Locke's social contract theory?

people agree to set up rulers and can remove them

Competitive federalism today is best described as ________________.

policy issues being redefined as the roles that states and the federal government play in them have changed

The Articles of Confederation operated in a way that _________.

prevented the national government from having the power to impose taxes, draft a military, or regulate interstate commerce

The Articles of Confederation could not be changed without a unanimous vote to do so. Why was this a weakness of the Articles?

problems with the Articles could not be easily fixed

A republic is also known as a _________.

representative democracy

federalism

shared power between two or more governments over the same citizens and land

Why does the government protect common goods?

so that a few people do not take everything that is available and leave others with nothing because those who live in poverty cannot always afford to buy ample food and clothing to meet their needs to ensure the fair operation of the business marketplace

What happens when there is a conflict between state and federal law?

state law must be overturned (supremacy claus)

policy diffusion

states adopt other states policies then it encourages the federal government to adopt it

How did the approach taken to ratify the Constitution align with the new nation's identity as a republic?

the convention delegates voted to approve or reject the Constitution; these delegates were chosen by popular vote

Which of the following statements best describes the central premise of new federalism?

the decentralization of policies enhances administrative efficiency, reduces overall public spending, and improves outcomes

Which of the following is an example of citizen engagement influencing government actions?

the expansion of voting rights increased access to higher education the end of slavery

Which of the following incidents convinced many colonists that the social contract between the British government and its citizens had been broken?

the imposition of taxes without consent the attempted interference with self-government in the colonies the trial of smugglers in courts without juries

Which of the following options accurately describes how government works in the United States?

the market provides many goods and services needed by Americans the democratic government works closely together with its capitalist economic system public goods, such as education and national security, are provided by the government

Which of the following movements has put the full faith and credit clause to the test in recent decades?

the marriage equality movement

The Articles of Confederation formed the basis for which of the following?

the new nation's government

Which of the following is a key principle found in John Locke's social contract theory?

the people agree to set up rulers for certain purposes and have the right to remove rulers who act against those purposes

"Gun owners are better represented by the NRA than the government." This would be an argument made by a proponent of ________.

the pluralist theory of government

Which of the following statements most accurately describes how federalism evolved after the Civil War?

the power balance shifted to the national government

Which of the following is a concurrent power shared by federal and state governments?

the power levy and collect taxes

State governments are denied which of these powers?

the power to tax imports and exports

An argument over whether the cheap natural gas produced by fracking is worth the environmental damage is an example of _______.

the trade-offs perspective

Which option best describes a shared characteristic of totalitarianism and oligarchy?

they are both nondemocratic forms of government

Why were the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments of particular importance?

they changed the lives of African Americans who had been held in slavery

Which of the following answers correctly identifies one way in which block grants are different from categorical grants?

they offer more flexibility on spending funds

How did the concept of "natural rights" shape the core values of American political thought?

they reframed life, liberty, and property not as gifts from the monarch but as rights that no government could take away

The ________ called for counting of all a state's free population and 60 percent of its slave population for both federal taxation and representation in Congress.

three- fifths compromise

What was the main goal of the Articles of Confederation?

to preserve the sovereignty of the states

What is the purpose of the supremacy clause in the Constitution?

to regulate relationships between the federal and state governments by declaring that the Constitution and federal law are the supreme law of the land

Which of the following answers represents two characteristics common to federal systems of government?

two levels of government; a written national constitution

To amend the Constitution, a proposal must be passed by ______ of Congress and _______ of the state legislatures.

two thirds; three-fourths

Federal Dream Act

undocumented students who graduate from American high schools can go to college in their state without paying foreign tuition fees

Which of the following is a method of political engagement?

voting