American Government Final Exam

Which of the following is a good example of broadcast media outlet?

A local television station

How do civil liberties differ from civil rights?

Civil liberties are personal freedoms, while civil rights concern freedom from discrimination.

A ________ is a system of government in which member states retain almost all of their

Confederation

Bicameralism is a constitutional principle that represents the division of

Congress into two chambers

Which best completely describes the United States type of government?

Constitutional Federal Republic

The agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that gave each state an equal number of senators regardless of its population but linked representation in the House of Representatives to population is known as the

Great Compromise

What is it called when a state grants a city the ability to govern its own local affairs?

Home rule

________ are aspects of personal freedom constitutionally protected from government interference.

Civil Liberties

Which was a popular campaign slogan during the 2020 Presidential Campaign

"Make American Great Again"

In Freedom House comparative study of countries worldwide we learned from one study that the U.S. electoral process on a score 0 - 4 points was given this number

4

Which age group votes the most?

65+

The United States' first written constitution was called the

Articles of Confederation

Which of the following would NOT be considered an example of digital political participation?

Attending a protest outside of your state capitol building

Who was the leader of the United Farm Workers union in the 1960s?

Cesar Chavez

What are agents of socialization?

family, school, peer group, mass media

The essential documents of the American Founding are the ________ and the ________.

Declaration of Independence Constitution

According to journalists this popular political figure political strategy encompasses elements of the past Southern Strategy.

Donald Trump

The three branches of government created by the Constitution are

Executive, Legislative, Judicial

Which agency regulates broadcast media?

Federal Communications Commission

During the founding era, ________ were the strongest supporters of adding a bill of rights to the Constitution.

Federalists

Recently this broadcasting organization has been featured in the news accused of dishonesty affirming the media's main goal is to gain profit and please its audience.

Fox News

Who was the last Republican presidential candidate to win the popular vote in U.S. elections?

George W. Bush

During World War II, 120,000 individuals of Japanese descent, including 90,000 American citizens, were forcibly placed in internment camps. When did the federal government formally acknowledge that this denial of civil rights was a "grave injustice"?

In 1988, President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act to compensate more than 100,000 people of Japanese descent who were incarcerated in internment camps during World War II

The processes by which local, state, and federal governments negotiate and compromise over policy responsibilities is called

Intergovernmental relations

The first caucus in the presidential primary campaign is held in ________, while the first primary election in the presidential primary campaign is held in _______________.

Iowa New Hampshire

What best highlights the significance of the Bacon Rebellion?

It was the first rebellion in the American Colonies in which the frontiersmen took part. Also, it rushed the hardening of racial lines dealing with slavery, because this rebellion involved both black and white indentured servants which worried the ruling class.

Suppose several states enact voter ID laws in the run up to an election. How might this policy change affect minority and non-White voter turnout?

Minority turnout would likely be lower after voter ID laws than before

Which of the following statements regarding the citizenship status of Native Americans is true?

Native Americans were not granted citizenship until 1924

Using block grants to return power to the states was part of ________ during the Nixon (1969-1974) and Reagan (1981-1989) administrations.

New Federalism

Which term describes a form of government in which a small group, typically landowners, military officers, or wealthy merchants, controls most of the governing decisions?

Oligarchy

A(n) __________ occurs when a voter can wait until the day of the primary to choose which party to enroll in to select candidates for the general election.

Open Primary

Which court case introduced the separate but equal rule?

Plessy v. Ferguson

The belief that citizens can affect what government does is best referred to as

Political Efficacy

Which of the following is the best definition of the media?

Print and digital forms of communication, including television, newspapers, radio, and the internet, intended to convey information to large audiences

Which of the following is a so-called traditional form of political activity?

Protesting

Towards the end of 2022 Congress was able to pass a law supporting homosexual rights. The liberal media used "priming" targeting a Senator opposing this bill. What was the name of this law supported primarily by liberal democrats?

Respect for Marriage Act

Who was the first president to promote New Federalism?

Richard Nixon

Which of the following would NOT be considered a form of traditional political participation?

Signing an online petition

Which of the following statements best describes where younger and older Americans get their news?

Social media tends to be a secondary news source after television for most Americans but a primary news source for the young

What does the Democrats recent change reorder of its 2024 presidential primary entails

South Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada

The ________ clause in the U.S. Constitution affirms that national laws and treaties are "the supreme Law of the Land."

Supremacy

Which of the following events was most influential in triggering the rise of a more active national government?

The Great Depression

What was the agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that stipulated that for apportionment of congressional seats, only a portion of enslaved people would be counted?

The Three-Fifths Compromise

Which statement best characterizes the digital divide?

The digital divide is real and large; the wealthiest Americans are far more likely to have broadband access than the working poor

What is turnout?

The number of people attending or taking part in an event, especially the number of people voting in an election

What are permanent absentee ballots?

The option in some states to have a ballot sent automatically to your home for each election

What is a media monopoly?

The ownership and control of the media by a few large corporations

What of the following is the best definition of mobilization?

The process by which large numbers of people are organized for a political activity

What was the result of this Texas city that banned fracking?

The state and the industry sued Denton. Then, in one fell swoop, the Texas Legislature passed a law undoing Denton's vote and putting an end to most local rules for urban drillers

A government that is not constrained by legal limits and also seeks to eliminate any challenges to its authority is known as a(n) ________ government.

Totalitarian

A _________ is a centralized government system in which lower levels of government have little power independent of the national government.

Unitary System

The electoral college is

a body of electors chosen by the voters in each state to elect the President and Vice President of the US

Direct democracy is best defined as

a system that allows citizens to vote directly for laws and policies

The Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) was significant because it

allowed and recognized same-sex marriages under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

When Richard Nixon employed his "southern strategy," he

appealed to disaffected white voters in the South

A(n) ______________ is a proposed law or policy change that is placed on the ballot by citizens or interest groups for a vote.

ballot initiative

What did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 do?

banned segregation in schools, workplaces, and public places

Legally enforced segregation in public schools is a form of ________ discrimination.

de jure

All of the following are important roles for the media in American democracy EXCEPT

enabling privately owned companies to advertise their products to the public

What was the Seneca Falls Convention?

first women's rights convention

The era of dual federalism was from the ________ until ________.

fouding the New Deal

Block grants are designed to

give the states considerable discretion in how money from the federal government should be spent.

In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Supreme Court

held that it is unconstitutional to use the coverage formula in Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act to determine which jurisdictions are subject to the preclearance requirement of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act

Federalism is best defined as a system of government

in which power is divided between a national government and lower level governments

Government is best defined as the

institutions and procedures by which a territory and its people are ruled

A republic (also known as a representative democracy) is a system of government that

is ruled according to a charter, or constitution, and a democracy is a government that is ruled according to the will of the majority

How did the Dred Scott v. Sanford decision help to precipitate the Civil War?

it stated that Congress had no authority to ban slavery from a federal territory

Women's rights advocates called the Statue of Liberty "the greatest hypocrisy of the nineteenth century" because

it was supposed to represent "liberty," yet women could not vote in the United States

Mendez v. Westminster (1947) was significant because

it was the first successful federal school desegregation decision in the nation

Generally speaking, in order to be a good citizen in the United States, it is most critical to have

knowledge of the American political system

What were Jim Crow laws?

laws that enforced segregation

An example of U.S. Federalism is states/cities with different individual policies in regard to marijuana. In the state of Texas what most recent political action occurred regarding marijuana.

legislation voted to allow the use, possession and transportation up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis by adults 21 and older

In the Declaration of Independence, which rights were declared inalienable?

life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

In addition to nominating a presidential candidate, national party conventions are important because they

make rules concerning delegate selection for future primaries and draft the party's platform

The process by which political values are formed is known as

political socialization

The term "eminent domain" describes the

power of the government to take private property and convert it into public use

The principle of ________ gives the federal government the power to override any state or local law in one particular area of policy.

preemption

In order for a political party to select a candidate to run in the general election, it holds a(n)

primary election

Recently the Texas legislature passed a bill to ensure a patriotic history of the state. What motivated this initiative?

projects aims to promote " patriotic education" but critics worry that it will gloss over states history of racism

During the 1980s, the Republicans added ____________ to their coalition.

religious conservatives and working-class whites

What did the U.S. Supreme Court rule in Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?

separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional.

What issue led to the demise of the Whig Party?

slavery

If a citizen votes for a Republican for president and a Democrat for senator, he or she has engaged in

split-ticket voting

The full faith and credit clause of the Constitution requires the

state courts respect the laws and judgments of courts from other states

American civil liberties and rights, such as freedom of speech, worship, and trial by jury are listed primarily in

the Bill of Rights

The Antifederalists argued that the powers of the national government should be limited by

the Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution are also called

the Bill of Rights

What does the supremacy clause assert?

the Constitution is the supreme law of the land

The idea of the "living Constitution" means that

the Constitution of the United States has relevant meaning beyond the original text and is an evolving document that changes over time.

The "wall of separation" between church and state is best found in which clause of the Constitution?

the Establishment clause of the First Amendment

The power of the federal government began to expand after 1933 in response to

the Great Depression

A woman is trying to buy birth control at a pharmacy, but the pharmacist refuses to sell her birth control on religious grounds. Which right is the pharmacist infringing upon?

the Right to Privacy

The term "public opinion" is used to describe

the beliefs and attitudes that people have about issues, events, elected officials, and policies

In the United States, freedom of the press is protected by

the first amendment

An autocracy exists when

the government is controlled by a single individual

What change occurred with mass media ownership in the recent past years?

the increased use of television decreased the popularity of radio

What are civil rights?

the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality.

The media are sometimes referred to as the "fourth branch of government" because

they provide a check on the power of government and political leaders

What does the current debate about net neutrality entail?

those who provide internet services should be treated as common carriers legally prohibited from discriminating based on the customer or nature of the goods

The name of an era in the past during the 1800s when the media influenced public opinion exaggerating and presenting false information resulting in the Spanish American War

yellow pages