Government Unit 1

Which of the following people generally favored a stronger national government and supported the proposed U.S. Constitution?

Federalists

Who is considered the founder of modern-day polling?

George Gallup

During his campaign for reelection in 2012, Barack Obama deemphasized his work on health care reform. Which of the following reasons is the most plausible explanation for this decision, given what you know about the interaction between public opinion, policy, and politics?

His campaign did not want to focus on an issue that had deep divisions in public opinion.

Which constitutional amendment allowed voting for citizens who were eighteen or older?

Twenty-sixth

In the context of public opinion polls, what is self-selection?

a reference to the ability of respondents to decide whether to participate in surveys

As a pollster for Smart Polling, you are concerned about gauging the public's attitudes about arms-control policy. You believe that the public not only has little information on this complex topic, but also has thought little about it. What procedure might you implement to increase the accuracy of your polling data?

a screening procedure

Many of the Founders believed that government legitimacy is derived from __________, which holds that governments exist based on the consent of the governed.

a social contract

In 1948, the Chicago Daily Tribune wrongly predicted that Republican Thomas E. Dewey would beat incumbent President Harry S. Truman. Knowing what you know about the accuracy of various polls, what kind of poll would most likely have led the Tribune to make this erroneous prediction?

a straw poll

New Federalism most favors which type of government grant?

block grants

In Gibbons v. Ogden, the Supreme Court __________.

broadly interpreted the national government's power to regulate interstate commerce

Prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment, how were senators selected?

by state legislatures

Which of the following is a method of ratifying constitutional amendments?

by three-fourths of the state legislatures

What is the principle that each branch of the federal government has some ability to oversee and influence actions by other branches of government?

checks and balances

What was the most common initial reason for settlement in North America by the first colonists?

commerce

__________ powers are shared by the federal and state governments

concurrent

Before the ratification of the Constitution, the United States was organized as a(n) __________.

confederation

How are exit polls conducted?

in person

Over time, Americans' expectations of government have generally________

increased

Which of the following best describes progressive federalism?

pragmatic

What are push polls designed to do?

present negative information that might cause voters to vote against a candidate

Which of the following was expected of the federal government 200 years ago?

providing national defense

Which of the following were most likely to oppose the proposed Constitution?

small farmers

Unscientific surveys used to gauge public opinion on a variety of issues are known as what?

straw polls

What did supporters of the New Jersey Plan want to do to the Articles of Confederation?

strengthen them

In McCulloch v. Maryland, which clause of the U.S. Constitution did the Supreme Court interpret as preventing Maryland from taxing the national bank?

supremacy

The colonists rebelled against the imposition by the British government of which of the following?

taxes

The U.S. Constitution was adopted in response to the weaknesses of which document?

the Articles of Confederation

Which of the following most directly protests individuals civil liberties?

the Bill of Rights

Which of the following can be used to help determine the intent of the Framers?

the Federalist Papers

How many general types of federal grants exist?

three

Why have American National Election Studies (ANES) researchers conducted surveys before and after every mid-term and presidential election since 1952?

to compile long-term studies of the electorate

What is the purpose of a "name recognition survey"?

to discover how many people have heard of a potential candidate

Which of the following is a reason for the separation of powers?

to prevent tyranny by any one branch

Americans are likely to have the most difficulty forming opinions on which of the following topics?

topics involving the european central bank and creditor nations

How many of the thirteen colonies voted for independence?

twelve

How many constitutions has the United States had since the end of the Revolutionary War?

two

In a(n) _____ system, local and regional governments derive authority from the national government

unitary

"Feeling thermometer" questions ask respondents how they feel about a particular issue by __________.

using a 0-100 scale

When have Gallup's predictions been the least accurate?

when there is a prominent third-party candidate

How does the Preamble to the Constitution begin?

"We the People..."

What percentage of Americans are immigrants?

15 percent

In what year was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?

1791

Approximately what percentage of children live in a household with both parents?

65 percent

__________ grants typically allocate federal dollars for a specific purpose based on a state's population.

Categorical

Americans generally have the lowest levels of confidence in which of the following institutions?

Congress

William Penn's colony's long-term survival has been attributed to its:

Ethnic and religious diversity

In general, which of the following is true about the U.S. population?

It is getting older

In a random sample of 1,000 high school students, 29 percent indicated that they had read the Declaration of Independence at least once, with a margin of error of four percent. Which of the following statements is true?

It is likely that between 25 and 33 percent of the population have read the Declaration of Independence.

The first permanent English settlement was established where?

Jamestown

Which of the following philosophers greatly influenced the colonists' views on the role of government?

John Locke

Why is Walter Lippmann credited with spurring the growth of public opinion polling?

Lippmann wrote a book in which he observed that research on public opinion was far too limited, especially in light of its importance.

Which of the following accurately describes a difference in public opinion between men and women?

Men are more likely to favor military intervention.

__________ is an economic theory designed to increase a nation's wealth through the development of commercial industry and a favorable balance of trade.

Mercantilism

In the context of public opinion poll, what is self-selection?

a reference to the ability of respondents to decide whether to participate in surveys

Which is a shortcoming of limited respondent options?

Polls are unable to measure the intensity of feelings about issues

The value of hard work and personal responsibility are rooted in America's________

Protestant heritage

Roger Williams settled which colony as part of his effort to separate from the Church of England?

Providence

Based on the average age of the state's population, which issue would you expect to be least important to voters in Florida, which has the oldest state population in the U.S.?

Public Education

Which of the following statements best describes the interaction between public opinion and public policy in the United States?

Public opinion can affect policy.

Which country is not listed as free according to the Freedom in the World 2016 rankings?

Russia

__________ was a protest by Massachusetts farmers to stop foreclosures by state courts

Shays's Rebellion

Which amendment gave Congress the power to levy and collect federal taxes on incomes without apportioning them among the states?

Sixteenth

Which accurately compares Southerners to Northerners?

Southerners are more likely to favor downsizing the federal government

Which of the following imposed a tax on paper items such as cards and books?

Stamp Act

Which government entity has the power to settle disputes between the states?

Supreme Court

The First Continental Congress was called partially in response to which of the following?

The Coercive Acts

What does the Ninth Amendment say?

The Constitution's enumerated rights are not inclusive

Under which Court did the willingness to allow Congress to regulate in a variety of areas wane?

The Rehnquist Court

Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson

A decrease in political knowledge will likely cause _____

a decrease in political participation

Which of the following surveys is more likely than the others to generate self-selection error?

a mail-in survey of retirement community members about the privatization of Medicare

What was the dominant model of federalism starting with the New Deal?

cooperative

A polling firm has been commissioned by the New York Times to assess public opinion about the performance of FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. What should the firm do first?

determine the population

When is a child's peer group most politically influential?

during middle and high school

The executive branch is in charge of which of the following?

enforcing federal laws

Which function of government stated in the Preamble is consistent with having government-provided police protection?

ensuring domestic tranquility

Which of the following clauses requires states to return criminals to states where they have been convicted or are to stand trial?

extraction

The United States was the __________ nation to adopt a federal system of government.

first

Which clause in the Constitution ensures that judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in another?

full faith and credit

Americans' confidence in government institutions in the United States has ______

generally decreased

George Gallup undoubtedly had a vested interest in fostering reliance on public opinion polls. Why?

he was a pollster

Which is not a core element of the American Dream?

high income

________ is an unintended influence of the questioner on respondents during in-person interviews.

interviewer bias

George Gallup believed that __________. This belief continues to be common today.

leaders should have an appraisal of public opinion and consider it in reaching their decisions

In a direct democracy, decisions are made collectively by citizens using____

majority rule

Which of the following is a disadvantage of surveying the public using traditional telephone polls?

many people do not have landlines

The __________ is a measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll.

margin of error

To determine if families with children would use school vouchers to send their children to charter schools, from which of the following populations should you select a sample?

parents of children under age 18

Which of the following is a power specifically denied the states by the Constitution?

passing bills of attainder

what do Americans often have difficulty forming opinions about?

policies that do not affect them personally

The Framers agreed that the new nation had to be founded on notion of which of the following?

religious freedom

Indirect democracy uses which of the following?

representation

What are republics?

representatives democracies

The Seventeenth Amendment gave the people the power to elect which of the following?

senators

What opinion of a Democratic president would you expect an eleven-year-old child raised in a politically active Republican household to have?

skepticism of the president

Article I, section 8 of the Constitution contains __________ powers.

the legislative powers

In the United States, the national government derives its power from which of the following?

the people

What is political socialization?

the process through which individuals acquire their political beliefs and values