Government Unit 1

Which article of the Constitution defines the amendment process?

Article VII Article I Article VI Article IV ✓ Article V

By 2050, what percentage of the American population will be over the age of sixty-five?

10 80 25 35 ✓ 20

The American nation's experience with representative government dates back to the founding of the House of Burgesses in ________.

1619

What does President Obama say could be the result of sending those educated in the United States back to their home countries?

new U.S. technologies new instability around the world new curbs on population growth ✓ new industries for U.S. competitors

The U.S. Constitution endows Congress with

both enumerated powers and implied powers.

In American politics, pluralism is most evident in matters related to

bureaucratic procedures. foreign relations. ✓ personal choice. jurisprudence. national security.

Which type of grant has been most prevalent over the course of American history?

categorical formula

Which West Coast state receives the most federal spending?

California

If the president decides to introduce some programs that will reduce the role of the federal government, and instead, empower the state and local governments, the result is

devolution.

Federalism increases the number of opportunities for citizen political participation because it

diffuses power across many competing power centers.

One of the essential notions that the ideology of liberal democracy rests on is

direct democracy. ruling elite. ✓ majority rule. authoritarian government.

States in the U.S. are promoting civic engagement among students in high schools by requiring them to

donate to NGOs. ✓ perform community service. wear uniforms. engage in performing arts.

What do the colonists consider the purpose of government?

economic supremacy preservation of the church military defense ✓ welfare of humankind

Which amendment laid the groundwork for applying the Bill of Rights to the actions of state governments?

First Amendment Tenth Amendment Nineteenth Amendment Ninth Amendment ✓ Fourteenth Amendment

Which of the following statements about democracy as currently practiced in the United States is most accurate?

In the United States, the minority have veto power over the electoral and legislative choices of the majority. The United States is one of the few countries that practices direct democracy. ✓ In the United States, public policy is determined by the people's representatives, not by the people themselves. In the United States, the majority in government cannot pass laws without the active support of the minority. In the United States, the rule of the majority is absolute.

What is the significance of the elastic clause in the Constitution?

It allows the Congress to impeach a president who is acting against the nation's interests. It allows congressmen to have flexible terms of office after the completion of one year in office. ✓ It empowers the Congress to create laws that enable the implementation of the other laws it passes. It empowers congressmen to create federal courts and appoint judges to these courts

What does the timing of President Obama's speech suggest about the importance of immigration reform to him?

It's somewhat important. It's important only in election years. ✓ It's very important. It's unimportant.

Who was serving as chief justice of the Supreme Court when it decided the case of Marbury v. Madison?

James Madison John Adams Thomas Jefferson Edmund Burke ✓ John Marshall

The United States today is an example of a

federal system

What does Hamilton think would be the chief wartime danger under a weak federal government?

Loans would be limited

Which of the following statements about John Locke's political philosophy is LEAST accurate?

Locke argued that citizens could overthrow a government that failed to protect, or actively threatened, their rights. ✓ Locke believed that the primary role of government was to ensure an equal distribution of property. Locke's beliefs had a profound effect on the Founders of the American republic. Locke argued that, in a state of nature, human beings were born free, not bound to the will of another person or institution. Locke argued that people willingly submitted to the authority of government in return for its protection.

About how much time elapsed between the first state to ratify the Constitution and the 13th?

One year Ten years ✓ Two-and-a-half years Ten months

In our current system of government, which of the following is true?

The federal government has supremacy over state governments.

Which of the following was not provided for by the Articles of Confederation?

a federal government subordinate to the states unanimous approval by the states to amend the Articles a national Congress ✓ an independent federal executive each state having one vote in Congress

Medicaid is an example of

a grant from the federal government to states.

Which of the following institutions are required to observe September 17th as Constitution and Citizenship Day?

all educational institutions in the District of Columbia ✓ public institutions that receive federal funds private institutions that benefit from government services all private and public schools

Why did smaller states oppose the Virginia Plan?

because the plan made representation in the legislature proportional to state population

Political conservatives who favor more political power devolved back to the states would likely prefer which of the following?

block grants

Which of the following activities best exemplifies civic engagement, as opposed to an individual activity?

helping a sibling with his homework doing extra research on a class assignment to get a better grade ✓ toting one's used cans and newspapers to a recycling center staying late to help a coworker meet a deadline visiting one's grandfather at his nursing home

The notions, values, and beliefs that dictate how governments should operate are known as

initiatives. rights. ✓ ideologies. referendums.

Based on Article IV of the U.S. Constitution, a same-sex marriage contract issued by one state

is legally binding in all other states.

A device permitted in twenty-four states that allows citizens to approve or repeal measures already acted upon by legislative bodies is called a(n)

legislative referendum. None of these answers is correct. ✓ popular referendum. recall. initiative.

What type of government(s) carries out U.S. government policies?

local, state, and federal governments

An instance in which one segment of society manages to push through a law in one session, only to have another segment build enough support to overthrow the law in the next session, would best be defined as an example of

minority rights. a ruling elite. aristocracy. majority rule. ✓ pluralism.

During the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, the Anti-Federalists argued that

national politics would lack the unity of purpose and intensity of citizen involvement present at the state and local levels

Which of the following activities would be considered a form of civic engagement, though not a political activity?

negotiating a higher salary from a potential employer wearing a pin endorsing a candidate for office ✓ organizing a food drive at a local church placing a vote in a city council election joining a protest in front of City Hall

The graying of the American population is likely to create tensions because

older Americans are generally more tolerant of racial differences than are younger Americans. older Americans are generally more tolerant of ethnic differences than are younger Americans. ✓ fewer workers will have to support more retirees. older Americans tend to be less politically active than younger Americans. older Americans are generally more tolerant of gender differences than are younger Americans.

Governments in Europe and the United States are

parallel to recently independent nations. similar to those in Africa. less democratic than most in Latin America. ✓ grouped in the highest category of democracies.

Which of the following is not a goal for which Hamilton believes federal taxation should be used?

paying debts ✓ limiting immigration building fleets raising troops

Which of the following is not a natural right of the colonists?

property ✓ prosperity life liberty

The U.S. Constitution provides that the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all the same privileges and immunities of citizens of the several states. Which of the following violates this provision?

requiring nonresident students to pay higher tuition and fees at state schools asking nonresident workers to pay different tax rates than residents ✓ giving residents better access to legal processes of the state compared to nonresidents holding nonresidents punishable for a legal offense committed outside the state

Which of the following elements is not central to the government created by the U.S. Constitution?

separation of powers ✓ unicameral legislature supremacy of the federal government dual sovereignty of central and regional governments

Which of the following environmental institutions would NOT generally be regarded as an element of civil society?

the National Audubon Society Greenpeace the National Geographic Society the Sierra Club ✓ the Environmental Protection Agency

Which event best showcased the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation?

the Siege of Yorktown the Newburgh Conspiracy ✓ Shay's Rebellion the Annapolis Convention

In the case of Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), the Supreme Court decided that

the federal government's authority to regulate international and interstate commerce bestowed on it some power to regulate intrastate commerce.

Which of the following procedure(s) establish checks and balances within the federal government?

the presidential veto ✓ All the answers are correct. judicial review advice and consent

What does Jefferson consider the only "sure foundation" for the "preservation of freedom and happiness"?

the separation of church and state a benevolent monarchy ✓ the spread of knowledge widespread land ownership

President Franklin D. Roosevelt infringed on states' rights by instituting policies that involved

transferring money to state governments through grants.

When does Madison think the operations of the federal government will be "most extensive and important"?

wartime

What is the significance of the Nineteenth Amendment in U.S. history?

✓ It enfranchised women in the U.S. It granted 18-year-olds the right to vote. It offered a process for expanding individual rights. It brought an end to the civil war and granted African Americans suffrage.

Of those states that would eventually secede from the Union, what distinguishes Georgia?

✓ It was the only state with no areas that had a majority against ratification. It was the only state to oppose ratification. It was the only state with no areas that had a majority for ratification. It was the only state with more divided areas than those showing a clear majority.

Which of the following can be said about amendments to the U.S. Constitution?

✓ They are difficult to ratify. They often contradict earlier amendments. They rarely have an effect. They are numerous.

Which of the following men called for periodic uprisings of the people to preserve the spirit of liberty on which democracy depended?

✓ Thomas Jefferson Robert Putnam John Stuart Mill Aristotle John Locke

When was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?

✓ after some states refused to ratify the Constitution during the Second Continental Congress after the Federalists insisted upon it following the Civil War

The government system established under the Articles of Confederation is an example of a

✓ confederal system. federal system. bifederal system. unitary system.

What sort of law did General Gage establish on June 12, 1775?

✓ martial admiralty probate common

Who can ratify amendments to the Constitution?

✓ state legislatures Congress the chief justice of the Supreme Court the president

What part of the U.S. Constitution reserves all powers not delegated to the federal government to the state governments?

✓ the 10th Amendment Article II Article VI Article III

Which of the following is a characteristic of liberal democracy?

✓Majority rule offers a rational foundation for decision making. People do not have the option of dissolving governments. Governments derive authority from the ruling elite. Members of a community are not treated equally.

Adams believes the colonists have rights as men, Christians, and

✓subjects. objects. papists. taxpayers.