Khan academy gov questions

Which of the following policies is an example of a present-day debate about the balance of power between the federal government and state governments?

Congress passing the every student succeeds act that decreased the number of standardized tests

Which of the following constitutional principles best explains why there was variation among states on the legality of same-sex marriage?

Federalism

Participatory democracy is best defined as which of the following?

Direct individual participation by citizens in political decisions that affect their daily lives

In June 2017, voters in Puerto Rico voted on a referendum to make Puerto Rico the 51st state of the United States. This is an example of which of the following models of democracy? Choose 1 answer:

Participatory democracy

Why have there been relatively few constitutional amendments?

A constitutional amendment bill requires more than a simple majority to be ratified

Which of the following is a consequence of federalism in the United States?

National policy making is held in check

The National Rifle Association (NRA) testifies in front of Congress to advocate for several laws, including one that would protect gun manufacturers from lawsuits concerning violence committed with weapons they made. This is an example of which of the following models of democracy?

Plural democracy

Which of the following best illustrates the concept of "separation of powers" in the US Constitution? Choose 1 answer:

Congress has authority over the federal budget, while the president appoints Supreme Court Justices

The necessary and proper clause is best defined as which of the following? Choose 1 answer:

Congress has the power to carry out its enumerated powers

Which of the following scenarios would violate the Tenth Amendment?

Congress passing a law raising the minimum drinking age to 21

Which of the following statements best explains how the Fourteenth Amendment has been interpreted to enhance federal power?

The fourteenth amendment gave congress the right to regulate discrimination in states

Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the exclusive and concurrent powers of the federal government?

Exclusive power of federal government: declare war Concurrent Powers shared with states: levy taxes

Which statement accurately summarizes the impact of the United States v. Lopez (1995) decision?

It established limits to federal power under the commerce clause

Which of the following statements best summarizes the decision in United States v. Lopez (1995)?

Congress cannot use the commerce clause to regulate possessions of firearms in pubic schools.

Which of the following most likely accounts for the differences in state spending on education shown in the map?

Education spending is determined by state governments not the federal government

Which of the following is the most immediate consequence of impeaching a president?

The president is tried by the senate

Which of the following scenarios is an example of a present-day constitutional issue about democracy and governmental power?

FBI agents being able to obtain phone records without a judge's approval

Which of the following best illustrates the concept of limited government?

The Supreme Court ruled that a law passed by Congress was unconstitutional

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government." -Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence Based on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?

A government is only just if citizens have a say in it

"In a pure democracy the people are the sovereign, and their will is declared by themselves; for this purpose they must all come together to deliberate, and decide. This kind of government cannot be exercised, therefore, over a country of any considerable extent; it must be confined to a single city, or at least limited to such bounds as that the people can conveniently assemble, be able to debate, understand the subject submitted to them, and declare their opinion concerning it." -Brutus No. 1

A large centralized government is unable to protect individual interests and liberties

In a pure democracy the people are the sovereign, and their will is declared by themselves; for this purpose they must all come together to deliberate, and decide. This kind of government cannot be exercised, therefore, over a country of any considerable extent; it must be confined to a single city, or at least limited to such bounds as that the people can conveniently assemble, be able to debate, understand the subject submitted to them, and declare their opinion concerning it." -Brutus No. 1 Which of the following political parties would have agreed with the ideological perspectives in the passage when it was written?

Anti-federalist

In 1974, Congress created a program that grants money to state and local governments to help revitalize low-income communities. State and local governments can decide how best to use their money and used it to rebuild streets, fund libraries, and fix drinking water systems. This is an example of which of the following types of federal aid?

Block grants

In 1972, the federal government established the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Recipients of aid must be women who are pregnant or breastfeeding or children under the age of 5 whose family income falls below 185% of the federal poverty line. This is an example of which of the following types of federal aid?

Categorical grants

" To what expedient, then, shall we finally resort, for maintaining in practice the necessary partition of power among the several departments, as laid down in the Constitution? The only answer that can be given is, that as all these exterior provisions are found to be inadequate, the defect must be supplied, by so contriving the interior structure of the government as that its several constituent parts may, by their mutual relations, be the means of keeping each other in their proper places." -Publius (James Madison), Federalist No. 51, 1788 Which of the following principles of US government is most consistent with the author's argument? Choose 1 answer:

Checks and balances

A president issues an executive order banning newspapers from printing articles critical of the US government. The Supreme Court declares the executive order unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment right to freedom of the press. This is an example of which of the following principles of US government? Choose 1 answer:

Checks and balances

Removal of a public official for crimes or abuse of power is an example of which of the following principles of American government?

Checks and balances

In so extensive a republic, the great officers of government would soon become above the control of the people, and abuse their power to the purpose of aggrandizing themselves, and oppressing them. The trust committed to the executive offices, in a country of the extent of the United States, must be various and of magnitude." -Brutus No. 1 Based on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?

Citizens cannot hold distant elected representatives accountable for their actions

During the 1980s, members of the Republican Party advocated for devolution (transferring responsibilities for programs from the federal government to state and local governments). Which of the following describes a difficulty Congress might face in implementing devolution?

Due to concurrent Powers of state and national government, many programs are administered by both sate and federal agencies

Which of the following was a way in which Shays's Rebellion demonstrated the weaknesses of the national government under the Articles of Confederation? Choose 1 answer:

It could not raise money to pay a militia to put down the rebellion

"When the Articles of Confederation were drafted, Americans had little experience of what a national government could do for them and bitter experience of what an arbitrary government could do to them. In creating a central government they were therefore more concerned with keeping it under control than with giving it the means to do its job." -Edmund S. Morgan, The Birth of the Republic, 1763-89, 1956 Which of the following concepts is most consistent with the author's argument?

Limited government

In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, stipulating that states must have a minimum drinking age of 21 in order to receive federal highway funding. This is an example of which of the following aspects of federal incentives?

Mandate

Which of the following Supreme Court cases established that federal laws have supremacy over state laws? Choose 1 answer:

McCulloch v Maryland

In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees people of the same sex the right to marry in the same manner as opposite-sex couples. Following this ruling, the National Organization for Marriage appealed to members of Congress encouraging them to pass an amendment to the Constitution defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. This is an example of which of the following principles of American government?

Multiple access points for stakeholders to influence policy making

In a pure democracy the people are the sovereign, and their will is declared by themselves; for this purpose they must all come together to deliberate, and decide. This kind of government cannot be exercised, therefore, over a country of any considerable extent; it must be confined to a single city, or at least limited to such bounds as that the people can conveniently assemble, be able to debate, understand the subject submitted to them, and declare their opinion concerning it." -Brutus No. 1, 1787 Based on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?

Participatory democracy does not work in large countries

After Congress proposes a bill to allow businesses to purchase land that was once a national park, several people form an environmental interest group. They reach out to several senators to get their support to block the bill. This is an example of which of the following models of democracy?

Pluralist democracy

Anthony is concerned by his state government's efforts to decrease regulations on pesticides that could hurt the bee population. He decides to join the League of Conservation Voters to help them lobby against deregulating pesticides. This is an example of which of the following models of democracy?

Pluralist democracy

The influence of factious leaders may kindle a flame within their particular states, but will be unable to spread a general conflagration through the other states: a religious sect may degenerate into a political faction in a part of the confederacy; but the variety of sects dispersed over the entire face of it, must secure the national councils against any danger from that source: a rage for paper money, for an abolition of debts, for an equal division of property, or for any other improper or wicked project, will be less apt to pervade the whole body of the union."

Pluralist democracy

After a House of Representatives member supports an unpopular tax despite protests from his constituents, he loses his bid for reelection. This is an example of which of the following democratic ideals?

Popular sovereignty

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government." -Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence Which of the following ideas does the author of the passage advocate?

Popular sovereignty

In the 1960s, the federal government passed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, which compelled state and local governments to desegregate public schools and public places. This is an example of which of the following aspects of federalism in the United States? Choose 1 answer:

Pressure on the national level can force state and local policy changes

Because of our two-party system, voters often find themselves voting for the 'lesser of two evils,' rather than a candidate they really feel would do the best job. . . . "Since most states distribute their electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis, the smaller party has no chance to gain support without seeming to take this support from one of the major parties. Few people will support a party that never wins, especially when they are supporting that party at the possible expense of their least favorite candidate taking power." Source: FairVote.org Which of the following governmental policies would the author of this passage most likely support?

Reforming or eliminating the electoral college

Several oil companies donate to a pro-fracking interest group after hearing that the federal government plans to pass a law banning fracking in the United States . The interest group then appeals to members of Congress in attempt to get them to vote against the bill. Which of the following democratic ideals does this scenario best exemplify?

Republicanism

Shana has a daughter in a public school whose students take a national reading test each year. Shana strongly disagrees with the test's methods and believes the test should either be replaced or eliminated. Which of the following is an action Shana could take to influence education policy?

Run for a seat on her local school board in order to influence her district not to use the test

The commerce clause of the Constitution grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce. Which of the following might be an implied power that Congress would have to complete this task?

Setting a federal minimum wage

Mitt Romney and I ran a long and spirited campaign against one another, but I've always believed that when he was governor here in Massachusetts, he did the right thing on health care. It's because you guys had a proven model that we built the Affordable Care Act on this template of proven bipartisan success. [The Massachusetts' universal health care measure] was the model for the nation's law." President Barack Obama, in a speech in Boston on the Affordable Care Act, 2013 Which of the following statements is most consistent with President Obama's argument in this passage? Choose 1 answer:

State and local governments can be proving grounds for new ideas

Before the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution granted women the right to vote nationwide, 13 states allowed women the right to vote in their state elections. This is an example of which of the following aspects of federalism in the United States?

States and local governments can be proving grounds for new ideas

Social contract is best defined as which of the following?

The agreement between the people and the government defining the rights and duties of each

When land-forces are raised by any state for the common defence, all officers of or under the rank of colonel, shall be appointed by the legislature of each state respectively, by whom such forces shall be raised, or in such manner as such state shall direct, and all vacancies shall be filled up by the State which first made the appointment." -Articles of Confederation, Article VII, 1777 Which of the following is a consequence of the policy described in the passage above?

The federal government did not have the power to create a centralized military during peace time

"The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States . . . The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative . . . "SECTION 3 "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote." Sections 2 and 3 of the United States Constitution The excerpt above is the result of which compromise in the Constitutional Convention?

The great compromise (Connecticut Compromise)

When the Articles of Confederation were drafted, Americans had had little experience of what a national government could do for them and bitter experience of what an arbitrary government could do to them. In creating a central government they were therefore more concerned with keeping it under control than with giving it the means to do its job." -Edmund S. Morgan, The Birth of the Republic, 1763-89, 1956 Which of the following pieces of evidence would best support the author's conclusion?

The lack of centralized military power under the articles of confederation

"The insurgents who were assembled at Worcester in Massachusetts have disbanded. The people at Boston seem to be glad at this event and say it was the effect of fear. But the fact is that the insurgents effected their object . . . "The commotions of Massachusetts have wrought prodigious changes in the minds of men in that State [with regard to] the Powers of Government. Everybody says they must be strengthened and that unless this shall be effected there is no Security for liberty or Property. Such is the State of things in the east, that much trouble is to be apprehended in the course of the ensuing year." -Henry Knox, letter to his former commander George Washington, 1786 Based on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with? Choose 1 answer:

The lack of centralized military power under the articles of confederation poses a serious threat to the stability of the United States

Which of the following aspects of the US Constitution best illustrates the concept of participatory democracy?

The process of choosing members of the House of Representatives

In 1972, both houses of Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal rights for all citizens regardless of sex. However, the amendment failed, as three-quarters of the states did not ratify it before the deadline expired. This is an example of which of the following aspects of federalism in the United States?

The sharing of power between states and federal government constrains national policy making

Republicanism is best defined as which of the following?

The system by which the interests of the people are represented through elected leaders

Which of the following is a consequence of the principle of separation of powers?

There are multiple access points for stakeholders and institutions to influence public policy

Why are the compromises that were necessary to secure ratification of the Constitution still debated today? Choose 1 answer:

They left some matters unresolved

"As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed . . . The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to a uniformity of interests. The protection of these faculties is the first object of government. From the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property, the possession of different degrees and kinds of property immediately results; and from the influence of these on the sentiments and views of the respective proprietors, ensues a division of the society into different interests and parties." -Publius (James Madison), Federalist No. 10 According to the author, what is the purpose of government?

To control factions

In Federalist No. 10, Madison argues that the Constitution disperses power between the federal government and state governments. Which of the following describes a constitutional provision in the newly-ratified Constitution that does that?

US senators were chosen by state legislatures

"As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed . . . The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to a uniformity of interests. The protection of these faculties is the first object of government. From the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property, the possession of different degrees and kinds of property immediately results; and from the influence of these on the sentiments and views of the respective proprietors, ensues a division of the society into different interests and parties." -Publius (James Madison), Federalist No. 10 Based on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?

Political liberty is best protected by the fragmentation of political powers in a large republic