US Government and Civics - Khan Academy

The president wants Congress to pass a new tax to help raise funds for a high-speed transcontinental train. Which of the following is the first step in the process of passing the bill?

A member of the House must introduce the bill to the House floor

Read the passage and answer the following question. "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 voice in it

Which of the following situations is an example of an action that citizens and lawful permanent residents can take that is well within their rights?

Aubrey buys an office building to start her law firm.

Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the two cases?

Comparison C

Which of the following is an intended consequence of ideological divisions within Congress?

Compromise between the two parties on congressional legislation

Which of the following scenarios best reflects the globalization of US political culture?

Following a political revolution and a strong trade relationship with the US, the country of Corto Maltese starts hosting free and open elections.

Which of the following is a consequence of the merit system in the bureaucracy?

Greater professionalism in the bureaucracy

Use the text below to answer the following question. "We should accept our responsibility in the fight against global warming by supporting stricter pollution emission standards for cars sold in Maryland by adopting the Clean Cars Act. By taking action, we are not only going to be able to help children who suffer everyday from asthma, we are also going to be able to remove pollutants from the air, and be able, to a degree, to remove those pollutants from the Bay. We can join 11 other states in getting this done, and getting it done this year." Governor Martin O'Malley of Maryland, State of the State Address, 2007 Which of the following ideological perspectives is most consistent with the author?

Liberal

Members of the National Organization for Women (NOW) protest a congressional bill that eliminates protections for pregnant workers. After the bill passes, they form a letter-writing campaign hoping to influence the president to veto the bill. This is an example of which of the following principles of American government?

Multiple access points for stakeholders to influence policymaking

"Winston Churchill is said to have remarked that 'Any man who is not a socialist at the age of 21 has no heart, and any man who is still a socialist at the age of 40 has no head.' The first part of the quote can be taken as saying that it is easy to favor economic equality when one is a young adult in the process of getting educated, finding a job, and beginning a career. But the second part implies that the notion of equality of income for all looks far different once one is middle aged and established in an occupation." -Source: Martin P. Wattenberg, Is Voting for Young People? 2012 Which of the following statements is most consistent with the author's argument in this passage?

People's political ideology changes as they get older

Which of the following statements describes a major difference between a territory and a state?

State representatives have voting power in Congress, whereas representatives of the territories cannot vote.

"Given the increasing difference in size between the largest and smallest states, combined with other changes in the American political context[,] any effects of Senate apportionment are greater today than in the past. By reference to the one person, one vote standard, the Senate is the most malapportioned legislature in the world . . . Currently Wyoming, with fewer than half a million residents, enjoys the same level of representation as California, with more than 30 million." -Frances E. Lee and Bruce I. Oppenheimer, Sizing Up the Senate: The Unequal Consequences of Equal Representation, 1999 Which of the following statements best summarizes the author's argument?

The Great Compromise failed to anticipate growing population differences in small and large states, leaving matters unresolved

"As the quotations earlier in this opinion demonstrate, the inherent right of self-defense has been central to the Second Amendment right. The handgun ban [by the District of Columbia] amounts to a prohibition of an entire class of 'arms' that is overwhelmingly chosen by American society for that lawful purpose. The prohibition extends, moreover, to the home, where the need for defense of self, family, and property is most acute. Under any of the standards of scrutiny that we have applied to enumerated constitutional rights. . . banning from the home 'the most preferred firearm in the nation to 'keep' and use for protection of one's home and family, . . .would fail constitutional muster.'" -Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, majority opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) Which of the following statements is most consistent with the author's argument in this passage?

The Second Amendment protects a person's right to own a gun from government infringement

Read the passage and answer the following question. "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 Which constitutional provision would the author most likely support? Choose 1 answer:

The addition of a Bill of Rights

Which of the following scenarios is an example of the president using the bully pulpit approach to achieve policy goals?

The president appeals to the American public to contact their representatives and urge them to support increased military spending

Which of the following statements is the most valid criticism of voting for a third party in the US political system?

Your third-party vote may help a candidate that you disagree with

The Kansas state legislature passed a bill requiring that all high schools in the state be renamed in honor of Clark Kent, a fictional superhero. The governor of Kansas used her power of the veto to stop the bill from being signed into law. This scenario is an example of which democratic principle?

checks and balances

Santino injures his arm at a softball game and goes to a doctor to get it checked out. The doctor tells him he probably shouldn't go to his regular job as a construction worker because it would probably make the injury worse. When Santino refuses to take time off, his doctor threatens to tell his boss. Santino reminds his doctor that she can't do that without violating his rights. What right is Santino referring to?

right to privacy

Congress passed the Clean Air Act, which gave the federal government the power to monitor and limit emissions of harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. However, in 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the Clean Air Act does not give it the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The EPA's decision to not act is an example of which of the following?

the power that individual bureaucrats and agencies have to make choices about how to implement existing laws