GOVT 2305 Final Review

The concept of democracy was initially defined centuries ago in ancient

Greece

​In a globalized world we are sometimes closely tied through trade to former enemies. In 2014-2015, which country supplied nearly one-third of foreign students in American educational institutions?

China

The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution are collectively known as the _____ amendments.

Civil War

What was the decision in the case of Roe v. Wade?

It upheld the right of women to have abortions

Which of the following presidents failed to win a majority of the popular vote?

John F. Kennedy

​National sovereignty is defined as

a political entity's externally recognized right to exercise final authority over its affairs

The Great Compromise provided for

a two-chamber legislature with equal representation for all states in one chamber and population-based representation in the other.

Every two years, how many of the 435 House seats are up for reelection at the same time?

all

By national law, _________ of the seats in the House of Representatives and ____ of the seats in the Senate are filled in a general election held every even-numbered year.

all and one-third

The phrase "on background" means that media are permitted to

anonymously quote material without identifying the source.

Most cases reach the U.S. Supreme Court through________ jurisdiction.

appellate

In the U.S., freedom of press has primarily meant protection from

censorship.

The power of the president to veto laws is an example of

checks and balances

The Greek word demos, which is the root of the term democracy, means

common people

The process of transmitting information from one individual to another is called

communication

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson's statement that "all men are created equal" is similar to which theorist's belief that government is based on the "consent of the governed"?

John Locke

The separate-but-equal doctrine was first instituted in which court case?

Plessy v. Ferguson

President __________ embraced supply-side economics.

Reagan

The most visible form of congressional oversight is

a congressional hearing

U.S. Senators were no longer chosen by state legislatures after the passage of the

Seventeenth Amendment.

​The case of Marbury v. Madison was based on which of these questions?

Should Congress or the Constitution prevail?

The __________ Amendment empowered the national government to collect taxes on income.

Sixteenth

the term solid south refers to

South's consistent Democratic voting record for much of the twentieth century

Freedom of religion or freedom of speech are _________ principles.

Substanstive

When the air you breathe is made cleaner as a result of lobbying done by an interest group to which you do NOT belong, you are an example of

a free rider

In the early days of America,​ the president was chosen by

a group of political elites in the Electoral College

A confederation can best be described as

a loose association of independent states

In the current American context, a liberal would tend to promot

economic equality ahead of freedom, and freedom ahead of social order

In the current American context, a liberal would tend to promote

economic equality ahead of freedom, and freedom ahead of social order.

In his inaugural address, President Ronald Reagan used the term freedom rhetorically to refer to

ensuring a minimal level of government involvement in day-to-day life

Social Security and veterans' pensions, which provide benefits to which individuals have a legal right and which cannot be reduced without changing the law, are also referred to as

entitlements

We elect the president via 50 state elections combined into the electoral college; thus, presidential elections are best described as ________ elections.

federal

The president has the power to appoint all but which of the following?

federal district and circuit court judges

All of the following are constitutional requirements for the presidency EXCEPT that the president must​

have a college degree.

One criterion that must be met for a country to be democratic is that it must​

have more than one political party.

People who ___________ are most likely to belong to interest groups.​

have ​the most urgent need for government benefit

One result of the Second Continental Congress was

he adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

Developing budgets by using last year's budget as the base and adding an amount to cover the increased costs of doing business (inflation) and any new programs is called

incremental budgeting.

The Federal Communications Commission is a _____ that is insulated from political control by the Congress or president

independent regulatory commission

Political scientists know less about unconventional forms of political participation because

it is easier to collect data on conventional practices

Article I of the Constitution refers to the

legislative branch

Typically, a referenda is placed on the ballot by

legislators.

The broad, basic definition of government given by the text is

legitimate use of force within specified geographic boundaries to control human behavior.

Today, Americans aged 17-24 are much more __________ than the general public

liberal

It is the job of __________ to make sure that people in government know what their members want and that their organizations know what the government is doing.

lobbyists

In the modern presidency, the Cabinet

no longer provides significant decision-making input or support for the president.

The phrase "off the record" means that media are

not allowed to print the information

The acronym PAC stands for

political action committee.

Each citizen having one vote demonstrates

political equality

The text defines __________ as the actions of private citizens by which they seek to influence or support government and politics.

political participation

Reapportionment is based on

population figures shown in the census

The Greek word kratos, one of the roots of the word democracy, means

power.

Which of the following best describes the concept of civil rights?

powers and privileges guaranteed to individuals and protected against arbitrary withdrawal by the government or individuals

​The ______ principle indicates that what is learned first is learned best.

primacy​

Democratization is the

process of transition as a country attempts to move from an authoritarian form of government to a democratic one

A tax allocated based on a person's ability to pay, rather than, for example, requiring everyone to pay an equal percentage of their income, is known as a __________ tax.​

progressive

In Dred Scott, the Supreme Court decided that Congress had no power to

prohibit slavery

Originally, the Constitutional Convention's purpose was to

revise the Articles of Confederation

When it comes to interest groups, the Internet has become an increasingly important means of ​

soliciting new members.

National _____ means that each national government is given the right to govern its own people as it wishes and no other nation can interfere with that.

sovereignty

The Daughters of Liberty opposed British rule by

spinning their own cloth rather than buying imported British products

A distribution of opinions that shows little change over time is called a _____ distribution.​

stable

The bias in favor of existing decisions is captured by the Latin expression

stare decisis

When adopted, the Bill of Rights imposed limits on _________, but not on

the national government; state governments

Judicial review is

the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws invalid if they violate the Constitution.

A country in which the government is described as laissez-faire is one in which

there is no government control

Typically, what fraction of the voting-age population will vote in a primary election?

two-thirds

The idea that all adults within the boundaries of a political community should be allowed to vote is known as

universal participation

Compared with citizens in other democracies, Americans are

unwilling to join demonstrations.

What is the main way in which citizens control government?​

voting in free elections to choose leaders

Over time, the Supreme Court has used the __________ to apply the specifics of the Bill of Rights to the states.​

​Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause

What was the purpose of the Twelfth Amendment​?

​It required the electoral college to vote separately for president and vice president

The _____ Party is not considered a political party.

​Tea

When a leader assembles crowds to confront businesses and local governments to demand a hearing, he or she is engaging in

​direct action

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 established the right to nondiscrimination in public accommodations and

​employment opportunity.

​The view that judges should generally defer to the decisions of elected officials in their decisions is known as

​judicial restraint

​People who are not religious are more likely to be categorized as

​libertarian

Before it could take effect, the Constitution had to be ratified by __________ states

9

In Brown v. Board of Education II, the Supreme Court ordered that public school systems must desegregate

"with all deliberate speed."

The predictions of the Gallup Poll for nineteen presidential elections since 1936 have been deviated from actual voting results by less than ___ percentage point(s)

1

Until 2000, the last time a candidate won most of the popular votes but did not win the presidency was in

1888

The Internet was started in

1969, with support from the U.S. Department of Defense.

According to a 2013 poll, ____ of Americans think the political parties do an adequate job of representing the American people.​

24%

The delegation of powers is the process by which _____ gives the executive branch the additional authority needed to address new problems.

Congress

John ____ is an American politician, lawyer and the senior United States Senator from Texas, serving since 2002. He is a member of the Republican Party and the current Senate Majority Whip for the 115th Congress.

Cornyn

Ted ____ is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013.

Cruz

The Department of ________ is the largest government department in terms of number of employees.

Defense

States' rights supporters believe that congress should restrict its activities to

Enumerated Powers

James Madison made all but which of the following arguments in his essay, Federalist No. 10?

Factions can be eliminated without removing Americans' freedoms.

candidates eventually favored by most party identifies usually win their party's nomination. There have been only two exceptions to this rule: aldi stevenson in 1952 and _____ in 1972

George McGovern

Supporters of the Constitution named themselves

Federalists

The _________ guaranteed citizenship to all persons, including blacks.

Fourteenth Amendment

The civil rights guarantee of "equal protection of the laws" is located in the

Fourteenth Amendment.

How did "white flight" affect the inner-city schools?

Most of the inner-city schools were predominantly black.

Which amendment to the Constitution guaranteed women the right to vote?

Nineteenth Amendment in 1920

The amendment granting women's suffrage is the

Nineteenth Amendment.

_____ jurisdiction refers to the authority of a court to hear a case before any other court hears the case.

Original

Which of the following statements is correct with respect to school prayer?

Public schools must open their doors to after-school religious activities on the same basis as other after-school programs

The power to declare war resides with the

Senate only.

Which of the following statements is NOT true of the Supreme Court?

The justices try to time their departures to give the president of the opposite party an opportunity to fill the replacement.

Which president first provided space in the White House for reporters?

Theodore Roosevelt

The Constitution does not give the president power to

declare war.

Which of the following is true about election campaigns?

They have evolved to being candidate centered.

The phrase "wall of separation between church and state" originated with

Thomas Jefferson.

The amendment lowering the voting age to eighteen is the

Twenty-sixth Amendment

Supreme Court review is granted to a case

by the permission of any four justices

If a congressional staff member is asked to track down a missing Social Security check, that staff member is involved in

casework.

The original draft of the Declaration of Independence

condemned the king's support of the slave trade.

An advertisement that criticizes an opponent and advocates policies of the sponsoring candidate is an example of a __________ ad.

contrast

The constitutional expressly gives the federal government the power to ____ within the states.

create a postal system

An incumbent is someone who

currently holds office

A politician who appeals to and often deceives the masses by manipulating their emotions and prejudices is a

demagogue.

George Mason and others believed that omitting the Bill of Rights would

deter many states from adopting the Constitution.

In general, the public tends to dislike interest groups because they

do not offer equal representation to all

The term "electoral college" became known in the United States

during the twentieth century.

When one person has the same chance to succeed in life as another, this is called

equality of opportunity.

An increasingly complex U.S. society has caused the government at all levels to

expand

For most people, the first agent of political socialization is

family

Franklin Roosevelt's four freedoms included all of the following except

freedom from inequality.

The value of the goods and services actually produced is called the nation's

gross domestic product.

A power NOT specifically mentioned in the Constitution but necessary if another specific grant of power is to be carried out is called aNo _________ power.

implied

The Constitution did not give Congress the authority to establish the Internal Revenue Service. Congress did so, however, to implement its power to "lay and collect taxes." This is an example of the use of aNo _________ power.

implied

When the authors say that we live in an era of "globalization," they mean that citizens and nations are increasingly

interdependent

In broad terms, to discriminate means to​

make or recognize differences

From World War II until the collapse of the Soviet Union, the national budget allowed for the most spending in the area of

national defense.

When Roger B. Taney became chief justice in 1836, the Court imposed firm limits on the powers of

national government

A constitutional clause that allows for a broad interpretation of implied powers is known as the__________ clause.

necessary and proper

An important idea of pluralist theory is that

new interest groups naturally form when the need arises

A _____ is a designation as an official candidate of a political party.

nomination

A form of government that puts power in the hands of an elite is a

oligarchy

An autocracy is a political system ruled by

one individual.

Every two years, _________ of the Senate must stand for reelection.

one third

According to democratic theory, the most important factor in determining voter choice in an election should be

past performance and proposed policies

The business cycle is

periods of expansion and inflation alternating with periods of contraction and unemployment.

With regards to the executive office, prior to the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation

provided for no independent executive

Services that benefit all citizens and are not likely to be produced by the voluntary acts of individuals are known as

public goods.

A ___________ requires that a specified proportional share of some benefit go to a given group. ​

quota

Benign discrimination is based on

reason.

Alexis de Tocqueville believed that the American tendency to join associations

reflected a strong democratic culture.

The main focus of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was to

relax the rules governing media ownership.

The three-fifths compromise resolved the issue of​

representation of slaves.

The chief objective of the First Continental Congress was​ to

restore peaceful relations between the colonies and Great Britain

In recent years, the Supreme Court has denied states the power to execute individuals who are

seventeen years old.

​The notion that governmental authority springs from the consent of the governed is derived from

social contract theory.

The fifty-five signatories of the Declaration of Independence were courageous in their actions because

signing the Declaration was treason and punishable by hanging and drawing and quartering.

One of the most convincing explanations for the persistence of the two-party system in the United States lies in its use of

single winners chosen by a simple plurality of votes.

Which standard used by the Supreme Court when deciding whether a law or policy is constitutional says that the law or policy must be justified by a "compelling governmental interest?"

strict scrutiny

The Bill of Rights is at the core of our

substantive theories of democracy

To appeal means to

take a case to a higher court.

The essence of supply-side economics is that

taxes should be cut to stimulate investment, and government regulation of business should be decreased.

Although terrorism is an unconventional political action, it is generally not counted as unconventional political participation because

terrorists do not seek to influence government but to destroy it.

The government first took steps to provide income security in the wake of

the Civil War.

The main argument against the need for a bill of rights was that

the Constitution established a government of limited powers; because it was not given the power to regulate individual liberties, no bill of rights was necessary.

The Framers wanted to build public opinion into our government structure by creating

the House of Representatives

One result of ​____________ was the direct primary, in which candidates must campaign not only for election, but also for the nomination of their party.

the Progressive movement in the 1920s

A major event that led to greater British taxation of American colonies was

the Seven Years' War.

In the last 200 years, Congress has tremendously increased the scope of the national government by using

the Tenth Amendment.

The broad, basic definition of politics given by the text is

the authoritative allocation of values for a society.

By law, the U.S. presidential election occurs

the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Democrat Andrew Jackson won the presidency in 1828 in

the first mass election in U.S. history.

Mass media refers to

the means of communicating to audiences.

Upon ratification, the Constitution directed for senators to be chosen by

the president.

Home rule is

the right of municipal governments to enact their own legislation in certain administrative areas.

When it was first ratified, the Constitution provided that the vice president would be

the runner-up in the electoral college

Criminal offenses such as arson, theft, and murder are almost always the sole responsibility of which entity?

the state

Where in the Constitution are political parties discussed?

they are not discussed in the Constitution

Including the Bill of Rights, __________ amendments have been added to the Constitution

twenty-seven

Each state has __________ senators

two

The basic premise of federalism is that

two or more governments share power and authority over the same land and people

The four most important functions of a political party are structuring the voting choice in elections, proposing alternative government programs, coordinating the actions of government officials and

​nominating candidates for election to public office.

The free-rider problem increases the difficulty of attracting

​paying members

Persons possess __________ and governments ​possess

​rights; powers.