PS 201 Quiz Questions

If a state has 10 members in the U.S. House of Representatives, how many electoral votes does that state have?

12

Which of the following types of committees does not include members of both House and the Senate?

527 committees.

Unitary system

A centralized government system in which lower levels of government have little power independent of the national government.

Political Ideology

A cohesive set of beliefs that forms a general philosophy about the role of government.

What is bureaucracy?

A complex structure of departments, tasks, rules, and principles of an organization used by a large institution to coordinate work.

Habeas Corpus

A court order demanding that an individual in custody be brought into court and shown the cause for detention.

Regulated Federalism

A form of federalism in which Congress imposes legislation on states and localities, requiring them to meet national standards.

Virginia Plan

A framework for the Constitution, introduced by Edmund Randolph, that called for representation in the national legislature based on the population of each state.

New Jersey Plan

A framework for the Constitution, introduced by William Paterson, that called for equal state representation in the national legislature regardless of population.

Bill of Attainder

A law that declares a person a person guilty of a crime without a trial.

National Convention

A national party political institution that nominates the party's presidential and vice presidential candidates, establishes party rules, and writes and ratifies the party's platform.

Caucus

A normally closed meeting of a political or legislative group to select candidates, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters.

Platform

A party document written at a national convention, that contains party philosophy, principles, and positions on issues.

Redlining

A practice in which banks refuse to give loans to people living in certain geographic locations.

Limited Government

A principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution.

Lemon Test

A rule articulated in Lemon v. Kurtzman that government action toward religion is permissible if it is secular in purpose, neither promotes nor inhibits the practice of religion, and does not lead to "excessive entanglement" with religion.

Attitude

A specific preference on a particular issue.

Privileges and Immunities Clause

A state cannot discriminate against someone from another state or give its own residents special privileges.

Federalism

A system of government in which power is divided, by a constitution, between a central government and regional governments.

Confederation

A system of government in which states retain sovereign authority except for the powers expressly delegated to the national government.

Representative Democracy

A system of government in which the populace selects representatives, who play a significant role in governmental decision making.

Democracy

A system of rule that permits citizens to play a significant part in the governmental process, usually through the election of key public officials.

Intermediate Scrutiny

A test used by the Supreme Court in gender discrimination cases that places the burden of proof partially on the gov. and partially on the challengers.

Cooperative Federalism

A type of federalism existing since the New Deal era in which grants-in-aid have been strategically used to encourage states and localities to pursue nationally defined goals. Also known as intergovernmental cooperation.

Which of the following is a brief submitted to the Supreme Court by someone other than one of the parties in the case?

Amicus curiae.

Prior Restraint

An effort by the gov. to block the publication of material it deems harmful. The courts forbid this except under extraordinary circumstances.

Party identification

An individual voter's psychological ties to one party or another.

Commerce Clause

Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, which delegates to Congress the power "to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States and with the Indian tribes." This clause was interpreted by the Supreme Court in favor of national power over the economy.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, which provides Congress with the power to make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out its expressed powers.

Elastic clause

Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution (also known as the necessary and proper clause), which enumerates the powers of Congress and provides Congress with the authority to make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry them out.

Which article of the Constitution establishes the presidency?

Article II

Supremacy Clause

Article VI of the Constitution, which states that laws passed by the national government and all treaties are the supreme law of the land and superior to all laws adopted by any state or any subdivision.

Concurrent Powers

Authority possessed by both state and national governments, such as the power to levy taxes.

Which of the following Supreme Court cases did not involved the rights of criminal suspects?

Baker v. Carr

Which president instituted the bureaucratic reform of the National Performance Review?

Bill Clinton

How have changes in judicial policy areas and judicial procedure affected the power of the federal judiciary since WWII?

Both policy and procedure changes have expanded judicial power.

De Facto

By fact

De Jure

By law

Public Opinion

Citizens' attitudes about political issues, leaders, institutions, and events.

Politics

Conflict over the leadership, structure, and policies of governments.

Under what authority is the number of Supreme Court justices decided?

Congress

The concept of oversight refers to the effort made by

Congress to make executive agencies accountable for their actions.

Block Grants

Federal grants-in-aid that allow states considerable discretion in how the funds are spent.

Which of the following best describes the federal government's laws regarding lobbying?

Federal law requires all organizations employing lobbyists to register with Congress and to disclose whom they represent, whom they lobby, what they are looking for, and how much they are paid.

Liberty

Freedom from governmental control.

Which of the following agencies were created by Congress to engage in research on problems taking place in or confronted by the executive branch?

Government Accountability Office, Congressional Research Service, Congressional Budget Office.

Which of the following cases involved the "right to privacy"?

Griswold v. Connecticut

Bicameral

Having a legislature assembly composed of two chambers of houses; distinguished from unicameral.

Sabato suggests that there are three values of the Constitution:

Idealism, fairness, pragmatism, and a focus on the needs of the present and future.

Exclusionary Rule

The ability of the courts to exclude evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Political Efficacy

The ability to influence government and politics.

Great Compromise

The agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that gave each state an equal number of senators regardless of its population, but linked representation in the House of Representatives to population.

Separation of powers

The division of governmental power among several institutions that must cooperate in decision making.

Social Desirability Effect

The effect that results when respondents in a survey report what they expect the interviewer wishes to hear rather than what they believe.

South Dakota v. Dole (1984)

In a 7-to-2 decision, the Court held that Congress, acting indirectly to encourage uniformity in states' drinking ages, was within constitutional bounds. The Court found that the legislation was in pursuit of "the general welfare," and that the means chosen to do so were reasonable. The Court also held that the Twenty-first Amendment's limitations on spending power were not prohibitions on congressional attempts to achieve federal objectives indirectly. The five percent loss of highway funds was not unduly coercive.

Power

Influence over the government's leadership, organization, or policies.

Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments to the US constitution. They ensure certain rights and liberties to the people.

Party Organization

The formal structure of a political party, including its leadership, election committees, active members, and paid staff.

Judicial Review

The power of the courts to review and, if necessary, declare actions of the legislative and executive branches invalid or unconstitutional; the Supreme Court asserted this power in Marbury V. Madison.

Which of the following would not be accurately characterized as a traditional limitation on the power of the federal courts?

The president can dissolve the Supreme Court if it oversteps its powers.

Which of the following statements about impeachment is not true?

The president is the only official who can be impeached by Congress.

Electoral College

The presidential electors from each state who meet after the popular election to cast ballots for president and vice president.

Government

Institutions and procedures through which a territory and its people are ruled.

Preemption

The principle that allows the national government to override state or local actions in certain policy areas; in foreign policy, the willingness to strike and enemy first in order to prevent an enemy attack.

Which of the following best describes the reputation of AARP in the Washington, D.C., lobbying community?

It is respected and feared.

States' Rights

The principle that the states should oppose the increasing authority of the national government. This principle was most popular in the period before the Civil War.

Mobilization

The process by which large numbers of people are organized for a political activity.

Patronage

The resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and to confer grants, licenses, or special favors to supporters.

Due Process of Law

The right of every citizen against arbitrary action by national or state governments.

Right to Privacy

The right to be left alone, which has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to entail individual access to birth control and abortions.

Justices who favored going beyond the words of the Constitution to consider the broader societal implications of the Supreme Court's decisions would be considered advocates of which judicial philosophy"

Judicial activism.

Grand Jury

Jury that determines whether sufficient evidence is available to justify a trial; grand juries do not rule on the accused's guilt or innocence.

The Supreme Court Justices are?

KARTS BGK: John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan

Ex Post Facto Laws

Laws that declare an action to be illegal after it has been committed

Checks and Balances

Mechanisms through which each branch of government is able to participate in and influence the activities of the other branches; major examples include the presidential veto power over congressional legislation, the power of the Senate to approve presidential appointments, and judicial review of congressional enactments.

What did the Supreme Court rule in U.S. v. Nixon?

Nixon had to turn his secret White House tapes over to congressional investigators but, in general, presidents have the power of executive privilege.

Civil Rights

Obligation imposed on government to take positive action to protect citizens from any illegal action of government agencies and of other private citizens.

Thirteenth Amendment

One of the three Civil War Amendments; it abolished slavery.

Fourteenth Amendment

One of the three Civil War amendments; it guaranteed equal protection and due process.

Fifteenth Amendment

One of three Civil War amendments; it guaranteed voting rights to African American men.

Tyranny

Oppressive government that employs cruel and unjust use of power and authority.

Political Parties

Organized groups that attempt to influence the government by electing their members to important government offices.

Party Activists

Partisans who contribute time, energy, and effort to support their party and its candidates.

Implied Powers

Powers derived from the necessary and proper clause of Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution. Such powers are not specifically expressed, but are implied through the expansive interpretation of delegated powers.

Reserved Powers

Powers, derived from the tenth amendment, that are not specifically delegated to the national government or denied to the states.

Values

Principles that shape a person's opinions about political issues and events.

Grants-In-Aid

Programs through which Congress provides money to state and local governments on the condition that the funds be employed for purposes defined by the federal government.

Civil Liberties

Protections against improper government action. Areas of personal freedom with which the governments are restrained from interfering.

Equal Protection Clause

Provision of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing citizens "the equal protection of the laws." This clause has been the basis for the civil rights of African Americans, women, and other groups.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

The state of Maryland had attempted to impede operation of a branch of the Second Bank of the United States by imposing a tax on all notes of banks not chartered in Maryland. The Court invoked the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution, which allowed the Federal government to pass laws not expressly provided for in the Constitution's list of express powers. This case established two important principles in constitutional law. First, the Constitution grants to Congress implied powers for implementing the Constitution's express powers, in order to create a functional national government. Second, state action may not impede valid constitutional exercises of power by the Federal government.

Discrimination

The use of any unreasonable and unjust criterion of exclusion.

Which of the following statements about vice presidents is not true?

The vice president also serves as an honorary member of the Supreme Court.

Federalist 10 suggests that:

There are two ways to limit the damage caused by faction: either remove the causes of faction or control its effects. He then describes the two methods to removing faction: first, destroying liberty, which would work because "liberty is to faction what air is to fire",but it is impossible to perform because liberty is essential to political life. The second option, creating a society homogeneous in opinions and interests, is impracticable. The diversity of the people's ability is what makes them succeed more or less, and inequality of property is a right that the government should protect. Madison concludes that the damage caused by faction can be limited only by controlling its effects.

Which of the following statements is not true about old-fashioned newspapers?

They are the read on a daily basis by almost all Americans.

Which of the following best describes the media's role in the Watergate affair?

They played almost no role in the Watergate affair because they refused to investigate claims that President Nixon had abused his power.

Which of the following best describes the media's use of press releases?

Thousands of press releases are incorporated into daily news reports every year because press releases allow news organizations to fill their pages at little cost.

Define T2H3E2 DC JAILS V

Treasury, Transportation, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Energy, Education, Defense, Commerce, Justice, Agriculture, Interior, Labor, States, Veterans Affairs

Which of the following is an example of a government corporation?

United States Postal Service.

The difference between a closed rule and an open rule in the House is

a closed rule puts severe limits on floor debate and amendments, whereas an open rule permits floor debate and makes amendments easier.

"Money swapping" occurs when

a corporate interest group attempts to hide its campaign contributions by laundering them through a not-for-profit group.

The term "writ of habeas corpus" refers to

a court order that an individual in custody be brought into court and shown the cause for his or her detention.

Devolution refers to

a policy to remove a program from one level of government by passing it down to a lower level of government.

When the president makes an announcement about his interpretation of a congressional enactment that he is signing into law, it is called

a signing statement.

Which of the following are not part of the executive branch?

a) Cabinet departments b) government corporations c) independent regulatory commissions d) agencies e)All of the above are parts of the executive branch.

The draft constitution that was introduced at the start of the Constitutional Convention was authored by

a) Edmund Randolph

In what case was a right to privacy first found in the Constitution?

a) Griswold v. Connecticut

Which of the following best describes the process of amending the Constitution?

a) It is difficult and has rarely been used successfully to address specific public problems

Which civil rights case established the "separate but equal" rule?

a) Plessy v. Ferguson

In what case did the Supreme Court find that rigid quotas are incompatible with the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment?

a) Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

Which of the following best describes in the current state of Americans' party identification?

a) Roughly one-third identify as D, roughly one-third identify as R, and roughly one-third identify as Independents.

Which of the following could be described as a Jim Crow law?

a) a law forcing blacks and whites to ride on separate trains b) a law criminalizing interracial marriage c) a law requiring black sand whites to attend different schools d) a law segregating all public accommodations, such as hotels, restaurants, and theaters e) all of the above

A proportional-representation electoral system is

a) a system that gives each political party representation in proportion to its percentage of the total vote

In their fight against British taxes such as the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act of 1764, New England merchants allied with which of the following groups?

a) artisans, southern planters, and laborers

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 significantly extended and protected voting rights by doing which of the following?

a) barring literacy tests as a condition for voting in six southern states

Voter turnout in presidential election years has

a) been consistently higher than in years when only congressional and local elections are held

Which of the following is not part of American political culture?

a) belief in equality of results

What mechanism was instituted in the Congress to guard against "excessive democracy"?

a) bicameralism b) staggered terms in office c) checks and balances d) selection of senators by state legislatures e) all of the above

One of the most powerful tools by which the federal government has attempted to get the states to act in ways that are desired by the federal government is by

a) defending states' rights

In Mapp v. Ohio, the Supreme Court ruled that

a) evidence obtained from an illegal search could not be introduced in a trial

Which of the following is not related to the American conception of liberty?

a) freedom of speech b) free enterprise c) freedom of religion d) freedom of assembly e) All of the above are related to liberty

The percentage of foreign-born individuals living in the United States

a) has increased significantly since reaching its low point in 1970.

Many states have amended their constitutions to guarantee that large cities will have the authority to manage local affairs without interference from state government. This power is called

a) home rule

Which of the following best describes the composition of the electorate during the colonial and early national periods of American history?

a) landowning white males over the age 21

Variables such as income, education, race, gender, and ethnicity

a) often create differences of political opinion in America

According to the authors, good citizenship requires

a) political knowledge and political engagement

Which of the following is an important principle of American democracy?

a) popular sovereignty b)majority rule c) limited government d) minority rights e) All of the above are important principles of American democracy

Which of the following rights were not included in the original Constitution?

a) prohibition of bills of attainder b) prohibition of ex post facto laws c) guarantee of habeas corpus d) guarantee of trial by jury in the state where the crime was committed e) None-they were all included in the original Constitution

Which of the following restrictions on voting have been repealed over the last 182 years of American history?

a) property, gender, and race

Parties today are most important in the electoral process in

a) recruiting and nominating candidates for office

A political party is different from an interest group in that a political party

a) seeks to control the entire government by electing its members to office and thereby controlling the government's personnel

The Supreme Court's decision in Mendez v. Westminster was significant because it

a) served as a precursor for Brown v. Board by ruling that segregation of Anglos and Mexican Americans into separate schools was unconstitutional

The judicial test that places the burden proof on government show that a race-based policy serves a compelling government interest and is narrowly tailored to address identifiable past discrimination is called

a) strict scrutiny

Which of the following civil rights measures dealt with access to public business and accommodations?

a) the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and the 1964 Civil Rights Act

Which of the following protections are not contained in the first amendment?

a) the establishment clause b) the free exercise clause c) freedom of the press d) the right to peaceably assemble e) All of the above are First Amendment protections

Which of the following is an agency of socialization?

a) the family b) social groups c) education d) political conditions e) all of the above

Which of the following are the most important external influences on how political opinions are formed in the marketplace of ideas?

a) the government, private groups, and the news media

The median voter theorem suggests that

a) the most reliable strategy for a politician to take in winning reelection is to adopt policies that are consistent with the preferences of ideologically centrist voters.

From 1789 until the end of the nineteenth century, the Bill of rights put limits on

a) the national government only

A push poll is a poll in which

a) the questions are designed to shape the respondent's opinion rather than measure the respondent's opinion

What type of representation is described when constituents have the power to hire and fire their representative?

agency representation

The media's powers to determine what becomes a part of political discussion and to shape how political events are interpreted are known as

agenda setting and framing.

Adversarial journalism refers to

an era in American history when political parties provided all of the financing for newspapers.

Which of the following does not require the advice and consent of the Senate?

an executive agreement.

When the president issues a rule or regulation that reorganizes or otherwise directs the affairs of the executive branch, such as the directives that established the Executive Office of the President and the Environmental Protection Agency, it is called

an executive order.

A stable relationship between a bureaucratic agency, a clientele group, and a legislative committee is called

an iron tangle.

A loose network of elected leaders, public officials, activists, and interest groups drawn together by a public policy issue is referred to as

an issue network.

On average over the last 40 years, how many U.S House races have been very competitive in each election?

b) 24

Which of the following statements most accurately characterizes that rates of political participation among different age groups?

b) Older people have much higher rates of participation than young people

The agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention that determined that every slave would be counted as a fraction of a person for the purposes of taxation and representation in the House of Representatives was called the

b) Three-Fifths Compromise

An independent, nonprofit group that receives and disburses funds the influence election campaigns is called

b) a 527 committee

The so-called Lemon test, derived from the Supreme Court's ruling in Lemon v. Kurtzman, concerns the issue of

b) aid to religious schools

Pluralism is a theory that says

b) all interests in a society should be free to compete for influence over governmental decisions

When state and local governments must conform to costly regulations or conditions in order to receive grants but do not receive reimbursements for their expenditures from the federal government it is called

b) an unfunded mandate

Online sources of information

b) are more diverse than those found in the traditional media

In what way does the struggle for gender equality most resemble the struggle for racial equality?

b) changes in government policies to a great degree produced political action

A politician who opposes abortion, government regulation of business, and gay rights legislation would best be described as

b) conservative

"Massive resistance" refers to the efforts by southern states during the late 1950s and early 1960s to

b) defy federal mandates to desegregate public schools

The process of returning more of the responsibilities of governing from the national level to the state level is known as

b) dual federalism

The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth amendments, taken together, define

b) due process of law

American's trust in their government

b) increased immediately following September 11, 2001, but declined shortly thereafter.

In 1937 the Supreme Court laid the groundwork for a stronger federal government by

b) issuing a number of decisions that dramatically expanded the definition of the commerce clause

The Supreme Court's decision in Grutter v. Bollinger was significant because

b) it states that diversity is a compelling state interest and that university admissions that take racial categorized into account are constitutional

Which of the following describes a written statement made in "reckless disregard of the truth" that is considered damaging to a victim because it is "malicious, scandalous, and defamatory"?

b) libel

A poll that includes many poorly worded or ambiguous questions has a high degree of

b) measurement error

Theorists such as Montesquieu referred to the principle of giving each branch of government a distinctly different constituency as

b) mixed regime

In the decades immediately following the Civil War, African Americans voted

b) overwhelmingly in support of the Republican party

A familiar polling problem is the "bandwagon effect," which occurs when

b) polling results influence people to support the candidate marked as the probable victor in the campaign

The process by which some of the liberties in the Bill of Rights were applied to the states is known as

b) selective incorporation

How did the British attempt to raise revenue in the North American colonies?

b) taxes on commerce

The first governing document in the United States was

b) the Articles of Confederation

Which of the following provided that all of the protections contained in the Bill of Rights applied to the states as well as national government?

b) the Fourteenth Amendment

A state government's authority to regulate the health safety, and morals of its citizens is frequently referred to as

b) the police power

Which of the following is the term used in public-opinion polling to denote the small group representing the opinions of the whole population?

b) the sample

When did civil rights become part of the U.S. Constitution?

b) with the adoption of the 14 amend in 1868

In 2002, federal campaign finance legislation crafted by John McCain and Russell Feingold sought to

ban soft money by prohibiting national parties from soliciting and receiving contributions from corporations, unions, or individuals.

State and local laws similar to the Civil Service Act of 1883 require that appointees to public office

be qualified for the job to which they are appointed.

The principle of political equality can be best summed up as

c) "one person, one vote"

Women won the right to vote in _____ with the adoption of the _____ Amendment.

c) 1920; Nineteenth

Which famous case deals with Sixth Amendment issues?

c) Gideon v. Wainwright

Which party was founded as a political expression of the antislavery movement?

c) Republican

Which of the following cases represent the Brown v. Board case for lesbians and gay men?

c) Romer v. Evans

Which event led directly to the Constitutional Convention by providing evidence that the government created under the Articles of Confederation was unable to act decisively in times of national crisis?

c) Shay's Rebellion

Which amendment to the Constitution stated that the powers not delegated to the national government or prohibited to the states were "reserved to the states"?

c) Tenth Amendment

After passage of the Motor Voter Act in 1993, participation after the 1996 elections

c) declined somewhat

Although not present at the national level, a number of states and cities permit citizens to vote directly on laws and policies. What is this form of rule called?

c) direct democracy

Which term describes the sharing of powers between the national government and the state governments?

c) federalism

The fact that the public is inattentive to politics and must frequently rely on informational shortcuts has which of the following effects on American democracy?

c) it weakens it by making it easier for various institutions and political actors to manipulate the political process

Generally speaking, Americans

c) know very little about current political issues and are not able to identify high-profile political leaders

Through which mechanism did party leaders in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries maintain their control?

c) machine politics

Which of the following organizations established a Legal Defense fund to challenge segregation?

c) the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

The term public opinion is used to describe

c) the beliefs and attitudes that people have about issues

When men and women respond differently to issues of public policy, they are demonstrating an example of

c) the gender gap

What is the basic difference between autocracy and oligarchy?

c) the number of people who control governing decisions

Where was the execution of laws conducted under the Articles of Confederation?

c) the states

Historically, when do realignments occur?

c) when large numbers of voters permanently shift their support from one party to another

The famous political scientist Harold Lasswell defined politics as the struggle over

c) who gets what, when, how

Because they have larger and more heterogeneous constituencies, senators

can better represent the national interest.

Which of the following is not included in the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court?

cases involving challenges to the constitutionality of state laws

Which of the following is not a technique that can be used to block debate about a bill in the Senate?

caucus

What is the name for the body of law that involves disputes between private parties?

civil law.

In which case did the Supreme Court rule that state governments no longer had the authority to make private sexual behavior a crime?

d) Lawrence v. Texas

In which case did the Supreme Court create the potential for increased national power by ruling that Congress could use the necessary and proper clause to interpret its delegated powers broadly?

d) McCulloch v Maryland

Which of the following statements best describes party-building activities from the 1960s to 2004

d) Republicans paid more attention to party-building than Democrats

Which state's proposal embodied a principle of representing states in the Congress according to their size and wealth?

d) Virginia

External mobilization occurs when

d) a group of politicians outside government organizes popular support to win governmental power

Americans who vote are more likely to be

d) better educated

The system of federalism that allowed states to do most of the fundamental governing from 1789 to 1937 was

d) dual federalism

To what does the term New Federalism refer?

d) efforts to return more policy-making discretion to the states through the use of block grants

Which of the following factors is not currently an obstacle to voting in the US?

d) literacy tests

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

d) outlawed soft money

The process by which Americans learn political beliefs and values is called

d) political socialization

Which of the following made discrimination by private employers and state governments illegal?

d) the 1964 Civil Rights Act

In McDonald v. Chicago, the Supreme Court ruled that

d) the Second Amendment applies to states as well as the federal government

Which of the following is not determined at a party's national convention?

d) the congressional committees party representatives will be assigned to

The digital divide refers to

d) the line separating citizens with internet access and those without

Which of the following is not an example of an area in which women have made progress since the 1970s in guaranteeing certain civil rights?

d) the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment

What is the most common form of political participation?

d) voting

A recent notable example of the process of giving the states more responsibility for administering government programs is

d) welfare reform

One reason that there are fewer women than men in the elected office is that

d) women are less likely to run for office than men

Since 1900, which of the following groups has increased as a percentage of the overall population in the United States?

e) Hispanic and Asian only

Which of the following best describes the Supreme Court as understood by the Founders?

e) a supreme court of the nation and its states

The decline in partisan attachment in the electorate is referred to as

e) dealignment

The periodic episodes in American history in which an "old" dominant political party is replaced by a "new" dominant party is called

e) electoral realignments

Which constitutional clause has been central in debates over gay and lesbian marriage because it requires that states normally honor the public acts as judicial decisions of other states?

e) full faith and credit clause

Political efficacy is the belief that

e) one can influence what government does

Which of the following feature of the House of Representatives is determined by a vote of the whole membership rather than by decisions within each party?

e) selection of the Speaker of the House

The judicial doctrine that places a heavy burden of proof on the government when it seeks to regulate or restrict speech is called

e) strict scrutiny

Which of the following were the Antifederalists most concerned with?

e) the potential for tyranny in the central government

Which of the following was not a reason that the Articles of Confederation seemed inadequate?

e) the power of radical forces in Congress

Which of the following provisions of the Bill of Rights was incorporated in 2010?

e) the right to bear arms

Which of the following is not a form of traditional political participation?

e) uploading a political video to YouTube

Currently, African Americans

e) vote cohesively despite economic conditions

Which of the following is not a way in which the bureaucracy might be reduced?

eminent domain.

Which of the following is a power sometimes invoked by presidents to shield their administration's actions from public scrutiny?

executive privilege.

Which of the following is a way that interest groups use the courts to influence public policy?

filing amicus briefs.

During the Republican primaries, which faction within the party did Romney represent?

fiscal conservatives.

Beginning with the 1933 case Shaw v. Reno, the Supreme Court has

generally rejected efforts to create majority-minority districts and asserted that districting based exclusively on race is unlawful.

The Consumer Confidence Index

has been a fairly accurate predictor of presidential outcomes.

What task must bureaucrats perform if Congress charges them with enforcing a law through explicit directions?

implementation.

The average amount of money spent on House incumbents to secure re-election has

increased at a greater rate than the average amount spent by challengers since 1980.

Which of the following are examples of the "going public" strategy?

institutional advertising, grassroots advertising, and protests and demonstrations.

Partisan loyalty

is often handed down from parents to children.

The Supreme Court's decision in Marbury v. Madison was important because

it established the power of judicial review.

The Supreme Court case Youngstown Co. v. Sawyer was significant because

it showed that the courts would invalidate executive orders that have no statutory or constitutional basis.

Which of the following best describes the growth of the federal service in the past 35 years?

little growth at all.

An agreement between members of Congress to trade support for each other's bills is known as

logrolling.

Some have argued that the creation of minority congressional districts has

made it more difficult for minorities to win substantive policy goals.

The Founders chose to select the president through an indirect election in order to

make the president responsible to the state and national legislatures.

Americans refer to government policy about banks, credit and currency as

monetary policy.

News reporting that is targeted in its content toward a narrow segment of the population is called

niche journalism.

A closed primary is a primary election in which:

only registered members of the party may vote.

In general, FCC regulations apply only to

over-the-air broadcast media.

When Congress conducts an investigation to explore the relationship between what a law intended and what an executive agency has done, it is engaged in

oversight.

The theory that competition among organized interests will produce balance, with all the interests regulating one another is

pluralism

The form of regulated federalism that allows the federal government to take over areas of regulation formerly overseen by states or local governments is called

preemption

To overcome the free rider problem, groups

provide selective benefits.

One way members of Congress can work as agents of their constituents is by

providing direct patronage.

Which types of interest groups are most often associated with the New Politics movement?

public interest groups.

Groups that have an interest in obtaining government funds for research, such as Harvard University, the Brookings Institution, and the American Enterprise Institute, are referred to as

public-sector groups.

A series of reforms instituted by Congress in the 1970s, including an increase in the number of subcommittees and greater autonomy for subcommittee chairs, was intended to

reduce the power of committee chairs.

When a voter decides which candidate to vote for based on past performance, the voter is engaged in

retrospective voting.

Which of the following is not a resource that party leaders in Congress use to create party discipline?

roll-call votes.

Most leaks originate with

senior government officials, prominent politicians, and political activists.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

separate school systems for blacks and whites were inherently unequal, and thus violate the "equal protection clause" of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. On May 14, 1954, the opinion of the Courtwas "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. . ."

Friendship and networking are examples of ____, while discount purchasing and health insurance are examples of ____.

solidary benefits; material benefits.

By what term is the practice of the courts to uphold precedent known?

stare decisis.

Which of the following is not an activity in which interest groups frequently engage?

starting their own political party.

Where do most trials in America take place?

state and local courts.

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 was an act passed by Congress that

stipulated military forces must be withdrawn within 60 days in the absence of a specific congressional authorization for their continued deployment.

When a voter casts a ballot for a party's presidential candidate and then "automatically" votes for the rest of that part's candidates, it is referred to as

straight-ticket voting

What are the three ways that presidents can expand their power?

strengthening national partisan institutions, using popular appeals, and bolstering their control of executive agencies.

The Office of Management and Budget is part of

the Executive Office of the President.

Establishment Clause

the First Amendment clause that says that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." This law means that a "wall of separation" exists between church and state.

Which event shattered the amicable relationship between the press and the presidency?

the Monica Lewinsky affair

Which of the following is not a reason that Americans may prefer online news?

the accuracy and objectivity compared to traditional media outlets.

Penny press refers to

the cheap, tabloid style newspapers produced in the nineteenth century.

Media coverage of election campaigns typically focuses on which of the following?

the details of each candidate's foreign policy proposals.

The biggest issue in the 2012 national elections was

the economy.

Consolidation of the media was accelerated by

the enactment of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.

The now defunct requirement that broadcasters provide time for opposing views when they air programs on controversial issues is called

the fairness doctrine.

Which of the following is an important reason for the enormous increase in the number of groups seeking to influence the American political system?

the increase in the size and activity of government during the last few decades.

Which of the following is not an important influence on how members of Congress vote on legislation?

the media.

Which of the following war powers does the Constitution not assign to the president?

the power to declare war.

In Buckley V. Valeo, the Supreme Court ruled that

the right of individuals to spend their own money to campaign is constitutionally protected.

Which of the following influences the flow of cases heard by the Supreme Court?

the solicitor general and law clerks.

Which government official is responsible for arguing the federal government's position in cases before the Supreme Court?

the solicitor general.

Sociological representation is important in understanding the U.S. Congress because

the symbolic composition of Congress is important for the authority of the government.

What are the requirements for overriding a presidential veto?

two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress

In 2012, Romney and the Republicans received a majority of votes from

whites, men, and more affluent voters.

What are the three types of agencies?

Social service (SSA, VA, USCIS) Regulatory (FDA, EPA, NASA) Administrative (OPM, GSA)

Expressed Powers

Specific powers granted by the Constitution to Congress (Article I, Section 8) and to the President (Article II).

Which of the following best describes the changes in government contracting since 2000?

Spending on government contracts has increased while the number of government contracts subject to open competition has decreased.

Machines

Strong party organizations in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century American cities. These machines were led by "bosses" who controlled party nominations and patronage.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Supremacy of congress over states in commerce

Wickard v. Filburn (1942)

The Appellee, Filburn (Appellee), produced wheat only for personal and local consumption. He was penalized for growing wheat in excess of his allotment allowed by the Department of Agriculture. Congress may regulate the activities of entities totally apart from interstate commerce, if those activities affect interstate commerce.

Where does the justification for bureaucracy come from?

The Federalist papers

Double Jeopardy

The Fifth Amendment right providing that no person can be tried twice for the same crime.

Free Exercise Clause

The First Amendment clause that protects a citizen's right to believe and practice whatever religion he or she chooses.

US v. Lopez (1995)

The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 (GFSZA) made it unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm at a place that he knew or had reasonable cause to believe was a school zone. Alfonso Lopez, Jr. (D), a 12th-grade student, carried a concealed and loaded handgun into his high school and was arrested and charged under Texas law with firearm possession on school premises. The next day, the state charges were dismissed after federal agents charged Lopez with violating the Act.

Which statement best characterizes the role of the Internet in the 2012 elections?

The Internet played a larger role than ever.

Federalist 51

The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

"Separate but equal"

According to this text, what is the limit a PAC can contribute to a candidate in a primary or general election campaign?

$5,000

How many people work for agencies within the Executive Office of the President?

1,500 to 2,000