SL American Government Quiz 2 (Topics 4-7)

Today, women currently hold about ________ of the seats in the House of Representatives. a. 7 percent b. 19 percent c. 28 percent d. 37 percent e. 49 percent

19 percent

Since the 1960s, the level of turnout in presidential elections has averaged about ________ percent. a. 75 b. 65 c. 60 d. 45 e. 35

60

Friedrich Engels believed that communism would not take root in the United States because a. the poorer American classes still had enough material wealth to be happy with their station. b. American workers lacked sufficient class consciousness. c. the government was already providing substantial financial assistance to the working class. d. the Social Security system provided workers with a safety net not available to workers in Europe. e. the government of the U.S. was too militantly anti-communist and would not allow propaganda to spread.

American workers lacked sufficient class consciousness.

In comparison with today's newspapers, early American newspapers a. were written by hand. b. were so inexpensive that nearly everyone read a daily paper. c. could not have survived without political party support. d. were more widely read. e. All of these answers are correct.

Could not have survived without political party support.

In Mapp v. Ohio, the selective incorporation process was extended to include a. criminal proceedings in the states. b. civil cases. c. pleas of insanity. d. children (minors) accused of crime. e. indigent litigants.

Criminal proceedings in the states

Which of the following groups in the U.S. shows a higher level of support for collective bargaining? a. workers in the service sector b. factory workers c. small farmers d. white-collar workers e. workers in the skilled crafts

Factory workers

Which of the following amendments contains a due process clause? a. First b. Tenth c. Third d. Fourteenth e. Twenty-first

Fourteenth

The individual right that is widely regarded as the most basic of individual rights is: a. the right to an attorney. b. freedom of expression. c. the right to a jury trial. d. the right to an adequate education. e. protection against illegal searches and seizures.

Freedom of expression

Public support for same-sex marriage has a. decreased significantly since the 1990s. b. increased significantly since the 1990s. c. remained steady since the 1990s. d. increased slightly since the 1990s. e. decreased slightly since the 1990s.

Increased significantly since the 1990s.

Which of the following is an accurate representation of the public's opinion about leaders and their accountability? a. Most citizens have a high opinion of Congress as a whole but say they have little confidence in their local representative in Congress. b. Most citizens have a high opinion of both Congress as a whole and their local representative in Congress. c. Most citizens have a low opinion of Congress as a whole but say they have confidence in their local representative in Congress. d. Most citizens have a low opinion of Congress as a whole and also of their local representative in Congress. e. Most citizens do not feel that their local representatives in Congress should be held accountable for the votes they have to make in order to stay in line with their party's platform.

Most citizens have a low opinion of Congress as a whole but say they have confidence in their local representative in Congress.

Which of the following is true of the relationship between public opinion and shifts in major government policies? a. On high-profile issues particularly, public opinion tends to affect policy to a greater degree than policymakers' agendas affect public opinion. b. Leaders' opinions ultimately affect most policy issues more than the larger public opinion. c. Linguist Noam Chomsky claimed that democracy consistently preserved the will of the people over the will of elite interests. d. Analysts have found a pattern consistent with the claim that "public opinion has little influence over policy." e. All these answers are correct.

On high-profile issues particularly, public opinion tends to affect policy to a greater degree than policymakers' agendas affect public opinion.

The Tea Party's key initial issue was a. support for American military involvement in Iraq. b. support for American military involvement in Afghanistan. c. opposition to President Obama's climate change policies. d. opposition to high taxes. e. opposition to the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Opposition to high taxes

According to the Supreme Court, which is true regarding freedom of assembly? a. Individuals have the right to command immediate access to a public auditorium. b. Individuals have the right to hold a public rally in the middle of a busy intersection at a time of their choosing. c. Public officials can regulate the time, place, and conditions of public assembly, provided the regulations are reasonable. d. Public officials can prohibit assembly by unpopular groups. e. Freedom of assembly is an absolute right, because it is in the First Amendment.

Public officials can regulate the time, place, and conditions of public assembly, provided the regulations are reasonable.

The most powerful religious force in contemporary American society is the a. Protestants. b. religious right. c. Catholics. d. Jews. e. Muslims.

Religious right

________ is based on judgment about the past performance of an elected official or political party. a. Prospective voting b. Retrospective voting c. Split-ticket voting d. Straight-ticket voting e. None of these answers is correct.

Retrospective voting

Which of the following, relative to the others, is typically more protective of individual rights? a. the U.S. Congress b. the general public c. public opinion d. the presidency e. the judiciary

The judiciary

One of the reasons the reporting of national news is relatively uniform among news sources is that a. the government dictates much of what is reported. b. there are only a few important events each day that merit news coverage. c. the network newscasts are brief and the day's top stories tend to dominate. d. reporters are not given much freedom by their editors. e. modern journalists have become fairly lazy and use mostly wire reports to create news copy for the network newscasts.

The network newscasts are brief and the day's top stories tend to dominate.

Which institution receives the most news coverage from the national press? a. the presidency b. U.S. House of Representatives c. U.S. Senate d. U.S. Supreme Court e. the federal bureaucracy

The presidency

Most candidates for office in the United States aim their appeals at the voters that hold the balance of power in U.S. elections a. those with high incomes. b. those of the middle class. c. labor unions and interest groups. d. corporate lobbying groups. e. those with low incomes.

Those of the middle class.

Disadvantaged Americans have generally gained their rights a. through the enlightened policies of advantaged Americans. b. through judicial action only. c. through struggle against entrenched interests. d. mainly through action by the states rather than the federal government. e. by waiting patiently for public opinion to back their cause.

Through struggle against entrenched interests

Citizens in which of the following countries are MOST likely to engage in political activities, such as volunteering for political campaigns? a. Germany b. France c. Great Britain d. United States e. There is no difference among the four nations.

United States

Of the following states, which one has the LOWEST percentage of Hispanics in its population? a. Washington b. New Mexico c. California d. Arizona e. Texas

Washington

Native Americans a. have always been legal citizens of the United States. b. were not given citizenship status en masse until the twentieth century. c. do not today have the full legal rights of other U.S. citizens. d. are U.S. citizens unless they choose to live on a reservation. e. have numbered roughly ten million in the United States since the 1700s.

Were not given citizenship status en masse until the twentieth century.

Which of the following groups is LEAST likely to identify with the Democratic Party? a. Hispanics b. African Americans c. white women d. white southerners e. white liberals

White southerners

Proportional representation systems encourage the formation of smaller parties by enabling parties to a. win legislative seats even though they do not receive a majority of votes in elections. b. receive campaign funds from government in proportion to their support in opinion polls. c. win legislative seats by lottery for parties that have no chance of winning majority support. d. share in patronage appointments, which serve as an incentive to lure campaign workers. e. advertise on television.

Win legislative seats even though they do not receive a majority of votes in elections.