Government 2305 Chapters 1-14
Which two important colonial groups organized together in opposition to the taxes imposed by the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act?
New England merchants and southern planters
Which geographic region has experienced a consistent decline in percentage of population?
Northeast
The method of securing, enacting, or maintaining the Constitution's principle of separation of powers is known as
checks and balances.
A direct democracy is a system in which
citizens are permitted to vote directly on laws and policies.
Which of the following is the term generally used to describe the institutions and procedures through which a territory and its people are ruled?
government
Changing the structure or composition of the federal government
has been the motivating factor behind most of the post-Bill of Rights amendments.
Political equality means that each citizen
has one, and only one, vote.
Antifederalists' concerns about the Constitution
included a concern that the Constitution did not specifically enumerate protected civil liberties.
Which political value did the Constitution value more than any other at its creation?
individual liberty
Under a system of laissez-faire capitalism, the role of government is to
interfere with the market as little as possible.
A belief in equality of results is
not a part of U.S. political culture.
In a representative democracy, public policies are determined by
officials regularly chosen by the people.
The U.S. definition of liberty refers to
personal and economic freedom.
The principle that suggests "one person, one vote" refers to
political equality.
The conflicts and struggles over a government's leadership, organization, or policies is called
politics
Who gets what, when, and how is a definition of
politics
The idea that political authority ultimately rests in the hands of the people is known as
popular sovereignty.
Totalitarianism entails government having unlimited political
power
The bourgeoisie of western Europe wanted to
promote political participation for the middle classes.
Political efficacy is the
belief that citizens can affect government.
A government is made up of the
formal institutions that rule a people and territory
Which of the following is the MOST widely used method of amending the Constitution to date?
Passage in the House and Senate by two-thirds vote, then ratification by majority vote of the legislatures of three-fourths (now 38) of the states.
Which of the following statements about recent immigration trends and the foreign-born population in the United States is accurate?
People born in Asia constitute the second-largest group of foreign-born residents.
Which of the following wanted to promote political participation for the middle classes?
bourgeoisie
American democracy rests on the principle of ___ rule with ____rights.
majority; minority
Which age group had the lowest level of active voters in 2012?
17-24
The population of the United States has grown approximately _____ times since 1790.
100
On average, which demographic group has made up the largest portion of the population in the United States?
20-44
By 1980, trust in government dropped to about ______ percent.
25
Which age group had the lowest level of attendance at political events in 2012?
25-44
The 85 richest people in the world have as much wealth as ______ of poorest people in the world combined.
3.5 billion
According to the Gallup Poll, what percentage of people said they were very dissatisfied with income distribution in the United States?
39%
Identify the demographic group that has more than tripled, as a percentage, since 1790.
65+
Which age group donated the most money to a campaign in 2012?
65+
According to the Gallup Poll, what percentage of people said they were very satisfied with income distribution in the United States?
7%
According to polling data in 1960, roughly ______ percent of American adults said they trusted the government to "do the right thing" always or most of the time.
70
Between 2009 and 2012, the top 1% of richest Americans accumulated ___% of the U.S. economic recovery's income gains.
95
The Federalist Papers were written by
Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison.
Which of the following was provided for by the supremacy clause?
All laws made by the federal government would be superior to all laws adopted by any state or any other subdivision.
The United States' first written constitution was the
Articles of Confederation.
Which of the following is true of changes in the income and wealth distribution of the American people?
Beginning in the 1930s, a large middle class began to take shape.
Which of the following statements about the experience of the United States with religion is accurate?
By 2012 religious diversity was increasing, as approximately 20 percent of the population was not affiliated with an organized church, the largest statistic ever for this group
Which of the following statements is accurate?
By 2014 income inequality has become rigid once again, with the top 1 percent earning 20 percent of the national income.
Which of the following statements is true concerning race and ethnicity?
By 2014 the total Hispanic proportion of the population is 17.4 percent.
In general, it was the ____ vision of the United States that triumphed after the nation's founding.
Federalist
In the debate about limited government,
Federalists favored a national government with broad powers.
The inspiration behind the Declaration of Independence's focus on "life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" was MOST inspired by which political philosopher?
John Locke
____ refers to a system that allows very little room for the national government to regulate trade or restrict the use of private property, even in the public interest.
Laissez-faire capitalism
Which of the followings statements about trust in government is accurate?
Public trust in government in the United States dipped to historically low levels during the fight over the Affordable Care Act.
Who was the chief radical leader for American independence from Great Britain?
Samuel Adams
Under the Great Compromise, small states were given an advantage in the
Senate
Which of the following was true of digital citizenship in 2015?
Sixty-five percent of Americans used the Internet to find data or information about the government
According to the most recent census data, which geographic region is home to the largest portion of Americans?
South
The issue of gun rights has been especially polarizing, and recent mass shootings have increased calls for the government to respond. Which of the following best describes what the Framers of the Constitution intended for the Senate's role, and how can that be seen in the current debate over gun laws?
The Framers intended for the Senate to be less responsive to the demands of the people, which is why the Senate does not need to pass gun laws that reflect the majority of public opinion
Which of the following was an original constitutional means of selecting one of the three major branches of government, but that has since changed?
The Senate was chosen by state legislatures.
Which of the following statements describes America's growing population since its founding?
The number of elderly Americans has grown, and the number of children aged 18 and under has declined.
Which of the following describes the Great (or Connecticut) Compromise?
The states agreed to have one house be apportioned by population and the other be composed of two senators from each state.
The First Continental Congress met in 1774. Which of the following actions did the delegates at the Congress take?
They called for a total boycott of British goods.
Why are knowledgeable citizens more engaged in politics?
They understand how politics affects their lives
Which of the following statements is true regarding trust in government?
Trust in government today is at an all-time low
Which of the following statements is true about the Three-Fifths Compromise?
Under this compromise, five slaves would count as three free persons in apportioning seats in the House of Representatives.
The term autocracy refers to
a form of government in which a single individual rules.
Which of the following can be said to have characterized American politics for much of the past half-century?
a pervasive sense of apathy and cynicism
The United States' government is best characterized as
a republic.
Today, the average member of Congress represents
about 700,000 constituents.
The Bill of Rights mollified concerns about
an overly powerful central government.
How does the text define citizenship, as derived from the ancient Greek meaning?
as the complete person; participation in public affairs
Contemporary politics is best defined as
conflict over the leadership, structure, and policies of governments.
Governments whose powers are limited through a system of rules and institutions are known as ____ governments.
constitutional
Balancing the desires of the majority of the population against the freedoms of the minority of the population is part of which trade-off?
democracy versus liberty
Shays's Rebellion was politically significant to America's Founding in that it
demonstrated the weakness of government under the Articles of Confederation.
Which of the following caused a partial government shutdown in 2013 leading to historically low rates of trust in government?
differences in taxing and spending especially concerning the Affordable Care Act
Which concept is increasingly important in politics and best describes the rising ability to participate in society online?
digital citizenship
A system that permits citizens to vote directly on laws and policies is often called a(n) ____ democracy.
direct
Some states allow ballot referenda or popular initiatives, which are forms of
direct democracy.
The belief that citizens can affect government is called political
efficacy
What is the name of the clause that is understood to give Congress the power to pass any law that is necessary to carry out its expressed powers?
elastic clause
Congress' ability to pass laws necessary to carry out its expressed powers is known as the
elastic clause.
Liberty, democracy, and ____ are the United States' core political values.
equality
Which issue is particularly polarizing within the Senate regarding new gun control legislation?
expanding background checks
Citizens need political knowledge because
it helps them understand how politics and the government affect their lives and what policies promote their interests
What power does the Supreme Court possess that is not expressly given to it by the Constitution?
judicial review
Compared to Europeans, Americans are ____ supportive of government actions to ensure economic equality.
less
Personal and economic freedom are both definitions of
liberty
The Bill of Rights includes things such as the right to bear arms and freedom of speech. These are examples of which American value?
liberty
The United States' key political values are
liberty, equality, and democracy
Which of the following concepts best explains the underlying reason for the Bill of Rights?
limited government
The Articles of Confederation
maintained state independence, freedom, and sovereignty.
American democracy rests on the principle of
majority rule, minority rights.
The Three-Fifth Compromise related to which issue?
slavery
Which was not a reason for establishing the second founding?
slavery
What issue more than any other seemed to unite separate colonial interests into rebellion from Great Britain?
taxes
Which two entities have responsibility for overseeing the appointment and approval of federal judges?
the Senate and the president
Since 1980, the only time trust in government rose above 50 percent was after
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
In a democracy, popular sovereignty is vested in
the people.
One key demonstration of the weakness of the Articles of Confederation was
the size and duration of Shays's Rebellion.
Counting slaves as ____ for the purposes of census did not allow slaves to ____.
three-fifths of a person; become citizens
What type of tyranny did the Federalists fear the MOST?
tyranny of the majority
As a political value, individual liberty
was preeminent for the Constitution's authors.
British taxes
were a key ingredient in causing the colonists to rebel.