Test Prep 11/25/20 Political Science

In Plessy v. Ferguson, the United States Supreme Court ruled that state-imposed racial segregation is constitutional, based on the

"separate but equal" doctrine

Which of the following statements accurately describes a distinguishing characteristic of Native American life in one major North American life in one major North American region during the seventeenth century?

Buffalo hunting served as a major source of food and raw materials to make clothing and shelter for Native Americans of the Great Plains.

Which of the following is the most likely consequence of divided government?

Delays in confirmation of federal court nominees

Cooperative federalism can best be described by which of the following statements?

Different levels of government are involved in common policy areas.

What is the chief instrument of foreign policy?

Diplomacy

Which of the following is a fundamental element of the United States Constitution?

Division of government authority across political institutions

Which of the following constitutional principles most directly addresses the relationship between the national and state governments?

Federalism

Both Gitlow v. New York and New York Times v. Sullivan are United States Supreme Court cases that health with which of the following amendments to the United States Constitution?

First Amendment

Which of the following statements best describes the major achievement of the Ancient Greek scholar Hippocrates (c. 460-370 B.C.E)?

Hippocrates founded a school of medicine that stressed the natural causes of disease and the value of observation.

Which of the following is an example of congressional oversight?

Holding hearings for review of an executive agency's activities

Which of the following statements about the Senate is true?

Individual senators can exercise substantial influence over the legislative process.

which of the following statements about gerrymandering is true?

It can be used by a political party to draw boundary lines to control as many districts as possible.

Which of the following best explains the principle of stare decisis?

It encourages judges to follow precedent when deciding cases.

Which of the following is true of the Voting Rights Act of 1965?

It has been a major instrument for increasing the number of African American and other minority voters.

Which of the following best describes the concept of political efficacy?

It is the belief that one can make a difference in politics by expressing an opinion and acting politically.

Which of the following is true about the pocket veto?

It occurs when the President takes no action on a bill for ten days during which Congress is adjourned.

Which of the following is true of a constitutional democracy?

Majority rule is limited

Which of the following United States Supreme Court cases established the principle of judicial review?

Marbury v. Madison

Which of the following is the best example of a categorical grant?

Money given to states for special education programs

Which of the following best describes the difference between an open and closed primary?

Only voters who register as members of a political party may vote in that party's closed primary, while independents and others may be eligible to vote in open primaries.

Differences concerning which of the following issues caused the greatest dissension between British authorities and American patriots in the decade preceding the outbreak of the American Revolution?

Parliament's insistence on its claims to sovereignty in legislative matters

Which of the following is the the leading predictor of how an individual will vote in a congressional election?

Partisanship

Which of the following describes a fundamental difference between political parties and interest groups?

Political parties represent broad arrays of issues, whereas interest groups are more likely to focus on narrow sets of issues.

Which of the following best describes the primary formal role of the attorney general?

Serving as the chief executive officer of the Department of Justice

How is a president chosen when none of the candidates receives a majority of the electoral college vote?

The House chooses a new president by a majority vote of its state delegations.

Which of the following statements best describes a major difference between the U.S. credential system of government and Great Britain's parliamentary system?

The Legislative and executive branches in the U.S. system of government are separate.

Of the following, which is the most powerful figure in Congress?

The Speaker of the House

Which of the following statements about writs of certiorari is accurate?

The Supreme Court grants certiorari for less than 5% of the cases appealed to it.

The Supreme Court has ruled which of the following concerning the death penalty?

The death penalty is not necessarily cruel and unusual punishment.

Which of the following statements about political parties and the United States Constitution is true?

The issue of political parties is not addressed in the Constitution.

Which of the following is a member of the White House Staff?

The national security advisor

Which of the following describes a consequence of the growing concentration of ownership of the news media?

There is increased similarity of network news coverage.

Which of the following statements about motions for cloture is true?

They are used by senators to end a filibuster and bring a bill to a vote.

Which of the following is true of political action committees (PACs)?

They make campaign contributions to gain access to legislators.

How do American political parties meet the definition of a party?

They recruit and support candidates for political office.

Which of the following is true of most federal judges appointed by the president?

They serve for life on good behavior unless impeached and convicted by Congress.

Which of the following is an example of presidential use of inherent powers?

Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase

Which of the following historical events most directly influenced the shift in investment from commerce to manufacturing that marked the rise of industrialization in the Massachusetts economy?

War of 1812

Which of the following questions most clearly reflects the role of consumers in the operation of the U.S. economy?

What quantity of goods and services should be produced?

The Americans with Disabilities Act, which provides protections for the disabled, is an example of

a federeal mandate

International system analysis concentrates on the interaction, and foreign policy analysis on the

actors

Which of the following activities could best be used to illustrate the relationship between the environment and human societies?

assessing the effects of weather and climate on agricultural activities in a world region

Since 1972, voters in presidential elections have

become more focused on individual candidates

At the end of his term in office, President Truman predicted that his successor, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, would find the job much more frustrating than he anticipated. "He'll sit here, " Truman said, "and he'll say, Do this! Do that! And nothing will happen. Poor Ike - it won't be a bit like the army." with regard to foreign policy, Truman's observations could be most clearly applied to which of the following limits on the use of presidential power?

bureaucratic obstructionism

International cooperation is most necessary for the development of effective means of addressing which of the following global issues?

climate change

In 1987 the cooperation among the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Organization for Women (NOW), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to defeat Robert Bork's nomination to the United States Supreme Court was an example of

coalition building

The recent histories of France, Germany, and Japan demonstrate that

constitutional democracy is highly adaptable

A major function of the United Nations Economic and Social Council is to

coordinate UN policy on sustainable development and the environment.

Giving state governments greater discretion in deciding how to achieve the specific goals of welfare reform is an example of

devolution

Since the early 1980s, the Republican Party platform has been increasingly influenced by

evangelical Christians

Political power in Western Europe and the United States has increasingly shifted to the

executive branch

Which of the following activities most clearly represents a major role of the Department of State in U.S. relations with other nations?

forging partnerships with other countries to devise means of addressing shared international problems

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) was a significant Supreme Court ruling because it

held the "separate but equal" concept to be a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

When the military dominates a political system

if often rules as an institution

Which of the following policy initiatives on the part of the U.S. government would most likely lead to an increase in the cost of foreign-produced consumer goods in the United States?

imposing import quotas on a wide range of goods

The process of extending the protections of the Bill of Rights by means of the Fourteenth Amendment to apply to the actions of state governments is known as

incorporation

The framers of the United States Constitution left decisions on voting eligibility to the

individual states

Beginning with the New Deal, the U.S. government has been most likely to adopt an expansionary fiscal policy under which of the following sets of circumstances?

inflation is low; unemployment is high; gross domestic product (GDP) is declining

Imperialism refers to

influence by one nation over another

The sit-in campaigns of 1960 were significant in the development of the civil rights movement primarily because they

inspired widespread student involvement in the movement.

The role Congress plays in ensuring that executive branch agencies are carrying out their legislated responsibilities is known as

legislative oversight

A major difference between pure competition and monopolistic competition market structures is that firms in monopolistic competition structures are

likely to have greater control over the prices they charge for their products.

During the final quarter of the twentieth century, the increasing globalization of the U.S. economy most adversely affected the interests of wage earners in which of the following economic sectors?

manufacturing

"Balance of power" in international relations refers to

matching the power of one state against the power of another

Compared to the general population, delegates to presidential nomination conventions are

more ideological

In the process and structure of public policy-making, "iron triangles" refer to the

networks of congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups that strongly influence the policy process

The United States government has historically viewed terrorism as a _______________ problem.

political

Monoculture, an obstacle facing many developing countries, is the

practice of raising one major crop

A historian exploring the relationship between economic change and the growth of ideas about natural rights in Western Europe during the early modern era would most likely focus on which of the following features of the developing capitalist system?

private ownership of property

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is most relevant in carrying out which of the following functions of government?

promoting justice for all citizens

The activities of participants in the settlement house movement pioneered by Jane Addams most clearly exemplify the Progressive movement's commitment to the

promotion of equality of opportunity

The term "pork barrel" refers to legislation specifically designed to

provide funding for local projects that are intended to benefit constituents

The difference between an appellate court and a district court is that an appellate court

reviews previous court decisions

John Locke's political theories on power centered around the

right of making laws and employing the community to execute those laws

Left-wing dictatorships

seek government control of business and the economy

When independent regulatory agencies make rules, enforce those rules, and adjudicate disputes arising under those rules, they risk violating the constitutional concept of

separation of powers

Nominations to the Supreme Court must be approved by a

simple majority vote in the Senate only

Thomas Hobbes believed that humankind had to accept a(n) _______________ in order to achieve a relatively peaceful society.

social contract

The Constitution states that all revenue bills must originate in

the United States House of Representatives

During World War II, which of the following aspects of U.S. society changed most dramatically?

the gender composition of the industrial workforce

Plato's Republic is an excellent example of political philosophy because he described

the ideal state and its functions

The principle of utilitarianism states that

the moral action is one that maximizes well-being

Which of the following elements of international law places the greatest limitation on the ability of the United Nations to address global issues?

the principle of national sovereignty

One reason for the persistence of a two-party system in the US is

the single-member district electoral system

Protestant biblicism most directly influenced which of the following developments in early modern Europe?

the spread of literacy among the common people

In which of the following respects do market economics differ most from command economies?

the types of economic incentives employed to maximize production

Federal budget entitlements refer to spending

to provide individual benefits established by legislation

Which of the following statements most clearly reflects a major goal of the World Bank?

to reduce global poverty through the promotion of foreign investment

Interest groups engage in all of the following activities EXCEPT

using the franking privilege

The free-exercise clause protects

voluntary prayer by student groups before school

Totalitarian governments see _________________ as their enemies.

whole categories of people within the society