3146 Fed Gov Final Exam
Each Supreme Court justice is assigned ________ law clerks.
4
A majority system, which is used on a limited basis in the United States, requires that a candidate must win ________ to win an election
50 percent plus one of all votes cast
Asian Americans are approximately ________ percent of the U.S. population.
6
Approximately ________ percent of the ________ bills introduced in a typical congressional session die in committee.
85; 10,000
Each year, the Supreme Court receives about ________ appeals and hears about ________ of them in full court.
9,000; 80
In order for the Constitution to be formally adopted, ________ of the ________ states in the Union had to agree to its terms.
9; 13
The Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment provides a constitutional right to keep a loaded handgun at home for self-defense in
District of Columbia v. Heller.
Why was the Declaration of Independence a remarkable political statement for its time?
It helped unify colonial groups that were divided along economic, regional, and philosophical lines by identifying shared problems, grievances, and principles.
Which approach did Congress use in 1973 to compel states to adopt a maximum speed limit of 55 miles per hour?
It passed legislation to withhold federal highway funds from states that did not adopt the new speed limit.
In 2015, Republican ________ resigned from his position as Speaker of the House.
John Boehner
The fact that interest groups favor the wealthy and well educated can be understood as a reflection of what dilemma in American politics?
Liberty is often inconsistent with equality.
________ are the three core values in American politics.
Liberty, equality, and democracy
State laws banning interracial marriage were successfully challenged in which Supreme Court case?
Loving v. Virginia
The Supreme Court applied exclusionary rule to all levels of government in which case?
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
Which state's health care law became the template for the 2010 Affordable Care Act?
Massachusetts
The requirement that a person under arrest be informed of his or her right to remain silent is known as the ________ rule.
Miranda
The national security documents leaked by Edward Snowden in 2013 revealed that the
NSA was collecting private data such as phone calls, email messages, and web browser history on millions of Americans and foreign nationals.
The Constitution stipulates which of the following about relationships between states?
No state shall enter into a compact or agreement with another state without the approval of Congress.
Which of the following statements about presidential orders is MOST accurate?
Only a tiny percentage of presidential orders have ever been rescinded by congressional legislation.
Which of the following statements best describes naturalization laws in the United States prior to 1870?
Only free whites could become naturalized citizens.
The 1787 convention to draft a new constitution was held in?
Philadelphia
The media's reporting of the Watergate affair led to
President Richard Nixon's resignation.
If Vice President Pence were to resign from office
President Trump could nominate a replacement, but that replacement would have to be confirmed by a majority vote of both houses of Congress before taking office.
Which of the following statements about the marketplace of ideas is true?
Private groups and the news media play important roles in shaping opinions in the marketplace of ideas.
Which of the following statements best describes the media's role in the Watergate affair?
Relentless investigations by journalists revealed various abuses of power by President Nixon and led to his resignation
Which state did NOT send delegates to the convention at Philadelphia?
Rhode Island
Who was the first president to promote New Federalism?
Richard Nixon
What was the result of the Compromise of 1877?
Rutherford B. Hayes was elected president.
Which statement about "fighting words" is MOST accurate?
Since the 1950s, the Supreme Court has reversed almost every conviction based on arguments that the speaker used "fighting words."
Which of the following statements about Congress's delegation of power to the executive is MOST accurate?
Since the New Deal, the courts have not struck down any congressional delegation of power to the executive branch as impermissibly broad.
Which of the following statements best describes where younger and older Americans get their news?
Social media tend to be a secondary news source after television for most Americans but a primary news source for the young.
Solid support for the Republican Party currently comes from the
South and Mountain West.
Why are state governments more likely than the federal government to cut spending on programs that serve low-income residents?
State governments cannot run deficits as the federal government can, and state governments have more limited taxing capabilities than the federal government.
Which of the following statements about voter identification laws is MOST accurate?
States with Republican-led governments were more likely to pass a new law requiring citizens to have photo identification in order to vote.
Super PACs were made possible in part by the
Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
Which of the following statements about the process of amending the Articles of Confederation is MOST accurate?
The Articles of Confederation could be amended with a unanimous vote of the Congress.
Which of the following statements about the Articles of Confederation is INCORRECT?
The Articles of Confederation included a provision for appointing a president.
Which of the following is true about the U.S. Constitution?
The Constitution can be amended with a two-thirds majority vote of both houses of Congress and a ratification vote by three-fourths of the states.
Which of the following is true of Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
The Court outlawed de jure segregation.
Which of the following statements about Supreme Court decisions related to executions under the Eighth Amendment is NOT accurate?
The Supreme Court has outlawed the use of lethal injection as a mode of execution.
Which statement about physician-assisted suicide is MOST accurate?
The Supreme Court has ruled that states can legalize physician-assisted suicide.
Why has partisan conflict surrounded federal judicial appointments in recent years?
The federal courts play an increasingly important role in shaping American law and politics.
Which statement about party identification in the United States is MOST accurate?
The number of people identifying as Democrats has outnumbered Republican identifiers for a long time.
Which statement best describes the relationship between public opinion and government policy?
The relationship between government policy and public opinion is dynamic, wherein government policy responds to public opinion but public opinion also shifts based on new government policies.
The Federalist Papers were
a series of essays that argued for the ratification of the Constitution.
Partisan loyalty is likely to be highest in the election of
a state legislator.
Which of the following would the Supreme Court likely refuse to hear because of "mootness"?
a case involving a student who was first rejected but then, later, admitted to a state-run university suing that university for discrimination in the admissions process
Habeas corpus refers to
a court order demanding that an individual in custody be brought into court and shown the cause for detention.
A runoff election is MOST likely to occur in which kind of electoral system?
a majority system
During the late 1840s and early 1850s, both the Democratic and Whig parties were divided by
conflicts over slavery.
A government that is formally limited by laws and rules is called
constitutional.
Using the aggregate preferences and viewing habits of millions of Netflix subscribers to make predictions about how someone will feel about political issues is an example of
data mining.
The president's partisan ties are MOST important in
dealing with Congress on legislative matters.
A member of Congress who votes for a bill with which he or she disagrees because a majority of his or her constituents favor it is acting as a
delegate.
The electoral college is
designed to select the president of the United States.
By using donor lists or magazine subscription lists, candidates are able to engage in
direct-mail solicitations.
Interest groups are permitted to spend as much money as they want on issue advocacy during a campaign season, as long as they
do not coordinate their efforts with a candidate's own campaign organization.
Appeals courts
do not hear witnesses or examine additional evidence before reaching their decisions.
The passage of voter registration requirements in the early nineteenth century
dramatically decreased voter turnout.
Since the 1930s, the number and scale of interest groups at the national level has
dramatically increased.
It is important for Americans to have political knowledge so that they will
e better able to assess their own interests when making political choices.
During the Constitutional Convention, a "departmentalist" was someone who believed that
each branch of the new government would interpret the Constitution as it applied to its own actions rather than having the Supreme Court be the sole interpreter of the Constitution.
Who decides which committee assignments members of the House of Representatives receive?
each party's own steering and policy committee
Section 1983 of the U.S. Code is significant because it
encourages individuals and groups to bring their problems to the courts rather than to Congress or the executive branch.
The U.S. House of Representatives was designed to
ensure majority rule.
Congressional law and Supreme Court decisions have ruled that undocumented immigrants are
entitled to both education and emergency health care in the United States.
The ________ provides candidates for the same political office equal opportunities to communicate their messages.
equal time rule
If a television station sold commercial time to a Republican candidate for governor but refused to sell time to the Democratic candidate for governor, this station would be in violation of the
equal time rule.
The ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896
established the "separate but equal" rule.
The Land Ordinance of 1785 was significant because it
established the principles of land surveying and landownership that governed America's westward expansion.
Social media usage tends to
exaggerate partisan polarization among the mass public because people pick their own friend networks and can avoid disagreeable ideas.
The Supreme Court struck down the Civil Rights Act of 1875 because the justices at the time believed it
exceeded Congress's enforcement powers under the Fourteenth Amendment.
The 1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act
expanded the definition of the organization and individuals that must register to lobby.
The term fake news is MOST accurately characterized as
false news stories circulated to generate ad revenue or to benefit one political candidate or party over another.
States like Delaware, Connecticut, and New York opposed the Virginia Plan because they
feared that large states would dominate the new government if representation were to be determined by population, as stipulated by the Virginia Plan.
The United States, Canada, and Switzerland are all ________ systems of government, while France is a ________ system of government.
federal; unitary
Interest groups use litigation as a strategy of influence by
filing amicus curiae briefs, financing lawsuits, and bringing a suit on behalf of the group.
The Supreme Court has
held that a "hostile working environment" results from "sexual harassment," including "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature."
The assignment of the opinion in a Supreme Court case is
important because differences in wording and emphasis can have important implications for how the decision is interpreted in future litigation.
If a defendant is charged with burglary but admits to a lesser charge of trespassing in exchange for the prosecution dismissing the burglary charge and forgoing the criminal trial, it is an example of a(n)
plea bargain.
An election where the winner is the person who receives the most votes, regardless of the percentage of votes received, is called a ________ system.
plurality
The ________ is the MOST common electoral system used in general elections in the United States.
plurality system
A ________ veto occurs when Congress adjourns during a 10-day period after presenting the president with a bill and he or she takes no action.
The process by which political values are formed is known as
political socialization.
A frequent cause of measurement error in polls is due to
poorly worded questions.
Most members of the House attempt to stay on good terms with the Speaker of the House because the Speaker
possesses the power of recognition.
If a bank offers loans at rates well above market averages and does so with complex provisions that borrowers may not fully understand, it is often referred to as
predatory lending.
Federal judges are appointed by the ________ and must be approved by the ________.
president; Senate
Dwight Eisenhower used ________ in 1957 to send troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to help desegregate Central High School.
presidential emergency power
A filibuster allows members of the Senate to
prevent a vote on a bill by speaking continuously on the floor.
The framers employed the separation of powers and federalism in order to
prevent the new government from abusing its power.
The Supreme Court case of New York Times v. United States (1971) was related to which First Amendment concept?
prior restraint
The National Security Archive is a
private organization that makes extensive use of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to obtain information about the activities of national security agencies.
riming refers to the
process of preparing the public to bring specific criteria to mind when evaluating a politician or issue.
Which of the following civil liberties was NOT included in Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution?
prohibition of government "taking" private property "without just compensation"
The initiative was
promoted by late-nineteenth-century Populists and Progressives as an antidote to interest group influence in the legislative process.
The fugitive slave clause of the Constitution ensured that slavery would be
protected by obligating free states to return runaway slaves to the state from which they escaped.
Which of the following is a so-called traditional form of political activity?
protesting
In 2002, Congress passed which of the following laws related to the invasion of Iraq?
the Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq
The foreign-born population in the United States reached an all-time low of 5 percent in 1970 because
the National Origins quota system placed strong restrictions on the number of immigrants who could enter the United States.
Which of the following is an example of a public broadcasting organization?
the National Public Radio (NPR)
A congressional caucus is a(n)
unofficial group of representatives or senators sharing similar interests or opinions.
Politicians attempt to "balance the ticket" with members of many important groups because
voters tend to prefer candidates who are closer to themselves in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, geography, and social background.
The result of the National Performance Review was that the size of the federal workforce
was reduced by about 10 percent.
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 was significant because it
was the first major revamping of the federal civil service since its creation in 1883.
When O. J. Simpson faced a criminal trial in Los Angeles for two counts of murder, the plaintiff(s)
was the state of California.
The Southern Manifesto
was written by southern officials who declared that their states were not bound by Supreme Court decisions outlawing racial segregation.
If a registered Democratic voter was opposed to abortion and rejected the Democratic Party's pro-choice platform, abortion would be a ________ issue for the voter.
wedge
The MOST significant example of devolution in recent decades has been in the area of
welfare policy.
Under the original Constitution, senators
were appointed by state legislatures.
One-third of all Asian Americans live in which state?
California
Which of the following politicians was successfully recalled from office?
California governor Gray Davis (2003)
________ are areas of personal freedom with which governments are constrained from interfering.
Civil liberties
The size of the U.S. Supreme Court is set by
Congress.
________ was the leader of the United Farm Workers union in the 1960s.
César Chávez
________ argued that there was a "wall of separation" between church and state.
Thomas Jefferson
Which of the following statements about the fund-raising practices of traditional interest groups and online activist organizations is MOST accurate?
Traditional interest groups raise money through annual membership dues, while online activist organizations raise money through targeted fund-raising drives focused on particular issues or events.
President ________ appointed the first President's Commission on Civil Rights in ________.
Truman; 1946
Which office did the framers design to be directly elected by the people?
U.S. representative
Which of the following statements about government regulation of political advertisements is MOST accurate?
Unlike traditional media (radio, television, print media), political ads on Google, Twitter, and Facebook are not regulated.
________ is the single most important political act for most Americans.
Voting
The ________ asserted that the president could send American troops into action abroad only in the event of a declaration of war or other statutory authorization by Congress, or if American troops were attacked or directly endangered.
War Powers Resolution of 1973
The president's group of advisers and analysts is collectively called the
White House staff.
In recent years, ________ has released thousands of secret government documents, exposing government corruption, torture, and war crimes.
WikiLeaks
What did the Supreme Court mean by "one person, one vote"?
Within a state, electoral districts must have roughly equal populations.
Answer the following question: What is political culture? How do the ideas of 'trust' and 'efficacy' play into the American concept of political culture? Why is 'political knowledge' integral to American ideas of citizenship?
Your response:
Which of the following statements about voter participation among young people is MOST accurate?
Youth voter turnout is much lower in midterm congressional elections than in presidential elections.
Women in the United States are ________ the ________ Party.
somewhat more likely to support; Democratic
The Supreme Court's decision in Printz v. United States was important because it declared that
state and local officials could not be required to administer a federal regulatory program.
When an American voter supports only one party's candidates, he or she is said to be voting a ________ ticket.
straight
The judicial doctrine that places a heavy burden of proof on the government when it seeks to regulate speech is called
strict scrutiny.
By the time of the Iraq invasion in March 2003, the American public was
strongly supportive of the war, with 70 percent of Americans endorsing the Bush administration's policy.
In international affairs, conservatism has come to mean
support for military intervention and the maintenance of American military power.
Most European nations utilize a
system of proportional representation.
The "sophomore surge" refers to the
tendency for candidates to win a higher percentage of the vote when seeking future terms in office.
A political party is an organization
that tries to influence the government by getting its members elected to office.
A provision of which law was overturned in the Supreme Court case Printz v. United States?
the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act
In the United States, freedom of the press is protected by
the First Amendment of the Constitution.
What is the principal difference between an autocracy and an oligarchy?
the number of people in charge
What is redlining?
the practice of bank officials refusing to make loans to people living in certain neighborhoods
A signing statement is an announcement
the president makes about his or her interpretation of a congressional enactment he or she is signing into law.
The practice of push polling involves
the procedure of asking loaded questions in order to subtly shape the respondent's opinion.
Antifederalists bitterly attacked which two parts of the Constitution as unlimited and dangerous grants of power to the national government?
the supremacy clause and the elastic clause
Political leaders may prefer communicating through social media because
they can directly transmit unedited messages to their followers without having the content altered by the mainstream press.
Colonial protesters of the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act rallied around which slogan?
"No taxation without representation."
A widely circulated story that the pope endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2016 was a good example of
"fake news."
Which of the following is an "outsider" strategy?
"going public"
If an employee's manager issued an explicit or strongly implied threat that submission to sexual demands is a condition of the employee's job, it would be an example of ________ harassment.
"quid pro quo"
The national debt is approximately
$20 trillion.
Currently, ________ states have agreed to the compact specified by the National Popular Vote plan.
10
Approximately ________ individuals of Japanese descent were forcibly placed in internment camps during World War II.
120,000
Approximately ________ percent of the nation's employed workforce is an employee of a state or local government.
14
There are ________ federal government departments and each is led by a ________ who is a member of the president's cabinet.
15; secretary
The first slaves were brought to what would become the United States in
1619.
Most Americans of African descent were not officially citizens in the United States until
1868, when the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution conferred citizenship on the freed slaves.
The first woman was elected to Congress in
1917.
In what year was freedom of speech extended to protect against the acts of state governments?
1925
The Supreme Court began to change its position on racial discrimination in the
1930s.
Almost 40 percent of all federal criminal statutes passed after the Civil War were enacted between
1970 and 1998.
About ________ percent of all lower court cases are reviewed by federal appeals courts.
20
During the colonial and early national periods of American history, suffrage was generally restricted to white males over the age of
21.
Which of the following statements about women's suffrage is MOST accurate?
A number of state and territorial governments adopted women's suffrage before the federal government granted women the vote.
________ occurs when a criminal case is resolved through a negotiated agreement before a full trial is completed.
A plea bargain
How can Congress override a president's veto?
A president's veto can be overridden with a two-thirds vote in both chambers.
Party elites who are not bound to the voting results in their state primaries and can vote as they wish are called
A runoff election is MOST likely to occur in which kind of electoral system?
Which of the following statements about contemporary public opinion is MOST accurate?
Digital citizenship offers the promise of a more informed electorate.
Which of the following is a good example of a media monopoly?
Disney
Which of the following statements best characterizes the United States' population relative to that of other industrialized countries?
Although the population of the United States is aging, Americans tend to be younger than citizens of most industrialized countries.
Which of the following statements about interest groups is MOST accurate?
Americans are much more likely to join political and social organizations than people in other countries, and America has far more organized interest groups than other nations.
Which of the following statements best describes how Americans currently feel about laissez-faire capitalism?
Americans strongly support capitalism and economic liberty, but they also endorse some restrictions on economic freedoms to protect the public.
The power of Congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the several states, and with Native American tribes is found in ________ of the U.S. Constitution.
Article I
________ protects federal judges from political pressure by granting them life tenure.
Article III of the U.S. Constitution
________ is a strategy that attempts to mobilize the widest and most favorable climate of opinion.
Going public
Soft money was made illegal as a result of the
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.
The Supreme Court ruled that "the federal Constitution confers [no] fundamental right upon homosexuals to engage in sodomy" in the case
Bowers v. Hardwick.
Since the 1930s, most African Americans have identified as
Democrats.
The greatest number of federal government professionals working abroad is under the authority of the
Department of Defense.
________ is when bureaucrats attempt to translate laws into specific rules and actions.
Implementation
Which of the following is an independent agency?
Environmental Protection Agency
The Office of Management and Budget and the Council of Economic Advisers are both parts of the
Executive Office of the President.
How the Constitution balances the threat posed by organized interests with the need for liberty is discussed in the
Federalist Papers, no. 10.
The first party system was characterized by conflict between the ________ and the ________.
Federalists; Jeffersonian Republicans
The first provision of the Bill of Rights to be "incorporated" into the Fourteenth Amendment as a limitation on state power was the
Fifth Amendment's prohibition on states from taking private property for public use without just compensation.
________ states prohibit prison inmates who are serving felony sentences from voting.
Forty-eight
Which of the following are names of Latino civil rights organizations?
G.I. Forum, LULAC, and MALDEF
________ involves purposefully drawing district boundaries to unfairly advantage one group or party.
Gerrymandering
"Commerce among the several states" was first defined in
Gibbons v. Ogden
The proportion of independents, Democrats, and Republicans in the American public has changed significantly during the last five decades. Describe these changes and discuss why they may have occurred. Is there evidence that a party dealignment is occurring in the United States? Explain.
There are three components to this question: a.) Changes in partisanship: The number of people identifying as Democrats has outnumbered Republican identifiers for a long time. Today, party loyalties in America are in a state of flux. On the one hand, the percentage of voters who declare no party loyalty remains at an all-time high. The number of individuals identifying as independents has grown to roughly 40 percent of Americans. On the other hand, party identification among a large number of the most active voters has grown stronger and independents often lean toward one of the two parties and vote for the Republicans or Democrats in national elections. b.) Reasons behind changing partisanship: Individuals from the same age cohort are likely to have experienced a similar set of events during the period when their party loyalties were formed. Thus, Americans between the ages of 50 and 64 came of political age during the Cold War, Vietnam, and civil rights eras. Voters whose initial perceptions of politics were shaped during this period responded more favorably to the role played by the Democrats, who were antiwar and pro-civil rights, than to the actions of the Republicans. The growing number of independents is often seen as a product of growing social diversity and educational attainment, which make voters less reliant on parties to guide their political decision-making. The growth of the mass media, particularly television, also seemed to reduce the role of parties in elections, as television tends to focus on the personality of individual candidates rather than the "institution" of the party. c.) Dealignment: Dealignment refers to a movement away from the major political parties, a decline in partisan attachment. Trends such as a decline in partisan attachment within the electorate, the growth in the numbers of voters identifying as independents, and a rise in so-called split-ticket voting suggest that dealignment may be occurring.
Describe some of the different strategies that interest groups use to gain influence on public policy. In your answer, be sure to give specific examples of each of the strategies you discuss.
There are three components to this question: a.) Description of strategies: The quest for political influence takes many forms. Insider strategies include access to key decision makers, lobbying, and litigating cases in courts. Outsider strategies include going public and using electoral politics. Many groups employ a mix of insider and outsider strategies. b.) Examples of insider strategies: Lobbying is an attempt by a group to influence the policy process through persuasion of government officials. Lobbyists first and foremost provide information to lawmakers about their interests and the legislation at hand. They communicate this information to lawmakers, administrators, and committee staff members with facts about pertinent issues. They often testify on behalf of their clients at congressional committee and agency hearings. Lobbyists talk to reporters; place ads in newspapers; and organize letter-writing, phone-calling, and email campaigns. They also play an important role in fund-raising, helping to direct clients' contributions to certain members of Congress and presidential candidates. Interest groups can use the courts to affect public policy in at least three ways: (1) by bringing suit directly on behalf of the group itself, (2) by financing suits brought by individuals, and (3) by filing a companion brief as an amicus curiae (literally, "friend of the court") to an existing court case. c.) Examples of outsider strategies: Going public is a strategy that attempts to mobilize the widest and most favorable climate of opinion. Groups may "go public" through institutional advertising, protests and demonstrations, or grassroots mobilization. Interest groups also seek to use the electoral process to elect the right legislators in the first place and to ensure that those who are elected will owe them a debt of gratitude for their support. Specifically, interest groups make campaign contributions (primarily through PACs and Super PACs), engage in campaign activism, and place initiatives on the ballot in states that provide or direct democracy.
Explore the role of political parties in American politics. In what ways do political parties differ from interest groups? How do parties contribute to democratic government? Why is it important to have "competitive" and "responsible" political parties?
There are three components to this question: a.) Differences between political parties and interest groups: Political parties, like interest groups, are organizations that seek influence over government. They can generally be distinguished from interest groups on the basis of their orientation. A party seeks to control the government by nominating candidates and electing its members to office. Interest groups do not control the operation of government and its personnel but rather try to influence government policies, often through lobbying elected officials. b.) Parties shape and aid in policy making: Parties mobilize citizens in the electorate to vote, they offer choices to voters in elections, and they provide officeholders with organization for running government once elected to office. As political scientist John Aldrich argues in Why Parties?, parties solve three fundamental problems of democracy: how to regulate the number of people seeking public office, how to mobilize voters, and how to achieve and maintain the majorities needed to accomplish legislative goals once in office. c.) "Competitive" and "responsible" parties: It is not enough to simply have political parties: parties must be "competitive" and "responsible." When political parties compete with one another to win elections, they have incentives to continually expand public debates to include nonvoting members of the electorate in order to gain a majority of voters and win the election. Political parties must also act "responsibly" by continually informing the public of current political issues that are in their best interests. Once in power, political parties must enact policies that represent their members' interests.
Describe the organizational structure of political parties. What are some of the functions of parties in the electoral arena?
There are two components to this question: a.) Organizational structure: At the national level, the party's most important institution is the national convention. Delegates from each of the 50 states attend the convention, which is held every four years. As a group, they nominate the party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates, draft the party's campaign platform for the presidential race, and approve changes in the rules and regulations governing party procedures. Between conventions, a national committee heads each national political party. For the Democrats and Republicans, these are called the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Republican National Committee (RNC), respectively. Each party also forms House and Senate campaign committees, whose efforts may or may not be coordinated with the activities of the national committees. Each of the two major parties has a central committee in each state. The parties traditionally also have county committees and, in some instances, state Senate district committees, judicial district committees, and, in the case of larger cities, citywide party committees and local assembly district "ward" committees. b.) Electoral functions: Parties have always been central to the electoral process, and in recent years, they have taken on a renewed role in recruiting candidates, coordinating campaigns, mobilizing voters, and raising money.
Which of the following best describes the number of U.S. attorneys?
There is one U.S. attorney in each of the 94 federal judicial districts.
Which of the following statements concerning third parties is true?
Third parties often have their programs adopted by one of the two major parties.
The majority decision in Griswold v. Connecticut argued that the right of privacy fits into a "zone of privacy" created by the
Third, Fourth, and Fifth amendments.
________ states have statutes providing for capital punishment, while ________ states have statutes banning the death penalty.
Thirty-one; 19
When a president "recognizes" a country it means that the United States
acknowledges the legitimacy of that country's government and territorial claims.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was important because it
allowed for greater concentration of media ownership than had been possible since regulation of the industry began in 1934.
A loose, informal relationship of public officials, interest groups, and activists who are all concerned with the same policies is called
an issue network.
Unlike judges of Article III courts, the judges of courts created under Congress's Article I power
are not protected by the Constitution from salary reduction.
Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools (1992) is important because it
asserted that violations of Title IX of the 1972 Education Act could be remedied with monetary damages
In order to win the presidency, a candidate must win
at least 270 electoral votes.
The willingness to be restrained by the power of social institutions, but not by political or legal institutions, is a hallmark of a(n) ________ regime.
authoritarian
The media are sometimes referred to as the "fourth branch of government" because
they provide a check on the power of government and political leaders.
If a person supports a candidate because he or she is the front-runner in a poll, it is an example of the
bandwagon effect.
One of the primary purposes of the Federal Reserve System (the Fed) is to guard against
bank failures during a sudden economic scare by making sure that banks do not overextend themselves.
The Federal Communications Commission
bans explicit sexual and excretory references on airwaves during certain hours of the day.
In the lobbying world, to be "Microsofted" means that a company has
become vulnerable to adverse legislation and investigation as a result of failing to lobby the federal government.
In the House of Representatives, virtually all the time allotted by the Rules Committee for debate on a given bill is controlled by the
bill's sponsor and its leading opponent.
The fairness doctrine required that
broadcasters who aired controversial issues provide time for opposing viewpoints
Congress
can terminate a state of emergency declared by the president only with a joint resolution of the two houses.
In American political culture, economic freedom is MOST closely linked to the idea of
capitalism.
A federal grant to states specifically to assist in the building of new public schools is an example of a ________ grant.
categorical
Democracy functions best when
citizens are informed.
Digital forms of participation that require little effort and may not actually translate into offline acts of political engagement are often referred to as
clicktivism.
In 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that family businesses
could be exempted from the Affordable Care Act's requirement to cover contraception on the basis of religious objections.
The Department of Defense was
created in 1947 after concerns arose during World War II that the Departments of War and Navy were insufficiently integrated to fight effectively.
By 2000, the National Performance Review had succeeded in ________ the federal workforce by approximately ________ jobs.
cutting; 425,000
A closed or an open rule refers to congressional provisions regarding
floor debate on a bill.
The ________ clause of the First Amendment protects an individual's right to believe and practice whatever religion he or she chooses.
free exercise
In order to overcome the ________ problem, interest groups often provide ________ to their members.
free-rider; selective benefits
The fact that state governments are required to enforce restraining orders placed on stalkers and batterers in other states is a result of the
full faith and credit clause of the Constitution.
A major cause of political polarization in Congress is
gerrymandering.
The "virtual fourth branch of government" refers to
government contracting.
Which of the following political officers is/are subject to recall elections?
governors and other state officials
The Administrative Procedure Act is important in civil law because it
governs agency rule making.
During the 2016 campaign, Hillary Clinton received ________amount of media coverage as Donald Trump.
half the
The number of cases filed in the Supreme Court
has increased dramatically since 1940.
The expansion of the Executive Office of the President, the development of regulatory review, and the use of executive orders have been important because they
have given presidents substantial capacity to achieve significant policy results despite congressional opposition to their legislative agendas.
Besides their ideological biases, journalists also exhibit selection biases in favor of news stories they view as
having a great deal of dramatic or entertainment value.
Federalism is best defined as a system of government
in which power is divided between a national government and lower-level governments.
Statewide controversial initiatives on the ballot
increase voter turnout in elections.
A senator or representative running for re-election is called the
incumbent.
Descriptive representation occurs when
individuals are represented in government by officials of their same race, ethnicity, or gender.
Citizenship refers to
informed and active membership in a political community.
When President Truman seized the nation's steel mills during the Korean War, it would most likely have been on the basis of the president's ________ powers.
inherent
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a policy that
instructs immigration officials to take no action to deport law-abiding individuals who entered the United States illegally as children.
The best description of the ideal of pluralism is that
interest groups should be free to compete for governmental influence.
A challenge to a state law discriminating against the inheritance and property rights of illegitimate children would MOST likely be subject to which level of judicial scrutiny?
intermediate scrutiny
The jurisdiction of standing committees
is defined by the subject matter of legislation, which often parallels the major cabinet departments or agencies.
A criticism of interest group pluralism is
its class bias in favor of those with greater financial resources.
The United States has a
larger gap in income between its poorest and richest citizens than any other developed nation.
What is common law?
law made by judges through their decisions, not through specific statutes
What is the MOST common occupation among members of Congress before coming to Congress?
lawyer
Public bureaucracies are powerful because
legislatures, chief executives, and the people delegate vast power to them to make sure a particular job is done.
Which of the following characteristics constitutes one's socioeconomic status?
level of income, level of education, and prestige of occupation
Which of the following sets of terms best describes America's fundamental political values?
liberty, equality of opportunity, and democracy
Senators' longer terms of office, and larger, more heterogeneous constituencies makes them more
likely to consider new ideas and better able to act as the agents for groups and interests organized on a statewide or national basis.
The goal of the War Powers Resolution was to
limit the power of the president to commit American troops to military action without authorization from Congress.
Throughout American history, the concept of liberty has been linked to the idea of
limited government.
Which of the following was used as a way to limit the electoral influence of African Americans?
literacy tests
A senator who agrees to vote for a tax-cut bill with which he or she disagrees in order to receive another senator's vote on a climate change bill that he or she has proposed is engaged in
logrolling.
In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court prohibited states from
making abortion a criminal act prior to the point at which the fetus becomes viable.
The State of the Union address is
mandated by the Constitution.
Research into public opinion and public policy has shown that
more affluent and more educated citizens have a disproportionate influence over politics and public policy decisions.
African Americans represented by a black member of Congress are
more likely to vote than African Americans not represented by a black member of Congress
Political scientists have found that on economic issues, both the Democratic and Republican parties are
more responsive to the preferences of the upper and middle classes than the lower class.
Compared to private-sector workers, members of the full-time civilian federal workforce are ________ educated and ________ racially and ethnically diverse.
more; more
The Supreme Court justified its decision to strike down the use of "white primaries" in the South by claiming that
parties were "an agency of the State," and therefore any practice of discrimination against blacks was a violation of the Fifteenth Amendment
Voter turnout in state and local elections is generally ________ turnout in national elections.
much lower than
Voter turnout in the states that hold their presidential primary elections late in the nomination process is usually
much lower than states that hold their primary elections early in the process.
The powers of Congress have declined dramatically in which of the following areas during the last 50 years?
national defense and the federal budget
Which clause is the source of implied powers under the U.S. Constitution?
necessary and proper
James Madison believed that the greatest conflict of interest in the Philadelphia convention was between ________ and ________.
northern states; southern states
A(n) ________ occurs when a voter can wait until the day of the primary to choose which party to enroll in to select candidates for the general election.
open primary
Which of the following requires a Federal Communications Commission license in order to legally broadcast in the United States?
over-the-air television stations
The 2014 Select Committee on Benghazi is an example of Congress's ________ powers.
oversight
The National Park Service is
part of the Department of the Interior.
The U.S. Constitution creates a system that underrepresents urban areas by
providing each state with two U.S. senators regardless of population.
The New Politics movement gave rise to ________ groups.
public interest
The original purpose of voter registration was to
reduce corruption by making it more difficult to vote.
An example of ________ federalism is when federal officials establish environmental standards that every state must follow.
regulated
During the Civil War, President Lincoln
relied heavily on executive orders to mobilize troops, purchase warships, and obtain funds from the U.S. Treasury.
During the 1980s, the Republicans added ________ to their coalition.
religious conservatives and working-class whites
In United States v. Nixon (1974), the Supreme Court justices
required Nixon to turn over secret tapes to Congress.
The Help Americans Vote Act of 2003
required state governments to introduce computerized voting systems.
The Administrative Procedure Act
requires agencies to create opportunities for public comments before implementing new rules and regulations.
The original goal of strict registration requirements and scheduling of elections was to
rid politics of corruption.
The American system for electing members of Congress is often referred to as "winner take all" because
runners-up do not gain seats in government.
In order for a survey to accurately generalize the entire population, the survey must
select respondents randomly, and everyone in the target population must have an equal chance of being selected.
In 1936, pollsters at the Literary Digest were guilty of ________ when they mistakenly predicted a presidential victory for Alf Landon over Franklin Roosevelt by polling people whose names came from the telephone book and automobile registration records.
selection bias
An executive-congressional agreement is a contract between two countries that can be approved with a
simple majority vote in both houses.
A sole executive agreement is a
simple understanding between the president and a foreign state that is not submitted to Congress for approval.
A U.S. senator has a ________-year term.
six
The "peculiar institution" was a phrase used by southerners to describe
slavery
The fact that survey respondents overreport voting in elections and the frequency of their church attendance is an example of the ________ effect.
social desirability
After the Civil War, which amendments to the U.S. Constitution offered African Americans the MOST hope for achieving full citizenship rights?
the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments
The free-rider problem occurs because
the benefits of a group's actions are broadly available and cannot be denied to nonmembers.
The American system for electing members of Congress is often referred to as "first past the post" because
the candidate with the most votes wins, even if he or she did not win a majority of the popular vote.
The concept of a marketplace of ideas refers to
the competition between varying opinions and ideas that are aired in public forums.
The number of political parties there are in a country is determined primarily by
the country's electoral system and rules.
Judicial review is the power of
the courts to decide on the constitutionality of actions taken by the other branches of government.
The amount of national debt that can be issued by the Treasury is referred to as
the debt ceiling.
Dealignment refers to
the decline of partisan attachment within the electorate, the growth in the number of voters identifying themselves as independents, and the rise of split-ticket voting.
Which two constitutional provisions have been at the heart of constitutional struggles between federal and state powers throughout American history?
the elastic clause and the Tenth Amendment
What is the "social desirability effect"?
the fact that respondents report what they think the interviewer wishes to hear or whatever they think is socially acceptable rather than what they actually believe
The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act was MOST closely related to which of the following constitutional clauses?
the full faith and credit clause
More affluent and educated citizens wield an outsized influence over policy makers because
they vote at higher rates, and they are more likely to contribute money to political campaigns.
Medical malpractice suits are good examples of ________ cases.
tort
Over the past decade, polls have shown that Asian American voters are moving
toward the Democratic Party.
The framers of the U.S. Constitution intended to create a presidency capable of
withstanding excessive popular pressure by making it subject to indirect election through the electoral college.
The main difference between libel and slander is that libel refers to
written statements, while slander refers to oral statements.