AP GOV: First Final
Allow the national government to extend its powers beyond those enumerated in the Constitution.
"The Congress shall have power...to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.' The practical effect of this clause has been to...
The power of the national government was strengthened
"We are unanimously of opinion, that the law passed by the legislature of Maryland, imposing a tax on the Bank of the United States, is unconstitutional and void...This is a tax on the operation of an instrument employed by the government of the Union to carry its powers into execution. Such a tax must be unconstitutional..." What resulted from this Supreme Court decision?
Cuts off debate on a bill.
A "cloture motion" passed in the Senate does what?
Supreme Court justice
A newly elected president faces a Senate controlled by the opposition party. What presidential appointment is most likely to encounter difficulty with confirmation by the Senate?
Regulatory policy
A policy that sets emission standards for automobiles is an example of...
A large republic
According to James Madison, what best controls the effects of factions?
Ratification by three-fourths of the states.
After a constitutional amendment has been proposed by both houses of Congress, its adoption requires...
A president may veto part of a bill.
All of the following statements pertaining to the presidential veto are true EXCEPT
Supremacy clause
Arizona enacted an immigration law in 2010, claiming the legislation complemented existing federal law. The Obama administration disagreed, claiming the state law conflicted with national law. Which clause of the Constitution did the Supreme Court most likely use to strike down a section of the state law.
Believed a centralized government posed a major threat to individual rights.
Brutus was an example of an Anti-Federalist because he...
B) - Case 1: McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Case 2: United States v. Lopez (1995)
Case 1: a. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) b. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) c. Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010) d. Schenck v. United States (1919) Case 2: a. Baker v. Carr (1962) b. United States v. Lopez (1995) c. McDonald v. Chicago (2010) d. New York Times v. United States (1971) Which of the following pair of Supreme Court cases best illustrates how views of federalism have shifted in the United States?
A) - Check on Legislative: The president may veto bills passed by Congress. Check on Executive: The Senate must confirm judicial nominees.
Check on Legislative Branch: a. The president may veto bills passed by Congress b. The president has the power to fund wars. c. The Supreme Court has the power of judicial review. d. States may nullify federal laws that violate state constitutions? Checks on Executive Branch: a. The Senate must confirm judicial nominees. b. The House of Representatives can pass articles of impeachment. c. Congress can remove members of the president's cabinet. d. The Supreme Court can declare presidential actions unconstitutional if a case arises.
Limit the president's authority to commit troops overseas.
Congress adopted the War Powers Resolution to...
Controlling an executive agency's annual budget
Congress is most likely to exert oversight of the executive bureaucracy in what way?
A. - Congress: holding a committee hearing President: Appointing a cabinet
Congress: a. Holding a committee hearing b. Using the power of the purse to control spending c. Firing civil service d. Meeting in a congressional caucus President: a. Appointing a cabinet b. Negotiating a treaty c. Exercising power as commander in chief d. Attaching a signing statement to legislation Which of the following pairs accurately identifies the methods used by Congress and the president to hold the bureaucracy accountable to the other branches?
Pardoning felons
Congressional legislative powers include all the following EXCEPT
Exercise some control over executive agencies
Congressional oversight refers to the power of Congress to...
C) - Delegate Model: A member of the House votes for a bill based on positive polling results about the bill in their district. Trustee Model: A member of the House votes against a bill that is popular in their district because they believe it violates their own morals.
Delegate Model: a. A member of the House votes to impeach an unpopular president. b. A senator from a landlocked state votes against a bill to increase funding for beaches. c. A member of the House votes for a bill based on positive polling results about the bill in their district. d. A senator consistently consults national opinion polls before deciding how to vote. Trustee Model: a. A senator chooses to join the Senate majority in confirming a president's judicial nominee even though the nominee is not the Senator's favorite choice. b. A member of the House sponsors a bill because they receive influential letters from voters. c. A member of the House votes against a bill that is popular in their district because they believe it violates their own morals. d. A senator believes they will be reelected no matter how they vote on a controversial bill. Which of the following most accurately depicts a member of Congress adhering to the delegate model of representation and a member of Congress adhering to the trustee model of representation in making a legislative decision?
Approximately equal representation for every voter
Elections for the House of Representatives provide...
Regulate intrastate commerce
Enumerated powers of the federal government DO NOT include the power to...
Gerrymandering
Establishing the boundaries of the United States congressional districts to give one party an advantage over another party is referred to as...
Modern presidents often try to avoid legislative checks and balances on their authority
Executive agreements have been cited as evidence that...
D) - Facilitates Gridlock: Checks and balances Facilitates Action: Executive order
Facilitates Gridlock: a. Gerrymandering b. Ideological news source c. Bully pulpit d. Checks and balances Facilitates Action: a. Partisanship b. Bicameral legislature c. Judicial review d. Executive order Which of the following is the most accurate comparison of the processes that generally facilitate gridlock and those that facilitate governmental action?
B) - Federalist 10: Factions are most dangerous at local the level Brutus 1: Small republics are best for stable governments
Federalist 10: a. Factions are inevitable with popular sovereignty b. Factions are most dangerous at the local level c. Power should be concentrated in the executive branch to address factions d. The effects of factions cannot be controlled Brutus 1: a. A strong national government is needed b. Small republics are best for stable governments c. The national government is too far from the people d. Popular sovereignty leads to anarchy What is an accurate comparison of the arguments made in The Federalist 10 and Brutus 1?
C) - Formal Power: Acting as commander in chief of the military Informal Power: Signing executive agreements with foreign nations
Formal Power: a. Vetoing legislation to prevent a bill from becoming law b. Using the bully pulpit to influence public opinion c. Acting as commander in chief of the military d. Using the power of the purse to support government programs Informal Power: a. Using a pocket veto to prevent a bill from becoming law b. Appointing ambassadors and receiving diplomats from other nations c. Signing executive agreements with foreign nations d. Using signing statements to shape legislation Which of the following accurately compares the formal and informal powers of the president?
B) - House of Representatives: Initiates all revenue bills Senate: Confirms presidential appointments
House of Representatives: a. Conducts impeachment trials b. Initiates all revenue bills c. Ratifies treaties submitted by the president d. Deploys troops for foreign combat Senate: a. Passes articles of impeachment b. Confirms presidential appointments c. Ratifies executive orders submitted by the president d. Negotiates treaties with foreign countries Which of the following is an accurate description of the powers of the House of Representatives and the Senate?
B) - House of Representatives: The Constitution's framers intended it to reflect the will of the people. Senate: The Constitution's framers designed it to represent the interests of the states.
House of Representatives: a. The majority and minority parties control legislative scheduling and rules equally. b. The Constitution's framers intended it to reflect the will of the people. c. Most legislative work takes place in the standing committees. d. Members serve two-year terms with a term limit up to twelve years. Senate: a. Minority party members can threaten to filibuster a bill the majority party wants to pass. b. The Constitution's framers designed it to represent the interests of the states. c. Based on its size, it tends to have stricter rules affecting the legislative process. d. Members serve six-year terms with no term limits. Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate?
Ideological divisions within Congress can lead to partisan gridlock.
I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally. This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy. The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty. Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it...It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. Which scenario illustrates Washington's concerns?
Pocket veto
If Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both houses of Congress, but which the president has not signed, what is the result?
Educational policy is not mentioned in the Constitution, which has created debate about the proper role for the national government in educational policy.
In 2005, the Utah legislature passed a law that allowed school districts to ignore parts of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), a law passed by Congress in 2001 that supported standards-based education reform. Utah did this despite the fact that it endangered losing $76 million in federal aid to Utah public schools. What statement best explains why Utah took this action?
Liberty versus stability and order
In May of 2015, a federal appeals court ruled the National Security Agency's collection of Americans' phone records was in violation of the USA PATRIOT Act. What debate is at the center of the national conversation regarding the surveillance program referred to in this scenario?
By creating a large republic, the new constitution made it less likely that a faction could gain enough power to completely dominate.
In The Federalist 10, James Madison argued that the new constitution would help control factions by doing what?
Funds to administer programs clearly specified by the federal government.
In contrast to revenue sharing, categorical grants-in-aid provide state and local governments with...
The relationship between the national and state governments evolves over time and is flexible enough to permit new forms of interaction.
In many places, classrooms are overcrowded and curricula are outdated. Most of our qualified teachers are underpaid, and many of our paid teachers are unqualified. So we must give every child a place to sit and a teacher to learn from. Poverty must not be a bar to learning, and learning must offer an escape from poverty. But more classrooms and more teachers are not enough. We must seek an educational system that grows in excellence as it grows in size. And this means better training for our teachers. It means preparing youth to enjoy their hours of leisure, as well as their hours of labor. It means exploring new techniques of teaching, to find new ways to stimulate the love of learning and the capacity for creation...While our Government has many programs directed at those issues, I do not pretend that we have the full answer to those problems. But I do promise this: we are going to assemble the best thought and the broadest knowledge from all over the world to find those answers for America. I intend to establish working groups to prepare a series of White House conferences and meetings on the cities, on natural beauty, on the quality of education, and on other emerging challenges. And from these meetings from this inspiration and from these studies, we will begin to set our course toward the Great Society. The solution to these problems does not rest on a massive program in Washington, nor can it rely solely on the strained resources of local authorities. They require us to create new concepts of cooperation, and creative federalism, between the national capital and the leaders of local communities. By using the phrase "creative federalism," President Johnson is most likely referring to which feature of the American system?
Are personally loyal to the president
In selecting members of the White House Staff, presidents primarily seek people who...
There was a lack of a national military to address security concerns.
In the 1780s, proponents of the new Constitution cited Shays' Rebellion as an example in support of which criticism of the national government under the Articles of Confederation?
Are undesirable but inevitable in a free nation
In the Federalist Papers, James Madison expressed the view that political factions...
While Schlesinger views centralization of power in the presidency as dangerous, The Federalist 70 views it as vital to the presidency's effectiveness.
In the last years presidential primacy, so indispensable to the political order, has turned into presidential supremacy. The constitutional Presidency—as events so apparently disparate as the Indochina War and the Watergate affair showed, has become the imperial Presidency and threatens to be the revolutionary Presidency. . . . The imperial Presidency was essentially the creation of foreign policy. A combination of doctrines and emotions—belief in the permanent and universal crisis, fear of communism, faith in the duty and right of the United States to intervene swiftly in every part of the world—had brought about the unprecedented centralization of decisions. Prolonged war in Vietnam strengthened the tendencies toward both centralization and exclusion. So the imperial Presidency grew at the expense of the constitutional order. Like the cowbird, it hatched its own eggs and pushed the others out of the nest. And, as it overwhelmed the traditional separation of powers in foreign affairs, it began to aspire toward an equivalent centralization of power in the domestic polity. What is an accurate comparison of the text by Schlesinger and The Federalist 70?
Using the media to set the policy agenda
In trying to influence legislation, the President is generally more successful than congressional leaders in...
A) - Legislative checks on judicial: Impeaching and removing federal judges Judicial checks on legislative: Declaring an entire law unconstitutional
Legislative checks to the judicial branch: a. Impeaching and removing federal judges b. Confirming federal judges c. Appointing federal judges d. Establishing the number of Supreme Court justices Judicial checks to the legislative branch: a. Declaring an entire law unconstitutional b. Reviewing laws prior to enactment c. Striking down a portion of a law d. Removing the Speaker of the House Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the checks held by the legislative and judicial branches?
An iron triangle
Lobbyists from the Airlines for America, an advocacy group that represents commercial airlines, work with members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and officials from the United States Federal Administration (FAA) to discuss a new policy that addresses issues of airline safety. This scenario best illustrates...
Pluralist
Members of Congress receive many phone calls, meeting invitations, and e-mails from various competing interest groups asking for support on their preferred public policies. This situation best exemplifies which model of democracy?
Life tenure for appointed justices alongside the power of judicial review increases the stakes in the confirmation process for nominees to the Supreme Court.
On September 29, 2020, after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, President Donald Trump, a Republican, nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Many Democrats in the Senate feared that the appointment of Barret would swing the Court in a more ideologically conservative direction and attempted to block her nomination. After a heated Senate confirmation hearing, Barret was eventually confirmed by a 52 to 48 vote in the Senate. The scenario best highlights what statement about court appointees?
The House can impeach federal judges and the president, and the Senate holds the impeachment trial.
One example of constitutional checks and balances is...
The system should be able to accommodate political change, but the process for change should incorporate checks and balances.
Proposal: a. a national constitutional convention called by Congress upon receipt of petitions from two-thirds of the state legislatures. b. a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress. Ratification: a. legislatures in three-fourths of the states. b. special ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states. The diagram's process reflects the framers' perspective on constitutional government?
Article V
Proposal: a. a national constitutional convention called by Congress upon receipt of petitions from two-thirds of the state legislatures. b. a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress. Ratification: a. legislatures in three-fourths of the states. b. special ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states. The process shown in the diagram is outlined in which of the following parts of the United States Constitution?
Concurrent powers
South Carolina passed a law to increase the state tax on gasoline to help fund repairs on highways and bridges. The state tax is in addition to the federal tax on every gallon of gasoline that is sold. Which constitutional provision does this scenario illustrate?
A bicameral legislature with one house's composition based upon state population and another's on equal state representation.
The Connecticut (Great) Compromise provided for...
The Senate deliberates the case and votes to determine the president's guilt or innocence.
The House of Representatives impeaches the president. Which of the following scenarios represents how bicameralism is used as a check on the vote to impeach?
Independent agencies
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are examples of...
White House Staff
The Senate must confirm all of the following presidential appointments EXCEPT
An enumerated power
The United States Constitution says that Congress has the power to coin money. This is an example of...
Bureaucratic implementation of law.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service will spend money appropriated by Congress to maintain wildlife refuges. This action is an example of...
State legislatures
The boundary lines of congressional districts are drawn by...
Congress exceeded its authority in the use of the commerce clause.
The case United States v. Lopez (1995) struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act because...
Acknowledgement of the limitations of national power and a recognition of the reserved power of the states.
The decision in United States v. Lopez (1995) reflected new ideas about federalism at the time that can be best characterized by what?
A representative democracy
The framers of the Constitution intended to establish...
State and local governments provide many necessary public services in a federal system.
The increasing number of state and local government employees reflects what about the political system in the United States?
As a practical matter, the laws of the national government ought have supremacy over state laws.
The next most palpable defect of the subsisting Confederation, is the total want of a SANCTION to its laws. The United States, as now composed, have no powers to exact obedience, or punish disobedience to their resolutions, either by pecuniary [fines], by a suspension or divestiture of privileges, or by any other constitutional mode. There is no express delegation of authority to them to use force against delinquent members; and if such a right should be ascribed to the federal head, as resulting from the nature of the social compact between the States, it must be by inference and construction... There is, doubtless, a striking absurdity in supposing that a right of this kind does not exist... Based on The Federalist 21, what argument about government would Hamilton likely agree with?
Logrolling
The practice in Congress whereby Representative A promises to vote for Representative B's legislation, provided that Representative B will support Representative A's legislation, is referred to as...
Joint resolutions that propose constitutional amendments
The president cannot veto what?
Establishment of two legislative chambers that have different structures and rules.
The term "bicameralism" refers to the...
Pork barrel legislation
To get important bills passed in the House, a provision is added that allocates $500 million to study the impact of global climate change on manatees in Florida. This is an example of...
Both the author of the passage and The Federalist 51 assert that the structure of government helps control ambitions among the branches in such a way as to promote effective government.
Too often, we take our form of government for granted, not fully appreciating its unique and exceptional qualities. The framers of our Constitution, having revolted against tyranny, bequeathed to the nation, and to us as its citizens, a form of government with checks and balances intended to assure that we would never, as a nation, be subject to the abuses we experienced as a colony under a monarchy. . . .We should appreciate that the separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution was modeled on the constitutions and declarations of the states, where the separation of powers was equally observed. Mirroring our U.S. Constitution, 40 state constitutions now specify that government is to be divided into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The separation of powers at the state level, with an independent executive, legislature, and judiciary, is also one of the fundamental tenets of our democracy. What often gets lost in translation is how dynamic the competition among the branches of government has been, and how much stronger we are as a country because of that ongoing debate. It has been said that the Constitution is not just a historic document, but a living participant in who we are as a nation. Out of the continuing effort to assure the separation of powers, we have built a system of government that functions remarkably well. Although the powers ascribed to each of the three branches may sometimes appear to swing like a pendulum, we have continuously reconsidered and recentered our understanding of the authority and limitation of each of these branches. What best explains how the views of the author of the passage compare with the Federalist 51 regarding the separation of powers and checks and balances?
I and III
Under the Articles of Confederation, which of the following is true? I. Congress could not tax the states directly. II. The executive branch of government exercised more power than Congress. III. Congress was a unicameral body. IV. States were represented in Congress proportionally according to population.
B) - United States Constitution: Granted Congress the power to levy taxes Articles of Confederation: Granted states alone the power to levy taxes
United States Constitution: a. Favored stronger national government b. Granted Congress the power to levy taxes c. Required approval by three-fourths of Congress for a constitutional amendment d. Granted Congress the power to declare war Articles of Confederation: a. Favored a federal system b. Granted states alone the power to levy taxes c. Required unanimity of Congress to amend d. Granted the Congress power to regulate trade Which of the following is a correct comparison between the United States Constitution and the Articles of Confederation?
Committees are organized by the majority party to maintain control of the policy-making process.
What accurately describes the composition of congressional committees?
Members of Congress negotiate bills so that individual districts get money for projects that do not benefit the nation as a whole.
What best describes pork barrel politics?
The framers attempted to legitimize the Constitution through an appeal to popular sovereignty.
What best describes the influence of social contract theory on the Constitution of the United States?
Cabinet secretaries may develop strong loyalty to their departments.
What best explains why cabinet secretaries might not aggressively pursue the president's policy agenda?
Its members have varying levels of influence on presidential decisions
What describes the president's cabinet?
It is an agreement in which the government promises to protect the natural rights of people.
What describes the social contract theory as advanced by John Locke?
The federal government had the authority to establish a national bank, and Maryland's tax was unconstitutional.
What is an accurate description of the decision of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)?
Congress passing occupational safety regulations for the private sector
What is an example of Congress using its implied powers?
Confirming ambassadors
What is an example of a power exclusively given to the Senate in Article II of the Constitution?
A rule issued by a bureaucratic agency may be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court
What is an example of checks and balances?
A rule issued by a bureaucratic agency may be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
What is an example of checks and balances?
The president announces the nomination of a cabinet secretary on the Internet
What is an example of how the innovation of social media can influence presidential behavior?
The Senate rejects a president's nomination for secretary of state.
What is an example of the constitutional design of checks and balances?
A system of republican representation helps to limit the excesses of factionalism.
What is argued by James Madison in The Federalist paper number 10?
The national government lacked an effective power to raise revenue.
What is commonly identified as a failure of the Articles of Confederation?
Provided for a strong national government with many powers, while the Articles created a weak central government with few independent powers
What is one of the most significant differences between the Constitution of 1787 and the Articles of Confederation was that the Constitution...
The branches have different constituencies with different interests
What is the primary reason for the tensions that exist between the legislative and executive branches of the federal government?
They tend to be freer from presidential control than are cabinet departments
What is true of independent regulatory agencies?
The secretary of defense being called to testify before a congressional committee
What scenario best illustrates a formal check on the power of the bureaucracy?
Congress giving the Environmental Protection Agency the power to establish national pollution standards
What scenario best illustrates delegated discretionary authority?
The Department of Veterans Affairs rewrites its regulations regarding compensation and pensions into plain language that is easier for beneficiaries to understand.
What scenario best illustrates the process of bureaucratic?
A member of Congress votes to close a popular tax loophole based on the belief that the money would be better spent paying down the national debt.
What scenario is an example of the trustee model of representation?
President Reagan delivering a televised address urging a reduction in federal taxes.
What situation is an example of the president using the bully pulpit as a tool for agenda setting?
Agenda setting
What stage comes first in the policy-making process?
Because rural districts had fewer people, representation was unevenly distributed; thus, Baker was denied equal protection under the law.
What statement accurately summarizes the reasoning for the decision in Baker v. Carr (1962)?
A formula for calculating a state's enslaved population for the purposes of representation was enacted.
What was a direct outcome of the Three-Fifths Compromise?
The necessary and proper clause
Which clause serves as the constitutional basis for the federal Real ID Act of 2005, a law that established uniform standards for state-issued identification cards and provided regulation of a state function?
A district that has a majority of African American residents is drawn in a state, using race as the predominant factor in its creation.
Which congressional plan to create new district maps would most likely face a challenge in the Supreme Court based on precedent?
Necessary and proper clause
Which constitutional provisions broadened the power of Congress?
Block grants
Which form of financial aid from the national government gives the states the broadest discretion in the spending of money?
Government is based on the consent of the governed.
Which ideal of democracy is reflected in the procedure for apportionment in the House of Representatives?
The necessary and proper clause
Which is the clause in the Constitution that justifies the "implied powers doctrine?"
Elite theories argue that social status is the major source of political power; pluralist theories argue that many minorities compete for a power in different policy areas.
Which of the following accurately characterizes the main difference between elite theories and pluralist theories of politics in the United States?
The federal government had the authority to establish a national bank, and Maryland's tax was unconstitutional.
Which of the following is an accurate description of the decision in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)?
