Exam #1
The Constitution was ratified by the necessary nine states in June of
1788
Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution prohibited Congress from stopping the importation of slaves from overseas until
1808
How many times has the constitution been amended?
27 times
Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution specifies that U.S. senators must be how old to take office?
30
In 1789, each member of the U.S. House of Representatives represented approximately _____ citizens; whereas today each member of the U.S. House of Representatives represents approximately _____ citizens.
30,000; 660,000
Approximately what percentage of members of Congress are attorneys?
40
There are ______ members of the U.S. House of Representatives
435
The most visible disagreement between the Federalist and the Anti-Federalist centered on the issue of
A strong federal government versus a federation of small homogeneous republics
Under the delegate model of representation, legislators should
Adhere to the will of their constituents
Amending the Articles of Confederation required the consent of
All 13 of the 13 states
At the time of the Second Continental Congress,
Americans remained sharply divided on the question of independence
A system of government in which leaders face few formal legal restrictions but are checked by noninstitutional forces such as political parties, religious groups, or business leaders is referred to as
An authoritarian regime
Before adoption of the seventeenth amendment in 1913, U.S. senators were generally
Appointed by the state legislatures
Which article of the constitution deals with the legislative branch?
Article I
Which article of the Constitution deals with the executive branch?
Article II
Artificially stimulated public interest is sometimes referred to as "____" to emphasize the appearance of widespread popularity without any real depth
Astroturf
The U.S. Supreme Court established the "one person, one vote" principle in its decision in the 1961 case of
Baker v. Carr
The most important contribution of the Anti-Federalists was the
Bill of Rights
Referred to as the Intolerable Acts in the colonies, the British referred to the acts intended by the British Parliament to quell unrest and punish colonial insolence as the
Coercive Acts
The Declaration of Independence was written to convince the
Colonists to support the cause of liberty
Packing refers to the
Consolidation of opposition voters into fewer electoral districts
The 3/5 compromise...
Counted five slaves as three free persons for the purpose of representation in congress
_____ law refers to a body of law that applies to violations of rules and regulations defined by the government.
Criminal
Public interest groups campaign primarily for individual benefits
False
The series of documents supporting ratification of the new constitution and written under the pseudonym Publius in New York City newspapers was the
Federalist Papers
The Intolerable Acts were strongly opposed by the colonists because they
Felt their interests were not represented in the British Parliament
The French and Indian War was fought by which two foreign powers against each other in North America?
France and Great Britain
The _____ problem is the tendency of individuals to allow other to do work on their behalf.
Free-rider
The constitutional requirement that states accept and recognize the legal proceedings of the other states is embodied in the
Full faith and credit clause
The First Continental Congress included representatives from all of the colonies EXCEPT
Georgia
In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson presents a notion of individual rights granted by
God
When the legislature is described as "bicameral," it means that the legislature
Has two chambers
LULAC won a number of important successes that have advanced the civil rights and liberties of ______ Americans.
Hispanic
The main goal of the First Continental Congress was
Improving relations with Great Britain
A group of like- minded individuals who band together to influence public policy, public opinion, or government officials is known as a(n)
Interest group
The first three steps of a bill are
Introduction, referral, committee consideration
A senator who wants to stop debate and vote on a bill can attempt to
Invoke cloture
Written in 1690, _____'s Two Treatises on Government profoundly influenced the thinking of the founders.
John Locke
The first battle between American and British forces in the Revolutionary War occurred at....
Lexington
Professionals who are paid to represent interest groups before government officials and institutions are commonly referred to as
Lobbyists
Party unity scores are
Measures of party unity based on gauge of how often members of the same party vote in unison
Utilizing the _____ referrals process allows a bill to be sent to several committees at the same time.
Multiple
In the case of McCulloch v. Maryland, John Marshall's argument that, "Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consistent with the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional." Marshall here is arguing in favor of an expansive reading of the
Necessary and proper clause
Which two states rejected the Constitution in their initial ratification votes?
North Carolina and Rhode Island
In its decision in Baker v. Carr, the U.S. Supreme Court formally established the principle of
One person, one vote
Which of the following statements most accurately describes the selection of senators?
One third of the seats in the senate are elected every two years
Legislation passed by the House but not the Senate (or conversely, legislation passed by the Senate but not the House) is sometimes referred to as a(n)
One-house bill
The so called Boston Tea Party was a result of
Parliament granting the East India company a monopoly on importing tea into the colonies, among other trade acts
Which of the following is an example of pure democracy?
Participating in a town hall meeting
Canada, Great Britain, and the United States are examples of
Pluralist societies
During Lewis and Clark's expedition in the American West, they
Practiced democracy, with all- women and slaves- having a vote
The Articles of Confederation ______ the U.S. Constitution.
Preceded
A group that forms in the pursuit of "a collective good, the achievement of which will not selectively and materially benefits the membership or activists of the organization," is generally referred to as a
Public interest group
The process of reallocating the number of seats assigned to each state in the U.S. House of Representatives based on changes in the population of that states is known as
Reapportionment
A system of government in which members of the general public select agents to represent them in political decision making is known as a
Republic
Which of the following colonial figures played a central role in leading the Sons of Liberty?
Samuel Adams
The second sentence of the Declaration of Independence reads, "That to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government." Which of the following concepts is illustrated by this passage?
Social Contract Theory
The most important responsibility of a member of congress is to
Speak and act on behalf of the people
Responsibility for referring bills to specific committees in the U.S. House of Representatives generally falls to the
Speaker of the House
In order to become the law of the land, the new constitution required approval by
Special ratification conventions in 9 of the 13 states
The main legislative committees, which handle the vast majority of the day-to-day process of legislating in the U.S. Congress, are
Standing committees and their subcommittees
The assumption that a legislator will represent or favor only his or her own ethnic group or gender (as opposed to the entire population) is generally referred to as
Symbolic representation
The requirement that all bills be referred to a committee before being considered by the body of the whole was established by
The 1946 Legislative Reorganization Act
Which of the following statements most accurately describes the respective roles of each branch of government?
The legislature makes the law, the executive carries the law into force, and the courts resolve disputes over the law
Which of the following is NOT a power granted to congress by Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution?
The right to interpret legislation passed by the congress
Article VI of the Constitution outlines what important principle in American government?
The supremacy of the national government
The vice president votes in the senate when
There is a tie vote
Demonstrating his support for the Revolutionary War, who claimed in 1787 that "the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants"?
Thomas Jefferson
The election of 1800 was won by
Thomas Jefferson
Who authored the famous phrase, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"?
Thomas Jefferson
The pamphlet Common Sense was written in 1776 by
Thomas Paine
The constitution can be amended by two-thirds vote in favor in both houses of congress and ratification by
Three-quarters of the state legislatures
The U.S. Senate president pro tempore
Traditionally is the most senior member of the majority party
1. Interest groups influence the policy process by agenda building- that is- simply brining an otherwise little-known issue to the forefront.
True
Should the president fail to act on a bill for 10 days (excluding Sundays), the bill becomes a law unless Congress adjourns during that period.
True
The belief that congress should reflect the diversity of the United States, with a composition that roughly mirror the racial, ethnic, religious and gender diversity of the country, is expressed in the concept of symbolic representation
True
Russ Feingold and Edward Kennedy were vocal opponents of the Iraq Was and voted against the war in 2002, despite widespread popular support for the authorization of war against Iraq. Their vote can best be understood through the
Trustee model
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives serve a term of
Two years
Cesar Chavez was well known as the leader of the
United Farm Workers of America
Cleavages refer to divisions of people based on at least one social characteristics, such as educational attainment or race
true