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How does the process of a bill becoming a law differ if it is introduced in the House compared to if it is introduced in the Senate?
If a bill is introduced in the House, it must be presented to the Rules committee before it can move to the floor for consideration
Which of the following is a way that Congress can check the power of the president?
Impeach and remove for wrongdoing
Which of the following describes the social contract theory as advanced by John Locke?
It is an agreement in which the government promises to protect the natural rights of the people
The Great (Connecticut) Compromise drafted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 is significant for which of the following reasons?
It proposed a Senate with equal representation for each state and a House of Representatives with membership established according to the population of each state
How did the Great Depression threaten American federalism?
It shifted the balance of power between the federal and state governments towards the federal government.
Which of the following best describes the Declaration of Independence?
It was a (John) Lockean justification of revolution followed by a list of grievances directed toward British rule
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the two court cases?
Led to an increase in power for the national government. Established limits to Congress's power under the Commerce Clause
"In every free government, the people must give their assent to the laws by which they are governed. This is the true criterion between a free government and an arbitrary one. The former are ruled by the will of the whole, expressed in any manner they may agree upon; the latter by the will of one, or a few. If the people are to give their assent to the laws, by persons chosen and appointed by them, the manner of the choice and the number chosen, must be such, as to possess, be disposed, and consequently qualified to declare the sentiments of the people; for if they do not know, or are not disposed to speak the sentiments of the people, and the people do not govern, but the sovereignty is in a few. Now, in a large extended country, it is impossible to have a representation, possessing the sentiments, and of integrity, to declare the minds of the people, without having it so numerous and unwieldy, as to be subject in great measure to the inconveniency of a democratic government ...."- Brutus #1 Which of the following statements would the author of the passage most likely agree with? / In the passage, Brutus is most concerned with the conflict between which of the following political ideas?
Nations with extended territory cannot fairly represent their citizens in a republican form of government / Participatory democracy and elite democracy
The Federalists and the Antifederalists disagreed upon which major issue?
Need for a Bill of Rights
Which of the following is the best definition of concurrent powers?
Powers that are exercised by both the national and state governments
Which of the following statements reflects a pluralist theory of American politics as viewed by James Madison in Federalist #10, which is the basis of our Constitution and the system of government it created?
Public policies emerge from compromises reached among competing interest groups
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the Senate and House of Representatives?
Senate: Filibusters possible House of Representatives: Limited debate
Which of the following scenarios best reflects a democratic benefit of federalism?
Several states pass legislation increasing the minimum wage because of the high cost of living in their respective states.
Which of the following statements best describes the impact of the Supreme Court's decision in McCulloch v. Maryland?
The Court ruled that the necessary and proper clause allows the national government to create banks, strengthening national power.
Many compromises were necessary to make the ratification of the Constitution possible. Which of the following was a compromise between large and small states that established a bicameral legislature with one house represented equally and one house represented proportionately?
The Great (aka Connecticut) Compromise
When the framers created a bicameral legislature, they did so with the republican popular sovereignty principle in mind. Which of the following original structures best represents this principle?
The House of Representatives was elected directly by citizens.
Which piece of legislation is an example of the federal government devolving (or returning) authority to the state?
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (aka Welfare Reform Act of 1996)
If a state government was challenging a piece of federal legislation in the Supreme Court as an overreach of federal authority, it would most likely use which Constitutional provision as support?
The Tenth Amendment
Most of the bills that are introduced in Congress fail. Why did the framers of the Constitution make the legislative process considerably complicated?
The case moves to the Supreme Court, where a criminal trial is held.
Which of the following was the most important effect of replacing the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution of 1787?
The creation of a strong national government
Why was Shays's Rebellion an effective way for James Madison to lure George Washington back into public life?
The events that happened during Shays's Rebellion demonstrated how broken the system under the Articles of Confederation was.
Which of the following best defines the constitutional interpretation of federalism?
The federal government and the states have separate but overlapping powers; where these powers conflict the federal government prevails
Which of the following is a correct statement about the federal government's role in interstate commerce?
The federal government's role has been greatly expanded through the interpretation of the commerce clause
Which of the following was a weakness of the Articles of Confederation?
The national government lacked tax-law enforcement power, so it relied on states for funding.
Which part of the Constitution did Chief Justice John Marshall cite in justification of the Supreme Court decision in McCulloch v. Maryland, which established the principle of implied powers?
The necessary and proper clause
Why did smaller, less-populous states prefer the New Jersey Plan?
The plan proposed a unicameral legislature with equal representation.
How does the style of representation in the House of Representatives differ from representation in the Senate?
The representation in the Senate is the same for each state regardless of population, while the number of representatives in the House of Representatives depends on a state's population.
Which of the following is an example of checks and balances, as established by the U.S. Constitution?
The requirement that the Senate approve presidential appointments to the Supreme Court
Which of the following scenarios would be considered an unconstitutional use of state power?
The state passes a law that creates a more strict immigration policy
Who held most of the power under the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union?
The states
The Republican Party controlled both chambers of Congress in 2017 when the House of Representatives passed a bill that repealed the Affordable Care Act. However, the repeal bill failed to pass in the Senate despite the Republican majority. This is most likely due to which of the following?
The threat of a filibuster results in legislation needing sixty votes to pass in the Senate.
In the 1780s, proponents of the new Constitution cited Shays' Rebellion as an example in support of which of the following criticisms of the national government under the Articles of Confederation?
There was a lack of a national military power to address threats to life, liberty, and property
Why were the Federalist Papers so effective in gaining support for the Constitution?
They addressed concerns with the Constitution by pointing out flaws in the Articles of Confederation.
Why might small farmers and those from rural areas opposed the Federalist position?
They were generally distrustful of political elites and a distant central government.
What is the primary function of the president as outlined in the Constitution?
To enforce the laws written by Congress
What was the purpose of the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
To fix the Articles of Confederation and create a stronger national government
What is the primary purpose of the War Powers Resolution?
To restrict the president's ability to maintain troops in combat for unlimited periods
Term limits were placed on the president through the
Twenty-Second Amendment.
Which of the following is the correct pairing of powers found in the Articles of Confederation and powers found in the U.S. Constitution?
Unicameral (one chamber) legislature. Bicameral (two chamber) legislature
What is the purpose of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment?
What is the purpose of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment?
How did Congress justify the passage of the Controlled Substances Act?
With the commerce clause of the Constitution
In 2013, Texas Senator Ted Cruz gave a 21-hour speech that interfered with a planned vote on healthcare reforms, which would be considered.
a filibuster
The framers of the Constitution intended to establish
a representative republic
All of the following are results of the system of federalism in the United States as it exists today EXCEPT
a strict, uncooperative separation of power among levels of government
Congress may override a veto with
a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.
"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." - Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18 of the U.S. Constitution The effect of this clause has been to
allow the national government to extend its powers beyond those specifically listed in the Constitution
In 2018, President Donald Trump made a unilateral decision without congressional approval that banned a firearm accessory known as a bump stock via
an executive order.
Suppose the federal government has just passed a law that will require all public schools to provide students with enclosed lockers that students can lock with a padlock. The federal government is requiring states to implement this policy with their own funds, making it
an unfunded mandate
The process of deciding on the number of representatives each state gets based on most recent census data is known as
apportionment
A president may most likely use the State of the Union Address as a tool for
bargaining and persuasion in Congress.
Which of the following policies would the states most likely prefer according to the political cartoon?
block grants
States prefer block grants over categorical grants because
block grants allow for greater flexibility in how the funds are used.
When a new law is created by the legislative branch, the constitutional legality of the bill can be questioned by a lawsuit brought forward in the Supreme Court. This scenario is an example of
checks and balances
When President Bush mobilized reserve troops to fight against the terrorist threat in Afghanistan in 2001, he was acting as
commander in chief.
The United States Constitution specifically states in Article I that Congress has the powers to coin money, impose taxes, regulate interstate commerce, declare war, and several others. These are examples of
enumerated powers
The authority of the president to act as commander in chief of the United States army is an example of the president's
enumerated, formal powers
The president of the United States acts as the head of the
executive branch.
The ability of an American citizen to enact change by getting either Congress or their state legislature to pass legislation is an example of
federalism
"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiations, and foreign commerce. ... The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State."— James Madison, Federalist No. 45 According to James Madison in the passage, the national government will exercise its powers primarily in the area of
foreign affairs and national security
President Donald Trump is well known for his frequent and sometimes tactless use of the social media platform, Twitter. President Trump's announcements of policy initiatives and plans on Twitter is an example of
going public to rally support of citizens
Constitutional checks and balances, especially applied to the president, are designed to
minimize the threat of tyranny from any one branch of government
The reserved powers of the state governments can best be described as those powers
not specifically granted to the national government or denied to the states
According to the United States Constitution, all revenue bills must
originate in the House of Representative
The framers of the Constitution all believed that one of the primary functions of government is
protecting the natural rights of man
Of the following, the most significant difference between the US Constitution of 1787 and the Articles of Confederation was that the Constitution
provided for a strong national government with many powers, while the Articles created a weak central government with few independent powers
A clear, prominent example of "devolution" or the process of returning more of the responsibilities of governing from the national level to the state level is
social welfare reform
The Articles of Confederation implemented the principle of
state sovereignty
The clause in the United States Constitution that states that federal law will prevail in the event of a conflict between federal and state law is known as the
supremacy clause
The Supreme Court's decision to uphold certain parts of President Trump's travel ban on immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries while striking down other parts of it as unconstitutional is an example of
the judicial branch checking the executive branch.
Minnesota does not charge sales tax on clothing purchases. If Minnesota were to pass a law that allows businesses to charge sales tax on clothing purchases made by visitors from other states, Minnesota would be in violation of
the privileges and immunities clause.
In 2001, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act, which required students to be assessed in reading and writing on a regular basis. Schools had to show that students were making adequate yearly progress or risk being shut down, turned into a charter school, or endure other consequences. Critics argue that this law
violated the states' reserved powers under the Tenth Amendment
According to James Madison in Federalist #10, which of the following best controls the effects of factions?
A large republic in which power is separated and checked
How many votes are necessary for the whole impeachment process in Congress?
A majority in the House and two-thirds vote in the Senate
What is federalism?
A system that divides power between the state and national governments
What happens after articles of impeachment have been successfully passed in the House of Representatives?
A trial is held in the Senate to convict or acquit the accused official
The political theorist who believes that the key to a good executive branch leader is energy and the ability to take strong, swift action would likely agree with
Alexander Hamilton.
Why was the national government under the Articles of Confederation made to be intentionally weak?
Americans had just experienced tyranny under the rule of Great Britain and did not want to duplicate it with another powerful government
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. . . Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist 21 Based on The Federalist 21, which of the following arguments about government would Hamilton likely agree with? / Which of the following scenarios illustrates a solution for the problem of getting states to comply with federal government policies, as described in the passage?
As a practical matter, the laws of the national government ought to have supremacy over state laws. / The federal government can withhold highway funds from states that do not raise the age to drink alcohol to 21.
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist views on government?
Believed a large republic ensured the best protection of individual freedoms. Believed only a small republic could best ensure protection of individual freedoms
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. Linda Leali, "Reflecting on the Great Gift of the Separation of Powers," Daily Business Review, 2018 Which of the following best explains how the view of the author of the passage compares with The Federalist 51 regarding separation of powers and checks and balances? / The author explains that the powers given to each branch "sometimes appear to swing like a pendulum" from one branch to another. Which of the following best describes how these shifts ensure that constitutional government is functional?
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. / Separation of powers divides responsibilities and authority between branches, which allows each branch to be checked by the other two branches to ensure accountability.
Despite not having the ability to formally introduce and write legislation, how is the president able to influence the legislative process?
By threatening to veto a bill before it even gets out of Congressional committee(s)
The case United States v. Lopez (1995) struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act because
Congress exceeded its authority in the use of the commerce clause
"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 by the government of the Union to carry its powers into execution. Such a tax must be unconstitutional." - McCulloch v Maryland, 1819 This decision of the Supreme Court supported the principle that / Which of the following resulted from this Supreme Court decision?
Congress has implied powers to make laws to carry out its constitutional duties / The power of the national government was strengthened
In the Constitution as originally ratified in 1788, the provisions regarding which of the following most closely reflects the ideas of popular sovereignty, direct democracy, and majority rule?
Election of members of the House of Representatives
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the arguments made in Federalist 10 and Brutus 1?
Factions are most dangerous at the local level. Small republics are best for stable government
Those who supported the new Constitution and wanted a stronger national government were known as
Federalists
"Nonetheless, redistricting makes a difficult situation considerably worse. Lawmakers have become more insular and more attentive to their ideological bases as their districts have become more partisan and homogeneous. Districts have become more like echo chambers, reinforcing members' ideological predispositions with fewer dissenting voices back home or fewer disparate groups of constituents to consider in representation. The impact shows in their behavior; and reform of the way in which legislative boundaries are redrawn would make a difference."— Thomas E. Mann and Norma J. Ornstein, The Broken Branch:How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get Back on Track (2006) Which of the following statements best summarizes the authors' argument in the passage?
Gerrymandering has created districts that are not competitive.
Suppose you are a policy advisor to the president who wants to get education reform legislation passed, a policy that is popular with most Americans. Since Congress is controlled by the opposing party, however, passing legislation is more difficult than usual. Which tactic do you suggest to the president that will have the best chance of enacting the desired policy without damaging public opinion?
Going public as a way to urge Americans to put pressure on their representatives in Congress
According to Federalist 70, why was it important to Alexander Hamilton that there be only one executive leader?
Having two leaders would weaken the ability to protect the nation.
